The paparazzi have returned

This makes two days in a row of waking up early to grab banh muot, going back to sleep, and then waking up at a more reasonable hour to head to the beach for some swimming, reading, and sunning. The weather in Ha Tinh is so hot that even the ocean is too hot and barely cools me off! Regardless, it's been lovely to lounge and enjoy my last week in Ha Tinh.

That being said, the paparazzi have returned to the beach- this time, en masse. Lots more teenage boy photographers today, and it was no more enjoyable or tolerable than it was the first time they showed up and tried to snap photos of me laying on the beach.

But, the good part is that none of that even matters anymore! In 9 days I will be heading home, so I think I can stick out just about any form of torture (or, to be less dramatic and hyperbolic, any form of less-than-comfortable social interaction) for 9 more days!

In other news, this is officially the week of packing, saying goodbye, and using up all of the food in my pantry and fridge. This would be a much easier task if it were not for my proficient food rationing/hoarding skills. All of a sudden, those 6 boxes of macaroni and cheese brought by Dad and Jenna that I've been diligently trying to conserve all semester- well, they need to get eaten, and fast! Same goes for my expensive jar of capers, all of my dried beans/lentils/rice, bacon bits, Kraft parmesan cheese, spices, pepperoni, and candy.

Tomorrow night I have a sleepover going-away party at the beach with the rest of the English department. I'm apprehensive to learn the organizational details of said sleepover (in a hotel, allegedly, which is the most mysterious aspect of it!) and am a bit nervous at a night that I can only imagine will be a reminiscent of my sleeper-train rides: several people crammed into a hotel room who are up all night speaking Vietnamese, and me not getting much sleep and being cranky in the morning. Luckily, with my new mantra of "Bring it on, Vietnam! I can handle anything you throw my way with this little time left!" I know it won't be the end of the world, and luckily, when I come home in those 9 days, I can sleep uninterrupted for as long as I want in my own comfortable bed! Maybe if I'm really lucky, Mom will even tuck me in for that extra added touch to a good night's sleep in my own safe territory!

The skies of Ha Tinh have opened up into a pretty violent thunder-and-lightening storm (fun fact: in Vietnamese, there is only one word for both phenomena!), which is a good omen that the temperature will drop even a few degrees. These past few nights have been almost impossible to sleep because I'm simply too hot to get comfortable (my air conditioner still only works so-so), so anything that could bring about cooler sleeping weather is a good deal in my book.