It is my second day in Vietnam! I am in Hoi An and it has been such a nice break from boat life. The food, the scenery, the smiles of people... these will be etched in my memory as I move on in this voyage and in my life. I will share some impressions from this time in Vietnam...

Money is a strange thing and value is so different from cost.

I am autmatically labeled as a tourist wherever I go!

People are very inventive when they need to be, and Vietnamese are GREAT at reading people. Selling is such a skill!!

Connections are everything in Vietnam. A man at a restaurant last night offered us a tour of his local fishing/ pottery village, and we brought friends along. It was obvious how intricate the web between people is, with each person contributing to the process, and each gaining something as well.

Life is on a different scale here!! We saw women who work all morning to make 500 roof tiles, and they only make $2 a day for all of them!

People are so kind and generous. I want to be more giving and loving!!

I was touched by a group of women, I think they were sisters, working together and singing as they made wontons... Apparently they supply the whole town with wontons, and they were DELICIOUS!! It was so sweet to see them working hard but with happiness and community! Nothing but smiles, laughs and innocently sweet voices.

We all have things to learn from each other, and I hope I can come again to Vietnam, to experience and be influenced by the gracious culture and happy smiles!