You know when you have those weird moments where all of a sudden you realize that what has just come out of your mouth is the most ridiculous, obnoxious thing ever, and you frantically try to backtrack but end up accidentally trying to give credit to your faux pas? I just got finished with a lengthy conversation with Lizzy Brouwer (about many things, most of which were not completely cringe-worthy) in which I attempted to explain my current 'maid situation'. That in and of itself is enough to make most of the people I know (minus friends in VN) roll their eyes and give you a look that makes you feel like an ass. I, however, went on to explain that since my roommate Damien was such a douche about our Maid bringing her daughter to our apartment while she worked and letting her roam free (apparently with pens, with which she decorated his walls), the maid retorted (all of this through our landlord, since the maid speaks maybe 3 words of English and our Vietnamese might just be worse) that since Damien is so filthy she didn't want to work for us anymore. Lauren and I were left in the middle, and we now have no more maid, and I hear it is just HELL to find good help these days.
What really pissed me off was the fact that Damien responded so rudely to that final email, showing a side that I tend to identify as both slightly racist and extremely class-ist, but also the fact that Damien, who moved in a few months ago, lost us our maid who came with the apartment , and now we either have to wash our own cups and take out our own trash, or we have to find a new maid. might as well just admit it: I have gotten used to having our maid not only do the aforementioned things, but also pay many of our bills; I have also come to depend on it. I even consider myself to be far less pampered than those other expats whose maids do their laundry and their grocery shopping. What has this country done to me?
After I sensed that Lizzy was slightly speechless and had no intention of consoling me, instead of expressing my disbelief in how far I could have fallen in one year, I found myself making excuses for why it was ok that we pay(ed) our maid less in one month (12 days) than my parents pay our once-weekly cleaning lady in one day: 'our apartment isn't that big, and she usually doesn't even stay for the whole allotted 2 hours'. Could I be any more of a tool? This is why bitter expats stay as long as they do: the lifestyle is just too damn easy to be able to leave it.
What's funny about being in the upper echelon in a developing country is that you do have to deal with some stuff most people would think to be absurd: after a routine rain in certain districts, the streets are so flooded that one must wade about in the 6 inches of water, with full traffic (read: motorbikes) to dodge. This happened the other day as we were leaving a partnership high school, so I walked 2 blocks alongside dozens of students for whom this water-logged trudge is just routine.
I'm not saying they cancel each other out, but it's just a strange place. We can't drink the water, yet someone will come cook for us if we so desire. The water drainage is laughable, but we can take a hefty holiday once every few months. It's just odd. Oh man. This whole thing is a kind of meditation on the question: have I changed, really? Would my former self be disgusted or disappointed? Am I still relatable to friends and family back home, or have I entered this strange world of expatriate snobbery where everyone else is far less worldly and I have gained insights unfathomable to my fellow Americans? Apparently, I have been talking shit about America lately. My mom told me I was becoming 'weird', though I admit that is a bit vague. I tend to feel that I've always had some misdirected anger (and also a lot of weirdness), and that anger is currently residing in a kind of 'America is so self centered' attitude, which if we are feeling psychoanalytical (and when are we NOT?) is possibly just a way for me to hash out my own self-centeredness; in distancing myself from my home country, perhaps I am trying to distance myself from some of my own less-than-wonderful qualities, or work out those issues as one might do with a mother or father-figure. If so, I can tell you right now that it isn't working, like, at all. Maybe I am just getting weird, who knows. But I might go with the former theory, if only to ensure that I can fall asleep easily tonight. I have a big day tomorrow full of teaching and also song recording.
Did I mention that I am doing the musical recordings for the new English language book that all the VN primary school kids will be using around the country? Trust me, like most things over here, it sounds way cooler than it is. I'll get to that later.
Also, my trip with my parents was a great success. Pictures and anecdotes to follow!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
October?!
Good lord, when did it become October? My 24th birthday is fast approaching, and all I have to say is thank god most of my friends are older than me and also have no real life shape or plan, because otherwise I would be in a true state of panic. Lucky for me, I live among a bunch of people either too jaded or downtrodden to sludge through life in their respective countries of origin, cobbling together a life for themselves here in good ol' Vietnam, so I really feel better by comparison. That said, I don't know how much longer I can take being a teacher. I really just don't think it's for me. I hear one is supposed to find joy and a sense of accomplishment when finish a class, but I just tend to feel a large wave of relief. I feel like that isn't a good sign for either myself or my students. I have a particularly hateful group of teenage students at my partnership high school, and to be honest I have to take deep, soothing breaths in order to push aside the vaguely homicidal rage they instill in me. It pisses me off, because since they don't deserve games or a break, they don't get them, but in effect that also punishes me, as I am forced to teach them and do boring exercises for the entire class time, which is just infuriating.
My parents are visiting in less than 3 weeks! We will have a glorious trip throughout the north and central regions of Vietnam, and I am just bursting at the seams to get the hell out of the city again. Were it not for the food and the cheap TV box sets readily available for my glutinous consumption, I might actually despair and spend 3 days lolling about in bed eating nothing but frozen vinamilk yogurt packs. As it is, I only do that about twice a week. Solid.
I'm not really that angry all the time, just in the middle of one of the 'I hate VN' throes that are common to every expat here, barring none or at least very few. General distaste for my job is also a large component, and I have been thinking lately that perhaps I should attempt to rectify the situation by looking for another job or supplementing my job with more likeable money making activities. I might try to look for some acting jobs or something, am considering working for a different company when I get back from my 2 month hiatus in the US and Laos, and am considering perhaps looking for a job in PR or commerce or some other vague area of work in a new country after next summer. I am by no means ready to move back to the US, but the idea of teaching until my life gels into something worthwhile makes me want to do very unhealthy things.
I am also learning to drive a motorbike, and although I am fully aware that this could possibly send my mother to an early grave with worry, xe om drivers are just too expensive and irritating to make them a smart mode of transportation. I actually quite like driving a motorbike, especially semi-automatics, which despite the gear situation are quite easy to maneuver. I haven't yet taken the plunge and gotten my own, but Hannah has been letting me practice on her bike in the sleepy and ill-fitting (by which I mean looking like some Western country's wealthy suburb) District 2. Traffic in the city is a white-knuckle experience, but considering the heinous driving of some xe om drivers, I am not sure how much safer I am riding side-saddle on the back of one.
I'm having a birthday party the Sunday after my actual birthday. The theme is 'Which wigs?', which is a reference to a scene in The Birdcage between Hank Azaria and Nathan Lane, but since most people are not quite as familiar with the film as others, I am just calling it a wigs party, and hoping people will go out and buy some. I don't know about anyone else, but I find that a wig really does make any situation more bearable, and thankfully it has been cooler lately due to insane, monsoon-like rains, so it wont be one of those sweat-running-down-the-underside-of-your-wig situations, which always tend to ruin the experience for me. I am convinced that Westerners sweat more than the average Vietnamese, and though I do acknowledge that I sweat more than the average westerner, it is way worse next to people who are relatively dry (not to mention wearing painted-on dresses and five inch spike heels) when I am so sweaty people think I just came in out of the rain. I was definitely not built for the tropics.
Oh man, I feel like this was one long complaining rant, so my apologies on that front. I intend to make yet another attempt at putting up pics, so lets all hope for the best. While we are hoping for the best, we can also hope that I write another (and slightly less whiney) post in the near future. No promises.
Yar. I have been super into pirates these past few days for some reason.
My parents are visiting in less than 3 weeks! We will have a glorious trip throughout the north and central regions of Vietnam, and I am just bursting at the seams to get the hell out of the city again. Were it not for the food and the cheap TV box sets readily available for my glutinous consumption, I might actually despair and spend 3 days lolling about in bed eating nothing but frozen vinamilk yogurt packs. As it is, I only do that about twice a week. Solid.
I'm not really that angry all the time, just in the middle of one of the 'I hate VN' throes that are common to every expat here, barring none or at least very few. General distaste for my job is also a large component, and I have been thinking lately that perhaps I should attempt to rectify the situation by looking for another job or supplementing my job with more likeable money making activities. I might try to look for some acting jobs or something, am considering working for a different company when I get back from my 2 month hiatus in the US and Laos, and am considering perhaps looking for a job in PR or commerce or some other vague area of work in a new country after next summer. I am by no means ready to move back to the US, but the idea of teaching until my life gels into something worthwhile makes me want to do very unhealthy things.
I am also learning to drive a motorbike, and although I am fully aware that this could possibly send my mother to an early grave with worry, xe om drivers are just too expensive and irritating to make them a smart mode of transportation. I actually quite like driving a motorbike, especially semi-automatics, which despite the gear situation are quite easy to maneuver. I haven't yet taken the plunge and gotten my own, but Hannah has been letting me practice on her bike in the sleepy and ill-fitting (by which I mean looking like some Western country's wealthy suburb) District 2. Traffic in the city is a white-knuckle experience, but considering the heinous driving of some xe om drivers, I am not sure how much safer I am riding side-saddle on the back of one.
I'm having a birthday party the Sunday after my actual birthday. The theme is 'Which wigs?', which is a reference to a scene in The Birdcage between Hank Azaria and Nathan Lane, but since most people are not quite as familiar with the film as others, I am just calling it a wigs party, and hoping people will go out and buy some. I don't know about anyone else, but I find that a wig really does make any situation more bearable, and thankfully it has been cooler lately due to insane, monsoon-like rains, so it wont be one of those sweat-running-down-the-underside-of-your-wig situations, which always tend to ruin the experience for me. I am convinced that Westerners sweat more than the average Vietnamese, and though I do acknowledge that I sweat more than the average westerner, it is way worse next to people who are relatively dry (not to mention wearing painted-on dresses and five inch spike heels) when I am so sweaty people think I just came in out of the rain. I was definitely not built for the tropics.
Oh man, I feel like this was one long complaining rant, so my apologies on that front. I intend to make yet another attempt at putting up pics, so lets all hope for the best. While we are hoping for the best, we can also hope that I write another (and slightly less whiney) post in the near future. No promises.
Yar. I have been super into pirates these past few days for some reason.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Da Lat!!!!!!!
After promising to do better with my updates on my last post, I seem to have failed miserably. While I do blame my laziness most of all, I also must say that I've been going through a bit of a period of disillusionment with both my job and the city. Luckily, I've just come back from a glorious week off, having gone to Da Lat with my friend Rhona from work.
The trip was exactly what I needed to clear my head and get me back on my feet, excited about living in Vietnam. A mountain resort town established about a century ago by the occupying French who found Saigon to be INSUFFERABLE during the summer months, they all packed up and headed to lovely Da Lat, a beautiful little city surrounded by picturesque mountains and greenery,and much populated by hilltribe minorities, most notably the Montagnard (I'm assuming the French gave them that name). While most of VN farms rice, Da Lat is the fruit capital of the country, and the markets abound with delectable farm-grown fruits, as well as gorgeous flowers that are farmed and shipped to HCMC and other places during the night.
One bizarre legacy of the French in Da Lat is the copious pine trees one finds across the scenery. Not kidding. They transplanted this Western foliage over to tropical Vietnam, and the result is the feeling that one is walking around North America or somewhere (not so much in the city, since it is populated with Vietnamese). Throughout our trip, Rhona (from England) and I kept declaring our confusion at being in Vietnam, yet feeling as though we were in our respective countries. It was weird, but kind of nice.
The area reminds me a bit of a Colorado mountain town (not that I have too much experience with towns in Colorado, but just let it happen), in that there are countless outdoorsy and adventure-toursy things to do if you have the mind. Our first day there we climbed one of the mountains (most people cheat and drive up in Jeeps to take pictures at the summit. We were very smug in our feat of exercise). When we reached the top, there was what appeared to be a kitschy-ish little park of some sort, with statues and people selling things. We had been told that Da Lat is a very kitschy town, so were prepared. It wasn't that bad, and to be honest, I kind of enjoyed it, and proceeded to swing on the swings and watch the horses (oh yes, there were horses. In fact, we spotted several horses that had been painted to look like zebras, and a few that were done up like cows. No reasons given, I think they just found it amusing to pretend that there are zebras in mountainous regions of Vietnam). At any rate, we had a great time hiking up the mountain, and though the rain began as we were in the midst of our descent, it was an overall good activity. The rain didn't let up all day, so being cold and wet we proceeded to eat and play scrabble at one of the bars for the rest of the day.
In addition to selling fruit at their markets, there was an abundance of hats, scarves, and coats for sale on the streets. I managed to get a real NorthFace for $25 (I have a feeling they overcharged, but what the hell, it was way cheaper than the US), and Rhona and I bought matching Christmas stocking caps for a dollar. Mine has reindeer, hers has penguins. Both have pompoms.
The next day we took an 'easy rider' tour of the area with two Vietnamese men on their motorbikes. It was a beautiful and very educational tour-besides being surrounded by lovely scenery, we saw 2 pagodas, farmland, flower farms, coffee farms, a silk factory, a rice wine factory, and the Elephant waterfall, which Rhona and I hiked down to see. We didn't know we'd be hiking over wet and slippery rocks, and had both worn flipflops. Not only were we ill-equipped for our trek, I am positive the path itself would have been illegal due to its being just very unsafe. I had a few scares, but we both came up in one piece. After our tour, we were dropped at Emperor Bao Dai's summer palace, where we took a tour of the art-deco building and had a blast dressing up in the traditional Vietnamese royal clothing and having our pictures taken. I, being unmistakably non-Asian, looked a complete fool, though the group of Buddhist nuns who were also dressing up thought it was hilarious and proceeded to take pictures with me. Rhona, coming from a Chinese background, looked great. I proceeded to lament the fact that Asian women can wear Western clothes and look good, but western women just look foolish in eastern clothing. I still had fun; any chance to dress up and you will find me with a big grin. Probably a large reason I love performing.
Our last full day in Da Lat was the craziest, as we went canyoning. I didn't know what it was either. I learned that it consists of abseiling (what?) down waterfalls. Abseiling is kind of like the opposite of rock climbing; you start at the top and go down. It was an amazing experience, especially because I was petrified at the beginning and ended up having a blast. We went with a friend of Rhona's from her CELTA program who was visiting with his friend. The four of us had 2 guides, and we proceeded to abseil down 3 cliffs, make use of natural water slides, jump from a 10 meter cliff, and abseil down 2 waterfalls. We also did a ton of hiking and trekking, and I found myself fearing for my life only during these times. The paths were narrow, wet and rocky, and I find it difficult to believe that there have been no casualties during the years of adventure sports tours. At any rate, I came out in one piece, and was quite proud of myself for not flipping out whilst walking horizontally and backwards down a slippery waterfall constantly spraying on my face and body. It was a good day.
We ate nice hearty meals the likes of chicken schnitzel (a bit dry, but it was SCHNITZEL in VN) and pumpkin soup. It was so nice to be cool and wear a sweater and crave something nice and hot to warm the cockels of my soul. I'd forgotten I had cockels to warm. It was amazing walking weather, which was an amazing change from the hot, gritty, dirty, crowded streets of Saigon, where it is virtually impossible to walk anywhere. We walked around the lovely lake in the middle of the town, around the night foodstalls, and through the markets. It was glorious.
Our leaving day was started with a trip to the Crazy House. A famous structure which opened in the early 90's, the Crazy House is a bizarre construction that resembles Alice's Wonderland. The architect, a woman now in her 70's, is the daughter of Ho Chi Minh's 2nd in command. Being a good communist, he sent his daughter away to Moscow to study architecture (people may be starving from the effects of the new regime, but dammit, his daughter was going to become one hell of a communist architect), and following her return she settled in Da Lat and proceeded to create this strange house that doubles as a hotel as well as her living quarters. At $1.50 American, you can explore the craziness. We tromped around the copious stairwells leading nowhere and everywhere, and viewed most of the 20 hotel rooms, each with a different animal theme. I took the opportunity to take irritating pictures starring myself, and the whole thing was strange and fun and very different from most of my experiences thus far in Vietnam. My horizons are ever-broadening.
We spent the last 2 days in Mui Ne, making my trips to the chilled out beach resort town now totaling 3, while I have yet to see the rest of the country (this will be remedied with the arrival of my parents, and our trek through northern and central VN. OH MAN am I excited). Though the bus ride from Da Lat to Mui Ne was small and cramped due to our driver stopping along the way to pick up hop-ons along the side of the road (this happens frequently with the cheaper buses, as the driver can pocket the money), it was a great way to end the trip, and I spent all of Sunday sitting by the beach and just reading. We stayed at a really nice place that was also cheap, beating out our Da Lat hotel, which refused to give us a discount after there was a drip in the ceiling that left my pillow with a large wet spot. We were not pleased. I also had bought a bunch of Da Lat treats for my students (they gave a performance last week at a meeting of headmasters and mistresses for the VN Board of Education, I'll tell about that next time), but forgot them on the bus and didn't realize until the next day. Ah well.
Home yesterday, feeling a bit better about my situation here and looking forward to my next trip in 2 months time, this time with the fam.
Did I mention that I drank snake wine? It was pretty good.
