Entries this day: AM_dream Vietnam_transcribed

AM dream

6:23am ICT Saturday 28 May 2005

When I was a new freshman at Rice University, my washing machine wasn't working. I put in my clothes and my quarters and water ran for a bit but then it stopped before it filled. I loaded the washing machine onto the elevator, took it to the maintenence office in the next building, which was attached to this building and just labeled inside the hallway which building was which. Old but working lights and equipment showed the way and the sign indicated which building. The maintenence office was right next to the corner of the building and the elevator door on the opposite side of the elevator opend and I rolled the washing machine out to the office. I was like, "excuse me sir?" and I heard a woman's voice, "Oh, I'm sorry ma'am? My washing machine has broken, and I brought it down here. I had put the clothes in and the money and water began to run"

"Did you have it plugged in?" she interruptedme. "Did you put money in it?"

"Yes, I just said that.." and I could tell she wasn't listening. I confronted her on it and we escalated to a fight pretty quickly. "I know you don't care about me just because I'm a freshmen and I'm new around here and I know you want to tell me to fuck off..." I told her in a basically normal voice.

"Good; yes I do"

I got pissed. "You better fuckin' write that down that you want me to fuck off; you don't say 'good', you fucking bitch; this is your fucking job and just because you have all the control doesn't make it appropriate for you to just piss all over your customers!"

She ignored me and walked away then turned around and mouthed the words, "go the fu uuck back home" and tried to make it difficult for me to know what she said, and I was like, "I *am* home! fuck you! I fucking live in this town."

Her friend came up to me and was like, "you better leave" and I was like, "aight" and I got my stuff out of the washer and was like "you can keep the fucking washing machine; fuck you!"

I got all my stuff and then her friend came up and I was about to head out when the maintenence guys came to look at the machine. To the woman with whom I had been fighting I was like, "you called them?" and she goes, "yes" and I hugged her like 'thank you so much!' and added 'You know, I am older than you' and she was like, "yeah; I looked it up while we were fighting."

and we embraced and hugged and even kissed on the cheeks a bit with promises to make up more later.

I began to tell the maintenance guys the story of what I had done and they were listening (no hangups about freshmen; just doing their job) and I woke up.

Vietnam transcribed

4:01pm ICT Sunday 29 May 2005

9:28am ICT Saturday 28 May 2005

We are definitely not in Hong Kong. We look outside; bang it's beautiful - mountains and real calm sea and the coolest thing is the guys are using the lifeboats and scaffolding down the side of the ship to scrape paint! It's awesome!

They're playing music off one side of the boat, the landing side, and a bunch of busses and loud-ass music. It's beautiful.

On the other side of the boat

It's overcast today. Not much going on this side of the boat. No greeting party; wide open spaces and lovely mountains and sea with little bobbing boats dotting the water.

10:08am

In the van now for our tour; I get to sit by Kim. Dude - Vietnam is beautiful. And poor. After hearing the story of 1000s of years of war; it's fucked up, but that's what it is. Right now we've got hills and banana trees on the left side and the sea on our right. People walking around with triangle hats. This road is two well-paved lanes each direction leading to and from the port. We all got a triangle hat.

There's construction happening among dilapidated buildings, including a house with walls made of straw mats. These roads are less than 8 years old. Because Danang is on the sea and has four beaches, Americans come here and bring their money; this is the wealthiest city in Vietnam, and it looks like hell. Dude. It fuckin' looks like hell.

There are no crosswalks nor traffic lights, but plenty of bicycles and pedestrians and motorcycles.

Most men are wearing baseball hats with no logo and women wear either triangle hats, baseball hats, or gilligan hats.

4:09pm

We've just rolled onto a much smaller road that's paved but only 1 lane, but with two lanes of traffic and myriad motorbikes. There's trees mixed with rusty dirty small one-room buildings all smushed together and whitewashed colors. Lots of greenery all tucked inside.

Kim goes, "I guess I can de-ID myself." awesome.

Like in Costa Rica, big trucks are rolling around on various sides of the road, all honky and menacing.

