Phở-tastic

Back in the City again

2010-03-17T06:37:00.000-07:00

So much has happened since the last post! I don't think I will do the photos too much anymore - it takes too much work and time, however please look at the photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/vuongat

As you can see there since last posting about Da Lat, we traveled back to Saigon/HCMC plus had a two week stint around the Mekong Delta (Can Tho, Hoa An Bio Diversity Center, Long Xuyen, Chau Doc (Ba Chua Xu, Sam Mountain), and Tra Su (Cajuput forest)). It'll be easier if I start from today backward.

Today was excited because it was the first day I went on the city bus! Since both the school (University of Economics of HCMC or Trung Dai Hoc Kihn Te) and my homestay house is located near a bus stop (bus 150) and the trip is only 3000 dong (as opposed to a xe om or motorbike taxi is 20,000 dong) the family insisted I ride the bus. It was a good idea and I even managed to not get lost! (Unlike yesterday's xe om fiasco that left me wandering the same few blocks for an hour before giving up and getting another xe om back to the house and spending ten times I did today.)

So, homestay. Everyone's really friendly and great, the biggest disappointment is that they are never home, except the 15 year old maid who just started two weeks ago and speaks no English. She is wonderful and I wish my Vietnamese is better because she never understands what I'm trying to say. We both miss home, so we have that in common. Yes, homesickness has struck me and I just want a refresher in my parents house, but that isn't really an option. Seeing them in Vietnam would probably be helpful, but they aren't coming until mid-June.

The front of the house is a storefront that the family rents out. Right now it's an adorable clothing shop called Deo Deo that imports dresses, rompers, and tops from Thailand. I will leave here with at least a few new pieces for my wardrobe for sure.

Being back in the city means a more routine schedule - classes from 8 until 4:30 most days with a couple hour break for lunch. Classes are either Vietnamese language (M, W, F is a real class, T and Th Lynnanne and I get tutored by our lovely assistant Vy and a University and SIT staff person, Hein), reading discussion, or a lecture on various topics involving culture, development, economics, and field research.

Mekong update later!

One week in - Da Lat City!

2010-02-17T05:37:00.001-08:00

Over a week in Vietnam and so little blogging to show for it. I'm usually exhausted by the time I have free time and internt has been spotty in Da Lat, but the experience has been pretty awesome so far. It's much less effort to just post pictures. All my photos are still posted at picasa.

Chain coffee shop in Vietnam.

The menu is crazy cool.

Breakfast - egg and bread ; black iced coffee.

The Independence Palace in Saigon!

Birthday surprises!

Some photos of Saigon.

The scenery on the way to Da Lat was gorgeous.

Photos from the room at the homestay family's home.

Dorie and I rang in the [Lunar] New Year with fireworks at midnight around the drained lake in Da Lat with our homestay family.

Homestay house!

Our homestay siblings (ages 9 and 6) dressed for the first day of tê't.

The view from a pagoda for tê't.

Most of the homestay family and me.

My homestay family's cafe.

The day the monestary/pagoda was one of the most inspiring experiences of my life. Incredibly humbling and fulfilling.

Language class in the morning at Cô Thanh's hotel roof.

At Bai Dao's palace.

American tourist shot at the palace.

The drained lake in Da Lat. They drain it every ten years and we ended up being here during one of those years.

At a local poet's house.

Okay, leaving the cafe now.

It's only been two days?

2010-02-10T07:37:00.004-08:00

The past two days have been PACKED and wonderful. I arrived a little before midnight on Monday to a sleeping Michaela, a little too overwhelmed and homesick. We haven't had too much time to go on the internet - this is the first night the internet worked [we were using an unsecure line that turned off at night], but we finally got the password for the hotel/guest house internet [I should eventually take a picture of the place I'm staying]. I'm a little behind on all the wondrous events of all your lives! Hopefully the paces settles down a little bit and I can take a little breather from the exciting adventure of Vietnam and see a little bit about all the other things going on.

Tuesday morning after I woke up, a few of us decided to trek out for some coffee and water. We ended up not getting the coffee, and went to the post office. When I say post office, you might think a quaint little building to send your mail, but the post office in District 1 of HCMC is intense and gigantic, very "presidential", so to speak. Later that day a few students took us on a motorbike tour of the city and I ended up back at the post office [first to eat some ice cream in front, then inside to take pictures - they really love their picture taking here]. Here are some photos of both.