Pictures to follow (I still need to post my pics from Cambodia), and more info about the shelter kids, etc. I have made a resolution to manage the upkeep of this blog, and dammit I will do so.
The trip was exactly what I needed to clear my head and get me back on my feet, excited about living in Vietnam. A mountain resort town established about a century ago by the occupying French who found Saigon to be INSUFFERABLE during the summer months, they all packed up and headed to lovely Da Lat, a beautiful little city surrounded by picturesque mountains and greenery,and much populated by hilltribe minorities, most notably the Montagnard (I'm assuming the French gave them that name). While most of VN farms rice, Da Lat is the fruit capital of the country, and the markets abound with delectable farm-grown fruits, as well as gorgeous flowers that are farmed and shipped to HCMC and other places during the night.
One bizarre legacy of the French in Da Lat is the copious pine trees one finds across the scenery. Not kidding. They transplanted this Western foliage over to tropical Vietnam, and the result is the feeling that one is walking around North America or somewhere (not so much in the city, since it is populated with Vietnamese). Throughout our trip, Rhona (from England) and I kept declaring our confusion at being in Vietnam, yet feeling as though we were in our respective countries. It was weird, but kind of nice.
The area reminds me a bit of a Colorado mountain town (not that I have too much experience with towns in Colorado, but just let it happen), in that there are countless outdoorsy and adventure-toursy things to do if you have the mind. Our first day there we climbed one of the mountains (most people cheat and drive up in Jeeps to take pictures at the summit. We were very smug in our feat of exercise). When we reached the top, there was what appeared to be a kitschy-ish little park of some sort, with statues and people selling things. We had been told that Da Lat is a very kitschy town, so were prepared. It wasn't that bad, and to be honest, I kind of enjoyed it, and proceeded to swing on the swings and watch the horses (oh yes, there were horses. In fact, we spotted several horses that had been painted to look like zebras, and a few that were done up like cows. No reasons given, I think they just found it amusing to pretend that there are zebras in mountainous regions of Vietnam). At any rate, we had a great time hiking up the mountain, and though the rain began as we were in the midst of our descent, it was an overall good activity. The rain didn't let up all day, so being cold and wet we proceeded to eat and play scrabble at one of the bars for the rest of the day.
In addition to selling fruit at their markets, there was an abundance of hats, scarves, and coats for sale on the streets. I managed to get a real NorthFace for $25 (I have a feeling they overcharged, but what the hell, it was way cheaper than the US), and Rhona and I bought matching Christmas stocking caps for a dollar. Mine has reindeer, hers has penguins. Both have pompoms.
The next day we took an 'easy rider' tour of the area with two Vietnamese men on their motorbikes. It was a beautiful and very educational tour-besides being surrounded by lovely scenery, we saw 2 pagodas, farmland, flower farms, coffee farms, a silk factory, a rice wine factory, and the Elephant waterfall, which Rhona and I hiked down to see. We didn't know we'd be hiking over wet and slippery rocks, and had both worn flipflops. Not only were we ill-equipped for our trek, I am positive the path itself would have been illegal due to its being just very unsafe. I had a few scares, but we both came up in one piece. After our tour, we were dropped at Emperor Bao Dai's summer palace, where we took a tour of the art-deco building and had a blast dressing up in the traditional Vietnamese royal clothing and having our pictures taken. I, being unmistakably non-Asian, looked a complete fool, though the group of Buddhist nuns who were also dressing up thought it was hilarious and proceeded to take pictures with me. Rhona, coming from a Chinese background, looked great. I proceeded to lament the fact that Asian women can wear Western clothes and look good, but western women just look foolish in eastern clothing. I still had fun; any chance to dress up and you will find me with a big grin. Probably a large reason I love performing.
Our last full day in Da Lat was the craziest, as we went canyoning. I didn't know what it was either. I learned that it consists of abseiling (what?) down waterfalls. Abseiling is kind of like the opposite of rock climbing; you start at the top and go down. It was an amazing experience, especially because I was petrified at the beginning and ended up having a blast. We went with a friend of Rhona's from her CELTA program who was visiting with his friend. The four of us had 2 guides, and we proceeded to abseil down 3 cliffs, make use of natural water slides, jump from a 10 meter cliff, and abseil down 2 waterfalls. We also did a ton of hiking and trekking, and I found myself fearing for my life only during these times. The paths were narrow, wet and rocky, and I find it difficult to believe that there have been no casualties during the years of adventure sports tours. At any rate, I came out in one piece, and was quite proud of myself for not flipping out whilst walking horizontally and backwards down a slippery waterfall constantly spraying on my face and body. It was a good day.
We ate nice hearty meals the likes of chicken schnitzel (a bit dry, but it was SCHNITZEL in VN) and pumpkin soup. It was so nice to be cool and wear a sweater and crave something nice and hot to warm the cockels of my soul. I'd forgotten I had cockels to warm. It was amazing walking weather, which was an amazing change from the hot, gritty, dirty, crowded streets of Saigon, where it is virtually impossible to walk anywhere. We walked around the lovely lake in the middle of the town, around the night foodstalls, and through the markets. It was glorious.
Our leaving day was started with a trip to the Crazy House. A famous structure which opened in the early 90's, the Crazy House is a bizarre construction that resembles Alice's Wonderland. The architect, a woman now in her 70's, is the daughter of Ho Chi Minh's 2nd in command. Being a good communist, he sent his daughter away to Moscow to study architecture (people may be starving from the effects of the new regime, but dammit, his daughter was going to become one hell of a communist architect), and following her return she settled in Da Lat and proceeded to create this strange house that doubles as a hotel as well as her living quarters. At $1.50 American, you can explore the craziness. We tromped around the copious stairwells leading nowhere and everywhere, and viewed most of the 20 hotel rooms, each with a different animal theme. I took the opportunity to take irritating pictures starring myself, and the whole thing was strange and fun and very different from most of my experiences thus far in Vietnam. My horizons are ever-broadening.
We spent the last 2 days in Mui Ne, making my trips to the chilled out beach resort town now totaling 3, while I have yet to see the rest of the country (this will be remedied with the arrival of my parents, and our trek through northern and central VN. OH MAN am I excited). Though the bus ride from Da Lat to Mui Ne was small and cramped due to our driver stopping along the way to pick up hop-ons along the side of the road (this happens frequently with the cheaper buses, as the driver can pocket the money), it was a great way to end the trip, and I spent all of Sunday sitting by the beach and just reading. We stayed at a really nice place that was also cheap, beating out our Da Lat hotel, which refused to give us a discount after there was a drip in the ceiling that left my pillow with a large wet spot. We were not pleased. I also had bought a bunch of Da Lat treats for my students (they gave a performance last week at a meeting of headmasters and mistresses for the VN Board of Education, I'll tell about that next time), but forgot them on the bus and didn't realize until the next day. Ah well.
Home yesterday, feeling a bit better about my situation here and looking forward to my next trip in 2 months time, this time with the fam.
Did I mention that I drank snake wine? It was pretty good.
Pictures to follow (I still need to post my pics from Cambodia), and more info about the shelter kids, etc. I have made a resolution to manage the upkeep of this blog, and dammit I will do so.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Hiatus!
All I have to say is, who is NOT surprised I fell off the bloggin' wagon? I realize it has been a month and a half since I posted anything, and my only excuse is that I can be pretty damn lazy. Really just impressed at how long I was posting regularly. I always say, set the bar low and you wont be disappointed. Words to live by.
A lot has happened since the end of May. I went on a really incredible yet short trip to Cambodia in June, which was beautiful and eye-opening and super educational. I went alone, and found out that I enjoy traveling on my own. I can't even begin to explain Angkor Wat, it is huge and amazing and insanely cool. I can't believe I never learned about it, this amazing civilization during the European 'dark ages'. We are really euro-centric in our education. Along those lines, going to the killing fields and the genocide museum was one of the more depressing things I've done in a while. I hadn't known anything about the Khmer Rouge until a few years ago when I watched The Killing Fields (aptly named) on TCM. Actually going to the prison and seeing the mass graves was really intense, especially because the guides are all survivors, and most of their families perished during the reign of Pol Pot. They are so emotional and determined to have their stories heard. It's almost like having a holocaust survivor show you around a concentration camp, its just eerie. But, I also saw some amazing things, palaces and incredible art, and ate some delightful food. My friend Amy lives in Phnom Penh, and we met up for some delicious food (including Taro fries, AMAzing) and went to a modern art exhibition, which was nice to see, as art is very censored over here in 'Nam. All in all, it was a great trip. I will put up pics asap.
I am working hard and often, but am making time for VN lessons, voice-over for CNBC, Wednesday night dodgeball club, and I just started volunteering at a children's HIV shelter. My friend Rhona and I are taking a week off at the end of August and going to Dalat, a city in the mountains, where the French used to holiday during their occupation. It sounds beautiful and outdoors-y.
I am coming home for the holidays! Working until mid-December, then coming to the US for 3 or 4 weeks, then back to VN and on to a few weeks in Laos with my friend Hannah before coming back for another 6 months working at Apollo. I've made a list of places I am considering moving to after I leave here, and Turkey is still on the list, along with Japan, Mongolia, Nepal, Brazil, Bosnia, Romania, Morocco, Russia, and Portugal. Open to other places, but these are places that I'd love to explore. South America is tough, because I don't speak Spanish and so many EFL teachers probably do. I was thinking Egypt for a time, but I think I'll steer clear for a few years. It's funny, I really thought I'd spend a year abroad to figure things out, and then head back. However, things are not very figured out as of yet, so I might as well keep on keepin' on with living abroad. Considering applying for a fulbright or peace corps (if I don't have a plan in the next few years, PC seems like a smart option, as that way at least I'm preparing to fund my grad school), and even thinking about looking into foreign service with the government, although I don't know if I'd get a security clearance. Apparently they like super straight-laced people to have those. Can't imagine why. At any rate, I'm happy just knowing my plans for the next year (will be back in the good ol' USA in time to be a maid in Lizzy Brouwer's wedding in August before moving to my next destination), and with 2 trips back home to see everyone in the next year, it really sounds like a good 'un to me. So many places to go. So little time.
This month is a poor one for me, since I'm trying to save money like CRAZY. Life is hard. Also, I would just like to say that it sucks to live outside the US when HP7(2) is out there but not over here. Really stings.
Also, you don't need a prescription for any drugs here. You just go in and tell them what you want. It's crazy. If we did that in the States, it would be drugged-out pandemonium. Ah, developing countries.
that's all for now, but I will REALLY try to not be a lazy ass anymore. we'll see...
A lot has happened since the end of May. I went on a really incredible yet short trip to Cambodia in June, which was beautiful and eye-opening and super educational. I went alone, and found out that I enjoy traveling on my own. I can't even begin to explain Angkor Wat, it is huge and amazing and insanely cool. I can't believe I never learned about it, this amazing civilization during the European 'dark ages'. We are really euro-centric in our education. Along those lines, going to the killing fields and the genocide museum was one of the more depressing things I've done in a while. I hadn't known anything about the Khmer Rouge until a few years ago when I watched The Killing Fields (aptly named) on TCM. Actually going to the prison and seeing the mass graves was really intense, especially because the guides are all survivors, and most of their families perished during the reign of Pol Pot. They are so emotional and determined to have their stories heard. It's almost like having a holocaust survivor show you around a concentration camp, its just eerie. But, I also saw some amazing things, palaces and incredible art, and ate some delightful food. My friend Amy lives in Phnom Penh, and we met up for some delicious food (including Taro fries, AMAzing) and went to a modern art exhibition, which was nice to see, as art is very censored over here in 'Nam. All in all, it was a great trip. I will put up pics asap.
I am working hard and often, but am making time for VN lessons, voice-over for CNBC, Wednesday night dodgeball club, and I just started volunteering at a children's HIV shelter. My friend Rhona and I are taking a week off at the end of August and going to Dalat, a city in the mountains, where the French used to holiday during their occupation. It sounds beautiful and outdoors-y.
I am coming home for the holidays! Working until mid-December, then coming to the US for 3 or 4 weeks, then back to VN and on to a few weeks in Laos with my friend Hannah before coming back for another 6 months working at Apollo. I've made a list of places I am considering moving to after I leave here, and Turkey is still on the list, along with Japan, Mongolia, Nepal, Brazil, Bosnia, Romania, Morocco, Russia, and Portugal. Open to other places, but these are places that I'd love to explore. South America is tough, because I don't speak Spanish and so many EFL teachers probably do. I was thinking Egypt for a time, but I think I'll steer clear for a few years. It's funny, I really thought I'd spend a year abroad to figure things out, and then head back. However, things are not very figured out as of yet, so I might as well keep on keepin' on with living abroad. Considering applying for a fulbright or peace corps (if I don't have a plan in the next few years, PC seems like a smart option, as that way at least I'm preparing to fund my grad school), and even thinking about looking into foreign service with the government, although I don't know if I'd get a security clearance. Apparently they like super straight-laced people to have those. Can't imagine why. At any rate, I'm happy just knowing my plans for the next year (will be back in the good ol' USA in time to be a maid in Lizzy Brouwer's wedding in August before moving to my next destination), and with 2 trips back home to see everyone in the next year, it really sounds like a good 'un to me. So many places to go. So little time.
This month is a poor one for me, since I'm trying to save money like CRAZY. Life is hard. Also, I would just like to say that it sucks to live outside the US when HP7(2) is out there but not over here. Really stings.
Also, you don't need a prescription for any drugs here. You just go in and tell them what you want. It's crazy. If we did that in the States, it would be drugged-out pandemonium. Ah, developing countries.
that's all for now, but I will REALLY try to not be a lazy ass anymore. we'll see...
Monday, May 30, 2011
June?!
I've spent the past week completely re evaluating my time spent here. Sometimes it's really the best thing, you suddenly realize you are living in VIETNAM and you have yet to really explore what it has to offer. I've not been to the museums, the temples, the chinese market, the reunificaiton palace, etc. and have been here for half a year. There really is no excuse for that. There aren't even that many good TV channels. Making plans to do all of these things soon, and also to just get out more.
On Wednesday night I went to a performance at the Opera House. A French pianist played one concert of Lizst's works of literary inspiration, and it was quite well done. The weird thing is, in a city of almost 9 million, the house was not nearly full. The Opera House has performances around 3-4 times a month (don't get me started on the waste), and they are horribly publicized. The result is a very limp cultural scene. I went to a performance of the International Choir and Orchestra on Saturday (quite good for non-professionals), and they played some great Mozart and Vivaldi, as well as some great pieces involving a classical guitarist. I was hoping to meet some people there, but apparently most of the classical music scene is the dull, silent auction type. So, I ended up sitting throughout the intermissions reading my book, which apparently is weirder than walking around amongst a bunch of strangers. No idea how that's supposed to be social if you don't talk to anyone. I gotta find some friends with whom to attend my events. There was also a 50's-60's dance party on Saturday, but not a single person I called was interested. Now THAT is sad to me. Who doesn't like motown? I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't trust people who don't like motown. Must have a rotten soul and no sense of rhythm, and I don't know which is worse.
I went to the Dam Sen water park with some friends on Friday. Since it was the last day of school for most kids, it was packed, and I even ran into one of my students. The park was really great, and had a zipline into the water. Best idea ever. I can say with complete certainty that I was the only non-Asian at the park (I'd come with 4 coworkers who are all ethnically Asian, and two TAs who are Vietnamese), and when I stood on the ladder about to zip down into the pool, all of a sudden there was a huge cheering section that involved basically the entire population of people in the adjacent pool. It was funny and also irritating to know that I stuck out to that degree. You'd think at 20 feet high, the blonde hair wouldn't be as visible. Maybe it was the bathing suit. The lazy river was anything but lazy, and involved dozens of children in mobs splashing everyone in sight. The slides were A-mazing, with names like kamikaze and boomerang. Had never seen anything like the boomerang, which more resembled a skating half pipe than a water slide. All in all, a good time was had.
Currently in the middle of figuring out what I want to do after November; considering staying for an extra 6 months, or moving somewhere else (Turkey is really looking interesting). Have realized how over the Saigon club scene I am, and am furiously trying to cobble together a more interesting and diverse social scene. Trips to plan, things to see, and hopefully a few interesting people to meet.
I have my medical check on Wednesday for my work Visa. Have heard absolute horror stories about the hospital, so that will be an interesting experience, and hopefully an eye-opening one. I wonder if they will let me bring in a camera. Apparently, multiple other doctors come in to observe the check, just to see a white person in the hospital. A friend told me to ignore everything they tell me, as they don't know what they're talking about. It sounded a bit harsh, but she went on to say that they told her she had cataracts on her eyes, so I guess I'll wait to form my own opinion. Apparently, they only care if you have TB or are HIV positive, which got me thinking. How much would it suck to find out you have HIV at a creepy Vietnamese hospital? How would that affect your time abroad? Would you go to another country for a second opinion? Could you afford that? Not that I'm especially worried, but it does make you wonder. Apparently it happened to someone at our Hanoi branch. Since he'd been here for a long time and had a lot of VN female friends, it apparently wasn't much of a shock, but still. I haven't come across too many western therapists (or eastern ones, for that matter), and I feel like that's just unhealthy. But what an awful way to come back to the US. 'SO, how was your time in VN?', 'Well, I got a mad case of HIV, but escaped the syphilis altogether. AND, I learned how to use chopsticks.' Talk about a buzzkill. It's not even exotic sounding, like Malaria or Dengue Fever.
