There's a grasshopper in my stomach

Christa's been telling me the whole time I've been here that I have to try fried grasshopper, and yesterday I finally did. But that would be out of chronological order if I told you the story now, so you'll have to wait. First things first.

The best I could do without four arms and a pig's nose.

   My motorbike taxi didn't come until after 8:40 when Julia finally called him. I think he knew he was in trouble because he ran a few red lights and honked like crazy the whole way to Kirsten & Heather's hotel. So I ended up being not that late. We hopped right on a tuk-tuk and had a 45 minute drive to Buddha Park. This place was made by some weirdo that supposedly fell in some hole and from there decided to combine Buddhism & Hinduism. So all the statues at this park are kinda a mixture of the two I guess. They were fun to try to copy though.
    After Buddha Park, we grabbed a quick lunch & then met Christa at her school to go to class with her. Her students were assigned to write down 5 questions they could ask Heather, Kirsten & I, so they were split into three groups and we rotated through each one. The first question I was asked--"Would you like some Beerlao?" Another asked--"Why are you so beautiful?" I didn't know how to answer that one, but Christa helped me out with her usual reply of "Because I eat a lot of ice cream!" It was fun though and the students enjoyed it too. After class, they all pulled out their camera phones and made us feel like we were from Hollywood.
    After class, we relaxed at home for a while and then all of us--Heather, Kirsten, Christa, Julia, Sone, Nuey, & I--all helped make supper--fried & fresh spring rolls! So good :] Then we played Last Word game. Wednesday morning, we all left for the bus to Vang Vieng before 9:00, but the bus didn't actually leave until after 10:30 and then it broke down for a while, so we didn't get there until around 3:30. So it turned into a long day of traveling. On the way, Christa was looking in her purse and remembered she had a surprise for me. So she told me to open my mouth and close my eyes. So of course I, ignorantly trusting my big sister completely, opened my mouth wide to await some wonderful surprise--nope, it was a nasty grasshopper!! The taste wasn't bad at all--it was basically fried with seasoning, but the feeling of each leg and antennae on my tongue was super gross. But I did finally eat one. Christa just ate them like popcorn.
Since it was too late to kayak or do anything else once we got to Vang Vieng, we just made our way around to various restaurants for a snack, drinks, and supper throughout the night. We also went on a little hike to a cave, but it was closed. Our night ended with a game of Hearts and of course ice cream before the usual fairly early bedtime. Kirsten & Heather have been extremely generous in paying for nearly everything for Christa & I. They have definitely been a blessing (and for reasons beyond financial :] )

Of course, pictures never do justice...

    This morning after breakfast, we rented bikes and headed out to Phu Kham Cave & Blue Lagoon. It was a 7 km bike on super rocky roads, but still very nice. The view was incredible, too! :] We got back around 11 and went to our favorite restaurant with the best scenery & no loud Friends or Family Guy shows playing. Christa & I left shortly after 1:30 in a mini bus and actually got back to Vientiane by 5:30. All our other trips between VV & Vientiane are supposed to be 4 hours but end up being closer to 5 or 6, so this was very nice. Tonight, Christa & I just had a simple supper and just finished a weird movie. Tonight is my last sleep in Laos! I'm looking forward to going back and seeing everyone again!! And just getting back into a routine/being productive again. :] The time with Christa (and Heather & Kirsten) has been really great, and I'm glad I feel like it's been long enough rather than wishing I had more time.
     This is probably my last post of the trip! Tomorrow I don't think Christa & I have much planned. Then with my extra Saturday in Seoul, Heather set it up for me to meet one of her friends to show me around the city for a few hours. So that'll be really nice to help the 10 hour layover pass more quickly. I say extra Saturday because I leave Seoul Saturday evening at 6:30 and land Saturday morning in Seattle at 11:30ish. So I getta do part of my Saturday over again.