Cho Ben Thanh

Ben Thanh Market is a huge indoor/outdoor market here in Quan 1. (Quan means District. There are 10 Districts that make up the city of HCM.) I initially didn't want to visit it until after my CELTA course was done because I thought I'd save it as a treat to myself. My goal was to not spend frivolously until after I got a job. I'm living off the funds that I brought with me and I plan to make do it with it just in case.I mean, it's pretty easy to find a job here and if I don't get a job with ILA there are a ton of international schools that I can apply to. I can also leave if I want. The only place I would potentially move to at this point is Seoul but it's also very expensive, even if my salary is adjusted for the cost of living. So far I'm liking Viet Nam, even if it never gets cold here.

I completely got off topic. Sorry. It'll happen. A lot! So my course mate Alee and I decided to visit Ben Thanh today. She needed some extra clothes for the CELTA course and I'm in the market, pardon the pun, for a bowl and plate. I definitely did not walk with stuff like that because I found it hard enough to keep to my weight limits. So we hit up Ben Thanh in the hopes of finding these things. Plus we were bored and didn't know what to do today. We're both in a state of suspension as we wait for CELTA to begin. Alee now lives at the guesthouse 15 seconds down the street from me so it's pretty nice having her around. We decided to take motorbikes over there. Fantastic as always but I was a bit careless getting off the bike and my calf brushed the exhaust pipe as I was getting off and I burned myself. I'm fine but it stung for a bit. I'm definitely going to invest in my own helmet because I will definitely be using motorbikes as a mode of transportation and I don't want to borrow other helmets. It kinda freaks me out to think about it.

I, of course, bought the first thing I saw when I walked into the market but it was totally worth it. I also did my first bit of haggling and won. I bought a Tintin in Vietnam t-shirt, and I know he never visited Viet Nam but it's funny at the same. So I officially bought one frivolous thing but I won't do anymore until after CELTA is done because I basically don't have the time to do stuff like that.

After we had a bit of lunch there, with some more iced coffee with condensed milk, we decided to walk back home. Partly to orient ourselves with the area and partly because Alee refuses to spend more money. I'm sure she's right but I love riding motorbikes SO MUCH. On our way back I saw one of those lovely parks that are all over the city. The government does a really good job of running and maintening these parks. They're well manicured and free of litter which was such a pleasure considering the rest of the city. We sat there for a while just taking it all in until a young girl walked by. Well, our age maybe. She smiled at me and so I smiled back and she approached us and started to talk. Her name is Han and it turns out she often frequents the park hoping to run into foreigners so she can practice her English. We talked about where she was from, where she learned English, where we were from, etc. I took the opportunity to practice my Vietnamese and she got SO excited that we knew phrases. She did say that Vietnamese is a hard language to learn but encouraged us to try. I also took the opportunity to ask her about grocery stores, etc but she didn't really understand. I decided to leave after I scratched an old mosquito bite that started to bleed all over my leg. I spotted a pharmacy which is the only place you can buy medicines over here. You can't get medicines anywhere else including the grocery store. Plus, most pharmacists speak English so I figured it would be a good place to ask for a grocery store. I got some hydrogen peroxide and then found a grocery store a few blocks down and bought some detergent, papert towels and supplies for class on Monday.

On our way home Alee and I made mulitple stops. I bought postcards (and will attempt to mail them), she bought clothes and when we thought we were going to faint we stopped at a cafe for juice. Fresh fruit juice is abundant here. So far I've tried watermelon and pineapple and ithey were both amazing. They don't mix it with anything else with it so it's all natural sugars and flavors. And it's only $1.50USD. Another thing I really like about Viet Nam is that in all restaurants instead of serving a glass of water they serve iced green tea. The green tea is refreshing and they serve tea because this way foreigners know that the water was boiled. Plus, it's just so much better than water with lemon.

We then headed home and I showered and passed out for a couple of hours. I then made my afternoon cup of tea and headed down to Miss Loi's lobby to use her computer. I'm now off to a welcome dinner with my CELTA classmates. Hopefully Bridget, another classmate living 15 seconds away, will agree to take motorbikes to dinner. :D

Tales from Saigon

Hello from Saigon! It's my third day of living here and I feel like I've been here for months. It's such an easy place to fit into. So far life here has lived up to everything I expected. I think it's funny that people were so freaked out about me moving here but I don't think they realize that I've lived abroad before and in my opinion if you've seen one third world country you've pretty much seen it all. Saigon reminds me a lot of Trinidad and as a result I'm very comfortable here. Sure I don't speak the language but I'm pretty used to being in places where I don't speak the language and I've developed my own system of communicating. If you want to buy something bring the item or a picture of the item you want to buy and show it to them. It'll save at least 10 minutes of miming what it is you need. For example, I needed to buy an adapter for my laptop plug yesterday so I walked with the end that plugs into the wall and when I pulled it out of my purse they knew immediately what I needed. Quite possibly the easiest thing I've done so far.

