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.
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