I'm in a reading frenzy and there are shockingly few English books in this city. I can handle the clothes thing, but no books? Really?
I'll write about my hospital experience asap!
On Wednesday night I went to a performance at the Opera House. A French pianist played one concert of Lizst's works of literary inspiration, and it was quite well done. The weird thing is, in a city of almost 9 million, the house was not nearly full. The Opera House has performances around 3-4 times a month (don't get me started on the waste), and they are horribly publicized. The result is a very limp cultural scene. I went to a performance of the International Choir and Orchestra on Saturday (quite good for non-professionals), and they played some great Mozart and Vivaldi, as well as some great pieces involving a classical guitarist. I was hoping to meet some people there, but apparently most of the classical music scene is the dull, silent auction type. So, I ended up sitting throughout the intermissions reading my book, which apparently is weirder than walking around amongst a bunch of strangers. No idea how that's supposed to be social if you don't talk to anyone. I gotta find some friends with whom to attend my events. There was also a 50's-60's dance party on Saturday, but not a single person I called was interested. Now THAT is sad to me. Who doesn't like motown? I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't trust people who don't like motown. Must have a rotten soul and no sense of rhythm, and I don't know which is worse.
I went to the Dam Sen water park with some friends on Friday. Since it was the last day of school for most kids, it was packed, and I even ran into one of my students. The park was really great, and had a zipline into the water. Best idea ever. I can say with complete certainty that I was the only non-Asian at the park (I'd come with 4 coworkers who are all ethnically Asian, and two TAs who are Vietnamese), and when I stood on the ladder about to zip down into the pool, all of a sudden there was a huge cheering section that involved basically the entire population of people in the adjacent pool. It was funny and also irritating to know that I stuck out to that degree. You'd think at 20 feet high, the blonde hair wouldn't be as visible. Maybe it was the bathing suit. The lazy river was anything but lazy, and involved dozens of children in mobs splashing everyone in sight. The slides were A-mazing, with names like kamikaze and boomerang. Had never seen anything like the boomerang, which more resembled a skating half pipe than a water slide. All in all, a good time was had.
Currently in the middle of figuring out what I want to do after November; considering staying for an extra 6 months, or moving somewhere else (Turkey is really looking interesting). Have realized how over the Saigon club scene I am, and am furiously trying to cobble together a more interesting and diverse social scene. Trips to plan, things to see, and hopefully a few interesting people to meet.
I have my medical check on Wednesday for my work Visa. Have heard absolute horror stories about the hospital, so that will be an interesting experience, and hopefully an eye-opening one. I wonder if they will let me bring in a camera. Apparently, multiple other doctors come in to observe the check, just to see a white person in the hospital. A friend told me to ignore everything they tell me, as they don't know what they're talking about. It sounded a bit harsh, but she went on to say that they told her she had cataracts on her eyes, so I guess I'll wait to form my own opinion. Apparently, they only care if you have TB or are HIV positive, which got me thinking. How much would it suck to find out you have HIV at a creepy Vietnamese hospital? How would that affect your time abroad? Would you go to another country for a second opinion? Could you afford that? Not that I'm especially worried, but it does make you wonder. Apparently it happened to someone at our Hanoi branch. Since he'd been here for a long time and had a lot of VN female friends, it apparently wasn't much of a shock, but still. I haven't come across too many western therapists (or eastern ones, for that matter), and I feel like that's just unhealthy. But what an awful way to come back to the US. 'SO, how was your time in VN?', 'Well, I got a mad case of HIV, but escaped the syphilis altogether. AND, I learned how to use chopsticks.' Talk about a buzzkill. It's not even exotic sounding, like Malaria or Dengue Fever.
I'm in a reading frenzy and there are shockingly few English books in this city. I can handle the clothes thing, but no books? Really?
I'll write about my hospital experience asap!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Halfway to a Vietnamese passport!
At some point, after making a large life change (moving to a new country), normal life eventually sinks back in. You suddenly realize that the novelty of a $1 lunch has completely worn off, and in its place is complete irritation when any meal costs more than $2. You get used to being the equivalent of a sideshow freak walking down the streets (a lovely silver lining), and become accustomed to getting a ride to travel 2 blocks. I am still very much uncertain about the fast-approaching rainy season, so not everything is under my belt yet. My point is, after a while an exciting new life just ends up being everyday life. It sounds cynical (my parents are positive I've become more cynical since coming here. I disagree, and believe their only reasoning is my unwillingness to go crazy over the royal wedding-something I just can't get into).
I still like riding around the city, I still enjoy the food. I still get irritated by the bureaucracy that turns most errands into all-day affairs, and the incredible inequality of this country. I finally feel like I have friends to call in most situations, which is great. I'm making some good developments with work, and meeting new challenges (read: teens classes. Apparently, it isn't common sense over here to not answer your phone in the middle of class. Color me LIVID). I guess, I'm just looking to regain that sense of wonder and adventure I felt when I first moved here. My roommate Tracey was offered an amazing new job managing factories all over the world (damn engineers really can get jobs anywhere), and it got me thinking. I never thought I wanted to teach for the rest of my life. I totally admire people who have that passion, but unfortunately I just don't. I like many aspects of teaching, but to be honest it is usually just not very intellectually stimulating for me. Half the time I leave a class wondering whether the students have really learned anything. Who knows, really.
I have come to the decision that the States are not a destination for me until I've made a legit plan for the future, presumably involving some sort of grad school. I came here thinking this would just be an in-between year type of deal, but to be honest, I have no clue what I would do were I to move back soon. Better to be working things out and doing interesting things than waitressing in Ann Arbor.
Today was my day off, which I spent (as per usual) laying on the couch. After an intense weekend, its just something I like to do. Our maid comes on Mondays, and so when she got here Tracey and I were just sitting on the couch, and ended up basically watching her do our dishes and sweep our floor. It just seemed so terrible to me, even though I grew up with a cleaning woman (Rosa, who doesn't clean above her four foot high line of sight, but is the best)coming to our house once a week. It doesn't make sense, but I for some reason feel guilty about our maid. I mean, I still sat on my ass and continued to watch Dexter on DVD. Laziness often overrides most other feelings.
Did absolutely nothing all day, save the lovely cooking that went on. Roasted vegetables in banh mi, pork chops in soy-lime-ginger sauce, and the restoration of our soup attempts from last night. Thank god for the kitchen, or I would have actually spent all day on the couch. It's been fun for me, because we have no measuring devices or recipes, so I can just throw things together as I see fit. My mom gets nervous when I do that at her house. I have been meaning to take VN cooking lessons-will really have to look into that.
I'm helping to plan the summer day-camps that we do, and if anyone has any ideas (especially for games you can use as English-teaching tools), let me know. I'm also learning how to do placement testing. Apparently it looks good on your CV. Apparently, my ESL CV is going to look quite nice when I leave Apollo. Too bad it's not the career path for me. I'm holding on to the pipe dream that my voice over job will turn into a TV news job. Not at all likely, but one can dream.
I'll post some pics of the mentoring sisters all making pancakes sometime soon!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Beach Vacay!
I officially suck at keeping a blog. The whole point is to keep people updated with your life, but that requires people to update. In my defense, it has been a busy few weeks, including my trip home to Ann Arbor for a long weekend which was a blast! In truth, I was a little worried about the whole reverse-culture shock thing (especially in that I would officially consider myself to be super pretentious), but it was fine. In America, I experienced very little jet lag. It was also a steady stream of seeing people after a long time, eating food I can't get over in the Indochine, and parties. Aside from the fact that I had a minor melt down in H&M due to the insanely high prices (it's actually quite reasonable) compared to Vietnam's fresh-from-the-factory prices, it was a wonderful time and had not a hitch. I still feel super guilty about being away for the holidays, but it was nice to have time with the whole family even in April. An amazingly fun wedding which involved a large amount of Randolph-family dance floor time rounded out my 3-day extravaganza.
I had two really quite nice flights involving empty rows of seats and my own tv; the only glitch came on my way back, when the airline flipped out about my visa expiring on the day I got back to Vietnam. I had gotten my HR people to get me a new visa, but their confirmation email was late, and I didn't have it yet. In the end, they let me board, and I printed out necessary documents in Hong Kong during my layover. Not a problem at all unless you include the fact that once in the visa line at the HCM airport, it took a good hour to get things in order. Don't get me started on their placement of atm. Unlike my USA trip, I was attacked by horrible jet lag once home, resulting in far too much napping which sadly has yet to go away.
I finally have some non-children classes to teach, and I think I might just be able to handle teaching for a while. Unlike the children's classes which are more discipline than anything else, I actually get to teach and at times have smart conversations with adult students. SOO nice. Most of my partnership classes are ending as swell, which is good because I don't think I can handle much more of that. I've now done General English, Confident Teens, and Corporate (my favorite). Starting next week, I get my own pronunciation class and I am quite pleased.
This past weekend it was Victory Day, so we got the weekend off. I went to Mui Ne with some friends, and we had a delightful time. Despite the fact that in Mui Ne (a little beach resort town about 5 hours from Saigon) it was even hotter than in Saigon, it was super fun. And by the way, the heat is insane. like, face-melting-I-feel-like-the-subject-of-a-Dali-painting hot. Shared a room with my friend Hannah, and just to make us really sweat, the air conditioning was broken. Nonetheless, we had a lovely time swimming in the sea and eating amazing food. Its funny how on vacation, all we want to eat is western food. And there was some amazing western food. Since we eat VN food every day here, a legitimate burger is exactly what you want on holiday. Though there was supposed to be a big party on the sand dunes, it was cancelled, so our big party night was slightly less cool than it should have been. But we made do at one of the clubs on the beach, so it was still a lovely time. It's still crazy to me that I live but a bus ride away from a touristy, beach party town. A strange town that is comprised of about 3 miles of one seaside-road. On the upside, you are always next to the ocean.
Can't think of anything else to say. More details later.
I had two really quite nice flights involving empty rows of seats and my own tv; the only glitch came on my way back, when the airline flipped out about my visa expiring on the day I got back to Vietnam. I had gotten my HR people to get me a new visa, but their confirmation email was late, and I didn't have it yet. In the end, they let me board, and I printed out necessary documents in Hong Kong during my layover. Not a problem at all unless you include the fact that once in the visa line at the HCM airport, it took a good hour to get things in order. Don't get me started on their placement of atm. Unlike my USA trip, I was attacked by horrible jet lag once home, resulting in far too much napping which sadly has yet to go away.
I finally have some non-children classes to teach, and I think I might just be able to handle teaching for a while. Unlike the children's classes which are more discipline than anything else, I actually get to teach and at times have smart conversations with adult students. SOO nice. Most of my partnership classes are ending as swell, which is good because I don't think I can handle much more of that. I've now done General English, Confident Teens, and Corporate (my favorite). Starting next week, I get my own pronunciation class and I am quite pleased.
This past weekend it was Victory Day, so we got the weekend off. I went to Mui Ne with some friends, and we had a delightful time. Despite the fact that in Mui Ne (a little beach resort town about 5 hours from Saigon) it was even hotter than in Saigon, it was super fun. And by the way, the heat is insane. like, face-melting-I-feel-like-the-subject-of-a-Dali-painting hot. Shared a room with my friend Hannah, and just to make us really sweat, the air conditioning was broken. Nonetheless, we had a lovely time swimming in the sea and eating amazing food. Its funny how on vacation, all we want to eat is western food. And there was some amazing western food. Since we eat VN food every day here, a legitimate burger is exactly what you want on holiday. Though there was supposed to be a big party on the sand dunes, it was cancelled, so our big party night was slightly less cool than it should have been. But we made do at one of the clubs on the beach, so it was still a lovely time. It's still crazy to me that I live but a bus ride away from a touristy, beach party town. A strange town that is comprised of about 3 miles of one seaside-road. On the upside, you are always next to the ocean.
Can't think of anything else to say. More details later.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Just so excited about being in Japan! And its just the airport
So, since I have an entire day to just sit and hang out on the computer, I thought I would share some of the interesting things I've seen around the airport. DAMN I wish I had time to explore Japan. If only it weren't like the most expensive place on the planet, I would love to live here. There really are vending machines all over the place! Just as I always dreamed there would be.
-The water faucets have knobs with exact temperatures for the water. I realize now that that isn't cool at all, but in my apartment in Vietnam, there is one temperature for faucets: whatever the hell comes out.
-The toilets have a weird electric button that makes a flushing sound when you aren't flushing. I don't really get it, but they are motion sensitive so all of a sudden while you are going to the bathroom, you hear random flushing noises. And speaking of the bathrooms, I would just like to say that they are immaculate.
-One of the waiting areas looks like a strange museum: there are modern leather stool-sofa like seats that have museum-like overhead lighting on them, like they are on display. Very strange.
-From my view in the lounge, I can see rows upon rows of cherry blossoms in the distance. Natural disasters aside, it seems like the perfect time to visit.
-while gchatting Maggie, I experienced an earthquake aftershock! It was quite minor and not really an issue at all, but I can now officially say that I experienced a Japanese earthquake aftershock. Not sure why that is cool. It should just be depressing.
Oh man. Every time I go somewhere new, it just becomes that much more clear how little I have seen, and how much I need to pack into my short life. At this rate I will need a decade of country-hopping before I feel like I can settle down. It's almost cruel to give me an 8 hour layover in a place as badass as Japan.
I got onto facebook for the first time in MONTHS! I forgot that there are ways to waste time besides facebook. Thanks to the Vietnamese government, I am now a pro.
-The water faucets have knobs with exact temperatures for the water. I realize now that that isn't cool at all, but in my apartment in Vietnam, there is one temperature for faucets: whatever the hell comes out.
-The toilets have a weird electric button that makes a flushing sound when you aren't flushing. I don't really get it, but they are motion sensitive so all of a sudden while you are going to the bathroom, you hear random flushing noises. And speaking of the bathrooms, I would just like to say that they are immaculate.
-One of the waiting areas looks like a strange museum: there are modern leather stool-sofa like seats that have museum-like overhead lighting on them, like they are on display. Very strange.
-From my view in the lounge, I can see rows upon rows of cherry blossoms in the distance. Natural disasters aside, it seems like the perfect time to visit.
-while gchatting Maggie, I experienced an earthquake aftershock! It was quite minor and not really an issue at all, but I can now officially say that I experienced a Japanese earthquake aftershock. Not sure why that is cool. It should just be depressing.
Oh man. Every time I go somewhere new, it just becomes that much more clear how little I have seen, and how much I need to pack into my short life. At this rate I will need a decade of country-hopping before I feel like I can settle down. It's almost cruel to give me an 8 hour layover in a place as badass as Japan.
I got onto facebook for the first time in MONTHS! I forgot that there are ways to waste time besides facebook. Thanks to the Vietnamese government, I am now a pro.
From Narita Airport
Well, I am currently en route to Michigan for a wedding this weekend. Had a nice red-eye from HCM to Tokyo, and am in the middle of my 8 hour layover here. To be fair, I'm pretty pleased with the accommodations here. My mom sent me a day pass for the skyclub, so i have full access to a lovely apple computer, continuous buffet with a strange assortment including my first REAL japanese sushi ever as well as toasts with spam and beans. Knew how much the Vietnamese like their processed meats, but wasn't aware it was more of a pan-Asiatic obsession. If I weren't alone it could be quite fun to take advantage of the endless booze as well, but as it is I don't wanna be THAT passenger. On the bright side, I had my own TV for the previous leg, and hopes are high for the 13-hour flight. It really does make all the difference.
Spent my day off (tuesday) at the Giang Dien Gardens, a Vietnamese cross between a water park, camping grounds, and a park-like resort. It's a huge section of land that is totally landscaped in a very pretty but also strange kind of way. The water part has man-made waterfalls in a river, and everyone swims around in the waterfalls. It's a very rocky area, and I'm surprised there aren't more accidents. I kept thinking the whole time how this would not be legal in the states. Everyone is required to wear a life jacket, which makes it just that much easier to be lazy. We were there the entire day, and I think I saw one other non-VN guest. To make us stick out even more, Vietnamese don't wear bathing suits. They just swim in their regular clothes. Some boys had swim shorts on, but mostly people wore t-shirts, and some wore their jeans and belts and stuff in the water. A bit bizarre to us, but then we looked like whoring expats to them. Because they don't like the sun, everyone got a tent to sit under, with a tarp on the ground. It was perfect for me, because tropical sun and my lily-white skin don't get along very well. It was all around a very nice day, and I am totally pumped to go again, preferably on a day when I did not stay out all night the night before (spent much of the morning napping).
