#ughhhhhh I’m pacing around forever

[toldentops]

I’m so obsessed with reunions. All the possible thoughts that come with it. What were the circumstances that led to this? Did it tear us apart? Did it wane out slowly? Was it intentional? If I had known it would be the last time I saw you, maybe things would have been different, maybe I could have prepared you for it. What of the time in between, if it was kind, or if it was wracked with grief or resentment? Did your image of me change, or have you preserved me in your mind just how I was? Have you forgotten about me or have I always been in your head to remind you where you are? Was I mourned, even if I never died? And when the actual reunion comes, is it sudden, or is it through torturous anticipation because I can’t wait to see you and we’ve been talking about it for weeks? Or maybe it’s anticlimactic, we lock eyes and talk as if no time has passed. Did you catch me by surprise? Did you recognize me? Are we so changed that it takes a minute for it to register, until you’re running at me with full force and I’m doing the same? I’d know your smile and laughter anywhere. Are you greeting me with open arms? Does this change if it’s been 1 year or 10? Could it be a silent nod exchanged when passing each other on the street because we don’t talk, and there’s nothing more to add? Would I dread seeing you? Do my eyes widen as if I’ve seen a ghost?

[ooffies]

ʀᴏᴀᴅᴛʀɪᴘ ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴɴᴏɴꜱ

Characters: Venti, Zhongli and Diluc

Warnings: Just some kissing, nothing too extreme

A/N: okay so this isn't a request but the idea wormed it's way into my head and I couldn't get it out. I'm definitely doing other characters so this will probably be a 2 or 3 part series! Anyways, I hope you like it! :)

Tagging @genshin-obsessed (hi pocket! -🍷❤)

Venti:

Probably knows the lyrics to all the songs on the radio/playlist

Definitely made at least two or more playlist for the trip

Makes you drive because it’s too much effort and drains so much of his energy He’s just lazy

Makes you stop at Starbucks every morning, if it’s a multiple day drive it’s at least 3 times

He has three moods during road trips

One: Overly excited 

Talks on and on about the stuff you two will do and how much fun you two will

Two: Complaining way too much

His back hurts

His legs are stiff

The seat is uncomfortable 

“Are we there yet?” x100000

Will literally ask it every 2 seconds

He’s all pouty and grumpy

Three: Deep sleep

Finally you have a few hours peace and quiet

Probably caused from a caffeine crash

Sleeps like he’s dead, you literally cannot wake him up and you don’t want too jkjkjk

He’s usually quiet when he wakes up or is about to fall asleep. But when he is half asleep he always wants to hold your hand. Will probably tell you how much he loves you and how lucky he is to go on this trip with you while struggling not to fall asleep. Then conks out 5 minutes later.

Empty landscape surrounded you for miles, it looked like it went on forever. Music hummed in the background as the car kept a steady pace. “Are we there yet?” Venti asked in an annoyed tone. For the past eight minutes he had been moving around in his seat trying to find a comfortable position.  He was now sitting crossed legged, a large frown on his face as he twirled his hair. “Not yet love, we have 3 more hours till we reach the hotel,” you replied. “UGHHHHHHHHH! And then we have 7 more hours to drive tomorrow and how many days till we actually get there!?!” “2 babe,” “UGHHHHHH THAT’S SO LONG!” he whined. He sunk into his chair, his frown growing. You chuckled at his antics, “Weren’t you talking about how great this trip was gonna be like an hour ago?” you said with a smile. “Hush it” you couldn’t help but laugh at his response. The sun began to set as the car continued on down the highway. You felt a hand lightly rest itself on yours. You looked over at Venti. His half lidded eyes focused on the road. You smiled and brought his hand to your lips, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of it, “Feeling sleepy? Are you finally crashing from all that caffeine?” “Mhm” he hummed sleepily. There was a brief peaceful moment of silence between the two of you. “Thanks for taking me on this trip babe…… I love you….” you laughed lightly at his sleep tone, “Love you too.” You looked over to see him conked out and already lightly snoring. Another quiet laugh escaped you, “Sleep well sleeping beauty.”

