I'm currently blogging from the south central highlands of Vietnam in the city of Da Lat.

This is an interesting city of about 200,000 people. First off, she reminds me of an Asian-\ Denver or Taos, New Mexico in the United States because of it "Old West" feel. The buildings stand side by side on each side of these winding and hilly streets. Instead of horses, Da Lat sports motorbikes, and lots of them. Some might want to call it a French-inspired Asian city.

I'm walking around the city today to see what makes it tick.

This is what's up on the beaches of Nha Trang. Tomorrow will be island hopping off the coast of Nha Trang, with snorkeling and cocktails on the boat.

Nha Trang is a beautiful beach city in Southeastern coast of Vietnam. Here, the Sun is bright and hot, the sky blue and clear, and the people friendly and beautiful. Yesterday I swam in the South China Sea. The water was warm, but the Sun was HOT!

The food? Everywhere in Vietnam the food is consistently the best of any city or country I've ever experienced. My main staple is pho, a noodle soup with beef. It's eaten at anytime during the day or night.

The beers are lagers: Tiger, Saigon, or 333. Last night I visited a Vietnamese brewery (Lousiane Brewhouse in Nha Trang), where I drank a dark lager, which was brewed onsite.

The exchenge rate is about 15,500 Vietnamese dong to the U.S. Dollar. My average meal price is about 16,000 dong. Though a few days ago in Saigon, Bridget, Ethan, and I ate a seafood dinner for 1,800,000 VND! We ate like kings--lobster, crab, shrimp, squid, and clams.

In Saigon, Vietnam, the streets are packed with "motos," what the locals call scooters. There are like 8 million people living in Saigon, and all seem to ride motos.

A visitor can hitch a ride on one of these scooters and go anywhere for about $1.

With all the motos and people, the air is rather toxic. I have felt sick (scratchy throat, cough, sneezes, etc.) on a few occasions.

Landed in LAX. Ready for the 747 jumbo!

Made it through TSA security, now the trip to Nam begins.

Gabcast! DB Blas: Mobile Dispatch #13

This was a London broil.

one last bbq before vietnam.

Packing my bags for Vietnam, and heading out to the airport.

In New York City, a few teachers will be paid $125,000 a year. Wow!

Finally there's a little traction on the issue of teachers (low) salaries.

In order to improve student achievement, teacher salaries are just one component of a comprehensive solution.

Elissa Gootman, writing about the issues leaders are thinking about on the subject of school reform, says

the notion of raising teacher pay to attract better candidates may seem simple, the issue is at the crux of policy debates rippling through school systems nationwide, over how teachers should be selected, compensated and judged, and whether teacher quality matters more than, say, class size.

Good luck, New York City.

"Good teaching must be slow enough so that it is not confusing, and fast enough so that it's not boring" - Sidney J. Harris

Teaching Quotes