Despite having the ability to mime everything I've been trying to use the language. I know how to say thank you, no thank you, how much and excuse me. Using the language is the problem though. I'm forcing myself to speak it more often because I'd like to be fluent when I move back. I don't know if it'll happen because Vietnamese is a hard language but I think once I start working I'll take language classes.

I'm staying at Miss Loi's Guesthouse in the backpacker district, which is what District 1 is unofficially known as. After I landed yesterday my friend Katie picked me up from the airport with her driver Mr. Long. She took me to the money exchange kiosk in her apartment building (which is amazing thanks to her husband's job with Chevron.) We then went for some Vietnamese iced coffee steeped in condensed milk, juuuuust like what Anthony Bourdain drinks in the second episode of No Reservations in Vietnam. It was amazing! We sat outside near running water and with the sound of that, sunlight and iced coffee, it was as close to peace as I've been recently.

My first night here I met up with Lauren, my friend who did the CELTA course, and her housemates for dinner at a Vietnamese bbq place. I was almost talked into trying scorpion until Lauren insisted that it's not even cool to try it because it tastes terrible and that stopped me from trying it. I did however eat eel and ostrich, both of which I've had before, but fry or grill a piece of meat and it's just infinitely better. :)

Last night a CELTA course mate and I went to dinner on Bui Vien which is the main street for travelers in district 1. It was insanity. I prefer the quiet that my neighborhood affords. Especially when all the studying begins. I've heard from a few CELTA people who did the last two courses and their advice has been both encouraging and frightening. We'll see how it goes though.

Ho Chi Minh City or HCMC is an amazing place. I'm pretty comfortable here. Not a place I could live infinitely though. A year is probably good enough but we'll see. There are just so many random things that I love about this place. I love how nice everyone in my area is. I already have an older man who yells "HELLO" every time I walk down the alley near my guesthouse. I love Miss Loi who always asks me what I did during the day when I get back in the evening. I love that for breakfast I have a baguette, cheese, green tea and 3 different types of fruit. I love running into the Australians in my building. I love that I can still get Korean dramas here, even if they do have Vietnamese voiceovers. I love that I have a set of xeom drivers who keep trying to get me to ride on their motorbikes. Which I did today!!!! It's fantastic. It's scary as hell because you're just so...out there. I mean you basically have no protection except for the helmet and that's so basic. I tried really hard not to hug my xeom driver but after a while intuition kicks in. I thought I was going to fall off when we turned corners but somehow I just knew which way to balance when that happened. I did close my eyes a couple of times, like when we went through intersections and there is traffic (TONS OF TRAFFIC) coming at you from like 6 different directions. Plus it was like $7000VND for what would have been a 10 minute walk. I ended up giving her $10,000VND because I didn't fall off. For those that are freaking out reading those numbers the exchange rate is approximately $20,000VND = $1USD. It's ridiculous. For example, I got an hour long massage today and it was $80,000VND and I tipped my girl $20,000VND bringing it to a grand total of $5USD. Lunch was at a really great vegetarian restaurant and I had a starter, meal and a fruity non-alcoholic beer for a grand total of $3USD. I could probably get used to this. :D (Don't worry mom, I'm not permanently moving here. Unless I find a short Vietnamese guy and get married. :P)

Now I'm off to watch fireworks for Vietnam National Day (their Independence Day.)

Tales from Incheon

Where to start! So much has happened over the last...okay I just tried to do the math and I realized that I can't. I'm so tired right now but if I fall asleep now I'll definitely mess things up. I woke up at 8:30am on Monday the 29th and I left Dulles at 1:30pm. I arrived in Incheon at 4:30pm and have finally checked into my hotel. It's 6:00pm here but I keep checking the time back in DC so I can call home.

Let's start with the in-flight entertainment system. I thought a 14 hour flight was going to be unbearable so I made sure my laptop, Kindle, and iPod were charged. I also stuck 2 Nat Geo mags in there for good measure. Plus I've been so tired with all the remodeling/construction that has been happening in our house over the past month (as well as packing to live away for a year) that I was super sure that I'd just pass out on the plane and sleep the entire way over. I didn't sleep a wink! I'm not sure what happened...actually that's not true because I know exactly what happened. Korean Air has an amazing in-flight entertainment system. I watched Fast Five, Thor, The Adjustment Bureau, Soul Surfer, Beastly, From Prada to Nada, Source Code, part of Kung Fu Panda 2, a Japanese movie about a young patisserie, a bunch of Bollywood videos and played games. They would have had the BEST entertainment system ever if they offered Harry Potter 7 Pt. 2 (which I still haven't seen!) I also spent a good amount of time viewing the feed from the camera they have underneath and on the front of the airplane. The front-side camera is awesome for take-off and landing. The under-side camera is awesome for when you're flying over the polar ice caps.

