Randoms and Loose Ends: Lest you think Laos is all serene beauty and pious Buddhism, let me add that the festival in Vientiane (see first posts) included the likes of a ferris wheel and a pop concert of Eurovision quality. * The dragonflies in Thailand and Laos are red; in Vietnam they seem yellow; (in Louisiana they are green). * Yes, I ate the grasshoppers; actually, I represented America very well, as the guide handed two more to me after the German and the Dutchman turned them down (and this was significant as I was the first American to do this guy's trekk, and before I signed up I was given the absurd doubt - "Well, I'm not sure if Americans will like this...the Germans like it because they have mountains." * I have also read The New Rulers of the World by John Pilger. Part of it is about the aborigines in Australia: incredible how poorly they are treated. Not two days after reading about it, there were some Australians on my boat that brought the subject up. I was a bit sick listening to seemingly compassionate folk use words like 'half-caste' and 'genetics' in the conversation. * I told you happy stuff about Sarnelli House, but I think it's significant to mention that in addition to caring for the children's health - HIV medication for 60 kids twice a day, trips to the hospital, etc., the staff and Fr. Shea have to protect the kids from being stolen or 'claimed' by those that would sell them for trafficking and/or sex work. There are armed guards at the house for older girls. Fr. Shea told me that sometimes after parents die, relatives drop off kids when they are babies and toddlers then try to pick them back up when they are around 11-12, whatever age of sale is. * I am now reading The God of Small Things. It is set in India and was recommended to me and the next day I found it on the small bookshelf of a travel agent. I love coincidences; even more than I like metaphors. * If you're reading this, I probably have thought fondly of you in the past week - awww.