Zhongli:

Doesn’t mind driving, he’ll drive for the whole trip if you’d like

But also doesn’t mind switching driving shifts with you

He’s actually a decent driver which came as a bit of a surprise (he got a little offended when you told him that)

He can and will talk the whole trip

Has a abundance of topics and stories he will talk about

He will go into deep detail, even if it’s just about his morning cup of tea he will go into detail about it.

If you two take turns driving he’ll definitely nap while you drive

Peepaw needs his naps :((((

He 100% doesn’t get car sick

He can read a whole book during a drive without looking at the road even once

Probably talks you while you’re sleeping when he’s the driver

He won’t even notice you’re asleep for a good while, he’ll just keep talking and talking

One time he didn’t even notice you were asleep and when you woke up he was still going on about that same subject.

He won’t eat fast food. He will make you two eat at restaurant or diner

Also he always books fancy hotels too. Not Marriot or Motel 6 for him. Nope. Not in a million years.

He loves exploring the towns and cities you guys stop in. Checking out the shops and local attractions, he’s all for that.

Probably plans for your two to stay a few extra days in the big cities

You stepped out into the cool night taking a deep breath of air. You and Zhongli had just finished eating dinner at some fancy restaurant he had picked out. (You had pay of course). “Thank you for dinner beloved.” you looked over him, “Yeah it’s no problem but maybe next time you shouldn’t forget your wallet so you can actually pay for once.” you said with a cheeky grin. “Urk” he clutched his chest and said with a chuckle, “Why must you wound me with your harsh words darling?” “ I’m just messing with ya peepaw!” you said as you lightly punched his shoulder. “Hey I’m not that old,” as he offered you his arm. You wrapped your arm around his as you two began walking back to the hotel. “You seriously act like an old man though,” “It’s because I have an old soul,” “Yeah you sure do…….” he let out a laugh and kissed your forehead, “It’s never a boring conversation with you my love.” “Can’t say the same about you peepaw” he burst out laughing at that comment, he even snorted once or twice much to your amusement. You couldn’t help but laugh with him. After the laughter you looked at him and said, “Sorry if I was a bit harsh but I couldn’t help myself!” you said, still giggling a bit. He returned your gaze with a warm smile and wrapped his arms around your waist. He pulled you in and pressed his lips to yours. The kiss was sweet and you couldn’t help but smile when his lips left yours. Still hand in hand you two had resumed walking back to the hotel, “So…. are you ready to hit the road again tomorrow morning?” “Yes my darling, I’m actually quite excited to spend more time with you. This trip has been fantastic so far, part of me wishes it will never end…..”

Diluc:

Will drive the whole time

He refuses to let you drive

Why may you ask?

Because he gets car sick very easily. He’ll never admit it though.

Tease him about it and he’ll get all flustered.

Probably has road rage

Not much of a big talker so it’s either idle chit chat between you two, him listening to you or just a comfortable silence while listening to music.

I feel like he has jazz CDs, he just gives off the vibe

Like you guys will drive through a dead zone and the you know you have some sweet jazz music serenading your ears

Doesn’t mind listening to your music either, he’s not very picky.

He always turns down the volume of the music when you’re sleeping because he doesn’t want you to wake you up

Doesn’t mind fast food at all which is a bit surprising.

When he needs a quick nap he’ll pull into a rest stop

Even if you offer to drive while he’s asleep he still won’t let you

Definitely planned out everything beforehand. Already booked the hotel rooms and all that.

He asked you what you wanted to do and practically based the whole plan off that because he wants you to see you smile.