Also witnessed my first truly wasted Vietnamese person. Now, VN people have decently low tolerance in general, but mostly they don't drink too much, and it is very rare to see someone so far gone they can't stand up. The lot of us had a field day observing a young woman who was absolutely trashed. Her friends clearly had no idea how to deal with it, and kept letting her fall down and fall into tents and things while helping her walk. They tried piggy-backing, but she fell backwards and got herself completely filthy. They ended up throwing her in the river before helping her across the bridge. I realize this doesn't sound too exciting, but the thing is, we hadn't seen anything like it since we all moved from our respective drunken countries. We were all thoroughly amused, as horrible as that is. Literally everyone was crowding around to watch her try to cross the bridge (most Vietnamese don't usually witness this type of thing ever). Interesting how in western cultures we wouldn't really bat an eye, yet here public drunkenness is blog-worthy. Talk about a difference in culture.
Amy, my friend from CELTA who lives and teaches in Phnom Penh, was in town last night, so on my way out to the airport (complete with GIANT tourist-looking suitcase) I stopped to have dinner with her and a few other friends of hers. The place was one of the coolest buildings I've ever seen. Although it's just a nice but regular looking house from the outside, the inside is almost treehouse-like. There is a first floor dining area, but further back you must cross a mini-bridge over a pond, and go up ladder-like outdoor stairs to several other rooms or floors, and the entire inside is decorated with antique VN furniture, with exposed eaves and an amazing ambience. You can even eat on an antique bed, though i hear it isn't very comfortable. At any rate, definitely somewhere I'd go again. I love getting to the point living somewhere when you start to learn some of its hidden gems. One nice thing about having a small expat community-you can get all the goods. Though I will say it would be nice to have a few more friend options. I hang out with almost exclusively teachers, except for the handful of friends I've met through Tracey, who for some reason knows 3/4 of the expats in Saigon. Good person to know.
Call me crazy, but I can't wait for a little Michigan spring weather. Oh man, so excited! For once I wont be dripping sweat.
Got to run, that sushi isn't gonna eat itself!
Spent my day off (tuesday) at the Giang Dien Gardens, a Vietnamese cross between a water park, camping grounds, and a park-like resort. It's a huge section of land that is totally landscaped in a very pretty but also strange kind of way. The water part has man-made waterfalls in a river, and everyone swims around in the waterfalls. It's a very rocky area, and I'm surprised there aren't more accidents. I kept thinking the whole time how this would not be legal in the states. Everyone is required to wear a life jacket, which makes it just that much easier to be lazy. We were there the entire day, and I think I saw one other non-VN guest. To make us stick out even more, Vietnamese don't wear bathing suits. They just swim in their regular clothes. Some boys had swim shorts on, but mostly people wore t-shirts, and some wore their jeans and belts and stuff in the water. A bit bizarre to us, but then we looked like whoring expats to them. Because they don't like the sun, everyone got a tent to sit under, with a tarp on the ground. It was perfect for me, because tropical sun and my lily-white skin don't get along very well. It was all around a very nice day, and I am totally pumped to go again, preferably on a day when I did not stay out all night the night before (spent much of the morning napping).
Also witnessed my first truly wasted Vietnamese person. Now, VN people have decently low tolerance in general, but mostly they don't drink too much, and it is very rare to see someone so far gone they can't stand up. The lot of us had a field day observing a young woman who was absolutely trashed. Her friends clearly had no idea how to deal with it, and kept letting her fall down and fall into tents and things while helping her walk. They tried piggy-backing, but she fell backwards and got herself completely filthy. They ended up throwing her in the river before helping her across the bridge. I realize this doesn't sound too exciting, but the thing is, we hadn't seen anything like it since we all moved from our respective drunken countries. We were all thoroughly amused, as horrible as that is. Literally everyone was crowding around to watch her try to cross the bridge (most Vietnamese don't usually witness this type of thing ever). Interesting how in western cultures we wouldn't really bat an eye, yet here public drunkenness is blog-worthy. Talk about a difference in culture.
Amy, my friend from CELTA who lives and teaches in Phnom Penh, was in town last night, so on my way out to the airport (complete with GIANT tourist-looking suitcase) I stopped to have dinner with her and a few other friends of hers. The place was one of the coolest buildings I've ever seen. Although it's just a nice but regular looking house from the outside, the inside is almost treehouse-like. There is a first floor dining area, but further back you must cross a mini-bridge over a pond, and go up ladder-like outdoor stairs to several other rooms or floors, and the entire inside is decorated with antique VN furniture, with exposed eaves and an amazing ambience. You can even eat on an antique bed, though i hear it isn't very comfortable. At any rate, definitely somewhere I'd go again. I love getting to the point living somewhere when you start to learn some of its hidden gems. One nice thing about having a small expat community-you can get all the goods. Though I will say it would be nice to have a few more friend options. I hang out with almost exclusively teachers, except for the handful of friends I've met through Tracey, who for some reason knows 3/4 of the expats in Saigon. Good person to know.
Call me crazy, but I can't wait for a little Michigan spring weather. Oh man, so excited! For once I wont be dripping sweat.
Got to run, that sushi isn't gonna eat itself!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Charity and Work Developments
Heading back to America in 4 days! I really can't believe the time has gone by so quickly. I feel so removed from my previous life, and am super interested to see what the reverse culture shock will be like. Luckily, I will be spending almost all of my time seeing family and friends, and that never goes out of style. Can't WAIT to see people and hear about their lives during our time apart.
Today was my first Saturday off since I started working full time. Interestingly, it came about due to the celebration of a dead king's birthday. To honor this king, schools are off on Tuesday (Monday as well, I believe). The government, in turn, decided to make the children attend school on Saturday instead. So, all of our students were at regular school today, and we all got the day off. Was hoping to go to Vung Tao, a beach about an hour's boat ride away. There is a kite festival there today, and I was quite interested. However, due to all of the other things I was planning, I didn't get around to it. But, I am all set to join some of the teachers on a mini-bus ride to some waterfalls on our other day off on Tuesday.
Luckily, the day wasn't a complete waste. I just got my first month's full time pay, and since we teachers never have our weekends off, we went to a delightful weekend brunch place complete with a chocolate fountain. The brunch was huge, and we had a nice and leisurely meal, with multiple trips to the fountain. Tracey and I spent the rest of the afternoon shopping around, and went to an indoor market/mall type place. I haven't been shopping once since I moved here (aside from Xmas shopping), and it was really fun to see all of the stuff people sell. Saw many things I am planning on buying next month when I have more money. For some reason bone-chopsticks and silk fans aren't on my immediate must-have list.
Have spent the past week being quite saintly, if I do say so myself. I feel like all of my time is spent either working or doing charity work. Not complaining, just realizing how boring my life may sound.
This Sunday started out my week with a very stressful observation involving a bad class and a particularly bad student who pretended to throw up in a trash can while I attempted to teach them a song. During my first-ever job observation. Which will be evaluated. Not pleased. Luckily, I found out later this week that two of my ideas for the school are going to be implemented. I have outlined and begun organizing a spelling bee, which we will use in the public schools. The Apollo managers liked the idea so much, they will be doing spelling bees at every Apollo school in the country! And I thought being a spelling geek would never get me anywhere. My friend Dana and I also began outlining a proposal for book clubs. There will be story time for the younger kids, and legitimate book clubs for the older ones, with monthly books and meetings. My boss officially loves me, and I couldn't be more pleased. I like thinking up ideas for educating kids way more than implementing them in the classroom. Clearly that's where my talents lie; just ask the vomit kid.
Spent our little sisters evening at my friend Ginny's house making pancakes with the girls. They'd never heard of or tasted pancakes, and had a ton of fun flipping them. Its crazy how easy it is to amuse these kids.
Last night we had a sing-along night with kids from a shelter that helps poor kids affected by HIV. We sang english and VN songs, played games, ate food, etc. It lasted a bit long for me (three hours of dancing around to songs like the hokey pokey can really take it out of you), but the kids enjoyed themselves, and were adorable. I made Chinh come with his guitar, and I think he had a good time. The family whose house we painted was there as well, and it was nice to meet the kids. Nice to use my music degree for something, although I don't think that's exactly what my voice teacher was thinking.
I guess that's all for the time being!
Today was my first Saturday off since I started working full time. Interestingly, it came about due to the celebration of a dead king's birthday. To honor this king, schools are off on Tuesday (Monday as well, I believe). The government, in turn, decided to make the children attend school on Saturday instead. So, all of our students were at regular school today, and we all got the day off. Was hoping to go to Vung Tao, a beach about an hour's boat ride away. There is a kite festival there today, and I was quite interested. However, due to all of the other things I was planning, I didn't get around to it. But, I am all set to join some of the teachers on a mini-bus ride to some waterfalls on our other day off on Tuesday.
Luckily, the day wasn't a complete waste. I just got my first month's full time pay, and since we teachers never have our weekends off, we went to a delightful weekend brunch place complete with a chocolate fountain. The brunch was huge, and we had a nice and leisurely meal, with multiple trips to the fountain. Tracey and I spent the rest of the afternoon shopping around, and went to an indoor market/mall type place. I haven't been shopping once since I moved here (aside from Xmas shopping), and it was really fun to see all of the stuff people sell. Saw many things I am planning on buying next month when I have more money. For some reason bone-chopsticks and silk fans aren't on my immediate must-have list.
Have spent the past week being quite saintly, if I do say so myself. I feel like all of my time is spent either working or doing charity work. Not complaining, just realizing how boring my life may sound.
This Sunday started out my week with a very stressful observation involving a bad class and a particularly bad student who pretended to throw up in a trash can while I attempted to teach them a song. During my first-ever job observation. Which will be evaluated. Not pleased. Luckily, I found out later this week that two of my ideas for the school are going to be implemented. I have outlined and begun organizing a spelling bee, which we will use in the public schools. The Apollo managers liked the idea so much, they will be doing spelling bees at every Apollo school in the country! And I thought being a spelling geek would never get me anywhere. My friend Dana and I also began outlining a proposal for book clubs. There will be story time for the younger kids, and legitimate book clubs for the older ones, with monthly books and meetings. My boss officially loves me, and I couldn't be more pleased. I like thinking up ideas for educating kids way more than implementing them in the classroom. Clearly that's where my talents lie; just ask the vomit kid.
Spent our little sisters evening at my friend Ginny's house making pancakes with the girls. They'd never heard of or tasted pancakes, and had a ton of fun flipping them. Its crazy how easy it is to amuse these kids.
Last night we had a sing-along night with kids from a shelter that helps poor kids affected by HIV. We sang english and VN songs, played games, ate food, etc. It lasted a bit long for me (three hours of dancing around to songs like the hokey pokey can really take it out of you), but the kids enjoyed themselves, and were adorable. I made Chinh come with his guitar, and I think he had a good time. The family whose house we painted was there as well, and it was nice to meet the kids. Nice to use my music degree for something, although I don't think that's exactly what my voice teacher was thinking.
I guess that's all for the time being!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
UPdates galore
Being busy makes me a very lazy blogger. Ah well, we can't have everything.
Things that have happened in the last week and a half...
First, last night I was woken up at 11:30 with these words: 'Lizzie, the police are here'. Apparently, since we are still in the process of getting things together to register in our apartment with the police (something all foreigners must do), they came around for a 'routine check' at nearly midnight on a Wednesday. We gave the group of four men in various uniform dress our passports and visas, then waited around until they had finished marveling at the eagles and things decorating them. It was a very interesting encounter. I'd have taken a picture to commemorate the event, but it's illegal to photograph the police. Don't ask, i have no idea.
Speaking of irritating issues with the VN police, our sing-along night has to be delayed due to the shelter's inability to get a permit from them in time for the weekend. I am very confused about the way things work here, and have no idea why you would need a permit for a sing-along, though I suspect it has something to do with foreigners entering shelters. Who knows. The police/government are a complete mystery to me. They get stranger at every turn.
I got a (very) part time job doing voice over work for a financial and banking TV station. The pay is basically symbolic, as I don't know if it would even pay for a night out on the town, but I figure it sounds cool and why not? I've only done one session, but I now know all about VN gold bullion, plans for the national coffee trade, and all about old buildings in Hanoi that don't meet street codes. It's a very interesting experience, and really takes very little of my time. But, I get to spend a good half hour in a tiny studio reading from scripts into a microphone, then sit outside and wait for the producer to cut to satisfaction. At the end of my first session, she told me 'it wasn't that bad'. Still not used to Vietnamese bluntness. Hoping it will thicken my skin and not break my spirit. The people don't really seem to mind; during a game of 'change chairs' in one of my classes, one kid goes 'change chairs if you are fat'. A handful of admittedly fat kids stood up, including girls (10-12 year olds, mind you), and when one kid didn't stand up, everyone yelled at him until he did. The thing is, no one seemed bothered by it in the first place. Could you imagine a group of American kids being ok with that?
Heading to the US in 2 weeks, and I get to spend a whole day's layover in Japan. My first time in Japan, and I have already been advised by multiple people to not leave the airport. All I have to say is, I hope it's a freakin sweet airport. Maybe some interesting vending machines/those weird cubicle hotel room things. Who knows what I may find.
We bought a convection oven the other day, so can now make things like a normal western household. The other day Tracey made us a lovely roast pork with steamed veggies (so much better than boiling veg!) and even a nice english gravy. Sometimes living with Brits is quite nice. I now really feel like i live here.
We found a delightful market quite close to our building last week, and you can buy literally anything you want-clothes, fruit, shoes, kitchen supplies, towels, vegetables, meat, fish (located right next to the river, so in the morning they just unload from the river to the market), dry goods, etc. Having a lovely time exploring my new digs.
We got more TV channels, so I can now sit and get just as depressed watching the world news as I could back home in the good ol' USA.
Time to take a nap.
Things that have happened in the last week and a half...
First, last night I was woken up at 11:30 with these words: 'Lizzie, the police are here'. Apparently, since we are still in the process of getting things together to register in our apartment with the police (something all foreigners must do), they came around for a 'routine check' at nearly midnight on a Wednesday. We gave the group of four men in various uniform dress our passports and visas, then waited around until they had finished marveling at the eagles and things decorating them. It was a very interesting encounter. I'd have taken a picture to commemorate the event, but it's illegal to photograph the police. Don't ask, i have no idea.
Speaking of irritating issues with the VN police, our sing-along night has to be delayed due to the shelter's inability to get a permit from them in time for the weekend. I am very confused about the way things work here, and have no idea why you would need a permit for a sing-along, though I suspect it has something to do with foreigners entering shelters. Who knows. The police/government are a complete mystery to me. They get stranger at every turn.
I got a (very) part time job doing voice over work for a financial and banking TV station. The pay is basically symbolic, as I don't know if it would even pay for a night out on the town, but I figure it sounds cool and why not? I've only done one session, but I now know all about VN gold bullion, plans for the national coffee trade, and all about old buildings in Hanoi that don't meet street codes. It's a very interesting experience, and really takes very little of my time. But, I get to spend a good half hour in a tiny studio reading from scripts into a microphone, then sit outside and wait for the producer to cut to satisfaction. At the end of my first session, she told me 'it wasn't that bad'. Still not used to Vietnamese bluntness. Hoping it will thicken my skin and not break my spirit. The people don't really seem to mind; during a game of 'change chairs' in one of my classes, one kid goes 'change chairs if you are fat'. A handful of admittedly fat kids stood up, including girls (10-12 year olds, mind you), and when one kid didn't stand up, everyone yelled at him until he did. The thing is, no one seemed bothered by it in the first place. Could you imagine a group of American kids being ok with that?
Heading to the US in 2 weeks, and I get to spend a whole day's layover in Japan. My first time in Japan, and I have already been advised by multiple people to not leave the airport. All I have to say is, I hope it's a freakin sweet airport. Maybe some interesting vending machines/those weird cubicle hotel room things. Who knows what I may find.
We bought a convection oven the other day, so can now make things like a normal western household. The other day Tracey made us a lovely roast pork with steamed veggies (so much better than boiling veg!) and even a nice english gravy. Sometimes living with Brits is quite nice. I now really feel like i live here.
We found a delightful market quite close to our building last week, and you can buy literally anything you want-clothes, fruit, shoes, kitchen supplies, towels, vegetables, meat, fish (located right next to the river, so in the morning they just unload from the river to the market), dry goods, etc. Having a lovely time exploring my new digs.
We got more TV channels, so I can now sit and get just as depressed watching the world news as I could back home in the good ol' USA.
Time to take a nap.
Monday, March 21, 2011
An eventful week!
First off, can I just say how amazing it is having a maid? Think about all of the problems you've ever had with various roommates, and you will realize most of them have to do with cleanliness or picking up after oneself. With a maid, all of those problems are alleviated, and if anything goes missing, you have a built in scapegoat. That said, I don't know if I will ever fit in enough with the rich expats to actually be a bitch to my maid. Maybe if I stay here long enough.
This past week was one of firsts: I painted my first ceiling, took my first Vietnamese class and got my first 24-hour bug. Very exciting. In addition, I made my first household purchases, including a comforter (very thin, considering I live in the tropics), a pillow, hangers and a peeler. Also some candles, seeing as there are frequent power outages. Part of the whole developing-world package.
