No we haven't disappeared yet

...we've just been pretty dang busy. It's a lame excuse, I know, but it's true.

Here's the uber-condensed version of what we've been up to. I'm hoping there will be time to give a bit more detailed description of everything in the not-so-distant future.

The middle of July marked the end of formal language lessons for us. We haven't quite mastered the entire language yet, but we're close. (That's your cue to laugh uproariously). Joelle will be continuing with occasional classes through the rest of August, but Steven will be taking his TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) classes during that time.

After lessons ended we had a couple of weeks of freedom. Since we'll be moving to southern/central Vietnam in the near future we decided to see the north while we still have the chance. We spent a week traveling to the cities of Dien Bien Phu and Sapa in the northwest corner of the country (check out the pictures here). When we returned to Hanoi, Joelle's good friend Cheryl was in town (she has taught in China for the past eight years, so she's in the neighborhood anyway) and we spent a week traveling in and around Hanoi before the new teachers arrived.

Last Sunday we began classes with the new teachers who will be placed in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. We're learning some basics about Southeast Asian culture and communication styles as well as doing some intensive classes on teaching English. It's been a busy time of learning as well as hanging out with both new and old friends. This is the first day we've had free since last Sunday so we're taking some time to breathe and regroup.

Our time in Hanoi is winding down and we're finding that the place has actually grown on us in the five months since we arrived. Noisy, dirty, crowded and aggravating as it can sometimes be, it's been home to us and we've seen glimpses of charm, grace, joy and goodness beneath the exterior.

At the same time, we're growing more and more excited about getting to Quy Nhon, getting to know our teammates, and settling in there.

We'll leave you with a shot taken just the other day of the crew of crew of new Vietnam teachers outside Hanoi's Temple of Literature. We're a fairly good-looking bunch if I do say so myself. And I do.