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Here are some people I met last week. Aren't they beautiful? I LOVE the people up here. They have the best smiles and they love getting their picture taken. Isn't crazy that people wait in line for days for Play Stations in certain parts of the world while other people are fascinated by a simple digital camera?

I just read in Time magazine that Vietnam joined the WTO. Vietnam is in a race with India to be the fastest growing Asian economy behind China. It's GDP is projected to grow about 8.2% this year...that's pretty incredible. I love Vietnam and am excited it's climbing up the world economic ladder, but I wonder what it will be like when foreign direct investment starts pouring into the country. I wonder if the sea ports will be adequate. I wonder if foreign companies will be treated fairly by the government. I wonder if Vietnam will enjoy the full benefits awarded other WTO members. But the interesting thing is that people who stood in line for rations during the war are now participating in a large market where they have choices and freedom to buy what they want. Development can be difficult and controversial at times, but how rewarding must it be for these people? Economic growth is fascinating--there are so many great stories--like Jordan's economy, right Suzanne?

We're headed to a different city tomorrow to celebrate Thanksgiving with some American friends. I'll give you a full update when I come back. For now I will leave this quote, 'Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy...both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me'--Steve Carell from The Office. Haha...I've been laughing about this all day, but it probably isn't funny to you without the context. Even so, I wish I knew about this quote when I had to write my Machiavelli paper in college.

...and finally, this post was more for my enjoyment than anything else. I don't expect you to be interested in anything I just wrote about. But I do want to say HAPPY THANKSGIVING!