On Wednesday night I went to the monthly Future Shorts showing, the short film festival that is put on by Tracey's friend Sophie. It was held at this great cafe in District 2, which sounds close to the city center but is actually at the ass-end of nowhere. My xe om driver got lost, and the trip took a good 45 minutes. The cafe kind of looks like a hippie commune; there are furniture swaps in the front, and the back is a thatch-ish covered patio, complete with a sandy playground with a mini-hut and jungle gym. I was quite pleased sitting on the overstuffed couches and talking to new people from various places around the globe, each with their own history. All around a very nice night.
Thursday was a very busy day for me. It started out with my first Vietnamese lesson. Apollo has hired a Vietnamese woman named Mai to teach whichever staff would like to learn some VN. Mai is a hardass teacher is all I have to say. We felt a bit bad for her to begin with, as teaching a group of teachers can't be an easy task. She ended up schooling us, and now I've signed up for a class that makes me stay late if I don't do my homework or don't remember the material from the last class. If we fail our test, she tells our boss on us. On the bright side, hopefully it will make me learn enough Vietnamese to haggle over prices. After class, I went with a few other teachers to paint the house of a family in need. Their living quarters were really awful, so we cleaned them up and painted the house. The family is a grandmother taking care of her 3 granddaughters whose parents have both died of AIDS. The girls were at school while I was there, but the grandmother was present, and it was really nice to see how happy we made her. I got to paint the ceiling, which was a difficult job involving attaching a roller to a long bamboo stick and trying not to hit anyone in the process. The room is about 6x10 feet, so it was a bit hard to maneuver. I did feel pretty cool, though. Later in the evening, I met with my little sister and we made friendship bracelets. None of the little sisters had ever made them, so it was a good time. To finish off my charity-filled day, I went to a fundraising concert with some teachers at a coffee house. The music kind of sucked (think early 2000s soft rock), but we got some cake and a light beer thrown into the mix, which ended up being my only alcoholic beverage on St. Patricks Day. Since there are only 2 Irish pubs in the city, I wasn't looking forward to standing crammed into a tiny bar with various people throwing up on my shoes and not being able to hear anyone. I was also tired, so decided to be lame and went to bed early.
Speaking of St. Patricks day, I had a blast trying to explain the holiday to a bunch of 9 year olds. Since I didn't want to highlight the copious drinking associated with it, I focused on the wearing-green-or-being-pinched aspect. They found that to be really strange. Then again, considering it's perfectly acceptable in this society to pick your nose in public, I don't take much of what they say too seriously.
On Saturday night I fell ill with the plague that has been going around work, and spent the next 16 or so hours in agony and missing my Sunday classes. It was very dramatic and I took the opportunity to make people lavish sympathy on me. Got some quality time in with the couch and my roommate Lauren, not to mention my new bathroom. I made myself get up and teach my afternoon class (you don't get paid unless you actually teach; surprising how that affects my attendance at work), and felt well enough to go to my friend Tibor's going away party for an hour or 2 in the evening. There were copious amounts of good food, but I kept myself on a tight leash so as not to upset the precarious state of my stomach.
There's a massage place around the corner from our apartment which charges 80,000 VND for an hour's massage (roughly 4 dollars). It's pretty great. Plan on spending a lot of time there. And no, it isn't gross or creepy.
At some point I will get around to taking some pictures of my apartment. It's pretty great. If only we can get our maid to tow the line.
This past week was one of firsts: I painted my first ceiling, took my first Vietnamese class and got my first 24-hour bug. Very exciting. In addition, I made my first household purchases, including a comforter (very thin, considering I live in the tropics), a pillow, hangers and a peeler. Also some candles, seeing as there are frequent power outages. Part of the whole developing-world package.
On Wednesday night I went to the monthly Future Shorts showing, the short film festival that is put on by Tracey's friend Sophie. It was held at this great cafe in District 2, which sounds close to the city center but is actually at the ass-end of nowhere. My xe om driver got lost, and the trip took a good 45 minutes. The cafe kind of looks like a hippie commune; there are furniture swaps in the front, and the back is a thatch-ish covered patio, complete with a sandy playground with a mini-hut and jungle gym. I was quite pleased sitting on the overstuffed couches and talking to new people from various places around the globe, each with their own history. All around a very nice night.
Thursday was a very busy day for me. It started out with my first Vietnamese lesson. Apollo has hired a Vietnamese woman named Mai to teach whichever staff would like to learn some VN. Mai is a hardass teacher is all I have to say. We felt a bit bad for her to begin with, as teaching a group of teachers can't be an easy task. She ended up schooling us, and now I've signed up for a class that makes me stay late if I don't do my homework or don't remember the material from the last class. If we fail our test, she tells our boss on us. On the bright side, hopefully it will make me learn enough Vietnamese to haggle over prices. After class, I went with a few other teachers to paint the house of a family in need. Their living quarters were really awful, so we cleaned them up and painted the house. The family is a grandmother taking care of her 3 granddaughters whose parents have both died of AIDS. The girls were at school while I was there, but the grandmother was present, and it was really nice to see how happy we made her. I got to paint the ceiling, which was a difficult job involving attaching a roller to a long bamboo stick and trying not to hit anyone in the process. The room is about 6x10 feet, so it was a bit hard to maneuver. I did feel pretty cool, though. Later in the evening, I met with my little sister and we made friendship bracelets. None of the little sisters had ever made them, so it was a good time. To finish off my charity-filled day, I went to a fundraising concert with some teachers at a coffee house. The music kind of sucked (think early 2000s soft rock), but we got some cake and a light beer thrown into the mix, which ended up being my only alcoholic beverage on St. Patricks Day. Since there are only 2 Irish pubs in the city, I wasn't looking forward to standing crammed into a tiny bar with various people throwing up on my shoes and not being able to hear anyone. I was also tired, so decided to be lame and went to bed early.
Speaking of St. Patricks day, I had a blast trying to explain the holiday to a bunch of 9 year olds. Since I didn't want to highlight the copious drinking associated with it, I focused on the wearing-green-or-being-pinched aspect. They found that to be really strange. Then again, considering it's perfectly acceptable in this society to pick your nose in public, I don't take much of what they say too seriously.
On Saturday night I fell ill with the plague that has been going around work, and spent the next 16 or so hours in agony and missing my Sunday classes. It was very dramatic and I took the opportunity to make people lavish sympathy on me. Got some quality time in with the couch and my roommate Lauren, not to mention my new bathroom. I made myself get up and teach my afternoon class (you don't get paid unless you actually teach; surprising how that affects my attendance at work), and felt well enough to go to my friend Tibor's going away party for an hour or 2 in the evening. There were copious amounts of good food, but I kept myself on a tight leash so as not to upset the precarious state of my stomach.
There's a massage place around the corner from our apartment which charges 80,000 VND for an hour's massage (roughly 4 dollars). It's pretty great. Plan on spending a lot of time there. And no, it isn't gross or creepy.
At some point I will get around to taking some pictures of my apartment. It's pretty great. If only we can get our maid to tow the line.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Almost adjusted, but I'm no xe-om driver
I cannot believe it's halfway through March. I have no idea how the time has flown so quickly. Probably has something to do with the fact that I now have more to do every day than eat knockoff oreos in bed, watching really bad American TV and fiddling with the AC incessantly. At any rate, most of my time is spent in a classroom with crazy children, which is alternately super fun and the most exasperating thing you have ever encountered.
I moved last Tuesday, which started out very irritating, and ended up quite well. My previous digs were located down a very narrow alley, which would not allow for a taxi. So, I found myself dragging 5 bags in various shapes and sizes down a long and heavily populated alley. My next door neighbor took pity on me, and helped. It turned out fine, because my apartment is really quite nice, although not as nice as it could be, as our maid doesn't begin until tomorrow. Thats right, we have a maid. She comes 3 times a week, does cleaning and even laundry and ironing. Price tag: 1 million VND, or roughly $50 per month. Split 3 ways. I feel kind of guilty (thank you agnostic Catholic upbringing), but also TELL me you would not go for that if given the opportunity.
My roommates are great, the apartment is spacious and bright, and our fishtank is full of painted fish. Yes, we have a fishtank AND fish, and they are painted nonetheless. They keep dying; we think it might have to do with the paint. at any rate, it looks pretty badass. The kitchen is in existence, which in and of itself beats my past housing situation. It is quite attractive, and we may get a little toaster oven! NO one has ovens in this country, probably due to the insanely hot weather.
Doing some charity work, finally. Had my first meeting with my little sister, a disadvantaged teen I was matched with through the Apollo Little Sisters program. We will meet once a wee and do various things, giving us time to hang out. Trying to get involved in some other stuff; this Thursday a group of teachers will go paint and decorate the new house being built for a poor family afflicted with HIV. Small things, but glad I'm at least doing something.
Basically getting used to the new schedule, the strain on my voice, the new apartment. Legitimate social life to follow, though I have some plans to take VN cooking lessons, and we may be starting a music group at Apollo for some kids at a shelter. AND free VN lessons courtesy of Apollo start this Thursday. Added to my voice lesson-giving ( I have 2 students! and feel like a complete fraud, as I can't even play chopsticks. by a long shot.) I think I'll have a decently full schedule.
Pictures to come. Its pretty insane, we live in a really nice, almost western apartment, and literally a stone's throw away is a row of shoddy riverside shacks. Will make for some really depressing photographs. Tracey and I went exploring our neighborhood a bit today, and we found so many interesting things. It's just so Asian. Shop after shop of semi-outdoor stores, mostly selling mass produced knockoffs, but with knockoff prices. street vendors selling fruit or banh mi (VN sandwiches), cafes sprawling out into the streets, people on bicycles and motorbikes swerving around the pedestrians, though there are fewer of us than might be expected. Quick note on our stereotype of Asian drivers: after you've lived here for a bit, you see that though they technically have driving laws and regulations, they are very rarely enforced, with the exception of the occasional need for bribery. People just kind of move with the other fish in the sea, and take things like traffic lights more like guidelines rather than actual rules. At any rate, I totally get how one learning to drive in this environment would make just the worst driver in the history of the world. Not an excuse, just an observation.
We have a little grocery store on our ground floor. It's really tiny, but super cheap. Doesn't sell everything ( though I did buy supplies for my first-ever stir fry cooking in Vietnam), but I must say the selection of Asian ice cream bars is excellent. Those ice creams are enough for one of those 'sometimes I love Asia' moments. I have a lot of opposite moments as well, and several 'Whoa, I'm sitting in a traffic jam on a street swarming with motorbikes in the middle of Saigon' moments, which can lead to some really deep moments.
Alright, time to go to bed, as I teach partnership at 7:30 tomorrow. Thank god it's not my 1st graders, or someone might die.
I moved last Tuesday, which started out very irritating, and ended up quite well. My previous digs were located down a very narrow alley, which would not allow for a taxi. So, I found myself dragging 5 bags in various shapes and sizes down a long and heavily populated alley. My next door neighbor took pity on me, and helped. It turned out fine, because my apartment is really quite nice, although not as nice as it could be, as our maid doesn't begin until tomorrow. Thats right, we have a maid. She comes 3 times a week, does cleaning and even laundry and ironing. Price tag: 1 million VND, or roughly $50 per month. Split 3 ways. I feel kind of guilty (thank you agnostic Catholic upbringing), but also TELL me you would not go for that if given the opportunity.
My roommates are great, the apartment is spacious and bright, and our fishtank is full of painted fish. Yes, we have a fishtank AND fish, and they are painted nonetheless. They keep dying; we think it might have to do with the paint. at any rate, it looks pretty badass. The kitchen is in existence, which in and of itself beats my past housing situation. It is quite attractive, and we may get a little toaster oven! NO one has ovens in this country, probably due to the insanely hot weather.
Doing some charity work, finally. Had my first meeting with my little sister, a disadvantaged teen I was matched with through the Apollo Little Sisters program. We will meet once a wee and do various things, giving us time to hang out. Trying to get involved in some other stuff; this Thursday a group of teachers will go paint and decorate the new house being built for a poor family afflicted with HIV. Small things, but glad I'm at least doing something.
Basically getting used to the new schedule, the strain on my voice, the new apartment. Legitimate social life to follow, though I have some plans to take VN cooking lessons, and we may be starting a music group at Apollo for some kids at a shelter. AND free VN lessons courtesy of Apollo start this Thursday. Added to my voice lesson-giving ( I have 2 students! and feel like a complete fraud, as I can't even play chopsticks. by a long shot.) I think I'll have a decently full schedule.
Pictures to come. Its pretty insane, we live in a really nice, almost western apartment, and literally a stone's throw away is a row of shoddy riverside shacks. Will make for some really depressing photographs. Tracey and I went exploring our neighborhood a bit today, and we found so many interesting things. It's just so Asian. Shop after shop of semi-outdoor stores, mostly selling mass produced knockoffs, but with knockoff prices. street vendors selling fruit or banh mi (VN sandwiches), cafes sprawling out into the streets, people on bicycles and motorbikes swerving around the pedestrians, though there are fewer of us than might be expected. Quick note on our stereotype of Asian drivers: after you've lived here for a bit, you see that though they technically have driving laws and regulations, they are very rarely enforced, with the exception of the occasional need for bribery. People just kind of move with the other fish in the sea, and take things like traffic lights more like guidelines rather than actual rules. At any rate, I totally get how one learning to drive in this environment would make just the worst driver in the history of the world. Not an excuse, just an observation.
We have a little grocery store on our ground floor. It's really tiny, but super cheap. Doesn't sell everything ( though I did buy supplies for my first-ever stir fry cooking in Vietnam), but I must say the selection of Asian ice cream bars is excellent. Those ice creams are enough for one of those 'sometimes I love Asia' moments. I have a lot of opposite moments as well, and several 'Whoa, I'm sitting in a traffic jam on a street swarming with motorbikes in the middle of Saigon' moments, which can lead to some really deep moments.
Alright, time to go to bed, as I teach partnership at 7:30 tomorrow. Thank god it's not my 1st graders, or someone might die.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Ah, Vietnamese school
I move into my new apartment tomorrow! So excited to be a real person; what with living in a tiny room by myself, I feel like a squatter. Or like a college student in a dorm room. However you think of it, I'm basically not a real person yet. Finally realizing this is real life now. As much as it can be working esl in Vietnam, but I'm not a student anymore and apparently one should live somewhere larger than the size of a walk in closet.
This weekend was pandemonium, but not too bad. Already hating my 'flyer' class, which I have at 7:45 in the morning, and consists of sullen pre-teens who are probably pissed about having to go to school on the weekend. I don't really blame them for that, but I really do envy the Vietnamese teachers who can use corporal punishment on their students, instilling fear and thus creating a serene learning environment for the teacher.
Just found out some interesting and really depressing things about VN schools: you have to pay to go to even the public schools. In WHAT communist country do families have to pay for elementary education? Also, the children I teach in the 'public' schools have paid more money in order to take english lessons from foreign teachers. I just find the whole thing to be wrong, but its not like I'm gonna quit so I guess I'll just live with it. And really try to do as much charity work as I possibly can. Christ, this country.
I've had way less time to spend with my Vietnamese friends, which is a bummer. Chinh had a birthday party on Sunday, and Fran and I stopped by for a bit. The food buffet was amazing, and sadly we had to leave before the 3 cakes were cut. On the upside, there were about 100 people in attendance, most of whom were creepy middle-to-late-aged men who speak broken english but try to have a 20 minute conversation with you anyway, and end up inviting you to live in their apartment. Actually has happened to me.
To all the women out there, Happy Women's Day!!! It's quite a big deal here. One of my students brought me in a huge thing of flowers yesterday for the occasion. Seeing as she is only 8 I assume it was her mother's idea, but it made my day nonetheless. Ladies, do something nice for yourselves!
This weekend was pandemonium, but not too bad. Already hating my 'flyer' class, which I have at 7:45 in the morning, and consists of sullen pre-teens who are probably pissed about having to go to school on the weekend. I don't really blame them for that, but I really do envy the Vietnamese teachers who can use corporal punishment on their students, instilling fear and thus creating a serene learning environment for the teacher.
Just found out some interesting and really depressing things about VN schools: you have to pay to go to even the public schools. In WHAT communist country do families have to pay for elementary education? Also, the children I teach in the 'public' schools have paid more money in order to take english lessons from foreign teachers. I just find the whole thing to be wrong, but its not like I'm gonna quit so I guess I'll just live with it. And really try to do as much charity work as I possibly can. Christ, this country.
I've had way less time to spend with my Vietnamese friends, which is a bummer. Chinh had a birthday party on Sunday, and Fran and I stopped by for a bit. The food buffet was amazing, and sadly we had to leave before the 3 cakes were cut. On the upside, there were about 100 people in attendance, most of whom were creepy middle-to-late-aged men who speak broken english but try to have a 20 minute conversation with you anyway, and end up inviting you to live in their apartment. Actually has happened to me.
To all the women out there, Happy Women's Day!!! It's quite a big deal here. One of my students brought me in a huge thing of flowers yesterday for the occasion. Seeing as she is only 8 I assume it was her mother's idea, but it made my day nonetheless. Ladies, do something nice for yourselves!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
New developments
It has been a while since my last post. Which is good, actually, because I finally have some semblance of a real life and a full work schedule. I feel almost like a real person, but then I look at my schedule and realize how weird it is.
