Crazy Coincidence!

I really wanted some banh cuon the other day. Banh Cuon is like a thick but soft rice paper wrapping different sorts of meat. It's really good. This one place my friend showed me has the most amazing set-up. It's on the second floor of a building, so you can go up some stairs, or just take it to go. A guy takes your order on the street, then yells it up or puts the order in this basket. When they finish making it, they send it down this basket-like bag and the guy gives it to you, then takes your money and your change is given back the same way. It's so simple, yet perfect. No messy drive-thru ordering contraptions that are barely clearly audible, no, "wait, what did you say?", no uncomfortable drive-thru window that you may or may not be near enough to get your food from. I love going there.

Unfortunately, they weren't expecting to cook anything for a while (it was like 2 pm and no one here eats at 2 pm but foreigners and stragglers), so it was going to take about 15 minutes to get everything back up to get my food. I thanked them and went to the other place I like, Cho Ben Thanh.

At the banh cuon place, someone shouted out my name. I turned, expecting to see a fellow expat. Instead, I saw Mama Dao and Sydney. Mama Dao and Sydney (Dao) are the mother and sister of my uncle's wife. Not related, technically, but still family. I've known them since I was about 8, and the really weird thing is that they are from the States, so I would have never expected to run into them. Took them to this restaurant that is very big with expats, locals, and viet kieus alike called Quan An Ngon (Good Food Restaurant). Got to eat Cua Rang Moui (salted crab) and it was soooooo good! It's pretty expensive, so I don't get it often, but they had no problems getting it and letting me help myself. Ahh, I love when American family comes to visit=)

I also took them to a flower market, but it was so crowded that I think Mama Dao got a little freaked out. As much as they enjoyed their time here, they were ready to go home. It's really weird to see people here from back home, especially when you just run into them (seriously, what are the odds?). Just goes to show that if you follow your gut (or stomach), it can take you many interesting places.

Time for Tet!

So it's 7:00 AM right now. Oh yes, I woke up at 6:00 am to the sounds of our neighborhood rooster who apparently got 5 new friends. In a big urban city of 8 million people, I wake up to rooster crows.

Anyways, out of frustration, and an empty post-drinking stomach, I decided to get out of the house to enjoy my favorite breakfast, hu tieu hoanh thanh xa xiu (aka rice noodles with wontons and marinated bbq pork). Like the elusive McDonald's breakfast, I usually sleep in too late or get too busy to get it (it's not really a grab-and-go thing). This is why I am blogging at 7:30 in the morning.

Tet, aka Lunar New Year, is on Saturday, so the city is alive and frantically decorating the city, preparing gift baskets, and cleaning away the old year. Think of New Years in NY, then multiply the enthusiasm by about 8 million. The streets are inundated with motorbikes carrying everything from bags to flowers to trees (yes, real ones, ready to be planted). I would take pictures, but my camera has officially decided it wants to stop working (SOOOO pissed).

Last night, I came across some guys dressed like they were about to perform a dragon dance. Like the rest of the curious motorbikers, I stopped to take a look and see when they were going to start. In less than 2 minutes, I wasn't able to move on; over half the busy, busy street was filled with people who stopped to wait and watch. I'm glad I was loafing around because there was very little chance I was getting out of that crowd before the parade finished. It was actually kind of nice to see how no one really minded the fact that over half a street became blocked off by bystanders. People who didn't want to watch just went their merry way. Many people also left their motorbikes on the side of the road to get closer to the action. In a city where motorbike theft is ridiculously rampant, people were surprisingly trusting of the others around them. Even I was encouraged to leave my motorbike for a better view, to which the man behind me who kindly suggested it faithfully made sure that no one stole it. It would have been pretty difficult anyways, seeing how I was trapped in by so many others; I guess people figured that if anyone wanted to steal their motorbike, they would first have to get it in a position to where it could drive off, and they would have plenty of time to catch the thief.

The parade was small, but really pretty. The dragon dancers led the way, followed by people dressed in old royal garb. Behind them was a fake emperor who was riding in a "boat," which was actually people holding up a long red piece of fabric, while a guy in the back held up the sail. It was rather clever, I thought. Next followed the models doing a fashion-like show, and the dancers brought up the rear. I wanted to go away for this week off I have, but there is too much to see in the city!