The rest stop parking lot was practically empty. You looked up at the blue sky through the sunroof. Absolutely no clouds were in the sky, it was just like a never ending bright blue blanket. You looked over at Dliuc who was quietly sleeping. You watched his chest rise and fall. He looked so peaceful, so at ease. You twirled the ends of his bright red hair between your fingers. He had asked you to wake him up in twenty minutes. You checked the time. Five more minutes. You let out a soft sigh, turning your gaze back to the sky. You continued to play with his hair as you stared into never ending blue. After what felt like an eternity later, you finally checked the time again. Looks like you gave him an extra minute. “Hmmmm...How should I wake him up?” you thought to yourself. Well you could be nice to him and gently shake him awake, but that was boring. You could tickle him but you weren’t sure if he was tickle-ish or not…… After a little more pondering you finally got the perfect idea. You quickly sat up and leaned over him and gently cupped his face in your hands. You brought your lips to his and gave him a deep kiss. His eyes quickly snapped open as he jolted awake. You broke the kiss to say “Good morning sleeping beauty. How was your nap?” he just stared back at you, a bright red blush covering his face. “I-it was fine,” was all he managed to muster out. You giggled and leaned back in your seat, “Well that's nice-'' But before you could finish Diluc’s lips were on yours, continuing the kiss. This time he was the one cupping your face as he pulled you closer. His kisses were tender and soft, his hands were warm against your face. Once the kiss finally broke, Diluc cleared his throat, “Are you ready to get back on the road.” He was still clearly blushing, even the tips of his ears were burning red. You couldn’t help but giggle at him, “Yep! Let’s get this show back on the road!”

[btsjfans]

Our Song (pt 6)

Summary: School playboy, and jock Jungkook is the last person you’d expect to be a soulful musician, but everybody has their secrets

Jungkook x Reader (fluff, angst, smut next chapter)

a/n: ahhh thank you for all the requests, getting requests and feedback about my stories literally makes my life I love you all so freaking much ALSO SORRY IT TAKES ME LIKE 50 YEARS TO POST OMFG

masterlist

part 1   2   3   4   5 

“Y/n L/n IT IS 2:17AM DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA--” Your mother screams, pacing in the kitchen, while your dad scowls beside her. You sit at the dinner table, numbly listening to their tirade. You’re still half asleep, and tired from earlier. 

You’d fallen asleep at Jungkook’s earlier that night, and woken up when he’d rolled over in his sleep, and flopped on top of you. In the moment it was funny, until you read the clock that glowed “2:10am” in ominous white lettering. 

“JUNGKOOK I-AGDHGDJ” You’d screamed, pushing him off and springing from the bed. He sat up, hair sticking up in all directions as you hopped around his room, desperately tugging your jeans on. 

“What?” His voice was deep and grumbly as he rubbed his eyes and tried to process the situation. His eyes finally settled on the clock, and he gasped and dashed out the door, “MEET ME IN THE CAR!!!” He screamed, scrambling for the keys. 

The two of you hit 70 in a 25, managing to get you home by 2:15, saving about 8 minutes on your usual drive time. You kissed him one more time before getting out of the car, trying to savor one last good moment before you met your bitter end. “I love you forever Y/n,” He smiles, stress evident in his tense body. 

“I love you forever too Jungkook.” You sighed, facing the house, having accepted your impending doom. The second the door had closed behind you, the lights came on and the screaming began.

By 2:45 your parents decided they had enough and sent you swiftly to bed, but not before taking your phone and sentencing you to 2 weeks of being grounded. 

You lied in bed, emotionally drained as you stared at the ceiling. But even then, you couldn’t help but smile. You really did love him. 

From: My Mans :)

Saturday, 2:30am

Y/n??

Y/n is everything okay???

Im so sorry 

I really am I didnt mean for time to get away from us like that

Ughhhhhh Y/n please dont be mad

Please dont be mad

Ok uhhhh text me tomorrow ig. I love you

Sunday, 10:11am

Y/n really Im getting worried

Pls tell me this is a prank? AHAHAh im laughing

2:45pm

I showed you my dick pls reply

Y/N 

4:41pm

goddddd

Y/n i really love youuuuu

Knock knock

Whos there?

NOT YOU APPARENTLY SJHDGSJFAHKSAHJ

6:18pm

ok so

I guess youre mad?

