now no hope of ever catching up . . .

• we've been back in attapeu for a few days now, but with one thing and another, i haven't done much blogging . . . to be honest, there's not a lot to report about life in attapeu. it's REALLY hot pretty much all the time - 85F in the shade at 7.30 am - and of course there's no air conditioning, just fans. heidi has introduced me to the local sugar cane stand just around the corner from her house where we go for cold drinks every couple days. the woman who runs the stand crushes the sugar cane in a machine in her front yard - the sticks go through like cloth through a sewing machine - and the juice is caught in a pitcher below. she pours the juice into a little plastic bag full of ice, puts a straw in it, and for just 2000 kip (about 25 cents US) you've got a cold, tasty drink made to order. she adds fresh lime juice to the sugar cane for a little zip, so the drink is tangy as well as sweet - perfect for the hot steamy afternoons here.
• just now the dry season is ending and the rainy season is on its way. we've had a couple of tremendous electrical storms since we came back though no rain until yesterday evening, when finally the dark clouds dropped some cooling showers on the area. we're back to heat and humidity today, though - and the sky is clear blue. although heidi and i sometimes go to the market for vegetables around lunchtime, hardly anyone else does. most people seem to stay indoors or in the shade during the hottest part of the day and do their shopping early in the morning. in fact, early morning is the only time you can buy cooked food in the market - soup, barbecued meat, etc. i guess it's too hot to cook out in the open the rest of the day.
• yesterday a lao friend of heidi and micah came over to fix and eat lunch with us. she made a salad using carrots, onions, lemon grass, a kind of thinly sliced sausage, lime, chili, and - the main ingredient - a sort of sponge that grows in rivers. she bought it dried in the market early that morning and soaked it in water before slicing it into the salad bowl. it vaguely resembled the beef brains in the meat case at my grocery store - yellowish white and honeycombed - but it had a crisp, slightly chewy texture, almost like thin cabbage, and the flavor was extremely mild. it was actually pretty good, better than i expected after hearing heidi describe it as a kind of algae or fungus collected from local water sources. i'm pleased to say that's the strangest thing i've eaten this trip - no barbecued dogs so far.
• well, i'm being antisocial now, shut up in the office with heidi's laptop, so i'll end for now and go see what's going on downstairs. it might be lunchtime . . . .