Many people said around Tet, the city shuts down and goes dead because all the store workers are spending time with their families. Most expats and travellers, as well as a lot of locals, leave for other places. I have friends who went to Da Lat, Hoi An, Phu Quoc Island, Cambodia, and even the States. Luckily, I have family that I want to spend time with learning about all the Tet traditions. On Mon, some of my students took me out to eat and to see some local artists drawing Vietnamese calligraphy, called "Thu Phap." It's influenced by the Chinese and French, so it uses a lot of Chinese-originated words, but they are written with alphabetical letters. The coolest words are the letters they make look like one character. As I was watching the fascinating strokes, my students presented to me a scroll with the word "tam," which means "with your whole heart." The word is often presented to teachers who teach...well, you get the point. After spending so much time fighting stereotypes that I would be a less qualified teacher because of my appearance, I felt so touched. It was also cool just to be able to hang out with my students. It felt like a complete role reversal as they showed me around that part of the city, teaching me Vietnamese words and telling me about Vietnamese traditions. I tried to get them to talk about traditions in our class, but they were more at ease out on the street where they could point and use Vietnamese. One girl, Nam Hai, was most impressive with her English skills. Her English is WAAY better than my Vietnamese!

As much I would have liked to travel (we don't get many week vacations here), I'm glad I stayed. The excitement is palpable, and quite unlike any holidays we celebrate in the States. Because everyone has the same traditions, everything seems to be coming together as a unit. I think we miss that in the States. Everyone comes from somewhere different, so we have many different traditions, which is great, but no one holiday is celebrated so grandly by the whole country. It's quite thrilling to be here to experience it.

The Intimate Side of Vietnam

(Actual date: Feb. 11)

So, I finally took passengers on my motorbike! I have taken Janet (mimihater), Andrew, and Danny! I will master this contraption yet!

I also ordered from those delivery boys for the first time, which was rather exciting. For all those in the States, there are these boys who go around knocking metal or shaking this noise-thing (expats, anyone know what they are called?). They are trying to get your attention to sell you food that they will then deliver to you in a bowl with any utensils you might need, to which you leave the bowl and stuff outside your door when you are done. Yesterday, I finally took the chance to order a noodle dish. My stomach remains intact and free of any problems. And the price of this whole meal and service? 4,000 VND = 25 cents.

It also made me realize how far the locals go here to take care of each other. The only way that bowl of food could be worth 25 cents is if they were getting deals on food and a lot of business. Each neighborhood alley has people who own convenience stores, restaurants, and repairmen. It's the most idyllic form of communism; the way it was intended to work. And in these neighborhoods, it really does. They hang out together, watch out for each other, and treat each neighbor like family. Everyone has something to take care of, and while there is a bit of competition, it doesn't cause too much tension. The other day, I was driving home and a girl was walking down our alley, calling out to remind all the neighbors to turn on the alley lights. Can you imagine if local Americans were in charge of the street lights?

Unfortunately, this is the side of Vietnam that you can only see when you live in a local house in a local alley. Tourists, and most travellers who stick to the backpackers' area never get to see this side of Vietnam. It is only in the outskirts of Western view, where locals can relax and just be themselves. After all, they are just as wary of the Westerners, fearing that their good-natured spirits will be taken advantage of, just as Westerners are wary that they will get charged 2-5 times as much as locals. It is only when they trust you, or perhaps don't realize you're paying attention, that they let their guards down and show you a side of their country that you can't read in a travel book.

It really is beautiful.

"The Universe tends to unfold as it should..." (Black Prisoner from Harold and Kumar)

(Actual date: February 08)

So I was in class the other day, asking my students what they planned to see when they got to their respective study-abroad countries. One student, the boy, said that he didn't like Australia. I asked him why he wanted to study there if he didn't like it. He said he wanted to study and make money as a geologist (umm, anybody know any rich geology majors?). So, I asked him if he had ever been to Australia. He said he hadn't. The question that inevitably followed was, "Then how do you know you don't like it?" He didn't answer. I asked him if he understood (his understanding of English, well, it's not stellar...). He remained silent and unchanged. Finally, I asked him using different words. At this point, he snaps at me and replies, "I know what you are asking, I don't know the answer!"

In a culture that would rather smile and move on than confront you, I admit to being rather taken aback. I looked at him for a moment before saying, "Thank you for answering. It's okay not to know the answer, but you have to tell me you don't know." I then went on to explain how it can be rude NOT to answer someone than to just say you don't know.

