My 100th Post: Part 3 (CELTA Celebratory Dinner)

Once upon a time, I moved to Vietnam to do a teacher certification training program. 4 hellish and intense weeks later, including an accident with a motorbike, I 'graduated.' For our celebratory dinner, one of our instructors had a boyfriend who owned (?) Baba's, an Indian restaurant on Bui Vien and we all gathered there. It's interesting to note that on Bui Vien alone there are three Indian restaurants. Interesting, over done, same same, but they're always busy so I guess there's no interference from the competition.

Here a few pictures from dinner:

My 100th Post: Part 2 (Thích Quảng Đức and the Burning Monk statue)

I know that part two of my 100th post is technically my 101st post, but I had a lot to say in order to celebrate 100 and it was easier to split them up. 

That being said, this post is a little Wikipedia heavy and picture-lite because I feel like they explain it better than I ever could, despite having taken Meredith Lair's excellent class on The Vietnam War at George Mason University. I don't know if you've ever heard of The Burning Monk statue in HCMC, but I hadn't either until I got there. I didn't know where it was, but I was driving through downtown on my way home from planning at school on a Friday when I realised I was at the intersection where Thích Quảng Đức set himself on fire to protest Ngo Dinh Diem's treatment of Buddhist monks.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say:

'Thích Quảng Đức^[1] (1897 – 11 June 1963, born Lâm Văn Túc), was a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who burned himself to death at a busy Saigon road intersection on 11 June 1963.^[2] Quang Duc was protesting the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government led by Ngô Đình Diệm. Photographs of his self-immolation were circulated widely across the world and brought attention to the policies of the Diệm government. John F. Kennedy said in reference to a photograph of Duc on fire, "No news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one."^[3] Malcolm Browne won a Pulitzer Prize for his photograph of the monk's death.^[4][5]

Quang Duc's act increased international pressure on Diệm and led him to announce reforms with the intention of mollifying the Buddhists. However, the promised reforms were not implemented, leading to a deterioration in the dispute. With protests continuing, theARVN Special Forces loyal to Diệm's brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, launched nationwide raids on Buddhist pagodas, seizing Quang Duc's heart and causing deaths and widespread damage. Several Buddhist monks followed Quang Duc's example, also immolating themselves. Eventually, an Army coup toppled Diệm, who was assassinated on 2 November 1963."

Here are pictures I took:

I also found an article on Thought Catalog that published the original photos that Malcolm Browne took. There's also a video. They're both very graphic so be forewarned. 

My 100th post: Part 1 (The view from Cao Dat)

100 is a BIG number, guys. Most people don't live to see 100 so we celebrate those that do. Most shows don't last until the 100th episode so they do something super special, usually by sending the characters on a trip (well, at least they did in the 90's) or kill someone off. Yep, those are the two types of shows I watch. In honor of my 100th post, I've decided to celebrate, but in a different way. I'm going to celebrate the mundane, the everyday, basically, my routine. What better way to do it than through pictures!

First post, my apartment.

View from the living. Check out the crazy leather sofa. If you're thinking that it's okay to have a leather sofa in an apartment in Vietnam if you have an air conditioner, you're right. Too bad we didn't have an a.c. This is one of the awesome apartments on Cao Dat in District 5. If you're a teacher in the city this is a place that lots of teachers tend to congregate and is pretty ideal because you can get the expat support system you'll initially need and it's also very Vietnamese so you'll have room to branch out when you're ready.

View from the kitchen! Love our little gas stove. I ran out of gas while cooking dhal the first time I found it. Note: always make sure that you have enough gas before cooking. Most apartments have those small cookstoves and they very rarely have ovens. Unless you live in one of the fancy ones like Diamond Plaza or The Manor. Also, check out our bottle of DaLat wine. It's perfect for mulled wine, less so for drinking straight from bottle to glass. 

My new room! Check out the king sized bed and oversized armoire. Also, not the crutches in the corner. Those were my Vietnamese crutches. They were the tallest the hospital had and 2 inches shorter than me and they gave me teh occasional splinter. Total Viet crutches. 

The view from my apartment. That's the Saigon River and the highway running alongside it. What a beautiful sight!