They should have warning signs for that....

Xin Chao,
       I'm anticipating being quite the linguist by Christmas time. So much to share, where on earth does one begin. Last  time I left you babes in toyland I was spending my last night in Laos. Well we shopped the night market, ate a big plate of street food for a buck and went down to a little haunt called the Hive Bar. Really great spot. We grabbed a beer and managed to time our arrival just in time to catch some local Laotian teens "freestylin". Break dancing Laos style although the music was imported. They must be local heros or something at 12 years old its safe to say they'll be rackin up some major babe-age over the next 20+ years. One of them in particular, me and Mel's favorite, this skinny little tyke was Kevin Deggelman (if he was a a breakdancer and Laotian). By the way I don't know if Laotian is actually a word but for all intensive purposes I WILL be using it throughout this post. Well me and Mel couldn't stop laughing, great fun was had. We ran into our Aussie neighbors at the Maison Dalabua and had a lovely chat (shout out Edward and Simon). Also met the owner of the bar's mother. Turns out she bought the place and set up shop for 3000. Quite a entrepranureal opportunity if you ask me.....
     The next am we woke from our slumber at the early hour of 530 am to see the monk procession from the nearest temple. We bought a basket of rice and some crackers from a woman on the street and gave a little handful of rice to each monk who walked by. The thing lasted all of two minutes. We spent the rest of the day doing the temple stairmaster. The places are spectacular, ancient gems, although I have a sneaky suspiscion there will be more where that came from.
     We arrived in Hanoi that evening for the 1000 year celebration (10/10/10....I guess that means Hanoi was founded in 910). Well kids.....Hanoi and Laos.....like man and woman....Venus and Mars .... The city is a madhouse. Probably 100 times the "city" in New York City anddd we arrived the night of the biggest celebration the city has probably ever seen. A) Honking your horn and flashing your brights are not used in moderation here B) I never dreamed it possible to fit 5 people on a vespa C) Highway patrol would have a heart attack at the lack of law abiding drivers and D) Me and Mel remained mouths open and hands clenched for the entire 45 minute ride to the hotel. I just don't wanna go into it....it stresses me out. We put down our bags and walked to the Lake along with the rest of the city.  Flying toy light things, stages with performances eddywhere, lights, glamour action....I'm sorry miss Jackson.Wild.....really wild.
    Since then we've settled into the house we're staying at for the month and met the other volunteers. We're an international group (France, Germany, Australia, Dutch, and American). The dig has air conditioned rooms so I'm appeased. The city is unlike anything I've ever lived in and its going to take some real getting used to. Wev'e had to do some deep breathing and are desperatley seeking a yoga class....if you know of any, be a doll and hit me with some info. Accidental run in with the part of town that specializes in dog. I'll spare you the details but we knew when we saw and it was NOT OKAY. They should have a warning for things like that.
     We had our first day at the place we'll be volunteering at. It's called the Hope center and its a school for children with disabilities. In the morning me and Mel work seperately with different classes. I'm with the littlest tykes. They're amazing I have to tell you. They were so excited when they saw us, little balls of love and its really gratifying just seeing them smile. I'm getting sappy. I appologize. The second part of the day we work with older kids together, helping them do crafts and write letters and numbers. Tomorrow we're going to try to teach them some English. One goober loves a little Ro-sham-bo, just about died from happiness when we played him. We ended the class with a little duet and dance number of "The Wheels on the Bus" for the class. We're natural performers....they're lucky we didn't charge them for the set.
     Tune in next time,
              Your admirable Kingship