The Agent "Mr. Orange"

Hello Everyone!

I am in Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam right now. I've been here for three days and I feel a little crazy. Crazy because I don't think life is all too strange here. I am used to it now from living in Taiwan. I actually feel like Saigon is much better because they have lots of trees and fresh air compared to Taiwan!

The last couple days have been all about the Vietnam War. I learned all about Ho Chi Minh, who is the man who wanted Communism here. We went to the War Museum! Wow! It's amazing that this war still affects these people today! The pictures of what the American bombs did to these people were horrifying. Children born in 1991 still come out all deformed because their parents were exposed to Agent Organge. Napalm victims in many places! What damage a war can cause. It just makes me think of what we are doing in the Middle East! The last effects war has on a place are inmeasurable...

We also went to the Cu Chi Tunnels today. This is where the Viet Khong, (the Vietnamese Communist Soldiers) build hundreds of Kilometers of underground tunnels to kill the American soldiers. It's amazing. We went into the tunnels that they have made bigger for the Western tourists to go in and I was still crawling on my hands and knees to get in it! I highly reccommend reading about the Cu Chi Guerilla fighters. They are the ones who made America loose the war! So, Vietnam is a Communist country today because of these people. Truly amazing! Oh Yeah! And I got to fire an AK47 automatic rifle. Now that baby had a kick!

Tomorrow we are spending two days on the Mekong Delta. We will spend the night with a host family, do boat rides, floating markets and the like. I don't feel shocked at all here. Just like normal life for me. Very similar to Taiwan in many ways. Thoughthe Vietnamese are exceptionally friendly and very beautiful!

I will post photos as soon as I can! Hope you all are well!

It's time....

It's time for me to hit the road again. I am off to Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia for the next 2 months! I am excited and hope everything goes well! Stay tuned for more insights.....

Asian Affair

Asian nights

by Daniel Reid

I love the glow of Asian nights,
Streets ablaze in neon lights;
The heat and noise of throbbing crowds,
The swirling sea of gaudy sights.

I love the smell of Asian nights,
Kitchen smoke and pungent spice;
The mingled must of sweet and sour,
The heady scent of sweat and flowers.

I love the sound of Asian nights,
Temple bells and cocktail ice;
Shouting touts and chanting monks,
The siren song of tender vice.

I often dream of Asian nights,
With all her charms and soft delights;
If I could have one wish today,
I’d be in Asia’s arms tonight.

What do I love about Asia? Why do I have this strange connection with it? Ever since I met my first Asian man, his name was Kay, when i was 8 years old, at Joyce Connor's house, I've been enthralled with this culture. As I sit out in front of Bert's Music Cafe I ponder the Asian world.

Do I love Asia for it's rickety, exhausted scooters flying by? No, I don't think so. Is it the many colors and designs of face masks and moto helmets? Maybe. How about all the random noises of garbage trucks, Wa Guay Men at 7 AM and dogs barking outside of my window? No, definitely not. And it is certainly not the 90 degree humid weather at 8 AM!

It might possibly be all of this randomness mixed together with beautiful rice paddies, international friends, TAO temples, freedom, lack of enforced laws, intricate characters printed on everything. It also just might be my students and their passion of learning English and discovering culture, the tropical flowers and lush mountains. The conglomeration of all this randomness and the hoards of people packed in like sardines might be another reason why I love Asia. Whatever it is, I feel strong about it.

Something has been telling me ever since I got there that this is where I belong at the moment. That's why I made the decision to not go back to the States, why I took a trip to the Philippines and why I continue to make a way of life here.

I've also come to learn that I can always rely and know that change will always occur. I will keep my heart and my mind. But now, I need to go to work.

Photo: Daraga, Philippines

I have always viewed my life like a journey up a mountain. Today, I rode my bicycle up Bai Guo Shan, shan means mountain in Chinese. It was a very difficult and tiring ride. As I was slowly rode up this challenging shan, I had a lot of realizations.

I realized that when I ride my bicycle up a mountain, it is a very slow process. I have to work very hard, the sweat rolls off my body, even my arms! We cannot go up mountains very quickly. Even if we are very strong, climbing up a mountain is still in the slow category. No matter how hard we try, the mountains makes us aware of each pedal stroke, each step along it's path. We cannot rush.

So as this idea was brought to my attention, I realized that we cannot rush this journey. If we rush, we will burn out and not make it to the top. We need to take it easy, climb the mountain at a steady pace and enjoy the scenery as we go by. Bonnie said "Climbing a mountain is not an easy thing." I don't know why I ever thought it was!

As we continue the mountain of life, we need to be aware that it's not always going to be easy. Parts will be difficult. At times the mountain will flatten out a bit and give us a break. But remember, that the switchbacks will come and keep us always reaching for the top, forks in the path will arise and we will have to make a choice.

The future will always be unforeseen, this is why we must focus on what we have, TODAY.

What I've been waiting for!

I have this amazing friend! She is the most beautiful person! Her eyes are like blossoming flowers, full of energy and a love for life. She is a strong and courageous woman, never afraid to speak her mind. She is the person I have been looking for, for a long time in my life. I feel so fortunate to have been able to meet her and share life with her. She brings a spark to my mind, body and soul. After spending time with her, my world feels completely positive! No man could ever make me feel the way she does.

I am so happy for the both of us. We are passionate dreamers and creators. We live each day to bring our dreams into reality. We are not afraid to be the women we were born to be! Laura Michelle Andrew paints my world in Technicolor! I thank the universe for bringing us together!

Saving Face

What are we saving ourselves for? The time is NOW. If we have a desire to do something we need to let ourselves do it.

We need to stop saying "We will do it next time." There may be no "next time." We only have "this time." This moment.

Gather your friends, family and enemies...unite, embrace, educate, communicate, defeat ignorance.

Let's learn from each other, put our egos aside. I've had to try and do this a lot recently and wow! It can be very difficult to put our egos aside, bite our tounges and just listen with open ears, open heart and an open mind. Something good for us all to practice....

Old Man

Old Man take a look at my life, I'm a lot like you were......

What I have come to realize is that we all are more alike than we are different. Bonnie would always ask, "If we are mostly made of water, are we mostly the same? Something to think about."

Well, Bonnie, I've been thinking about this idea. We are mostly the same. The differences that lie between us are simple. Languages, houses, modes of transportation, religions, etc. But at the core of it all, we are the same. We all breathe, think, eat, learn, grow, laugh, cry, communicate. But most of all, we love. We all care about someone or something. We all strive to be happy. We all have a family.

As I sat in a traditional house in Taiwan one rainy night, I realized how similar we are. I was nervous to enter the house. Not knowing any of the language, feeling a bit insecure. But as I sat there in the living room with the family I watched what was going on. What was going on, was the same exact thing going on with any family. People watching T.V., parents and grandparents teaching the children how to talk, play and learn. Aunts and uncles sitting around chatting with each other, relaxing on a Sunday night. I thought to myself, this is exactly what my family is doing right now. Why do we tend to think that people from other countries, backgrounds and origins are so different? I guess another misconception floating around the world.

I try to imagine what it might be like if we all embraced each other with open arms, open minds and open hearts....what would the world look like? How would we feel? What would we hear? My senses are starting to tingle with an electric hope!