"and i'm going to miss you like a child misses their blanket..."

well, as you know, sean and christa were here for a visit, what you don't know is that i tried to kid nap them so that they couldn't leave but it didn't work :(. i really stand by my earlier statement that when i have visitors, i should get to decide when they leave! but for some reason, no one is following my new rule. apparently sean has this OPP thing to get back to and then has a trip planned across canada and the states. who would choose that over being here with me?! and then there's christa. something about that rock (newfoundland) that she lives on i tell ya...once you leave there, apparently it is not so easy to get back! she tried to change her flight but then she wouldn't have been able to get back home until the end of april! seriously newfies, let's work on this! the good news is that i will be home for about 7 weeks in the summer and christa has planned to come visit. i had mentioned to sean that he should come visit too and as we were saying goodbye and i was crying, he said he would come to wawa this summer. therefore, i will make sure he stays true to that little promise :).

so, how about some highlights of our time together?!

• me, kel, c and sean all in my bed, having story time. definitely good for a laugh!
• on sean's last night, we had a "fruit platter" picnic in the courtyard at our apartment. it included pomello, dragon fruit, star fruit, mango, asian pears and the ever stinking durian. the first bunch of fruits were fine....the durian was so smelly!!! even outside. kelly claimed to like the smell up close. and kel and sean both claimed to like the first bite of durian. i think it was when they went back for seconds that they both decided their time with the durian was over.

• dinners and drinks at the tavern. our local "watering hole" if you will. sharing stories and drinks with old friend and school friends. lots of laughs.
• our trip to hoi an of course, which you have already read about.
• our trip to hue with christa which you will read more about soon.
• my afternoon of girl time with christa. we went shopping at Ben Than market and the Tax Centre, then had manicures, pedicures, and had our hair washed, blow dried and straightened! (all for the low, low price of about $20!)

of course, these are only the highlights and all the time that we had together, although it wasn't enough, was great! i'm probably forgetting some funny stories but you'll have to forgive me, it's late (almost 9 pm!) and i'm still trying to catch up on my sleep!
anyway, the thing is, i am so glad that my two super, fantastic friends were able to come to vietnam and share in the craziness with us. it's a really great place and i want others to experience it with us. it's strange because you never know how people from your "home life" will fit in to your "away life" but it was great. i was so happy that they were happy. sean said that on a scale of 1 to 10, egypt was a 6.5 and vietnam was a 9.9! so if that doesn't make you want to come and visit, i don't know what will!