Taught my first weekend day on Sunday. It was intense, but not too bad. I inherited a terrorizing class of kids around age 11. I was advised to go in and be mean so they know they can't get away with anything. So, I was very strict, made one of the bad kids cry, then put him in the corner. I had to give a test, and told them if they cheated I would rip up their tests, and demonstrated for effect. It worked, and although I probably have a handful of preteen Vietnamese children who hate me, at least they wont walk all over me.
The weekends are insane, and although they are jam-packed with last-minute lesson planning, photocopying and VN coffee chugging, there is enough camaraderie to almost make up for the insanity. Since I'm not quite used to planning for 6 2-hr lessons in a 48 hr period, I've been spending most of my non-teaching time attempting to plan for the upcoming weekend marathon. Luckily, I'm liking my coworkers more and more each day. On Sunday we had a huge going-away party for 3 staff members who are leaving. It was held at a local bar, and most of the staff attended, including our Vietnamese TAs. Our charity organizer (and my new roomie Tracey) cooked up a slave-auction scheme, so we spent a good hour selling various employees to the highest bidder. They have to spend 1 hour doing whatever the buyer asks (minus lesson planning and teaching their classes). We raised 13 million VD, which is almost $700. People were pretty drunk, so I guess they bid higher than expected. It was really nice having a huge work party that was fun and easy. No pressure, no strange power dynamics, just a bunch of people getting drunk together. Apparently that's just how the ESL teachers are. I like it.
As previously hinted at, I found an apartment! Will finally be moving out of my one small room with no kitchen and a shared bathroom/wetroom. I'm living in a highrise apartment (not my first choice, but amazing security ensures we wont be robbed), in a great 3-bedroom close to downtown, for a really decent rate. Housing is SO reasonable here. Living with Tracey, with whom I work, and Lauren, fresh off the plane from New Jersey and working as an editor here. Very pleased. Now I just have to actually move. Not excited.
Starting next week, I will begin meeting with my little sister, an underprivileged teenage girl who wants a chance to practice english. It's a small time commitment, only a few hours once a week. I'm pleased to be finally starting some charity work. Tomorrow I will also help out with an Apollo-sponsored Ladies' night on Thurs/Fri, in honor of International Women's Day on March 8th. Apparently, most other countries in the world celebrate this holiday, but not America. Interesting. Definitely something I can get on board with. Looking forward to doing a lot more with the charity organizations. Since I will be living with the charity organizer, I feel like it might be an easy thing to accomplish.
It's funny how teaching so much is similar to singing all the time; I get a hoarse voice quite often. Will have to get into a rhythm so I'm not sick all the time. Don't think the pollution helps at all.
hmmmmm...what else?
-rich Asians have no problem eating endangered species. I was actually told that worrying about endangered species is a 'western' thing. It's really hard to not judge a culture that thinks in this manner, and I'm not even that into animals.
-still amazed at the number of meals you can get here for a dollar. Pho, meat/veg/rice combos with iced tea included, even mediterranean pitas that deliver for free.
-speaking of delivery, all restaurants deliver for free. Many also allow orders via text, which can be a godsend to those of us whose Vietnamese is less than stellar.
-obtained a VN language book. Now I just have to find the time and drive to study my own new language whilst teaching a new language to children 23 hours a week. BTW, I teach solely children between the ages of 6-12. Christ.
Will try my best to stay updated with the blog!
Taught my first weekend day on Sunday. It was intense, but not too bad. I inherited a terrorizing class of kids around age 11. I was advised to go in and be mean so they know they can't get away with anything. So, I was very strict, made one of the bad kids cry, then put him in the corner. I had to give a test, and told them if they cheated I would rip up their tests, and demonstrated for effect. It worked, and although I probably have a handful of preteen Vietnamese children who hate me, at least they wont walk all over me.
The weekends are insane, and although they are jam-packed with last-minute lesson planning, photocopying and VN coffee chugging, there is enough camaraderie to almost make up for the insanity. Since I'm not quite used to planning for 6 2-hr lessons in a 48 hr period, I've been spending most of my non-teaching time attempting to plan for the upcoming weekend marathon. Luckily, I'm liking my coworkers more and more each day. On Sunday we had a huge going-away party for 3 staff members who are leaving. It was held at a local bar, and most of the staff attended, including our Vietnamese TAs. Our charity organizer (and my new roomie Tracey) cooked up a slave-auction scheme, so we spent a good hour selling various employees to the highest bidder. They have to spend 1 hour doing whatever the buyer asks (minus lesson planning and teaching their classes). We raised 13 million VD, which is almost $700. People were pretty drunk, so I guess they bid higher than expected. It was really nice having a huge work party that was fun and easy. No pressure, no strange power dynamics, just a bunch of people getting drunk together. Apparently that's just how the ESL teachers are. I like it.
As previously hinted at, I found an apartment! Will finally be moving out of my one small room with no kitchen and a shared bathroom/wetroom. I'm living in a highrise apartment (not my first choice, but amazing security ensures we wont be robbed), in a great 3-bedroom close to downtown, for a really decent rate. Housing is SO reasonable here. Living with Tracey, with whom I work, and Lauren, fresh off the plane from New Jersey and working as an editor here. Very pleased. Now I just have to actually move. Not excited.
Starting next week, I will begin meeting with my little sister, an underprivileged teenage girl who wants a chance to practice english. It's a small time commitment, only a few hours once a week. I'm pleased to be finally starting some charity work. Tomorrow I will also help out with an Apollo-sponsored Ladies' night on Thurs/Fri, in honor of International Women's Day on March 8th. Apparently, most other countries in the world celebrate this holiday, but not America. Interesting. Definitely something I can get on board with. Looking forward to doing a lot more with the charity organizations. Since I will be living with the charity organizer, I feel like it might be an easy thing to accomplish.
It's funny how teaching so much is similar to singing all the time; I get a hoarse voice quite often. Will have to get into a rhythm so I'm not sick all the time. Don't think the pollution helps at all.
hmmmmm...what else?
-rich Asians have no problem eating endangered species. I was actually told that worrying about endangered species is a 'western' thing. It's really hard to not judge a culture that thinks in this manner, and I'm not even that into animals.
-still amazed at the number of meals you can get here for a dollar. Pho, meat/veg/rice combos with iced tea included, even mediterranean pitas that deliver for free.
-speaking of delivery, all restaurants deliver for free. Many also allow orders via text, which can be a godsend to those of us whose Vietnamese is less than stellar.
-obtained a VN language book. Now I just have to find the time and drive to study my own new language whilst teaching a new language to children 23 hours a week. BTW, I teach solely children between the ages of 6-12. Christ.
Will try my best to stay updated with the blog!
Friday, February 18, 2011
New Schools and MSTRKRFT
It's been a while since my last post; this is mostly due to my acute problems with laziness. That is not to say, however, that I've just been sitting on my ass for the last ten days. I've probably only spent 3 or 4 of those days sitting on my ass. Back to work, starting with more hours next week, and will be full time by March. My schedule is less than stellar, but I'm willing to pay my dues at my new job. By some sick twist of fate, I begin work before 8 AM 5 days a week. Enough said.
This morning I taught at a new school that has never had a foreign english teacher before. The school is a 25 minute ride with no traffic, and more of a 45 minute ride with it. So, I had to be at Apollo for my taxi at 6:40. No joke. I was less than pleased, as my students at this school are 1st graders, who I usually hate teaching. They tend to be out of control, lack focus, and are impervious to my favorite mode of discipline: sarcasm and attitude. Probably because they speak no english and are 6 years old. Happy to say I was pleasantly surprised with this school, not only because I was treated like a celebrity. I had not only a TA, but multiple other teachers sitting in with cameras, making sure they had documentation of their first english class with a foreigner. It not only made me feel good, but the children were well behaved despite their numbers of 40 students per class. During my half hour break between my two 70-minute classes, I went with the TA to get a coffee. We sat in a room adjacent to the school store, which sells not only food and snacks to the children, but toys as well. Don't really understand why they do that, but there you go. After the students were done with their morning exercises* (this is common to all elementary schools in Vietnam-they blast music and everyone stands in the outdoor courtyard to do their exercise routine. It looks kind of creepy to me, but also cool in a 2008-Beijing-Olympics kind of way) a lot of kids came in to buy food and toys, and then spent the next 20 minutes standing around staring at me. It was kind of awkward and kind of flattering.
Despite the favorable teaching conditions, it was a bit of a difficult morning, as I had gotten all of 4 hours of sleep the night before. MSTRKRFT (musician from Canada) was performing at Lush on Thursday night, so I obviously had to go and dance until I was so drenched in sweat I was dripping onto the floor. Now, something you may or may not know about Vietnam: as a general rule, the music taste blows. So, when a musician I've not only heard of, but whose music I enjoy and who has the stamp of approval of my music-guru brother randomly came to Saigon, I just had to go. 100,000 Vietnamese Dong (equivalent to around $5, though the government is in the process of devaluing the Dong, so who knows how much it will be worth in the next few months) got you into the show, and also got you a free drink. It was my big splurge for the week. A group of teachers from Apollo went together. It was all around a great time, but come 1 AM I realized it would be irresponsible to stay longer, so I left in the middle. Bummer.
I am a bit tired, so will leave my rich-people-eating-endangered-species talk for another post. Get excited for that.
*This is just one of the interesting things about Vietnamese public schools. All lunches are provided for students, which are brought and distributed by a bunch of female workers whose job I believe is to clean and keep the schools orderly. There are a huge number of staff at the schools. Not only are lunches comped, but each student has a toothbrush and a water cup, identified by number. Vietnamese like to brush their teeth after lunch. In the afternoons, everyone takes a nap. The desks are moved to the side of the room, and students sleep on mats on the floor. Not something that was offered at Burns Park Elementary. All in all, the schooling experience is quite different.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Philosophical gems
Today marks 2 1/2 weeks of my mandatory vacation time, and I must say I am almost excited to go back to teaching those troublesome children on Friday. Not that I have much to worry about; I have exactly 2 weeks more of working a mere 8 hours a week, until I begin working full time on the 22nd. Maybe having so much time off has allowed me to stew a bit too long in my own juices (monetary woes and few friends made those juices deliciously acidic), but I am very much starting to worry about my current job situation. Hoping my new classes that are NOT at the public schools will be better and more rewarding; worried it could be teaching children I don't like (as most of my classes will be with children, that's not a welcome idea). Teaching small children just isn't intellectually stimulating, and involves way too much discipline which is apparently something I consider myself above. Nothing like an upper-middle-class upbringing to make one feel like their expertly honed god-given talents are not being utilized properly. I think the worst thought is that perhaps it is teaching in general I don't like. I suppose I will just have to wait and see.
I think the biggest problem is my utter lack of a routine for the past 3 months (CELTA course aside; anyone looking for a crazy structured 4 weeks should find the nearest CELTA certification program). In that respect, I can't wait to start working full time. My vacation has progressed as I expected-gradually sleeping later and later, watching loads of TV, finally forcing myself to get up and do something physical, all the while hoping so much free time doesn't lend itself to depressing existential quandaries. I woke up this morning convinced I was wasting my life and doing nothing productive. Had to remind myself that's the entire point of vacation. Somehow I envisioned my move across the globe with fewer hitches. Ah, youth.
Street food is amazing, but sometimes it gets you sick. Just sayin'.
Had a few interesting nights out this weekend, the first with a woman I met at the gym and her friend who is a fashion designer. They are a lot wealthier than me, and we ended up at the Park Hyatt club/bar. It's really awkward when you can't even afford juice on a menu. Carmen (my new gym friend) is looking for a roommate and wants me to come take a look at her apartment. We'll see where that goes. Might as well have a look. Sunday night I went out with 2 other teachers at Apollo. We were the only people in town. Had a lot of fun, but ended up in the middle of an awkward conversation about how Britain is too PC and diverse, and spends far too much money on its immigrant population while neglecting its tax-paying citizens. Since I don't pay taxes in England and also don't know all that much about English politics in general, I didn't contribute much to the conversation, but went away from the whole thing wondering whether the British government is over-correcting for it's hundreds of years of racism and colonialism, or I had just had drinks with a few people who are the English equivalent of Tea Partiers. It's anyone's guess.
Luckily, people are finally coming back from their trips abroad, so I will now have more people to hang out with, which will hopefully mean less time watching reruns of various seasons of America's Next Top Model. Not that it isn't an excellent program.
acid reflux ruins everything. Shout out to Maggie. It's her birthday. She also used to have killer acid reflux.
It is super weird to live in a country that doesn't give a damn about the Superbowl. Had I not been at a western sports bar on Sunday night, I'd have forgotten about it completely. Call me un-American, but I opted to go to bed instead of staying up to watch the live-broadcast of the game which started at 6 AM. Time difference is a bitch.
I think the biggest problem is my utter lack of a routine for the past 3 months (CELTA course aside; anyone looking for a crazy structured 4 weeks should find the nearest CELTA certification program). In that respect, I can't wait to start working full time. My vacation has progressed as I expected-gradually sleeping later and later, watching loads of TV, finally forcing myself to get up and do something physical, all the while hoping so much free time doesn't lend itself to depressing existential quandaries. I woke up this morning convinced I was wasting my life and doing nothing productive. Had to remind myself that's the entire point of vacation. Somehow I envisioned my move across the globe with fewer hitches. Ah, youth.
Street food is amazing, but sometimes it gets you sick. Just sayin'.
Had a few interesting nights out this weekend, the first with a woman I met at the gym and her friend who is a fashion designer. They are a lot wealthier than me, and we ended up at the Park Hyatt club/bar. It's really awkward when you can't even afford juice on a menu. Carmen (my new gym friend) is looking for a roommate and wants me to come take a look at her apartment. We'll see where that goes. Might as well have a look. Sunday night I went out with 2 other teachers at Apollo. We were the only people in town. Had a lot of fun, but ended up in the middle of an awkward conversation about how Britain is too PC and diverse, and spends far too much money on its immigrant population while neglecting its tax-paying citizens. Since I don't pay taxes in England and also don't know all that much about English politics in general, I didn't contribute much to the conversation, but went away from the whole thing wondering whether the British government is over-correcting for it's hundreds of years of racism and colonialism, or I had just had drinks with a few people who are the English equivalent of Tea Partiers. It's anyone's guess.
Luckily, people are finally coming back from their trips abroad, so I will now have more people to hang out with, which will hopefully mean less time watching reruns of various seasons of America's Next Top Model. Not that it isn't an excellent program.
acid reflux ruins everything. Shout out to Maggie. It's her birthday. She also used to have killer acid reflux.
It is super weird to live in a country that doesn't give a damn about the Superbowl. Had I not been at a western sports bar on Sunday night, I'd have forgotten about it completely. Call me un-American, but I opted to go to bed instead of staying up to watch the live-broadcast of the game which started at 6 AM. Time difference is a bitch.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Chuc Mung Nam Moi
I really like having a second chance at the New Year and resolutions and such. It's like the month of January is a test run for any difficult resolutions you attempt to live out.
I must say, I was not thrilled at the prospect of staying in HCM City for Tet. Most people I know are off in delightful places like Cambodia, Malaysia, and Bali. But, I have managed to enjoy myself a good deal. Having quite a relaxing holiday here, complete with lazy days and late-ish nights, and plenty of time to experience Tet.
Saigon puts on an amazing Flower show each Tet, and it takes up an entire large city street, which they close off to everything but foot traffic. It's beautiful and amazing, with tons of flowers in all kinds of designs and sculptures, complete with lights and music and so many people that at times walking down the street feels more like waiting in line for the good roller coasters at Cedar Point. There are also dozens of sculptures of cats (as this is the year of the cat), in a bunch of different art styles. It sounds creepy when I explain it, but it's actually pretty cool.
The new year is rung in by fireworks at midnight, as well as processions of people dressed in those iconic dragon-like costumes, with 2-4 people in each costume. They are actually not dragons, but more like lions, though I'm told they are mythical creatures nonetheless. The people in the processions are amazing martial artists, and create all kinds of cool figures by standing on top of each other, etc. (think Chinese New Year-they are very similar affairs)There are also lots of drums. Now, I am a huge fan of loud noises, don't get me wrong, but I have been woken up every morning by random processions of new-year-wishing people with their costumes and insanely loud drums.
Other Tet pastimes include firecrackers, which have been outlawed in Vietnam so no one can use them anymore. People also give out money to friends and children in little red envelopes, something I can totally get behind. Most people spend Tet visiting and spending time with Family, and eating lots of food together. Much like our Thanksgiving, but drawn out into 5 days. Over the past few days, I've had some pretty good food. Interesting highlights include dove (actually a very tasty bird), homemade rice wine (nice, but white in color and also quite grainy), snails, and hot pot with octopus tentacles in it.
I got a singing job offer, in a nice restaurant/bar type place. Now I just need to learn some Vietnamese songs to sing there, and I will be able to start. I'm actually looking forward to learning Vietnamese, and I feel fine about the fact that I will probably be a gimmick, being a white chick who sings in Vietnamese.
