I love you, I love you, I love you

Yeu va tien. Life here requires an open mind ... and heart ... and wallet. I've already had three girls tell me they love me. Well, of course they do. At least they waited a week or so before they made this dramatic proclamation. I'm not sure these women understand the full impact of this statement. Or maybe it's a language thing. Really, I just don't know. I think "thich" means like, but it has stronger implications, according to some of my students, who I really thich. Anyway, I've had about 15 "I love you's" in a little more than a year. That's more than I got in 15 or so years of marriage ... just kidding, sort of. My marriage ended in divorce because I was a turd. But I digress. The thing you learn as an old fart is that something as strong as love takes time. I draw a graph for the students, showing how affection develops and grows over time. I know there's love at first sight and things like that, but that works best in books and movies. But it's tricky. "I love pizza." But not as a life-long partner to share my life and bed. However, I do wonder what the kids would look like?  Language and feelings are so difficult to express sometimes.
Ah, but everyone understands tien ... money.  We love money, don't we? I get it. Being poor sucks, sucks, sucks. But when money motivates "love", I have a bad feeling in my heart and wallet. I had a job making good money in the USA and I was very unhappy. I worked at a nature center for quite a bit less money and I was very happy. But that's me. Money comes and money goes, whether it's a lot or a little. There isn't much money here for a lot of the people, so I understand. Life can be very difficult for these folks and they make tough decisions. Sometimes, it makes me sad.
Speaking of money, I want to quit cigarettes but they're so damn cheap here. Look at the picture and caption. Not many people speak English here, so I am alone a lot, in a manner of speaking. But I'm not completely alone since I have 555 to keep me company. Is it worth dying for?  Co the ... maybe. We all die anyway.
Sorry for the weird blog. See what happens when you're alone a lot? But really, I love you guys.