5/2 India Blues II

Missing India something fierce today:

• the constant tiny little ceramic cups full of milky sweet tea
• the autorickshaws, cyclerickshaws, and even the taxis
• driving on the wrong side of the road
• the ubiquitous cow
• black sulfurous salt on green guavas
• hearing and trying to speak Hindi (after 5 weeks I still speak it here)
• Punjabi, Bollywood, and classic Hindi music everywhere
• the sweet smells (that cover up the horrid ones;))
• the intensely personal investigations by every Indian you meet 
• eating with my hand
• the trains - especially a lower side berth with a big window
• the food - I even miss hot cornflakes and a hot dog bun with jam
• palaces, temples and forts
• wearing salwar kameez and all my beautiful scarves
• the kids, food, and peace of Dakshinayan;(

Hope this is not too redundant ... just trying to process;)

5/1 Celebration

Celebrations kicked in a bit early today.  Got to hang out with Sacha's honeymooning friends before they left who shared wonderful and hilarious stories of their travels and wedding (the wedding being the former;)). Met a guy who is kite surfing around the world.  Met up with most of our classmates for drinks and dancing.  Sat outside a packed nite club on my favorite little stools next to a beautiful fountain meeting new people, debating, dancing, laughing, and drinking till the wee hours of the morning. I think we finally found Saigon's nite life. Thank god we didn't find it earlier!

4/30 Da Lat Wine

So Vietnam has it's own wine called and from the region Da Lat.  It's inexpensiveness and not bad ... not necessarily good but just fine after a glass or two;).  Sacha and I sat outside one of our favorite restaurants, Dune, chatting and joking with all the waiters as they called in white tourists, watching upper middle class Korean business men secretly entering a clandestine club next door, taking pictures with our favorite old street vendor and wincing as the dried squid seller stopped in front us to sell an unsuspecting tourists some flat stinky fish.  Couldn't ask for a better evening;)

4/29 Last Day teaching

Taught my last class today in front of the assessor.  It went quite well.  I felt strangely flat after wards.  We had a four day weekend ahead of us before our last two days.  Bittersweet.  However, looking forward to job hunting and planning for the next year .... where to go next?;) ... back to India, stay in Saigon, go to Indonesia, Eastern Europe?  The next month will tell ... no matter what I have a feeling its going to be an adventure!

4/28 PJ's

Observation of the day: all the older women and most of the "non-working" younger women seems to wear pj's all the time.  Comfy little cotton pants and shirts with the typical Asian conical hat or helmet of course;).  Pics coming soon ...

4/27 Only one week left

Only one week left and even though I was really stressed, I was also already a bit sad about leaving the course and the friends I had made. I would miss breakfast with Sacha at Dune every morning where
Thinh and Khoi would bring us our tea and eggs with out even asking our order, lunch with everyone on the 10th floor trying to figure out how we were going to get through the week, dinner at the Lam with its huge cheap plates of vegies and fruit -  looks like I am going to mostly miss the meals;).

4/26 Wires

Today was relatively typical so I thought I would share another observation: the wires.  The huge masses of black electrical wires that line every street.  They look like thick black stringy hair hanging about ten feet from the ground.  They mass up at every corner creating a tangled mess that is a great analogy for the chaos but seemless flow that is Saigon.

4/25 Study Study Study

Even though it was a four day weekend, we all were studying studying studying.  Anxiety is running high and we were all so ready for the course to be over and start exploring the city and country side.  Observation for the day: soupy soupy salad.  The Vietnamese love soup and seem to translate this love to salad;). 

4/24 Poolside

Ended up sitting by a posh pool with cozy seats and bad service.  Even got a little work done;).  Tried vainly to get Sacha to go out dancing with me but she persisted.  Thanks to her I stayed in getting good rest for another long day of studying.  Funny observation of the day: at our little 10th floor Saigon Starbucks, there is a small cupboard behind the counter.  Today, it totally took me by surprise when the door opened and one of the girls got out - after what looked like a very refreshing nap;) Wow they sleep everywhere!

4/23 Thai Silk

Shopping therapy today!  Found really inexpensive thai silk today (a third the price of the very cheap silk I bought for my first copy-that promptly fell apart after the first wearing;)).  Three stunning colors.  Sach and I wandered the market some more and went to our regular hang out for lunch.  Joined some other folks for drinks later and went to bed early to get ready for a day of lesson plans and writing. 

4/22 Wallet

Sad news of the day, while we were out celebrating the completion of our third week and the upcoming three day weekend, I lost my wallet.  Quite a bit of money, my card, etc.... But thanks to Sacha, I'll be covered till the new one arrived.  Guess we missed a great night out to all the Saigon clubs.  Once of which is called Apocolypse Now ... of course;).  Sacha and I ended drowning my sorrows at the ex-pat bar and were in bed at a decent hour. 

4/21 Face Masks

Found out today that the face masks (which can cover the neck and shoulders), long elbow length gloves, and thong knee high thong socks the most of the women and some of the men wear on their motorbikes are for sun not smog protection! The masks that come in every color shade and fabric are sold in all the stores and on the streets. It's still really strange to look out into a sea of people mostly covered from head to toe - kind of feels like some kind of epidemic apocalypse and creates a subtle feeling of isolation and seperation.  The obsession with white skin is similar to India - and, from what I've heard - the rest of Asia.  It's very difficult to find lotion that doesn't have bleach or "whitening" cream in it.  While I'm fair and don't mind the "whitening" cream, most of my fellow Western travelers have to search for days to find normal face cream.Don't get me wrong, still starting to love Saigon more and more just had to comment on the strange mask phenomenon.;).

4/20 Early Morning Motorbike

Took a motorbike to observe classes early in the morning.  It had been weeks and I forgot how fun it is to be on the back of a bike smoothly gliding through a million bikes. I even got a good price - only 10,000 dong.  Three weeks ago, I would have probably paid 100,000;).  The facility where we observe is massive.  Mostly catering to young learners and 20 somethings.  Both classes were great.  Dynamic and fast paced.  The CELTA methodology naturally encourages facilitation rather than the old school teacher centric style.  It's a fascinating approach to learning language.  I'm really excited about learning more of the postmodern philosophy behind it. May have to stay on and take the next course to learn more;).

4/19 Resistance

I'm still resisting Saigon.  Resisting its kind vendors, sales people, shop keepers, hotel clerks, ILA staff.  It's fastidiously clean streets and beautiful parks.  It's deeply respectful people and strangely beautiful culture.  It's weird opera and funny pop music.  It's bouncy and argumentative language.  Still resisting its generosity.  One thing is for sure though, I have not resisted its cheap and abundant pedicures;).  The pho and motorbikes do make me smile.  And the skyline at night is stunningly clear and beautiful.  Maybe the resistance is waning ... maybe phase four of culture shock has arrived;).

4/18 Grandma Brown

"Live your life, love your life, and let your critics be damned".  My Grandma Brown wrote this in a book that she handed down to me quite a few years ago.  It describes her and inspires me.  She has always had the right words at the right time.  Always given me the advice that I need to hear ... even if I wasn't listening.  Gentle, kind and persistent.  A grandmother but also a friend. My favorite is my blog quote, "Live your life as though when your feet hit the floor every morning Satan shudders and says, "Oh &#$% she's awake".  I only hope I can make him shudder like she does;).