The trip was also awesome because of all the stuff that I did at the airport. I made the decision not to leave because I was SO exhausted and the airport was large enough that I could walk the length once and be super exhausted. I did traditional Korean ink printing and now I have that as a souvenir and a piece of art for my room. I had a delicious dinner and spent enough time poking around all the stalls. One of the most awesome things I saw was in the tobacco/alcohol/chocolate duty free shop. The image is the front cover of a box of chocolates featuring the cast of Boys Before Flowers (one of my favorite Korean dramas.) It almost made up for not running into Lee Minho at the airport. :D (Lee Minho is the hottie in the middle.) :D

Seoul, South Korea

Although I leave August 29th I don't arrive in HCMC (Ho Chi Minh City) until the 31st. Why? Because silly ole' me, due to my current Korean obsessions, decided a 16 hour layover in Seoul would be faaaantastic. I convinced myself that 2 hours wouldn't be enough time and the only other option was a 16 hour layover. When I land in Seoul I need to find a place to stay for the evening because I land in the late afternoon and then my flight leaves early the next morning. I'd wander around Seoul at 3pm but not 3am. No matter how crazy people think I am. Does anyone know where I should stay in Seoul? Any opinions? Any positives, any negatives? HELP! Jusigi balabnida! (That's please in Korean...I think.)

Update: I'm probably just going to stay in the airport and wander there. I'm sure after 16 hours of being in a plane I'll walk around the entire airport twice.

Check it out!

http://www.airgardenhotel.com/english/index.php

T-8 days

So my departure date is officially 8 days away. I was going to wait until Monday to post this and say T-7 days but I was just too excited. I know 8 isn't as cool as 7 but there it is...8 DAYS LEFT!

Tomorrow is my first day of being unemployed in 3 years. I'm a little nervous because I'm the type of person that can't sit still for very long. Thank God I'm unemployed because I'm moving out of the country. I still have a ton of stuff to do. Namely pack and everything that goes along with. I still haven't bought my laptop, Kindle, or sneakers. In the meantime I'm wasting all my free time by watching Boys Before Flowers, a Korean drama, that I'm obsessed with. Take a look at Episode 1 if you decide that you have nothing to do and want to waste copious amounts of time. It's in Korean with English subtitles. It's so dramatic it's fantastic.

Also, I got really amazing news today. My best friend's former Girl Scout leader from Kuwait now lives in HCMC and she offered to pick me up from the airport, have me stay with her for a few days, get me oriented with the city, etc. I definitely took her up on the offer of a ride from the airport because after traveling for 2 days I'm not sure I'll be able to manage a to find a taxi outside the airport (even though they're clearly marked) as well as find the guesthouse I'm staying in for the month. I'm a little scared now because things are going so well. I'll try not to think on it too much though and hopefully the Bad Luck Fairy won't find me.

Check out the wonderful things my friends have done for me so far.

Update: Things to do when leaving your old life behind.

• Pack
• Make list of things to pack
• Make to-do list
• Make sure passport is valid for at least the next three years
• Get a visa for Viet Nam
• Find my undergrad degree
• Pay for class
• Book flight
• Notarized proof that I have a clean criminal record (Just mailed the forms today!)
• Buy a red messenger bag
• Get vaccinated for Hep A, Japanese Encephalitis, Typhoid
• Buy Advil to ease the headache caused when fainting after finding out much vaccinations cost when not covered by insurance
• Get Malaria pills so I’m not severely limited in my travels around SE Asia
• Fill anti-diarrheal medicine in case I can't find those handy curry colored M&M's that M. Floyd told me about
• Buy crazy amounts of underwear in case I can’t find a washer or washer woman within the first couple of weeks
• Find a place to store all my beloved books so they don’t develop mildew when I’m gone
• Clean my room so the next occupant doesn’t have a fit when they see under my bed
• Start donating clothes/items that I find in my room
• Make sure my friends throw me a bangin’ going away party
• Convert currency
• Make copies of passport, visa, resume and Bachelor’s degree
• Buy new laptop, Kindle, camera (if I can afford it.) If I can’t and anyone who happens to read my blog/can afford to buy one/wants to buy me one I want the Canon EOS Rebel
• Get horrible passport-size photos taken for visa
• Cancel credit cards that I don't use
• Buy DEET-filled bug spray
• Continue to study for CETLA course before I’m sent home after one month
• Find a hotel for my layover in Seoul
• Buy ForkChops for Lauren and I
• Arrive on time for my flight

Key:

Grey: Done

Black: Need to do

Blue: Work in progress
Magenta: Things I want

Red: Recently completed