Annnnd idk what I did so I cant say sorry

BUT if you tell me what I did wrong I can apologize

sooooo

uGAUKHSFGHJ Y/N

See 216 More Messages?

You grin scrolling through your messages. It was 7:45am on a monday, and you’d just gotten your phone back. You’d spent the weekend without electronics, and with plenty of housework. You still had two weeks of house arrest, but you would get to see your friends at school, and keep your phone, so things were already looking up. Your parents didn’t know you lost your v-card, so they didn’t really have anything against Jungkook except for him keeping you out too late. 

To: My Mans :)

7:48- Come get meeeeee :P

Within 2 minutes of sending that text Jungkook replies, making you laugh.

From: My Mans :)

7:56- Oh my god are you kidding me I text you all day every day all weekend and this is all I get back? No heartfelt message? Am I just a rockin bod and a cool car to you? Damn, you thotties really be cold

7:57- Omw

“What the fuuuuck,” Jungkook whines pulling you in by the hips and kissing you, pressing you against him. 

“Sorry, my parents took my phone.” You grin, ruffling his hair and getting in the car. 

“God I thought I was bad in bed or something, you really did a number on my insecurity this weekend,” He grins, taking the car out of park. 

Walking through school felt different now. You felt dirty and exposed. You felt like everybody knew what you did that weekend. Walking down the halls hand in hand with Jungkook, you usually got some stares, but now it felt like all eyes were on you. Jungkook seemed fine, unbothered even. As he should of course, and as you should too. You just couldn’t shake that unsettled feeling though. 

Eventually that feeling left, and a feeling of pride took its place. You were his girl, the person he decided was worthy enough to be his first. Telling your friends really gassed you up. 

“Y/N YOU WHAT?!” Lisa was screaming. You guys were between classes and you couldn’t really think of a good time to tell them, so you figured now was as good as any. “You got dicked down? Like all the way down?!” Lisa whispered, eyes wide.  “Yeah! Do you guys hate me?” You grin nervously.

“No! Just don’t ditch us for booty calls,” Jisoo grins and nudges you. The three of you laugh while you give them details as you walk to your next class. You’re caught up in the story before somebody runs into you, jolting you from your thoughts. You look back in annoyance to see who the perpetrator was. Mark Tuan just hurries off, ignoring you. “Hey, ignore him. You’re Jeon Jungkook’s squeeze now, we have more important things to think about.” Jisoo laughs, grabbing your arm and tugging you down the hallway.

Mark

Jungkook was still a part of our group I guess. Bam and Taehyung jumped on the chance to talk to him again after things had been tense the last few weeks. Jungkook texted them and asked if we could all hang after lacrosse, so of course that meant I had to wait after school til 5 for them. 

Roaming the empty halls I scroll through instagram, trying to occupy my headspace. I really had been enjoying my guy time recently, but I can’t lie, I do miss my time with Y/n. After school hot chocolate and homework had become a fixture in my life, like she had been. It felt like there was a big empty hole where she used to be, in my house and in my head. 

“Mr. Tuan,” Mr. Atkinson’s voice rips me from  my thoughts. 

“Yes sir?” I turn, pocketing my phone.

“Wanna take a walk?” Atkinson approaches, not really giving me a choice. We both walk in silence for a minute or so, our footsteps echoing down the halls. “Have you been alright recently? You and Y/n don’t talk anymore, and you’ve fallen in with a..lesser crowd.” His voice is light, but I can hear the more serious tone beneath.

“Yeah, people just..grow apart.” I shrug, shoving my hands in my pockets.

“Yeah but you and y/n didn’t. Or at least she didn’t. I know there’s more. Now, I don’t expect you wanting to talk to your washed up teacher about your personal life, but you should talk to her. Or someone.” He’s right. I sigh, nodding. 

“What do I say?” My voice is quiet, ashamed.

“It never hurts to start with sorry.” 

