A very sleepy Julie

I took a nice 3 hours nap and was up at 4am for some last minute packing (deodorant) and off we went! Dad dropped me off at the bus terminal (which was packed) and luckily we were able to skip Newburyport because our bus was so crowded! My only blond moment (for those of you who will be keeping track) was when the bus driver ticket taker said, “Where are you going” and I smiled and said, “Vietnam” and he gave me this stare and said, “What airline?” Um hello what kind of question is that? If you want to know what airline I am going to take just ask me WHAT AIRLINE! Sheeeesh, ha! Anyway I got to Logan around 6am (for my 7:55am flight) and had no problems checking in (weighed in at a respectable 48.5) and made it to my gate with time to spare. The flight was fine and I had a few hours in Chicago where I met a man and his wife from North Reading MA (I tell ya, I meet so many people with this Stonehill sweatshirt)! He was in Vietnam during the war and they are going back for a cruise. He also worked at the VA hospital in Brockton where I interned, so anyway, nice small world! The flight to Hong Kong was LONG, very, very long. I sat next to a nice, young married couple from Chicago who were sort of doing this as their honeymoon, spending time in Hong Kong, Vietnam and Japan! My pills worked wonders though because I was sleeping (or almost sleeping) most of the time! After a VERY foggy landing in Hong Kong, I was excepting to travel for 2 hours through the airport (which is what I did last time) but instead my next gate was 2 gates down! Amazing! I was able to get free wifi (amazing again) and quickly talked to Long (who will be my tour guide in Vietnam). Last year I found a group of college students who give free tours of the city. The idea is that it is a way for them to practice their English! Long story short we became very good friends even after I left and he is so excited I am returning! So we are meeting on Sunday and he will come with me to the orphanage to translate so he can answer all my questions! My flight to Ho Cho Minh was delayed (as it was last year, weird) so I finally arrived around 11:30pm. I was very tired, but luckily after getting by bags and passing through customs I saw a man with a sign with my name and off we went! The drive to the hotel was memorable, which I guess is a good thing and am currently sitting in room 202! The woman was a bit confused as to why I was staying a week and then checking out and back in the same day (when my mom comes) but I figured we would figure that out a different day! Well, I am so VERY sleep..so until tomorrow!

Hugs and kisses from a very sleepy Julie in Vietnam!