From Luce to Luce

My travel companions motorcycled the 65 miles from Hue to Hoi An. I declined to join this adventure for two reasons: 1) please refer to my previous description of Vietnamese traffic conditions and 2) please refer to my last experience on a motorcycle in NYC. Instead, I climbed onto a bus with 9 pieces of (their) luggage, and they excitedly put their lives at risk for some great views of the Vietnamese countryside.

On the four-hour bus ride, I sat between two Canadian guys (one who asked if I was Canadian - I was extremely flattered) and two American guys from Boston. I spent the majority of the bus ride debating with the Americans about whether animals or humans are more interesting and if humans are inherently selfish. Unfortunately, it didn't bring me any closer to my goal of learning to love animals. These two young men, Abe and Adam, will probably reappear as characters in my asia story because we might travel together in Cambodia while my Luce friends are in their secret meetings.

When I finally landed in Hoi An with 9 pieces of luggage, I was not alone. Three other Luce scholars were there to meet me: Selena, Miles and Ed. I had been passed from one group of Luces to another group. They had been living groundhog day for the past 3 days and they let me right into their routine: renting beach bikes, eating chicken noodle with peanuts from a road-side vendor, riding 5 km to the beach, buying delicious ripe mangoes on the beach from a woman with a basket, and then settling down for dinner on the beach in the dark. Women and families set up mats with lanterns up and down the beach and they try to get you to eat at their "restaurant." They bring out menus, and then retreat up the beach, returning about half an hour later with plate-fulls of deliciousness. For the first time, I had squid that I enjoyed. Lounging on the sand amidst hundreds of flickering lanterns is an extremely peaceful way to eat. After staring at the stars of the Southern Hemisphere, we rode our bikes back into town. Thus ended groundhog day. The only difference that day was that we met up with the motorcyclers, who despite one break-down, made it safely and happily down the coast.