Quite enjoying Tet, but also looking forward to being able to go grocery shopping soon (everything is closed for the holiday).
Happy Lunar New Year!
I must say, I was not thrilled at the prospect of staying in HCM City for Tet. Most people I know are off in delightful places like Cambodia, Malaysia, and Bali. But, I have managed to enjoy myself a good deal. Having quite a relaxing holiday here, complete with lazy days and late-ish nights, and plenty of time to experience Tet.
Saigon puts on an amazing Flower show each Tet, and it takes up an entire large city street, which they close off to everything but foot traffic. It's beautiful and amazing, with tons of flowers in all kinds of designs and sculptures, complete with lights and music and so many people that at times walking down the street feels more like waiting in line for the good roller coasters at Cedar Point. There are also dozens of sculptures of cats (as this is the year of the cat), in a bunch of different art styles. It sounds creepy when I explain it, but it's actually pretty cool.
The new year is rung in by fireworks at midnight, as well as processions of people dressed in those iconic dragon-like costumes, with 2-4 people in each costume. They are actually not dragons, but more like lions, though I'm told they are mythical creatures nonetheless. The people in the processions are amazing martial artists, and create all kinds of cool figures by standing on top of each other, etc. (think Chinese New Year-they are very similar affairs)There are also lots of drums. Now, I am a huge fan of loud noises, don't get me wrong, but I have been woken up every morning by random processions of new-year-wishing people with their costumes and insanely loud drums.
Other Tet pastimes include firecrackers, which have been outlawed in Vietnam so no one can use them anymore. People also give out money to friends and children in little red envelopes, something I can totally get behind. Most people spend Tet visiting and spending time with Family, and eating lots of food together. Much like our Thanksgiving, but drawn out into 5 days. Over the past few days, I've had some pretty good food. Interesting highlights include dove (actually a very tasty bird), homemade rice wine (nice, but white in color and also quite grainy), snails, and hot pot with octopus tentacles in it.
I got a singing job offer, in a nice restaurant/bar type place. Now I just need to learn some Vietnamese songs to sing there, and I will be able to start. I'm actually looking forward to learning Vietnamese, and I feel fine about the fact that I will probably be a gimmick, being a white chick who sings in Vietnamese.
Quite enjoying Tet, but also looking forward to being able to go grocery shopping soon (everything is closed for the holiday).
Happy Lunar New Year!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
History plus Tet
February 3rd marks the first day of the lunar new year, the year of the cat (in China it's the year of the Hare), and coincidentally I was born in the year of the cat. I'm going to pretend like that's good luck for me, or a good sign or something.
Had another interesting chat with Chinh this evening, and another one of his friends in the bar. The conversation centered mostly around the government today. I've been thinking about communist theory vs. communism in practice (AJ is taking a course on 'spaces of hope' or something, and is reading the Communist Manifesto. I also watched 'Reds' twice on HBO in the past month...). Chinh says he was very close to becoming a communist himself as a young man. He gave me an interesting quote: if one isn't a communist at age 20, they have no heart. If one is a communist at age 40, they are stupid. There's also another gem he gave me: communism is born in stupidity, grows up in violence, and dies in corruption. Quite the cynic, my friend Chinh. He has a point, though. He pointed not only to Vietnamese history, where the communist regime came in and took both money and property from the rich and land from the poor country-folk, but also to China with Mao Zedong and Cambodia with Pol Pot, as well as Che Guevarra and Castro.
Basically, we went through the communist history, starting with the years 1980-85, when Chinh was getting out of prison. This was the time of 'true' communism, when there was no western culture allowed into the country, and even speaking to a foreigner on the street ended in a formal police interrogation. In '85, the doors opened slightly, and rules eased up. These days, the government is communist in name only; the system is still communist (meaning the Party rules over all, as well as the 'People's Committee'), but the policy isn't. I'd heard when I moved over here that if you have money, you can basically get away with anything. That is literally how things work here. The high-ranking officals are insanely wealthy, driving BMWs and Bentleys (which BTW all have 200% import tax), sending their children to international schools, etc. They are also above basically all laws-Tuan, a man who spends many evenings at the Chu bar and is related to a very high ranking Party official, is quite into weed and smokes it freely in the bar. I'm told that if most people tried to pull something like that, they'd be arrested. But, since everyone knows who he is and that he is untouchable, no one bats an eye. It is so screwed up here!
At least in the US, when big deal people are douchebags about following laws, the media gets pics and everyone gets in an uproar. Here, because there is no free press or free speech, that stuff just doesn't happen. Apparently the chief editor of every newspaper is a Party member, so every written word has been approved by the Communists. In schools, there are always a few Party members in the staff, who incidentally make all decisions and policies, including salaries, etc.
I've been writing so much about the government, and I apologize if it bores people to tears. I find it fascinating, but maybe because I'm here. I think it's kind of me trying to work everything out; there's so much going on under the surface, and I can't imagine living here without truly understanding how things work. It is so easy to live here as a foreigner and not notice any of these things, but I think that is a disservice to oneself.
I'm planning on trying to go to some of the museums here in the next few weeks (lets face it, I have all the time in the WORLD), including the War Remnants Museum and the Art Museum. Also planning on going to the Reunification Palace. Gotta see how much it is to go to the Cu Chi tunnels. Definitely want to check that out.
As this week is Tet, and everyone who is still in the city that I know is Vietnamese, I will hopefully be following them to what apparently is a never-ending string of parties. Tomorrow at 4 PM it kicks off, with seafood and music and I don't know what else. I'll try to remember to bring my camera so I can take some pics of downtown, complete with lights and flowers and all manner of things.
Had another interesting chat with Chinh this evening, and another one of his friends in the bar. The conversation centered mostly around the government today. I've been thinking about communist theory vs. communism in practice (AJ is taking a course on 'spaces of hope' or something, and is reading the Communist Manifesto. I also watched 'Reds' twice on HBO in the past month...). Chinh says he was very close to becoming a communist himself as a young man. He gave me an interesting quote: if one isn't a communist at age 20, they have no heart. If one is a communist at age 40, they are stupid. There's also another gem he gave me: communism is born in stupidity, grows up in violence, and dies in corruption. Quite the cynic, my friend Chinh. He has a point, though. He pointed not only to Vietnamese history, where the communist regime came in and took both money and property from the rich and land from the poor country-folk, but also to China with Mao Zedong and Cambodia with Pol Pot, as well as Che Guevarra and Castro.
Basically, we went through the communist history, starting with the years 1980-85, when Chinh was getting out of prison. This was the time of 'true' communism, when there was no western culture allowed into the country, and even speaking to a foreigner on the street ended in a formal police interrogation. In '85, the doors opened slightly, and rules eased up. These days, the government is communist in name only; the system is still communist (meaning the Party rules over all, as well as the 'People's Committee'), but the policy isn't. I'd heard when I moved over here that if you have money, you can basically get away with anything. That is literally how things work here. The high-ranking officals are insanely wealthy, driving BMWs and Bentleys (which BTW all have 200% import tax), sending their children to international schools, etc. They are also above basically all laws-Tuan, a man who spends many evenings at the Chu bar and is related to a very high ranking Party official, is quite into weed and smokes it freely in the bar. I'm told that if most people tried to pull something like that, they'd be arrested. But, since everyone knows who he is and that he is untouchable, no one bats an eye. It is so screwed up here!
At least in the US, when big deal people are douchebags about following laws, the media gets pics and everyone gets in an uproar. Here, because there is no free press or free speech, that stuff just doesn't happen. Apparently the chief editor of every newspaper is a Party member, so every written word has been approved by the Communists. In schools, there are always a few Party members in the staff, who incidentally make all decisions and policies, including salaries, etc.
I've been writing so much about the government, and I apologize if it bores people to tears. I find it fascinating, but maybe because I'm here. I think it's kind of me trying to work everything out; there's so much going on under the surface, and I can't imagine living here without truly understanding how things work. It is so easy to live here as a foreigner and not notice any of these things, but I think that is a disservice to oneself.
I'm planning on trying to go to some of the museums here in the next few weeks (lets face it, I have all the time in the WORLD), including the War Remnants Museum and the Art Museum. Also planning on going to the Reunification Palace. Gotta see how much it is to go to the Cu Chi tunnels. Definitely want to check that out.
As this week is Tet, and everyone who is still in the city that I know is Vietnamese, I will hopefully be following them to what apparently is a never-ending string of parties. Tomorrow at 4 PM it kicks off, with seafood and music and I don't know what else. I'll try to remember to bring my camera so I can take some pics of downtown, complete with lights and flowers and all manner of things.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Gym membership at JUST the right time
Yesterday I gave my first EVER voice lesson. My student is an 8 year old girl named Lucy, who attends the American International School. Of course, I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing, but then again that's pretty much how I feel with teaching across the board. Learn fast, and never show how fraudulent you actually feel. Besides my feelings of inadequacy, I actually had a good time teaching voice, and I think the age-old adage 'learn by teaching' is true in respect to my vocal technique. We'll see how it goes. I will also have a short-term student after Tet, the music teacher at AIS. While he has a degree in music education, he is eager to learn vocal technique and pedagogy, as his concentration was in clarinet.
This afternoon I went to the Chu bar to meet Chinh in order to try to obtain a piece of mail (pattern?). Maikhoi and some other friends were there, and after our greetings, she said 'Liz, you are getting fat!'. Really? REALLY?! Now, I must say I find honesty as refreshing as anyone, but seriously. She goes on to ask me if I'm hungry. 'um, no, not after that comment.' Still trying to get used to this culture where it's totally socially acceptable to say things like that to someone. Jesus. We had a nice conversation about her daily abs routine, and how I should try it. I let her now I 'd just joined a gym, and was doing yoga and running. She went on to inform me that you don't get skinny by doing yoga. Thank you, Maikhoi.
Perfect timing, as I DID just join a gym. I'm a part of a group of other teachers from Apollo, so it's a discounted rate. $35/month gets me access to cardio and weight machines, multiple classes in yoga and other things, pool access, and a locker room complete with steam room and sauna. I feel fine about the situation, especially because it is a great place to while away the hours of my 3 week staycation, and apparently I'm getting fat (in an adorable attempt at backtracking, Maikhoi said 'no, I meant you are GETTING fat, not that you are fat'). Star Fitness is located in a monstrous residential complex, which could be its own town, and may well have its own zip code, except they don't have those here. It takes about 3-5 minutes to get there from where I live, and I can't walk, which means its a bit of a pain in the ass. But, I finally get to start running again, and I couldn't be more thrilled.
This afternoon I went to the Chu bar to meet Chinh in order to try to obtain a piece of mail (pattern?). Maikhoi and some other friends were there, and after our greetings, she said 'Liz, you are getting fat!'. Really? REALLY?! Now, I must say I find honesty as refreshing as anyone, but seriously. She goes on to ask me if I'm hungry. 'um, no, not after that comment.' Still trying to get used to this culture where it's totally socially acceptable to say things like that to someone. Jesus. We had a nice conversation about her daily abs routine, and how I should try it. I let her now I 'd just joined a gym, and was doing yoga and running. She went on to inform me that you don't get skinny by doing yoga. Thank you, Maikhoi.
Perfect timing, as I DID just join a gym. I'm a part of a group of other teachers from Apollo, so it's a discounted rate. $35/month gets me access to cardio and weight machines, multiple classes in yoga and other things, pool access, and a locker room complete with steam room and sauna. I feel fine about the situation, especially because it is a great place to while away the hours of my 3 week staycation, and apparently I'm getting fat (in an adorable attempt at backtracking, Maikhoi said 'no, I meant you are GETTING fat, not that you are fat'). Star Fitness is located in a monstrous residential complex, which could be its own town, and may well have its own zip code, except they don't have those here. It takes about 3-5 minutes to get there from where I live, and I can't walk, which means its a bit of a pain in the ass. But, I finally get to start running again, and I couldn't be more thrilled.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Cons and a few Pros
My friend Akiko told me that in order to stay sane, one must leave HCM City at least once every 3 months. She also gave me a heads up that every expat goes through multiple "I hate Vietnam" phases. I don't think I've hit a big hump like that yet (aside from my holiday weep-fest), but there sure are some things I miss from America, including but not limited to:
-a real milkshake. Most people who know me know of my undying love affair with milkshakes. In Vietnam, you can get thick and frothy smoothies, which are quite tasty and sometimes totally work in place of a proper shake. The 'milkshakes' they have here are thin and not at all frothy. It's like they left a carton of ice cream out for half an hour and poured it into a glass. Not the same thing. Shouldn't even be allowed to call itself a milkshake.
-good ol' American BBQ. Of course, they have BBQ of some sort in most areas of the globe, and SE Asia is no exception. I have tasted myriad BBQ'd carcasses here, and they are all pretty darn good. My thing is, I miss the sauce, as well as rib and pulled varieties of meat. I could do with some Slows, or my Daddy's AMAZING ribs with Montgomery Inn sauce. Just sayin'.
-Being able to walk down the street without being gawked at, catcalled/yelled at, or asked if I need a damn motorbike ride. Sometimes you don't want to interact with people, especially on those days you may or may not have neglected to brush your teeth, let alone showered. Considering going dark-haired so I don't stand out as much.
-bookstores with legitimately good books in English. I have found NOWHERE that carries David Sedaris' new book, or any book that is not a 19th century classic or Dan Brown's newest work. Or stereotypical 'backpacker' books in the Pham Ngu Lau area.
-diet sody pop. I can literally hear Peg's voice praising God that I don't drink 7 diet cokes a day, but I am none the happier. I don't know what they do to their aspartame in Vietnam, but it just doesn't taste of home. Coke Light is NOT the same as Diet Coke. It doesn't even compare.
-Having a landlord who understands the concept of personal space, and doesn't randomly throw things away or send randomly picked items of clothing to be cleaned. Or enter my room without knocking and my being in all states of undress.
-having decent internet access, where facebook isn't blocked by the government. I know I harp on this all the time, but you really don't know how much time you spend procrastinating on the damn website until you can't get on it anymore.
OK, sorry to be such a Debby Downer. Basically, I need structure in my life. Despite the fact that it isn't really in my funds, I plan on joining a gym tomorrow, so I can stop gaining weight, and have a place to spend several hours a day being both selfish AND productive. Yoga classes and the pool are included. It seems to me like a decent decision. Who needs to pay rent when you can sleep on the locker room floor?
I started taking Vietnamese lessons courtesy of Chinh on Monday. All I have to say is, tonal languages are hard. The word 'ma' has 6 different meanings, depending on the tonality. Good lord. On the upside, my attempts at the language provide endless mirth to all around to hear it. I'm also learning about different accents, karma, and looking forward to a lesson in VN law enforcement and its court system.
I'm making new friends! Had a chill bar night with Dana, a girl from Michigan who works at Apollo and went to Emerson for writing. It's nice to find a fellow (pale!) arts kid to talk to. I went to ladies night at Lush with Tracy, who also works at Apollo. Just getting to know her, but she seems fascinating-spent a year as a professional poker player, managed a factory, lived in China, and runs Apollo's charity organizations. It's nice to have some balance, and not spend ALL of my time with old Vietnamese men and their various groups of friends.
I'm still not used to being a commodity here. Sometimes it's easy to forget the fact that people find you so attractive merely because you are white. It's a nice ego boost, but I think oftentimes I'm more a representation of western attractiveness, or a symbol to admirers, rather than an actual individual person. It would probably really piss me off if I were in the market for a relationship, but luckily that's not so much on my radar, so I guess the attention is flattering if you keep it completely surface-y. On the upside, most places and events I go to let me sing a song or two, and I'm pretty sure it's just because I'm a little white girl. I'll take it.
HMMMM, what else?
-I may have mentioned this previously, but one of the best things IN THE WORLD is a cafe called Bobby Brewer's, which has a movie theater and new release films FOR FREE for customers. It's really nice.
-Saigon is BEAUTIFUL around Tet. Completely covered in the symbolic yellow flower, Hoa Mai. On the less-stunning but more-fun side, there are a ton of huge Tet-themed vignettes all over the city, obviously with copious amounts of glitter and day-glo colors. I can't wait to bring my camera out some evening and take a long reel of pictures with myself inserted into the scenes.
-I have a one-year-old next door neighbor who is adorable, and every time she sees me she blows me kisses. It might have something to do with the fact that her mom tells her to do it, but I taught her how to high five, and she seems to enjoy it. I don't generally LOVE kids (disregard my current job status), but she just makes me want to snatch her.
-I get to be a full-time teacher beginning Feb. 22. So, that's only 1 month of little to no work, and only about 1 1/2 months until I get a small stipend on which to live. 2 1/2 months until I can really start livin' the high life. I'll take it. I don't really have another choice.
-a real milkshake. Most people who know me know of my undying love affair with milkshakes. In Vietnam, you can get thick and frothy smoothies, which are quite tasty and sometimes totally work in place of a proper shake. The 'milkshakes' they have here are thin and not at all frothy. It's like they left a carton of ice cream out for half an hour and poured it into a glass. Not the same thing. Shouldn't even be allowed to call itself a milkshake.
