it was bound to happen sooner or later...

so yesterday, bill and i were feeling adventurous once again (we're officially the last 2 teachers - without a regular schedule of some sort - standing), and decided to explore down dien bien phu street (where logos 2 is located). we stop by this outside restaurant for dinner that seemed really interesting (the name of it escapes my memory at the moment...) - they were big on the whole outdoor charcoal bbq grill type of thing, and you could watch the cooks grill the most mouthwatering concoctions right in front of your eyes. so bill and i thought it would be a good experience to try it out. from the 30+ page menu, we had decided on ordering the grilled season beef in banana leaves, steamed-fried bean curd, and chinese style fried rice, of all which were very delicious and tantalized our tastebuds.

halfway through our dinner, i looked over to the chair beside me, and realized that my purse was gone. i searched all over the tabletop, and underneath the chair to make sure it hadn't fallen, but it was nowhere in sight. i then look to the corner behind me, and lo and behold, there was our waiter, hiding in the corner, crouched down and LOOKING THROUGH MY PURSE - bag wide open, his grubby hands all over my personal belongings and shifting through everything. when i asked him "what the heck do you think you're doing?!", i startled him, and he looked at me with this petrified look on his face. he didn't speak any english, but his gestures and tone of voice gave me the impression that he was being very apologetic (that, and i could recognize his panicky repetition of "xin loi" which means "i'm sorry")... from what i got out of his motions and rushed dialogue was that he was trying to explain to me that he was trying to pick up the purse because it fell down, and he was just making sure it was mine... he then put the purse in my lap, and once again started repeating "xin loi". luckilly everything was still there, because i had placed all the important documents and cards into the "secret pocket" of my purse. but still... i was slightly bummed after that experience, but at least i know not to get too comfy while i'm over here. so here's another valuable tip to y'all who are planning to travel far and wide: keep a close eye on your bags and personal belongings - yes, it can happen to you. :oi something like that can really change the mood and ruin a perfectly pleasant dinner, i'll tell ya that much. in conclusion, i doubt i'll be heading over there any time soon :o(

after our "interesting" dining experience, bill and i decided to put the past's poopiness behind us and talk about much happier things over smoothies, coffee, and blueberry cheesecake at AQ (hehe, i think i'm eventually going to become a regular at this place)... i've come to notice that vietnamese people (as are all asians, esp. including filipinos) are quite nosey. i mentioned before that i've been mistaken numerous times for being vietnamese. this whole observation first came to my attention after a few days living with matt. see, because matt and i are the only ones who live in logos 3 at the moment, and because we go everywhere together (canadians tend to do that ;oP) - to the grocery store, to the karaoke bar, to the restaurants, to catch a taxi, etc. - people are starting to get the impression that we're married. oy. and during my excursion with bill yesterday, i got a few cut-eye looks from a few women while i was walking with him, who probably thought that we were married too... yeeesh. this has become quite the running gag between me and matt for the longest time now, and unfortunately one that i can't seem to escape from. but now the plot thickens... apparently i've left matt for bill, and will soon be leaving bill for liz when i move in with her at logos 2 by the end of this week (we're going to be roomies! which is actually going to be a nice of atmosphere, because i'm starting to feel an imbalance of estrongen ;oP). but who knows, if i keep going with this whole marriage business thing, after 4 months i might leave this country with having been married at least 4 times. lol. talk about cramping my style - now how am i supposed to find my young vigorous rice boy farmer if the people here are already under the impression that i'm attached and off-limits? :oP

(for my parents who i know are reading this, i'm JUST JOKING! JOKE LANG!)

today, just like the rest of the week looks pretty free - once bill comes back from the bank, he, matt and myself will be heading back over to le van sy street (where matt and i live) and do some restaurant hopping for lunch. tomorrow (wednesday), the team will be having their first home praise/worship fellowship over at logos 2 - pretty excited about that because aaron brought his guitar so some Godly jammin' sessions will be much appreciated :o) *sigh* in other news, i'm getting really antsy in anticipation for next week's teaching schedule. apparently once classes officially start in october, my days will be even more busy because i'll be teaching in the day as well, and on 2 high school campuses - starting as early as 6:30AM! i don't even think i'm asleep yet at 6:30AM! but busy can actually be good as the days will become shorter. oy... but as i've grown accustomed to in the past few days, i keep in mind that this information may be out of date in the next 5 minutes... :oP

tangent: it turns out that msn web messenger works fine here in the school office too (we still don't have net hooked up at our house just yet :oP) so if you guys are still up in the wee hours of the morning (it should be almost 3am toronto time as i write this blog entry), feel free to chat with me either on yahoo or msn.

as always, know that i'm thinkin' of ya, and i miss you guys lots!
estelle

ps - charlene, i almost forgot to mention that herbert bunked in my room last night. there was a blackout (one of 4 that happened in a row), and he found shelter and comfort under one of my shoes. :o) he's such a cute little bugger. :oP