You lay on your bed, scrolling through your phone on a break from homework. Your break had already taken 2 hours, oops. Suddenly a picture of Mark doing a double chin fills up your home screen while your phone buzzes, signaling a call from your old friend. It had been a hot minute since you’d gotten a call from him; it had been a hot minute since you’d gotten any kind of formality from him in general. 

“Hello?” You slowly hit the green button.

“I’m sorry Y/n. Can we talk?”

[notjustbacon]

Working in Sóc Sơn

Monday -> Tuesday (Arriving At our WorkAway)

We made it to bed at around 11:30 pm the night before. Unable to give a flying fuck about the air temperature or stiff mattress that we were currently laying down on, we quickly fell asleep. We fell asleep hard but were sadly woken up at 5 am the next morning by the jolt of electricity going out across the city. At the time, it seemed like it was just a personal issue. Being from privileged households where air conditioning is available in almost every building, we looked up in agony to see the ceiling fans slowly drift to a stop. This meant our already overheated and humid room was going to transform shortly into a makeshift sauna. I started to bargain with whatever the powers that be to allow us just one fan, rather than the 4 ceiling fans that were previously working. I began to rapidly unplug our phone chargers, turning off anything, and searching for a circuit breaker switch to save the day. I was unsuccessful. I finally noticed the wifi was also gone, so it was then that I came to accept that this was not just an inconvenience for the two of us, but maybe even for the whole town.

Time for Plan B: I took a sip of my water, rinsed off my feet, stripped down and willed myself back to sleep. I recall thinking, "become as stiff as a log, make no extra efforts and you will become one with your surroundings." Before too long, I had fallen into an even deeper sleep. One where I needed to be shaken several times to wake up. It felt so good to go to sleep - why did I need to wake up now?!? I peered open my eyes and saw Alex looking at me with a less than entertaining look, "We have 30 minutes till we need to start work." UGHHHHHH.... I groaned... probably for a minute straight. Alex waited patiently then said, "I'm going to take a quick shower. Make yourself some coffee and let's get ready." This is how the first full day of our 4th WorkAway began.

Just previous to this we had taken a 6-hour sleeper bus in from Sapa to Hanoi, picked up our luggage and took a one-hour cab ride into Sóc Sơn. Finally, at 9:45 pm (when we arrived at the school) we were told that we needed to go with our host's sister while our host made her way back to the school to let us in. To read all about it you can check out this article: Can We Get to Sóc Sơn? So grumpy Alice got up from the stiff bed and made some hot coffee from hot water in a thermos and coffee packs. I put on some clothes, tidied up the place, and drank the coffee before heading down to the school. We put on some shoes, locked up, passed a gigantic spider, squeaked open the gate, shut the gate and went to find Victoria. She was in the main office and quickly showed us to the kitchen, where Alex and I feasted on boiling bowls of pho. In America, we don't generally start our day with a bowl full of noodles and hearty soup, however in much of SE Asia they do. It's something that I look forward to some mornings and dread on others. Not because it's not tasty pho-ck, but because it is already 90+ degrees Fahrenheit in most of the places we've stayed and growing hotter by 8 am. I would usually want something cool and light in this circumstance. But, you must eat your noodles and soup if you want to be strong for the day. SO, I've tried, and I've almost been 75% successful.

Teaching on Tuesday

After breakfast, Victoria escorted us to our first class. She made an announcement to the class and said, "These are your new teachers. Listen please." Then she looked at us, motioned to the kids and said, "Okay, please." Okay... I wasn't thinking we were leading a whole class, but sure. Let's do this thing. Alex and I started with introductions. The first thing I said was something like, "Hello. My name is Alice. I'm from America. What's your name?" After names, we found out everyone's ages, where the students were from, and more importantly, we found out who was brave, silly, and afraid of this class.

