More people get on

Another day of sleeping, reading, and pooping. I didn't eat much, just slimy fried veggies on rice for lunch, tea, and an entire pound cake for dinner, but I'm still ill. Romance continued to bloom between Noel and his girlfriend with the purchase of a watermelon by the ladies, which they cut up with the huge knife they had, then shared the pieces. Communication is difficult since they keep talking to us in Burmese. To make things clearer, they helpfully write what they're saying on their hands, in Burmese, and seem confused when we still don't understand. I became popular for awhile when some people saw my digital camera. Noel's girlfriend liked listening to his U2 CD, which she had never heard before, since whenever you hear a Western song, it has Burmese lyrics. In fact, you don't even hear too many Western songs. Most stuff is original Burmese pop or country, and there's a lot of traditional music too. That consists of a cacophony of drums, xylophones, oboes, and shrill singing, none of which is in time with another, since traditional Burmese music does not employ the Western nothion of rhythm. In an ironic way, the military junta's isolationist policies have preserved this portion of Burmese culture.