Equations

1 old truck + wet mountain road+ curve+ bad tire+ no guard rails = five guys standing on the side of the road in complete silence regaining their composure.

1 more stop + one more passenger + 10 more miles = one crowded truck

1 chicken + 1 cabbage+ 1 bowl of rice + a bunch of dishes washed in village water but not completely dried = 6 to 9 days until I should be experiencing my second bout of giardia

1 long conversation + 2 willing villagers + a recently rained on field = an afternoon of planting corn

5 varieties of corn + one American teaching how to plant for a better harvest = 3 very happy villagers and a crowd of interested onlookers.

1 hour in the field + 1 long conversation = an invitation to supper

1 hour of waiting + noodles = cold leftovers that should insure my acquisition of giardia

1 Asian man + 3 beers + 1 guy who pushed him just a little too far = 1 awkward moment

2 guys who really did not prepare to stay the night + 1 good excuse = a late night drive home

1 driver with too good a heart + 3 drunken hitchers = 3 drunks sleeping in the back of the truck for most of the drive back home

1 really long day + all of the above = one blogger too tired to type complete sentences

? of the day for a ride into town, who has a good picking up a hitchhiker story?