There was Koi, who is both brave and silly. He is 6 years old and lived in Austrailia for two years, so he says he's from Austrailia. Koi is a man of action, he wants to do stuff... So if the pace of your class is not up to his speed, he will usually tell you with his silliness. Usually, a student like Koi is a good helper for teachers to realize when they need to move onto the next agenda item. Why? Well, if Koi is bored and being silly, other students are probably bored and being shy. SO, switch it up. It was about the time that Koi started answering every question as if he were the only student in the room that I decided it was time for a game. We decided to introduce the students to some classic games: Duck, Duck, Goose and Red light Green light. They LOVED these games. The students loved these games so much that they wanted to play them in the hallway, on the playground, during lunch and just generally anytime they saw Alex or me... I was hoping we would be inspirational, but I had no idea that Duck, Duck, Goose would be our method.

According to the WorkAway post, we were only supposed to work for 3-4 hours a day (and that was after they updated the original post that said we would work an hour a day). So we were anticipating that we'd work in the mornings and then have time for exploring the area in the afternoon. We quickly found out that there was a very flexible structure to work versus hang out time, and that we would be spending most of the days and evenings with the Victoria and her family. We realized this after lunch the first day. Lunch was an hour and a half event that included a huge Vietnam feast of several types of meat, more pho, and multiple vegetable dishes. Note: Hanging out with them was an incredible experience, so this wasn't really a bad thing... just different than what we were expecting.

The best part about lunch was the conversation we shared with Victoria and the other volunteers. I was blown away by Victoria's life philosophy. She talked to us about how she was having a rough day with some of the teachers due to the power outage. She said that some of the teachers were angry at her because the power going out made them uncomfortable. The way they approached her really made her upset. The massive wisdom came in her next statement. She said, "I told them to look and learn from the kids. They are happy. When the weather is hot they still play, they still smile, and they learn. They do not give up or complain." She continued to say that as teachers, we must lead by example to show the children how to acclimate in challenging situations. She said that you want children to grow up strong. She continued with the example, "If you are driving and the car breaks down on the side of the road, what do you want from your child? Do you want your child to say, 'MOMMY I need this!' Or do you want your child to say, 'It's okay Mommy. I'm okay. How can I help you?'" She went on to describe how in many ways children are brilliant and resilient and that we must learn from them. I was speechless. I was on the edge of my seat with tears in my eyes, ready to give Victoria a slow clap, a hug, and ask for her autograph. I was so proud to be volunteering for her.

After lunch, We went on an excursion to a couple local flee markets. It was a blast to see Victoria negotiate with the vendors and see the flee market in a more relaxed state. It was also the first time Alex and I had ever enjoyed some fresh Sugar Cane juice!! After getting back from the excursion, we were asked to join the afternoon classes at the second school. Which was an hour drive away. Upon arriving, we play-taught a group of a dozen or so 4-year-olds until their parents picked them up at 4:30 pm. It was then we realized were stuck. Victoria's family lives between these two schools (half at one, half at the other) and they eat meals together. As the day went on, it became obvious that we were staying for dinner and it was going to be a long evening. Even though it was a great night filled with delicious food and new conversations, we got home about 11 pm, and we were super tired. It was then (when we were dropped off) at 11 pm that we were told that the celebration starts tomorrow at 7:30 am, so we need to be ready to go by 6 am to eat breakfast, drive to the school, and to help set up. Okay. Time for sleep and energy for the next day.

Wednesday's Celebration

The second day we got up, were driven out to the second school, ate breakfast and then enjoyed the performances. At one point Alex and I got up on stage and sang the ABC song with the kids. There were also awards for the teachers and then celebration ended. After all the kids and parents left, we started lunch which was this extravagant Vietnamese feast. In Alex's words,

"And because it was a celebration day, they passed around happy water (rice wine that is approximately 30% ABV) and beer at 11 am. The Vietnamese have such strong culture, and they absolutely love foreigners especially English speaking ones. One thing they do to show their affection is, they stand up and make a toast (you must stand up during this toast) and it will be in Vietnamese, so you have no idea what they are saying. Then they say "chompichomp!" or something like that, and you have to finish whatever drink you are holding. I learned very quickly not to open a fresh can of beer and toast with the whole can. After the toast, you shake hands which symbolize that you are now friends forever. It is important for them to have each person at the table do this, so every single one of them comes up to you (if you are a foreigner) and does this toasting ceremony and you can get pretty drunk by the end of it."

