judy on November 29th, 2008

Well here’s a first for Ira and me…  Thanks to the PAD protesters at the airports, we are now “stuck” in Thailand.  We’re here in Khon Kaen with our old friends so obviously no hardships!  But, we had planned to fly back to Vietnam today and hold class tomorrow.  All flights into and out of […]

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judy on November 23rd, 2008

Sure enough, on my 65th birthday, I did have a terrific evening in Bangkok with a lot of our group who always used to get together at Doug and Yim’s old restaurant.  Those days from 2003 – 2007 were special ones!  We even met at the site of the beloved old Thee Sud Isaan.  It was great to […]

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ira on November 19th, 2008

Tomorrow, Judy and I are flying to BKK and will be there over that auspicious date, the 22nd, and have ready access to email.  We plan to meet casually with some of the guys that we hung out with during the Bangkok years and still consider fast friends.  On November 23rd, we will head to […]

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ira on November 18th, 2008

We took a trip to Hoi An, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoi_An), for our fortieth anniversary.  Noah may have considered Hoi An as a site for his ark, such were the deluges we experienced. But, getting wet was no real bother, because there was lots to see and do.  Getting wet at its best? Well, there’s a great story […]

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ira on November 18th, 2008

If you’ve ever have the desire to stand agog on a street corner, literally agog, come to Ho Chi Minh City and witness the motorbike traffic.   For a sample, view:  Bikes on Street Corner  Then, venture across the street. The first time, you cross with the same faith and fear as with your first parachute […]

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ira on November 18th, 2008

We are lucky to be here in Vietnam as older travelers. By custom, the Vietnamese honor people older than themselves, even those, such as our presenile selves, who are proceeding blissfully into the future. They are known also for overwhelming hospitality. We have experienced these expressions in spades and so have felt honored and welcomed […]

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ira on November 4th, 2008

On Sunday, Dr. Nho and his family, picked us up for a “broken rice” breakfast.  Breakfast was in a run-down-looking, open-air, pavilion-like, restaurant that you couldn’t find without knowing it was there. But, we swayed and bumped across construction ruts out near the harbor and entered a packed parking lot. The restaurant seems to be […]

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ira on November 4th, 2008

While you were stirring around this morning to go vote, it was last night for us. We were reminiscing about our long string of new, exciting, and improbable experiences here in Vietnam.  I almost feel guilty about having such fun and great good fortune in general. Last weekend’s events are an example, as will be […]

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ira on November 4th, 2008

I know we are all celebrating this magnificent moment.  I hope today’s spirit of unity will continue and that we will move forward now as Americans, unqualified by categories, not black Americans, Mexican Americans, etc. but American Americans, a people, unified.  Mom and I are terrifically proud to have seen civil rights seeds sewn in […]

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