2008 Blogs

One step closer...

10/20/2008

As of last Friday, and another round of shots at the IU Travel Clinic in Bloomington, I'm one step closer to my destination.  I want to show Nurse Fessenbecker my appreciation by sending her a postcard or two from my travel, and  some currency to post on her colorful bulletin board (pictured here).  To the best of my knowledge, she doesn't yet have any from Vietnam.

 

I'm also preparing the boxes of books to ship to Nha Trang University.  The State Department advises packing for rough handling, and George Blakey, my predecessor at IU East and now owner of the Old Book Shop here in Richmond, gave me a great idea when he suggested that I put each book inside a ziplock bag.  That will protect books from moisture and more. 

I gave up the idea of shipping books via the diplomatic pouch when I learned that I would have to pay to mail them to Washington, DC, then collect them in Ho Chi Minh City and schlep them to Nha Trang.  I'll already be paying for extra baggage, and there's no way I could manage 2-3 extra boxes on top of that.  It seems easier to mail them direct from Richmond to Nha Trang, so that's what I'm going to do!

You can all see my guilty secret in the picture to the right--I'm including some Cliff Notes in my shipment.  As you may recall, I've been asked to teach a survey of American literature, and I need all the help I can get!