Hello from Tra Vinh. I have been pretty busy since my last post. A few weeks ago, we decided to have some fun and have a pub crawl in Tra Vinh. Of course there are no pubs, or even anything you would call a bar, but there are plenty of places people eat and drink. To make it an official pub crawl, we decided to have shirts made. Our slogan for the evening was "A Night of Sin in Tra Vinh." Our shirt also listed all the places we would go (only 6 places). Yes, this is what we do for fun here. The locals must have thought we were crazy, a group of foreigners (and some of our Vietnamese friends) in matching shirts running around the town drinking. It was a great time, and we were home by 11 so it was not really a big deal. Tra Vinh pretty much closes up around 9pm except for a few places that are open late.

After the pub crawl, I had to head to Saigon to pick up my parents. It was my first time to see them since June, so I was excited (also excited for the chocolate chip cookies my mom baked and was bringing). The first day, we did a tour to the Cu Chi tunnels outside Saigon. We were able to crawl through the tunnels and my mom and dad even came in for a short crawl through. I went into a tunnel that was original size (most have been widened). The guide joked, "Watch out for the bats." At least I thought it was a joke, but there were bats in the tunnel. After Cu Chi, we went to dinner in Saigon with my friends Iria and Tam. We ate at a pretty nice restaurant and the bill for 5 people was about $30 which amazed my parents. The second day was a tour of Saigon, nothing too special. Third day we took a Mekong Delta tour where we took a big boat through a floating market and smaller boats through canals and rode bikes in the countryside. We also ate a great lunch of special Mekong fish that has no English name. After the tour, I had arranged a car to pick us up and take us to Tra Vinh.

In Tra Vinh, we were given a car and driver by my University and drove all around the province. We went to the "beach" which isn't exactly a swimming beach. We ate huge shrimp and crab for lunch. We also went to a few Khmer Pagodas and drove around the countryside which is always nice. Another night in Tra Vinh we went out to dinner and then karaoke. My parents even sang a little bit, but like me, it was pretty bad. Only a few of my Vietnamese friends are actually good singers, everyone else just has fun and sings terribly. I also had my parents on bikes in Tra Vinh, which was a little scary, but they caught on quick and caused no accidents. Anyway, after a short time in Tra Vinh it was back to Saigon and my parents went home after only a week here. I think they had a great time, and they now understand more why I like Vietnam. It was a good trip for them and for me.

Last weekend was my birthday, so a group of us from Tra Vinh went to Saigon to celebrate. We went out to eat Western food (pizza, burgers, fries etc.) and it was great. We then went to listen to live music and out after that. It was a great birthday party. My students also threw me a party in the classroom. They bought me a cake, gifts and fruit. I think they just wanted to get out of having class, but it was really fun anyway.

All else is well here. I think I am going to Nha Trang (beach town) for the April 30th weekend, which is a holiday called Liberation Day (or the Fall of Saigon, depending on who you talk to). Other than that, life is normal, I still like it and I am planning to stay in Vietnam next year. The rough plan is to get a job in Saigon in the Fall, but we'll see what happens. I hope everyone is well back home.