There are some really intricate painted tiles that would work well in a super high dollar house, across the street from plastic animals balloons.

- - - -

Try to play charades and explain "reincarnation."

- - - -

We've been going for an hour + and have not seen a single traffic light.

- - - -

There's a tower made of stacked rings and columns going up through it.

- - - -

Stunning orange flowers on this tree.

11:01am

Gotta be back in one hour.

11:19am

Got lost from the group while being sold sunglasses, then Brandt found me. We waited for a while for some foodage at this little restaurant while some kids worked hard to sell us postcards and stuff. We got several pictures of them. They're funny.

I wanna come back to Vietnam fo sheezy; Hong Kong can fuck off, but Vietnam is cool.

12:08pm

Back by the van now; Maryann agrees we could spent lots more time here.

- - - -

Now the whole group is in a nice restaurant: second floor with veranda and ceiling fans and 51 seats around three long tables. I'm eating with my new set of chopsticks. Awright.

Adi, Carissa, Matt, Nat and I are here at this table.

1:34pm

Just ordered some sandals from somewhere, to be picked up at 7pm.

The girls are in a dress shop getting measured for dresses, and the woman isn't writing down the measurements. Hips, waist, shoulders, etc etc... And now she just did Natalie and never wrote down Carissa's numbers.

2:30pm

We're bouncing along a paved single lane thing between rice fields, passing bikes and an ox; this is soooo amazing! It's like a clubhouse; we had to squeeze through this little street to get here and everything is made of bamboo.. We're at a little elementary school. Matt got here ahead of us by taking a motorcycle.

4:06pm

The ceremony is over; I recorded a lot of it on video. The ceremony is over and the kids are lined up (and have been for over an hour, without moving!!) and receiving gifts, no fighting or fussing; just super well-behaved. I'm impressed.

We did a short singing English lesson: "Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.."

6:38pm

Fantastic day today; the kids were shy at first and then they genkied up; Greg went swimming in the river; Brandt, Pat and I (separately) spun around on the merry-go-round; we taught the kids some English and they were really funny; we tried some new fruits, including some I had only seen in Hawaii, and another I hadn't seen until now: jack fruit. In Vietnamese, michi, I think. They look like banana peels. I love them. Maryann says they look like yellow bell peppers.

The traffic is just nutso. The only rule is "stay toward the right, kinda" and "use your horn as much as possible." Maryann saw five people and a dog on a motorcycle.

Dave is singing 'the wheels on the bus' - this is just amazing!!

We all agree we could live in Vietnam easily.

The driver put on Deep Purple "Smoke on the Water" and Dave busted out with "Wheels on the Bus" lyrics!! so funny!!!

We are all on top of life. Fantastic. I love this group.

And I don't mean Deep Purple.

7:47pm

We've got the penthouse in the hotel. Just picked up my new sandals for 95,000 dong. Awesome. Heading back to the hotel now. Blue straps on top cause I like blue.

- - - -

Tam "pronounced 'Tom'" is telling us that she can't speak English very well, but she is really doing well. She's awesome and really trying hard.

She says she'll remember us if we come back in 1 year, 3 years, 5 years.. she'll remember. I basically attribute that to clarity of life or clarity of mind; not being worried about what's on MTV tomorrow night.

Bau new ting = how much is it? in Vietnamese.

12:53am Sunday 29 May 2005

Back in my room in Hoi An. Bedtime. Someone (named 路武) forgot to bring clean clothes for me to wear.

I'm tired as anything.

We rode motorbikes back to the hotel from Down By The River cafe. I enjoyed riding behind Yoshika, and I was like "mmmm, girl" because I'm tired; I don't know her from anyone, though now I know her name because Nicole told me in exchange for a free pass on the eye contact game. (plus another for Maiko's name)

Bike guy charged far too much for the bike ride back.

1:16am

I fell asleep while sitting on the toilet. haha

I almost crashed getting out of the tub; the floor of the bathroom is lower than the floor of the tub. It would have been quite disastrous; blood and incapacitating injuries, I am sure.