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!