All the restaurants we've been to have been pretty swanky. For breakfast on Tuesday we went to Quan Ang Ngon where they make food from all three of the regions and you can walks through the "kitchen" and pick what you want, or just watch them make it. I didn't take any pictures when we were passing through but others did, I just haven't taken their pictures yet. I did a little describing of some of the foods to some of the other students. Food is the thing I think I know the most about over the others.

We went to dinner at Nhà Tôi and had morning glory stems, tofu, and grilled whole shrimp. Word to the wise - you can (and should) eat the shrimp shell, especially if that's the part that was marinated. Everyone was pretty tired by dinnertime though. I didn't take pictures... But someone did of the fascinating shrimp.

When we were getting back, across the street was a some dragons playing and a child's fashion show and we decided to watch. The fashion show turned into a little singing show, people were excited.

Okay, I guess today's excitement will have to wait for another time. It has amazed me how much we are cramming into the first few orientation days. Everyone is great and amazing!

I'm uploading all my pictures to Picasa Web Album, and going to pick some favorites for Flickr and Facebook later.

Almost.

2010-02-08T03:34:00.000-08:00

Currently sitting in the Hong Kong airport completely jet lagged and about to fall over. Just another short flight until I get to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), then a short drive to a bed and possibly a shower. I haven't had any REM sleep since the night before last. Currently it is 3:41 AM at home and my body is feeling it.

Nothing more frustrating than limbo.

2010-02-03T22:13:00.000-08:00

Right now I'm in the process of moving some music to Lola, my netbook. It was supposed to be a cinch, but my external harddrive decided it doesn't like Lola, so now I am moving them through my 1 GB flashdrive, which is much more tedious than I was anticipating. I can't find my 4 GB flashdrive, which just makes this job take four times longer. Only a few days now, and I'm at the point where I kind of want to stay home. Not that I don't to go too, but home is safer and less scary, and I love my parents. I've been bouncing from excited to nervous for the past month, but I'm one to get supremely anxious and then settle once the situation is set upon me.

So, expectations (all my posts sound better when I'm thinking about them than when I'm actually writing them). I was looking through flickr for some photos from Viet Nam last week and here are a few of my favorites.

[All photos are linked back to the original.]

I'm excited for good food and amazing fruits, new people and locations, challenging and stretching my comfort levels, and the unexpected.

I fret the "invisible foreigner syndrome" (since I know Vietnamese and was warned I will often be assumed a guide/interpreter), other people's expectations of me (especially in the language department, where I know I fall short).

I'm in the process of dealing with an expired license (I renewed mine this week, but forgot how long it took to get a permanent replacement!) and packing situation. Right now the plan is to bring my huge backpack/suitcase and a suitcase/carry-on. I could fit everything in my backpack/suitcase, which would leave me with nothing on the plane (horrible idea), so I will just have a lot of extra space for the trip back (even though I know I'm overpacking). It seems a little cumbersome, but the carry-on is very light and the huge backpack/suitcase can go on my back. Easy peasy. Right?

We don't really say hi here.

2010-01-30T03:14:00.000-08:00

A few notes to start. Contrary to the name, this won't be primarily a blog about Vietnamese food. A week from now I will traverse the globe and land in a little land of Vietnam (or Việt Nam as the locals write it), where I will muck about and learn new things for the next four months (longer if I find myself with a summer job). And this little blog will [hopefully] be your gateway in.

I don't have a great track record with blogs, and considering my real life should be full of experiences, I'm not sure how far I will get along before recounting my sordid tales (I jest).

I did start packing today, which may be earlier than I need to, but I've been running around buying little knick knacks all week and wanted to finally get some of the mess that is my room cleared up. I still have plenty of space, however I think I will end up over-packing. The curse of wanting options when I dress, I suppose. I will be the one paying the price when I have to lug everything with me every few weeks, but that's why I bought a backpack luggage bag (marketed for the adventurous traveler), or when I forget something, someplace, as I am apt to do.

As I prepare for this little journey, reading and getting everything together, one thought pervades me; Americans see Vietnam as stuck in the past, but the country has gone on, has flourished. It's quite narrowing to believe an entire country is still living in the 1960's, literally. I read in a book (that I will figure out when it's not three-thirty in the morning) that it's the difference between only having a memory of something and living it everyday. Things, people, place, are constantly changing, but memories are static (to a degree, ask any brain specialist). But I do hope that more people are open and aware of the (dare I say) progress that the country has undergone in the past fifty years. (And I am wary to use any positive or negative words in relation to ~development; it's an issue I've been mulling over for the past few years - the separation between Western values, and true, independent well-being of a society, but I'm sure I will have lots more to mull over after these four months.)

I hope most of that was coherent. I should go to bed now. Much more rambling thoughts soon.