Chào các anh các chį!

6 November 2005 Journal Entry

I've never felt so much like I was really in Vietnam, as now. Okay, never is a strong classifier, but I really feel like I'm in Vietnam, and nowhere else, right now. It's rare to have such moments of pure clarity.

I'm sitting across from Ho Tay (*I'll try to post up a map of Ha Noi, so you can see) on a plastic chair, with motorbikes driving by, puffing smoke into my face. I'm sipping on Ca Phe den da, and being stared at by a small white dog. There is beautiful Vietnamese music playing, that reminds me of lost love. The trees have white Christmas lightgs on them, although they are probably up all year. The music playing makes me want to sit here all night long. Unfortunetly I want to drink my coffee very quickly and leave because although the owners here are very curtious to me, I have a feeling that there is some shady business going on upstairs.

I'm being bitten by mosquitos, but I'm happier than I've been in a while, just trying to think about today, not yesterday or tomorrow. As Noah says "all that matters is the present"...also conforting is his saying "It's YOUR life, and everyone in iti s lucky, and everyone not in it, doesn't exist, because it's YOUR life." :) Anwyays, Vietnam is beautiful, but not perfect, so I'm gonna get away from this cafe now.

posted by Steffanie @ 6:30 AM