After lunch, we were invited to join Victoria's father (at his house for some green tea) and her father in law (to see his factory) for more celebrations. Of course, we decided to join them and were completely blown away by their generosity and exuberance in having us learn more about their personal and business lives. We were pretty spent by the time we came back to the school at 4 pm, so we passed out for an afternoon nap until 6:30 pm when it was time to go downstairs for dinner. Again we stayed up past 10 pm and were told that there was another celebration tomorrow... but, we didn't need to be up until 7 am. Score!

Thursday

Thursday, we learned that Wednesday was just the warm up festival. We had the real celebration at the main school (where we were staying) on this day. This was essentially a repeat of the first day, but we did not drink or imbibe at all because we were going to teach afternoon classes later. Also, it should be noted that all of the teachers were dressed in traditional Vietnamese dresses - so the whole celebration felt even more formal. Again, Alex and I got up on stage to perform the A, B, C's and totally got the crowd roaring. After class that day Alex got a Motorbike lesson from Nace - He looked pretty good too! Motorbiking of any kind is too frightening for me, so I just stayed back and took pictures. The rest of the day was just a remix of what had happened in the days before.

Friday -> The Weekend

Friday, Alex and I were asked to help teach the younger class. Let me preface this story bit by saying that working with the kids has been very very fun. Especially getting to share the experience with Alex. The English class portion of the volunteer program, however, is not very well organized and with the language barriers there were several uncomfortable situations. Including Friday morning, where Alex and I were expected to give some sort of language class to 3 and 4-year-olds. Unlike the first class, their teacher didn't speak more than 3 words in English... So I guess the idea of having help with translating anything was out of the question. On top of that, we hadn't been given any idea of how long the lesson was supposed to be... So we sang songs, read books to somewhat blank faces, and prepared for full meltdowns --- For 2 hours. Luckily, we switched activities well enough that we somehow avoided a mutiny. All in all, I was very impressed with how well they did. Unfortunately, I was left feeling a bit disappointed in myself. Mostly because I didn't make the personal connections that I had experienced in my 10 years of working with kids in the states. Alex, was quick to point out how incredible we did, given that we weren't given much to go off of. So, I gave myself a pass and decided to just move on. It was the right decision because kids don't really care about a one-time dud... unless you decide to be boring or strict all of the time. They want to have fun and hey, I like to have fun too!

That afternoon we took a five-hour bus ride to Ha Long Bay. Victoria started by driving us 10 minutes from the school to where the highway onramp launched. She had stoped on the far left side of the lane that was inches from the merge. For what reason? I couldn't surmise... She sat there looking over her left shoulder (appearing to be waiting for an opening), then she drove facing oncoming traffic in the emergency lane, parked under the bridge and motioned for us to grab our stuff and follow her across several lanes of traffic. We acted quickly, like baby ducks following their mom through whatever path she chose (sometimes I've seen them crossing highways as well). We walked over a guardrail, across two more lanes of traffic and waited at (I guess) our bus stop. Victoria talked to a couple other patrons waiting, made a quick call, and then told us the bus would be arriving shortly. When the bus pulled up, she negotiated a killer local deal of 160,000 VND (approximately $7 US) for both of us to get to Ha Long Bay. The bus started rolling, we got a running start, jumped on, found our seats and were off for our weekend adventure. To see my Ha Long Bay photo collection, click here.

