Uh oh....

Well, I have done it. I have officially gone off the deep end. Watch as this blog now begins (if it hasn’t started already) to chronicle the rapid transformation (and mental decline into insanity) of overachieving, philosophizing, curious Fulbright scholar into crazy lady who talks to animals.

I have now made friends with a puppy. This is troublesome because I have so few friends here as it is, that the percentage of friends I have in Ha Tinh who are non-human is, well, frighteningly high.

While I was out on my morning walk to enjoy the sunshine, this shy little dalmation puppy peeked its head out of its driveway.

After much encouraging and coaxing and convincing that I'm a nice, friendly person, the pup bounded over toward me.

Then he climbed on me.

And hung out with me.

Then he brought me a present of a piece of trash.

Then he protected me from dangerous bicycles (and cows). When the cows came over to cross the street, the puppy went absolutely berserk.

His collar is way too big for his entire body! But at least he has a collar! Proving, to some degree, that he is domesticated.

Here is he, trying to eat my pants. Pure puppy.

It turns out that said Puppy lives at what turns out to be a cafe. A cafe 100 yards from school. A cafe that has wifi (allegedly). A cafe that has milk-shakes and ginger tea. I will be checking out this cafe, their wifi, and their puppy as soon as I get a free moment.

In other news, I got a Vietnamese hair-cut yesterday. It was one of those impulse decisions that, afterward, I knew I would immediately regret. I was walking down the street, saw one of the many hair salons, and said to myself "Yes, I really do need a haircut. Now is as good a time as any."

The problem is, now my hair looks very... Asian. What I mean by that (with no disrespect) is that it is the perfect haircut for someone who has sleek, straight, jet-black, flippy hair that looks perfect in lots of jarring angles. But for someone with Eastern European curly, frizzy hair, it might only make things more frizzy and, well, big and puffy.

The good news, however, is that hair grows back, and the haircut only cost me 20,000VND ($1). Luckily (and sadly) at this point in my experience here, I am not looking to impress anyone with my stunning beauty or my perfectly tamed locks of curly hair. If my hair-cut looks a little "Shirley Temple goes to Asia," so be it. People here tell me on a daily basis how beautiful I am regardless of if I'm wearing a ponytail, work-out clothes, or laundry-day clothes. I think my hair-cut will not stop them from thinking I am beautiful (read: different-looking). 

This weekend has been busy and wonderful. I will write more about it later because I am off to find some breakfast with Chi Hang!