Anyways, the whole ordeal made me a little sad, yet a little proud of myself. Here I am, in a new country, and I'm starting to really enjoy myself. For now, I am right where I want to be, and I never truly understood what a privilege and a blessing that was. I mean, here is a guy who is about to go into a field where he is going to have to learn all these things he doesn't want to (he actually got angry at me the other day for telling him that in order to take geology classes, he would have to take physics. He insisted he didn't like physics and would not need it to learn about geology. He is going to have quite an awakening when he goes to Australia...). Even when I was taking business classes I enjoyed (which were the classes that didn't have much to do with business), I knew that I would never be able to handle a desk job, dealing with balance sheets and investments and sitting there waiting impatiently for the end of the day to come. It's just not me. So here I am, not needing to worry too much about money, working 33 hours (in a profession where 20-25 hours is a lot), and getting to learn so much about the other half of the world from simple conversations from my local students.

Even outside of Vietnam, there are plenty of people, especially in Corporate America, that don't really want to be there. And yet, responsibility, bills, thoughts of retirement loom over their heads, rendering them unable to imagine possibilities beyond their jobs. I was just lucky enough to have a mom who encouraged me to go abroad and the naivete not to realize how difficult it would be to settle into a life halfway across my old world.

(WARNING: Soapbox moment, please avert your eyes if you think you might barf)

So to all those people, I gotta tell you, as scary as it is to take those kinds of risks, there is no feeling quite like being able to handle your own. To know that life is throwing you some serious curve balls, and yet you can still whack them outta the park. The scariest part of jumping is that momentum just as your feet leave the ground. After that, life tends to take care of you in its own mysterious way. Even if it doesn't go the way you intend, I think the people who at least try to follow what is in their hearts and take that leap, unknown as it is, end up with a life that is better than they themselves could have figured out just from their own reasoning. At least that is how life opps have presented themselves to me.

As this wonderful lesbian movie puts it, "You can never be sure. But you take the plunge anyway. Sure is for people who don't love enough." Of course, she's talking about being in love with another woman, I just want to feel like my day has purpose.


feel free to comment if you think i'm full of shitzer.

T-Shirt time

(Actual date: Sun, January 28)

I had a student wear yet another t-shirt that made me wonder who translates for these t-shirt companies.

Some funny ones:

"Candy Stripper" - worn by my best 12-year-old intermediate student in my only, and longest teaching, class of teenagers (I LOVE teaching them!)

"Exoitca Entertainment" - worn by probably one of the most innocent girls of my IELTS class. She didn't know what it meant.

"Life is too short to pracse your wish immediately" - umm, anyone?

Back on the wagon

(Actual Date: January 25, 2007)

Once again, I must marvel at the wonders of life. I barely had time to breathe into a bag for AHS when another school, one that I've had my eye on from the beginning, picked me up for 20 hours. Yes, everyone, I can pay rent again! The school's name is Cleverlearn - this is where I taught my first official class and where I met Lisa, my first local friend who's been amazing to me.

For those of you who know me, or have ever had to listen to me vent my problems, you may have noticed that I tend to overanalyze and overthink, well, everything. Dude, it annoys me, too, but when you have trouble sleeping, your mind just tends to wander. As it does in the shower. And on a motorbike. Etc.

But everything took care of itself. I now teach students that really want to learn, and I cannot describe how big that difference is. It's amazing to actually be getting somewhere in the classroom, and it definitely makes me feel a whole lot better about how I spend my days. I have one class where I just teach them all about the culture of different English-speaking countries. It's awesome.

So today, my tutees from the shipyard (a job that actually requires me to look Vietnamese) took me out to dinner. Five Vietnamese men and me. And they got me to drink beer. To all those in Austin who are very shocked, and possibly indignant, I'm sorry. They ordered it for me, and here, I just can't figure out how to say no. It's like the gift you can't give back. I even chugged one of them. Joel and Mario, I will chug a beer with y'all when I get home. Mario, you even get to pick the beer. Joel, I'm not chugging a Lonestar...; )

I got to find out all sorts of interesting things. One guy, Phong, who is a little over 40, wears a wedding ring, even though he is single. He says people will think he is crazy if he isn't married. His friend, Khoa, on the other hand, has a wife and daughter, and he doesn't wear a ring at all.

I also found out that army officers are not allowed to travel outside the country. They told me the government is afraid they will leak secrets out if they go abroad.

Even though at times, i felt like I was on a date with 5 different guys, I still had fun. I got to eat oysters on the half-shell (YUMMMM!), shrimp that they "boiled" (they were on a platter with a little bit of juice that they put on a stove on a table), and fried pork knuckles (it tastes a LOT better than it sounds...). All in all, teaching is turning out to be pretty fun. And all I had to do was wait patiently for it to come to me.

Now, if only I could apply these principles to other aspects...