"Good morning, Vietnam!"--Robin Williams

Well, I've been there and back. I got home at about 7:20 this morning, I'm running on very little sleep AND I pretty much missed New Years, but I hade an AMAZING time.

Serioulsy, I can not recommend Vietnam highly enough. It's cheap and fabulous, and you pretty much can be a princess for a week. It's certainly a part of the world I never thought I'd see, but now that I've been there I want to go back.

The worst thing about the vacation was this strange guilt--I'm a tourist there with all this money, compared to what they have, and it's just unreal. I got a manicure for $3, an hour-long foot treatment/massage for $6, clothes tailor-made to fit me, shoes taylor made to fit me... and other countless things with the limited amount of money I took with me. I mean, I was living LARGE there and it just sort of made me appreicate what I have, in terms of freedoms and opportunities.

Even though it's in Asia, the culture of Vietnam is totally different from Korea. I was SO happy to not have to deal with any nasty, shoving, pushy old adjumas for a week. Joy of joys! And everyone there was so welcoming and friendly, and Joanna and I were really taken care of well. People bent over backwards to help us out. Amazing. And the sights there are amazing too. Islands that are just gorgeous, even on a cloudy day. People working in rice fields with water buffalo, things that you always imagined but never though you'd actually see. It's a completely different world.

I would recommend it to anyone.

Joanna and I met some great people out there, too. Besides the great Vietnamese people, my favorites were the Americans we met. I loved that Joanna was talking to them about temperatures and distance, and I had to translate it into Farenheight and miles. GLORIOUS, considering I'm lost in measurements pretty much ALL the time. I don't care what anyone says, I love Americans!! We also met a guy from Spain, who sort of made me miss my family because I hadn't heard that accent in so long... I even got to practice my Spanish a little bit. Key.

Heard WAAAAY too much of ABBA's "Happy New Year" and became a little bit obsessed with old George Michael. It's FINE. :)

If you'll notice, there are no pictures in this entry. This is because I, like an idiot, forgot my camera at school. AWEsome. So, when Joanna finishes uploading and gives me the card and reader, I'll have pics to share, and more details about the trip. Look forward to it.

Also, get to pick up Lancelot (my puppy) on the 10th. Visited him today, and am totally in love.

Happy 2006, everyone. Hope it's everything you dreamed.

Much love.