I'll Admit It

Today was an easy day, no question. We got up early to have breakfast together, then went over to the provincial project management offices for a morning meeting. The meeting went well, PC and his staff were receptive, and everyone made nice, despite some tougher questions and some criticisms. R and Eye Patch had to leave in the afternoon, so we went for an early lunch as a group. Lunch was good, and the remaining group wanted to go to a mud bath and hot mineral spring spa that a bunch of people went to yesterday. It sounded like a great idea, but I didn’t have a bathing suit, because I didn’t think I’d need one for this trip. PM said they had things there that you could wear, but this is Vietnam and I had about zero confidence that anything they had there would fit me. I was assured that this was a big tourist spot, but that wasn’t quite enough assurance for me, so Itsy Bitsy and Teeny Weeny said they’d take me to the market.

For some reason, and I think it may have had something to do with just being really mentally and physically tired, I started to get an attack of the schmonelies. Everyone was talking in Vietnamese, and I just kind of wanted to be home. I like it here, and I really like the work I’m doing, and I’m good with my own company most of the time, but being in a van full of people who are all talking and laughing, when you can’t be one of them because they're doing all those things in a language you don't understand, can start to make you feel isolated. I’m sure I’ll get over it, but I ended up just staring out the window and kind of wanting to be home. I shook it off by the time we arrived at the market and went inside. We found a couple booths that sold swimsuits, and I eventually found a black bikini that fit reasonably well, which I ended up trying on behind a piece of cloth in the booth. I just kept yelping “keep that curtain up!” and hoping that I wasn’t too tall to fit behind it. I’m sure I partially flashed at least one person, but shopping in the market comes with lots of hazards. It any case, I found something that mostly fit, it cost less than $10, (IB and TW bargained for me), and …well, it worked. Did the trick, as they say.

We went back to the hotel and got ready to head out for the hot springs. I’d never been to anything like this before, and I had a feeling that a mud bath could possibly backfire since my skin is so sensitive. However, the hot mineral springs…oh my goodness. Anyone who’s ever lived with me knows that I have a bad habit – I am completely incapable of taking a short shower in all but the most dire circumstances. I like long hot showers, and I always have. Well, the hot springs are like one massive swimming pool filled with hot water, which makes your skin and hair feel great, and is so incredibly soothing. Then there’s a waterfall you go to, and finally a huge soaking tub, that all six of us managed to fit into (we have a few more team members on this trip). It was just great, I could feel my muscles unwind, and my head start to clear a little.

Just as we were leaving, the skies opened up again, and on the cab ride back to the hotel I started to drift off, encased in a completely fogged up van. I don’t think I was the only one – after the soaking and relaxing, I think everyone’s eyelids were feeling heavy.

I think part of my “meah” feeling is that we’ve done nothing but group activities since Monday and I’d honestly like a little time alone, instead of being alone in a car full of people. Maybe check out the city a little tomorrow, take a walk on the beach, something like that. I’m sure that people will be going out and doing interesting stuff, and I’ll likely end up going along because I don’t exactly think that my opportunities to spend time here will be endless, so I don’t want to miss things. I think that diving is almost definitely off the books, because the ocean is so churned up from the storms the past few days that the water is brown, instead of the clear blue it was on our first day. But we’re going for an early-ish dinner tonight, and I think I’ll probably want to come back, maybe watch a movie, and then get some good sleep.

And if those kids are tearing around at the crack of dawn again tomorrow…I will not be responsible for my actions.