-good ol' American BBQ. Of course, they have BBQ of some sort in most areas of the globe, and SE Asia is no exception. I have tasted myriad BBQ'd carcasses here, and they are all pretty darn good. My thing is, I miss the sauce, as well as rib and pulled varieties of meat. I could do with some Slows, or my Daddy's AMAZING ribs with Montgomery Inn sauce. Just sayin'.
-Being able to walk down the street without being gawked at, catcalled/yelled at, or asked if I need a damn motorbike ride. Sometimes you don't want to interact with people, especially on those days you may or may not have neglected to brush your teeth, let alone showered. Considering going dark-haired so I don't stand out as much.
-bookstores with legitimately good books in English. I have found NOWHERE that carries David Sedaris' new book, or any book that is not a 19th century classic or Dan Brown's newest work. Or stereotypical 'backpacker' books in the Pham Ngu Lau area.
-diet sody pop. I can literally hear Peg's voice praising God that I don't drink 7 diet cokes a day, but I am none the happier. I don't know what they do to their aspartame in Vietnam, but it just doesn't taste of home. Coke Light is NOT the same as Diet Coke. It doesn't even compare.
-Having a landlord who understands the concept of personal space, and doesn't randomly throw things away or send randomly picked items of clothing to be cleaned. Or enter my room without knocking and my being in all states of undress.
-having decent internet access, where facebook isn't blocked by the government. I know I harp on this all the time, but you really don't know how much time you spend procrastinating on the damn website until you can't get on it anymore.
OK, sorry to be such a Debby Downer. Basically, I need structure in my life. Despite the fact that it isn't really in my funds, I plan on joining a gym tomorrow, so I can stop gaining weight, and have a place to spend several hours a day being both selfish AND productive. Yoga classes and the pool are included. It seems to me like a decent decision. Who needs to pay rent when you can sleep on the locker room floor?
I started taking Vietnamese lessons courtesy of Chinh on Monday. All I have to say is, tonal languages are hard. The word 'ma' has 6 different meanings, depending on the tonality. Good lord. On the upside, my attempts at the language provide endless mirth to all around to hear it. I'm also learning about different accents, karma, and looking forward to a lesson in VN law enforcement and its court system.
I'm making new friends! Had a chill bar night with Dana, a girl from Michigan who works at Apollo and went to Emerson for writing. It's nice to find a fellow (pale!) arts kid to talk to. I went to ladies night at Lush with Tracy, who also works at Apollo. Just getting to know her, but she seems fascinating-spent a year as a professional poker player, managed a factory, lived in China, and runs Apollo's charity organizations. It's nice to have some balance, and not spend ALL of my time with old Vietnamese men and their various groups of friends.
I'm still not used to being a commodity here. Sometimes it's easy to forget the fact that people find you so attractive merely because you are white. It's a nice ego boost, but I think oftentimes I'm more a representation of western attractiveness, or a symbol to admirers, rather than an actual individual person. It would probably really piss me off if I were in the market for a relationship, but luckily that's not so much on my radar, so I guess the attention is flattering if you keep it completely surface-y. On the upside, most places and events I go to let me sing a song or two, and I'm pretty sure it's just because I'm a little white girl. I'll take it.
HMMMM, what else?
-I may have mentioned this previously, but one of the best things IN THE WORLD is a cafe called Bobby Brewer's, which has a movie theater and new release films FOR FREE for customers. It's really nice.
-Saigon is BEAUTIFUL around Tet. Completely covered in the symbolic yellow flower, Hoa Mai. On the less-stunning but more-fun side, there are a ton of huge Tet-themed vignettes all over the city, obviously with copious amounts of glitter and day-glo colors. I can't wait to bring my camera out some evening and take a long reel of pictures with myself inserted into the scenes.
-I have a one-year-old next door neighbor who is adorable, and every time she sees me she blows me kisses. It might have something to do with the fact that her mom tells her to do it, but I taught her how to high five, and she seems to enjoy it. I don't generally LOVE kids (disregard my current job status), but she just makes me want to snatch her.
-I get to be a full-time teacher beginning Feb. 22. So, that's only 1 month of little to no work, and only about 1 1/2 months until I get a small stipend on which to live. 2 1/2 months until I can really start livin' the high life. I'll take it. I don't really have another choice.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Air force evening
I'm officially on vacation for the Tet holiday. Apollo only gives teachers 1 week of holiday, but since I only work at partnership schools, I have 3 weeks off. This situation would be fantastic were it not for the fact that I have no money with which to celebrate my incredible 21 days of freedom from screaming children. My current status is that of a poor person. In all honesty, I would rather work (a lot) more, and actually have some sort of monetary fundage. That's not a word, but it sounds fine to me. I feel like such an American, having a staycation out of necessity, mandatory leave from work, a lot of time on my hands but with no money to actually do anything cool. Nevertheless, I have been doing some pretty interesting things.
I've had some amazingly interesting conversations with multiple Vietnamese people about the government. Overwhelmingly, they are unhappy with it, and hope for political reform in the years to come. Some currently live in the US, some live here, but all have problems with the current regime, and are eager to share their views with me, which I find to be pretty amazing.
Last night I had dinner with Chinh's old Air force Squadron. One of the lieutenants who currently lives in DC came back for a visit, and so the 5 men got together for a celebratory meal. It was the first time that some had seen each other in 40 years. I have no idea why they were ok with the presence of a random white chick during their catch-up time, but I must say it was a fascinating night. They let me be an honorary fighter pilot and part of the squadron for the night. It felt good, and my ego got the pilot boost.
As I said before, Chinh was a fighter pilot for the South of Vietnam during the war. All five men spent time in re-education camps, one having lost 8 years of his life to the prisons. It's amazing to see how (at least seemingly) resilient these men are. All have careers in various areas, have families, and intact senses of humor. Throughout the night, there were copious jokes and fond reminiscences of their time in the air force. They explained to me that because they were young, they didn't let the danger of their reality hinder their happiness. Chinh said it was one of the best times of his life, even though they worked 365 days a year, and half of the pilots died. It sounded to me like they had all been crazy at the time, especially when they busted out stories of using their guns on each other.
The conversation was full of crazy stories and lude jokes, but also some very insightful discussions. For instance, Suon, the man who currently resides in DC, spoke of going to the US Civil War museum. There are more pictures and memorabilia of Gen. Robert E. Lee than there are of Gen. Grant, who as we all know was the leader of the winning side. He pointed out that with the communists in power, there is only one side of the story told. No voices of S. Vietnam are heard when speaking of the American War. I guess history is written by the victors, so that shouldn't be too surprising. Still, I find it so interesting to be privy to stories of the side that has been all but forgotten. It definitely makes one think about the war in a different way. I'm not saying AT ALL that I agree with America's decision to go into Vietnam, but for some reason I always thought of it as simply the Americans fighting the Vietnamese, who were communists, instead of helping the non-communist South.
Suon told me that often times the North would infiltrate their radio systems and bombard them with anti-South propaganda, telling them they were merely pawns of the American government. Once he called in to argue with them, saying "I'm no pawn of the American government. Fuck Richard Nixon." He went on to ask the communist North if they would say anything like that about the USSR leader. Point taken.
On our way back from dinner, Chinh gave me a bit of a historical tour of Saigon. Saying that he disliked the new highrise buildings and commercialism, he explained that many old buildings had been bulldozed in favor of these new monstrosities. He showed me the new building that was where his parents' old house had been; the central roundabout currently filled with neon signs and cafe's and shops that had been strictly residential pre-communism, and the shopping mall that had been To's (another member of the squadron) family's property before communism. Insane. Being a true history nerd, I found the lesson to be fascinating, but am truly torn by the two sides. I can't imagine having everything belonging to my family being taken away by the government. It must have been terrible and rage-inducing. Yet when I saw the huge plots of land that had previously been single-family dwellings, it seemed so unfair and disproportionate considering the sheer magnitude of destitute Vietnamese. Had the communist regime done anything to help these poor people, I might actually have agreed with them.
Heavy topic of conversation.
Also this week:
-I went to a CD debut performance on Thursday. The young woman, who composed her music, is a friend of Chinh's, who was the emcee of the event. There were cameras and media people in attendance, and it took place at quite an interesting bar.
-I may start giving voice lessons. I made sure the prospective students were beginners, because otherwise I would feel like a FRAUD.
-the clubs here are insane. Overpriced, and insane. I'm talking pole-dancing competitions crazy. And I haven't even been to the infamous Apocalypse Now club yet.
-Went to a restaurant owned by the wife of the vice-prime minister in the '60s. She's friends with Chinh (i'm telling you, the man knows EVERYONE), and I got to meet her. All I have to say is, I hope I look half as good when I get to be 71.
-I will start learning Vietnamese tomorrow. I really need to get some sort of grasp on the language, though it is a crazy difficult language. More on that later.
I've had some amazingly interesting conversations with multiple Vietnamese people about the government. Overwhelmingly, they are unhappy with it, and hope for political reform in the years to come. Some currently live in the US, some live here, but all have problems with the current regime, and are eager to share their views with me, which I find to be pretty amazing.
Last night I had dinner with Chinh's old Air force Squadron. One of the lieutenants who currently lives in DC came back for a visit, and so the 5 men got together for a celebratory meal. It was the first time that some had seen each other in 40 years. I have no idea why they were ok with the presence of a random white chick during their catch-up time, but I must say it was a fascinating night. They let me be an honorary fighter pilot and part of the squadron for the night. It felt good, and my ego got the pilot boost.
As I said before, Chinh was a fighter pilot for the South of Vietnam during the war. All five men spent time in re-education camps, one having lost 8 years of his life to the prisons. It's amazing to see how (at least seemingly) resilient these men are. All have careers in various areas, have families, and intact senses of humor. Throughout the night, there were copious jokes and fond reminiscences of their time in the air force. They explained to me that because they were young, they didn't let the danger of their reality hinder their happiness. Chinh said it was one of the best times of his life, even though they worked 365 days a year, and half of the pilots died. It sounded to me like they had all been crazy at the time, especially when they busted out stories of using their guns on each other.
The conversation was full of crazy stories and lude jokes, but also some very insightful discussions. For instance, Suon, the man who currently resides in DC, spoke of going to the US Civil War museum. There are more pictures and memorabilia of Gen. Robert E. Lee than there are of Gen. Grant, who as we all know was the leader of the winning side. He pointed out that with the communists in power, there is only one side of the story told. No voices of S. Vietnam are heard when speaking of the American War. I guess history is written by the victors, so that shouldn't be too surprising. Still, I find it so interesting to be privy to stories of the side that has been all but forgotten. It definitely makes one think about the war in a different way. I'm not saying AT ALL that I agree with America's decision to go into Vietnam, but for some reason I always thought of it as simply the Americans fighting the Vietnamese, who were communists, instead of helping the non-communist South.
Suon told me that often times the North would infiltrate their radio systems and bombard them with anti-South propaganda, telling them they were merely pawns of the American government. Once he called in to argue with them, saying "I'm no pawn of the American government. Fuck Richard Nixon." He went on to ask the communist North if they would say anything like that about the USSR leader. Point taken.
On our way back from dinner, Chinh gave me a bit of a historical tour of Saigon. Saying that he disliked the new highrise buildings and commercialism, he explained that many old buildings had been bulldozed in favor of these new monstrosities. He showed me the new building that was where his parents' old house had been; the central roundabout currently filled with neon signs and cafe's and shops that had been strictly residential pre-communism, and the shopping mall that had been To's (another member of the squadron) family's property before communism. Insane. Being a true history nerd, I found the lesson to be fascinating, but am truly torn by the two sides. I can't imagine having everything belonging to my family being taken away by the government. It must have been terrible and rage-inducing. Yet when I saw the huge plots of land that had previously been single-family dwellings, it seemed so unfair and disproportionate considering the sheer magnitude of destitute Vietnamese. Had the communist regime done anything to help these poor people, I might actually have agreed with them.
Heavy topic of conversation.
Also this week:
-I went to a CD debut performance on Thursday. The young woman, who composed her music, is a friend of Chinh's, who was the emcee of the event. There were cameras and media people in attendance, and it took place at quite an interesting bar.
-I may start giving voice lessons. I made sure the prospective students were beginners, because otherwise I would feel like a FRAUD.
-the clubs here are insane. Overpriced, and insane. I'm talking pole-dancing competitions crazy. And I haven't even been to the infamous Apocalypse Now club yet.
-Went to a restaurant owned by the wife of the vice-prime minister in the '60s. She's friends with Chinh (i'm telling you, the man knows EVERYONE), and I got to meet her. All I have to say is, I hope I look half as good when I get to be 71.
-I will start learning Vietnamese tomorrow. I really need to get some sort of grasp on the language, though it is a crazy difficult language. More on that later.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Guns & food
I've just spent the better part of an hour trying to figure out a way to get around the facebook block, using all kinds of proxies, and nothing is working! I suppose that is a very miniscule effect of the Communist regime, but it sure is affecting my life negatively. Good grief. Basically, the government doesn't allow facebook because a lot of activists use it to organize anti-government communities and demonstrations and such. The article I posted last week is such an interesting look into the underbelly of Vietnam. It's strange that a person can lead a totally normal and unaffected life in the midst of so much social unrest and such an oppressive government. In day-to-day life, I don't see brutality or oppression by the communist regime. Most of what I see is a lot of people in various police uniforms sitting around on the street doing absolutely nothing. Seriously, in any given city block you walk by at least 5 uniformed men either standing with their rifles on their backs (usually outside of consulates or other government buildings) or sitting in plastic lawn chairs, sometimes in groups, and checking out all of the people passing by. They are everywhere, and as far as I can tell, they do nothing. I guess it's nice that they have jobs...
Last night Apollo had a work function for the new teachers at a Czech bar near the school. I know what you're thinking-Czech food in HCM City?! In their defense, they brew their own beer which isn't at all bad, and on the menu they have not only slivovice, but becherovka! In case anyone was wondering. Those are Czech liquors. We drank a lot of becherovka while I studied in Prague. Sadly, they didn't have gulas, so I was a bit upset. It was my first outing with my new colleagues, and even though there are 3 or 4 new teachers, I was the only one who came. People seem pretty cool, most of them are from the US or England, and it's nice to have a night out with people who are completely fluent in English. Made plans for a Wednesday night out to go to a bar which is both ladies night AND 80's night, so I'm pretty pumped about that. Still a bit wary of male english teachers, but some of them seem ok. SOME of them. I may join the Apollo little sisters program, where I would get paired up with a kid who has HIV and hang out with her once a week. We'll see how that goes. Apparently, the people in the program really like it.
more things...
-Fran's boyfriend just moved here. He got in on Friday. On Saturday, we went to a Mexican restaurant called Gringo's which actually had some pretty amazing fish tacos. haha. They just left for a 2 week trip to Cambodia, so I am officially back to square 1 in terms of expat friends for the time being. Luckily, I'm starting to make friends at work.
-brunch on Saturday came with an all-you-can-eat chocolate fountain. So glad my parents weren't around to witness my complete lack of class with that fountain.
-saying I come from a city near Detroit tends to give me way more street cred than I deserve. sometimes I play it up just for kicks. I don't know how anyone would believe I'm a badass not to be messed with on the streets, but throw in a few random facts about Michigan's gun laws, accompanied by the fact that summer camp (just don't tell them it was a family Michigan Alumni camp) teaches riflery from the age of 7, and some people are willing to believe ANYthing.
Last night Apollo had a work function for the new teachers at a Czech bar near the school. I know what you're thinking-Czech food in HCM City?! In their defense, they brew their own beer which isn't at all bad, and on the menu they have not only slivovice, but becherovka! In case anyone was wondering. Those are Czech liquors. We drank a lot of becherovka while I studied in Prague. Sadly, they didn't have gulas, so I was a bit upset. It was my first outing with my new colleagues, and even though there are 3 or 4 new teachers, I was the only one who came. People seem pretty cool, most of them are from the US or England, and it's nice to have a night out with people who are completely fluent in English. Made plans for a Wednesday night out to go to a bar which is both ladies night AND 80's night, so I'm pretty pumped about that. Still a bit wary of male english teachers, but some of them seem ok. SOME of them. I may join the Apollo little sisters program, where I would get paired up with a kid who has HIV and hang out with her once a week. We'll see how that goes. Apparently, the people in the program really like it.
more things...
-Fran's boyfriend just moved here. He got in on Friday. On Saturday, we went to a Mexican restaurant called Gringo's which actually had some pretty amazing fish tacos. haha. They just left for a 2 week trip to Cambodia, so I am officially back to square 1 in terms of expat friends for the time being. Luckily, I'm starting to make friends at work.
-brunch on Saturday came with an all-you-can-eat chocolate fountain. So glad my parents weren't around to witness my complete lack of class with that fountain.
-saying I come from a city near Detroit tends to give me way more street cred than I deserve. sometimes I play it up just for kicks. I don't know how anyone would believe I'm a badass not to be messed with on the streets, but throw in a few random facts about Michigan's gun laws, accompanied by the fact that summer camp (just don't tell them it was a family Michigan Alumni camp) teaches riflery from the age of 7, and some people are willing to believe ANYthing.
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