Looking for a place to stay--any place--is not hard. Looking for a place safe enough, private enough, most accomodating--that's a different matter. I looked in several places and yet none seemed to my liking. It seems that I have to forgeit one thing or another wherever I go. I've finally decided to stay at the Thorakao place: situated on the corner of Cach Mang Thanh Tam and Dien Bien Phu, it's centrally located and is within walking distance of many places. The Thorakao building is owned by a close (?) family friend, Co Nguyet, who owns a rather large and expensive cosmetics company. She kindly offered her place, insisting that what appeals to her in this situation is the fact that I've been raised in a decent family and that she can look out for me during my stay. I've grown accustomed to the fact that family members and friends of relatives will readily direct me to live where they think I should live and do what they think I should do. It's rather like walking a tightrope--finer and more stressful than in the States--when deciding how to state my case firmly and concisely without being abrasive, rude, and disrespectful. It's not because in the States there aren't pushy people; those people are everywhere and will inflict their opinions into everything I do, on everything I say. The situation is more stressful here b/c I find myself floundering when trying to articulate my ideas, the self that needs to be expressed.