Teaching at the Cambridge Language School last Thursday was rough. I planned lessons out of the wrong books, and I didn't even have one of the books in my possession. I taught on the fly in all four of the classes, but I guess it could have gone worse. I also taught on Saturday morning for the first time. I initially thought it would be hard waking up earlier than I do during the week, but I was no less energetic than the evening shifts. I actually had the right lesson plans this time, and the kids were super enthusiastic about learning. In the last class, the lesson was about "bigger-smaller," "stronger-weaker," and "taller-shorter." To illustrate "stronger-weaker," I conducted an arm wrestling tournament for the students. After each round, one student in each pair had to say "I am stronger than him/her," "S/He is stronger than me," "I am weaker than him/her," or "S/He is weaker than me." The kids had a blast, the teacher was entertained, and I was excited to crown a girl the class arm wrestling champ.

I spent the next couple hours just walking around the city and window shopping. I walked into a boutique with cute clothes. Everything in the store was either solid, floral, or patterned, but there was nothing with writing on it. As I was going through the last rack of shirts, I was baffled when I saw a gray, loose-fitting T-shirt with "MINNESOTA" written in black. I told the girl working that that's where I'm from, and she laughed. She said the designer is actually her boss, and she's from Korea. I had to try it on, but unfortunately I didn't like the way it looked. If it was less expensive, I might have bought it just for the fun of it, though.

Later in the day, I went to the War Remnants/Evidence Museum, but I didn't give myself enough time. It was incredibly powerful to see pictures and other documentation from the war. I was overcome with emotion, and I was glad I was alone so nobody would hear my American English. Although I haven't really sensed any animosity stemming from the events from 40 years ago, it was not a time when I was proud to be an American, to say the least. There was a lot that I learned about the "ecocide" that the US Government committed; wiping out entire ecosystems and contaminating the water and air beyond repairable in a single generation. In addition, it was tough looking at the deformities caused by Agent Orange, and the effects of recently set off land mines that were not set off or recovered following the war. I was only able to look around the first floor before the museum closed, so I'll have to come back another time.

Sunday, I went to a yoga class taught by someone who has a connection to Minneapolis. It was good to finally meet her after a number of e-mail exchanges and of course, start my day with some yoga. I went to a specialty food store next door after the class, and an older man rambled on about Sai Gon for about 15 minutes. He's initially from Korea, lived in the US for 30 years, and has lived in Viet Nam for the past decade. He told me about the restaurant he was going to on Monday morning to watch the Vikings-Packers game and assured me he would be rooting for the Vikings. The man was so entertaining to listen to, but was suggesting far too many places and restaurants for me to visit than I could have possibly retained. Needless to say, I left the store chuckling to myself.

I went to play pick-up ultimate later that afternoon, and I was happy to find that my bum toe wasn't the impediment I thought it would be. I'm sure the adrenaline rush that came from just being able to play helped, too. The rain held off this time, and it was fun to see everyone after a two-week hiatus. An American couple from Idaho showed up to play, and it was the girl's first time seeing the game. I explained the rules, etc. to her, and we inevitably talked about life in general as well. Her and her fiance had spent the previous year teaching English in the Dominican Republic and moved to Viet Nam about a week ago to do the same. There was also a new guy from Mexico and a few other Vietnamese guys who had just returned from the States and Australia. I, of course, was on cloud nine as we played until we couldn't see the disc in the dark.

As the weekend went on, that imminent cold began to take hold of me and by Monday I was sick. In addition, my terrible itch was back after finishing the week-long prescription of anti-histamines. I went to a doctor at one of the international clinics Monday morning because the first doctor I saw said he would be on vacation this week. I got some more drugs and am feeling significantly better. Plus, having Traci's mom here adds a mother's touch.

The energy at the orphanage this week has been high because the kids have been trying to have as much fun with Traci before she's done. Today was her last day at Thien Phuoc, but her mom and her don't depart for the States for another few weeks. Lauren and Sandy (Australians) brought materials for oragami today, which the kids loved. Although they couldn't do much on their own, I had Tai and Nhi help me press down the folds that I had started, and they were proud of the finished products.

Yesterday was Dieu's (pronounced you) birthday, so Traci and I went to her older sister's apartment for dinner and cake. Her sisters were hysterical, and the meal was beautiful. It was fun to meet Dieu's siblings, nephew, and a couple of her friends, and celebrate her 20th in true Vietnamese fashion. They were all so warm and welcoming, as expected, and wouldn't take, "I'm so full!" as an excuse to stop eating.

Although there are Halloween costume shops and decorations around HCMC, the Sunflower Festival will take precedence next Sunday. I don't know much about it, but we made sunflowers with the kids at the hospital today. They turned out super cute, and all the kids wrote a wish in the middle of the flower as well. The mood turned somber, though, as the news that one kid passed away traveled throughout the floor. As I walked down the hall, I saw the mother standing over the child who was covered in blankets. The room across the hall was packed with two room-fulls of people, and the kids seemed puzzled about their own feelings on the matter. Apparently, two other kids passed away over the weekend. This was the first time that the fact that cancer is paralyzing and in some cases overpowering the lives of these children became real to me. They seem so strong and beautiful when they're in the play room, so it's hard to imagine that their internal strength and beauty as anything different.

A bunch of Traci's aunts, cousins, and mom's friends planned a trip to Nha Trang and Da Lat for this weekend and kindly invited me to come along. We'll leave early Friday morning in a 15-passenger van and come back late Monday night. Traci was not informed of any other details about the trip other than not to worry about it. Regardless of what we do, I'm excited to see how gorgeous these places actually are. When asking the students in one of my classes last Thursday what the most beautiful, cleanest, most interesting, most popular, etc. places in Viet Nam were, practicing the use of superlatives, Nha Trang and Da Lat were the top responses.