There was a dirty two lane street just outside the gates.  Construction vehicles threw up plumes of exhaust and dust as they tore up the pavement and surrounding countryside.  Vehicles of all shapes and sizes sped to and fro.  People rode motorcycles, cars, trucks, and tricycle-like cars.  Some people seemed to have engineered their own personal motorized vehicle from remnants found in a junkyard.  Meanwhile, students filtering in from summer vacation weaved their way across the street to the bus stop and the market area just opposite of the university. This “market area” resembled a two-block section of a city that just sprouted out of the stony ground.  There were…

It was Saturday evening and dusk was falling.  The thundering had stopped.  There were text messages from Sail asking how I was doing, “Was the apartment convenient for u now?”  And Vanno, a highschool senior and the son of a chemistry professor had called to see when it would be convenient for him to come over to practice English.  I had met Vanno the day before, and he made himself useful by helping out as translator and carrying bags.  He introduced himself as “very eager to learn oral English” from me.  Vanno prefaced his suggestions and advice with, “Is it convenient, if…” I tried texting Sail back but I couldn’t…