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.