Happy Easter!

Quail eggs - an essential part of any banh bao.

Hello Readership,

• I will post some photos tonight if it kills me. 
• Last night we had dinner at a goat meat restuarant with our field lecturer. We had some excellent goat curry, the best spring rolls I've yet had, and banana rice wine. 
• The ISP officially begins today with the departure of Meg and Adam, who are currently 1 hour into their 36 hour train ride back to Ha Noi. I'm leaving the nest as well, moving from this gorgeous beachfront resort to a more fitting backpacker mini-hotel. Hopefully, with a few more emails and hour Googling, I'll be about ready to make the 200 km trek north to Van Phong Bay in Van Ninh district, Khanh Hoa province. There, I'll spend two weeks working with MCD, a Vietnamese NGO (www.mcdvietnam.org), interviewing a number of shrimp farming households about intensification of shrimp production, how they might do it, and why. The project needs to be done by May 16th for a presentation with Oxfam, so I have to get it out of the way fast. After that, I think I'll try surfing.c
• I'll be practicing the art of making banh bao all summer. Deliciousness assured. 

All my best.