Goooood Morning Vietnam

We have been here quite a few days now and there is so much to share, I don't know where to start!

We actually caught both of our flights to get here which is a good start. I am very grateful to Tony who delivered us all to the Airport from Melbourne University. It was a bit hairy when my alarm went off but had been turned down so when I looked at the clock at 7:40am and I was supposed to be in the car at 7:30 I nearly had a heart failure (given our track record of catching planes!) I had -10mins to get our bags down the stairs into the car, my washing out of the machine (which had stopped mysteriously in the night so I had to pack dripping wet clothes into my luggage!) and sort out all of those last minute things that inevitably crop up. I am grateful to Sakina and Brenna who did the last day of catering, Tony who did everything(!!) Trinity college that may be scratching their heads at the washing machine full of wet towels and sheets, Lisa and/or Raelene whoever is doing the last two days of catering maths for me.....

Vietnam is so beautiful, Andy Kenworthy summed it up nicely as we were swimming (in the clearest water I have ever swam in) surrounded by rainforest cloaked hills and stunning riverside geological formations. "It doesn't seem real without the cheesy soundtrack and an old man (David Attenborough styles) whispering in the background" Well we are here and I am awe struck!

Sky is finding the heat very uncomfortable and has become wilted and lethargic. Swimming revives her so I am trying to get her into the river as often as possible. The diet is also quite an adjustment, I am feeling really good with the absense of bread Sky was not impressed when her jellybean rations were infested by some rather large ants. We both nearly scremed the house down.

Geoff and Nadia saw a Tarantula in the forest yesturday, we have not been so lucky but have been lucky enough to not encounter any snakes yet, especially seeing as this is a busy season for them. Everything here is large, including the insects which is quite freaky. I am very grateful for the tight weave mosquito net over our bed.

The cities, although interesting are way to stressful for me - even crossing the street is an act of faith. The advice we got was not to look and just step on out. Sky and I linked arms, took a breath and braved stepping out into the oncoming traffic. Sure enough we made it to the other side without being ploughed down by a moped loaded high with people, chickens or other interesting vehicles.

HEPA (human ecology preservation area) is stunning. The staff and students are so friendly and welcoming. The work they are doing is phenomenal and I am very inspired for projects to do when I get home. The whole system is only 2 years old but everything grows so fast here that it is looking lush and productive already.

I am doing a worm session for the students on Friday night and Robert (Sink) and I are adding English translations into some of the students normal lessons. I came back from a tour around one of the farms with Geoff and Nadia to discover that one of the sentences the students had learnt was "Lisa has missed the lesson!"

The money photos are me and sky as millionaires! We are each holding 5 200,000 Dong notes. My vague calculations are that NZ$1 = 10,000 Dong, it takes a wee while to be able to calculate the currency exchange accurately.

At the Hanoi markets (which were also very stressful) I put my new haggling skills into practise. I brought a light cotton dress for Sky and was very proud to haggle the cendor down from 100,000 to 90,000. When I sat down over lunch to actually work out how much things were costing - Skys' dress went from $10 to $9. In conjunction with the fact that the average vietnamese person earns between $1 and $2 dollars per day, I decided not to haggle anymore.

The photo of birds on the motorbike was taken as the birds are actually alive waiting for a restaurant to buy them.