Monday

We returned to the school on Monday, after a long weekend, a short bout of dehydration and one bedridden fever. Our host met us at the kitchen, ordered us some food and told us to take the rest of the day to relax and sleep. She told us and the other volunteers at dinner that she felt horrible for not having the AC installed yet. She had made a contract with a company and hadn't followed up with them as much as she wanted to... With a 7 month-year-old, all the things going on at the two schools and, so many other things going on that it must have slipped through. She said she felt like she had failed us. All of us spoke up at once to let her know that she is not to blame for the weather and that she is, in fact, one of the most incredible people we have met. We all proclaimed our love for her and the fact that she is a real-life Wonder Woman. She has opened up her school, her home, her family and her life to the group of us -- and we are only volunteers. Everything she does is very generous. Also, we have not had to pay for anything during our stay. They've served us feasts for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They have taken us in with open arms and shown us a real experience of their daily routine. There is no way you could buy or find this experience. After hearing some of our words, Victoria slowly began to smile and say that she felt a little better after talking, but that she really cares for us and doesn't want us to be sick. We ended dinner early that night and all slept in the next morning.

Tuesday

After breakfast on Tuesday, we skipped class. Victoria took us to the Sóc Sơn city center and said, "We will ride bikes around the city center." What she meant was we will ride children sized cyclos around the city center (a cyclo is like a bike, but the front half had been removed and a wheelchair had been attached so that drivers can pedal foreigners around). So she gives us these bikes, which are suitably sized for myself and local folks, but it is so small on Alex that he cannot even bend his knees. He was pedaling with pure hip strength. Then she asks Alex to take the kids. So Alex is pedaling a children's bike around with a four-year-old in the chair and the four-year-old is holding her 7-month-old son. I think we have described Vietnamese traffic before to you. It was absolutely insane and very comical. After this, we went back to our school, had lunch, and joined the younger class for the afternoon. We sang a few songs for about a half hour and then broke the group apart to play red light green light. During the last hour of class a might thundering monsoon swept across the school. It flooded the gardens and motorbike parking area and stopped parents from being able to transport their kids back home safely. After watching the storm for a few minutes, Victoria swept Alex away to help rescue the washing machine. He describes the next events as follows:

"In a voice as calm as if she were asking me to hang up wet laundry, Victoria asks, 'Alex, please can you help move washing machine please? ok?' Uh, excuse me did you say move the washing machine? You realize we are in the middle of an incredible monsoon right? I wander over to the washing machine, and I now understand why it needs to be moved as it is sitting in knee deep flood water and currently running. The power cord to the washing machine is connected to an extension cord in the wall, and the connection point is also under water, so I assume the entire parking lot is electrified at this point. The housekeeper, who is walking around in rubber boots yells at me to get boots on (I am wearing chacos at the moment), but I don't have boots so I just wait and survey the situation. One of the other teachers comes over and casually walks into the flood water, reaches down with bare hands and unplugs the washing machine. Well, I guess there is nothing to worry about now, except for the fact that we are underneath a sheet metal roof during a powerful lightning storm that is directly above us. Victoria finally makes her way out there and says, 'Ok, Alex please,' and motions to a giant ceramic pot. I gather she wants to move this pot over towards the washing machine so we can lift the washing machine onto it. So her and I walk into knee deep flood water and start lifting this giant pot, while trying not to knock over the parked motorbikes and try to walk it the 10 meters over to the washing machine. Eventually we get it there, throw a wooden board over the top. Then a helpful parent of one of the students comes over to help me lift the full-of-water-and-laundry washing machine onto this wooden board. We finally get it up there and our job is done. No one was electrocuted and no one had any digits smashed from dropping a heavy washing machine onto them. Success!"

There's always an adventure and something new to learn at Capitole. We aren't soon to forget any of these experiences, faces, or stories.

Wednesday

Wednesday was our last day at the school. These are the pictures I took after the storm. Still such a beautiful and happy place: rain or shine.

Victoria and her husband Hai took all of the volunteers out for a group excursion that morning to see a nearby temple - which is 980 years old - and a monumental area on a mountain top. After the excursion, we had one last lunch together and then Hai drove us to the airport. The time we spent together was bittersweet because we knew it was our last few moments before we were turning the page and moving onto our next destination. We were very blessed with their generosity and hope to reunite soon. We will always remain Friends Forever!