Monday...into Tuesday

I slept for six hours straight last night the longest consecutive sleep I’ve had since I’ve been here but again there was some wild dreaming in there. I saw a documentary on the Qantas A-380 engine explosion yesterday and the vampire movie “Let Me In” so what I remember of the dream was a terrifying ordeal on a jet with lots of blood. You were right Emma, it was better than all the other vampire schlock that has been coming out.  

The breakfast area was full when I got up this morning so I went out for a change and had some beef stew in a roll and started my new book, some light reading “Stephen Hawking – A Brief History of Time”.  

I bought the book a few days ago from Ann, a girl with poor muscle control and a speech problem where she speaks through her nose with a lot of “R” sounds and cannot move her mouth properly, I can’t remember what it’s called but consequentially a lot of people avoid her more so than the regular street sellers. I stopped to talk to her weeks ago and said “maybe” I would buy a book from her when I finished reading the one I had but she called me on it a few days ago saying I “promised”. She is always stoned and was getting wound up so it was not worth making a scene so for three dollars I just bought it. My regular book lady gave me an unhappy look when she saw it but she was ok when I explained what had happened as long as I promised to buy the next one from her.  

My big concern today is work. This is supposed to be my last week of work but payday is not until the end of the month by which time i will probably be in Laos so I am wondering if they are going to pay me at all and how it will pan out. I am working tonight, Monday and Saturday and Sunday, if I’m not going to get paid I could just leave Saigon this week. I bumped into Dan, one of the teachers from Santa café, one of the more composed non-drinking ones and he helped put it in perspective and just in time, I was ready for a big confrontation when I got in tonight but he has calmed me down with sound logic. I am just glad to have the experience and he thinks I will get paid either way so I just need to chill out. Helping me chill out – I got a TXT from Zoe and we are catching up again tonight. 

Wah and I leave for school at five, peak hour. I arrive at school to find out someone made a mistake on my roster and I don’t start until seven thirty – great two hours to kill. I wander the streets and find a coffee, reschedule my date with Zoe and chat to some locals who are happy to practice their English and learn a bit about Australia. It is quite hot so I go back to the school and sit in the classroom air-conditioning catching up on my WWF games and popping outside for cigarettes. Outside I am befriended by two gorgeous little girls who think the funniest thing ever is to pop their heads around the corner and yell “HELLO” to which I reply “hello” back and they run away screaming and laughing then return thirty seconds later to do it all again, this goes on for at least ten minutes until I can’t take anymore and go back inside.

Finally it is lesson time and we have a great lesson with lots of fun and games. The bell rings and I head back to the Blue River for a quick shower and go to meet Zoe. We have a drink then go for dinner. After dinner she suggests “one more” and we drink until three in the morning.

I escort her back to her hotel, walking amongst the rats in the street and after I leave her I walk back the same way and come across this………. 

I swear it was not there three minutes ago when we passed this way. Back at the Blue River I have to wake Mun to let me in – the first time in five weeks I have been out this late – not bad, and I crash……………