Oh Dear...

Yesterday was filled with political intrigue in the form of old war stories from Roy Grow. One minute we were talking about homework, the next he was trying not to tell us a really fascinating story about different government agencies without saying any names. Lots of 'maybes' and 'they say he just disappeared' instead of details.

Thais, as a people, are some of the nicest and most hospitable I've met. Almost every time I walk somewhere, someone asks me questions or gives me some place to go that I really must see. The cities (Bangkok and Chiang Mai) are dynamic and bustling and cacophanous, but wholly safe and comfortable (minus the weather that reminds me of Alabama summers).

Yesterday afternoon I saw a hundred people processing thousands and thousands of pineapples on the sidewalk. I'm pretty sure those are the same ones that we buy in grocery stores. What I cannot figure out is how the flow of produce and products works. Everyone is making something, some cheap plastic thing that I'm sure the locals don't buy, but by what odd mechanism do all these private and family vendors ship off this collective junk?

Before I go, an excerpt from the e-mail I received from my penpal at the UIBE, the university we're going to stay at in Beijing...

some days ago i watched the <> i think they are crazy!and its so funny!haha,
i think you have golden hair and your face is so white just like a piece of paper!and pretty tall but not taller than Yao Ming,haha ,am i right? your eyes are blue just like the blue sea and can tell funny stories all the time !!
BEST WISHES! YOURS LAURA