It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Saigon with new decorations going up each day all over the city. Styrofoam cut outs cover the sides of buildings to look like snow, there’s full-sized santa & reindeers outside the department stores, and Christmas trees galore. I even saw a fully decorated tree making it’s way through the traffic the other day…being held out to the side by one guy as his friend awkwardly steered his bike through a maze of oblivious bikers.

It’s amazing how much work goes into the decor here considering they don’t even celebrate Christmas?! I suppose it is all related to consumerism and tourism. Still seems a bit odd though, it’s now December 9th and the city is wayyyy more decorated than any western city I’ve ever seen.

Even with all the decorations, it still doesn’t feel like Christmas. This will be my first Xmas in humid 35 degree weather. Somehow it just doesn’t feel the same.

I braved my fears of cops today and drove the motorbike to school. It’s amazing to see how traffic works here because really, anything goes. You can do whatever you want, as long as you do it slowly. I have only seen about two fender benders since we’ve been here which is pretty amazing considering there’s millions and millions of people on the roads. Everyone drives slowly and gives way. If someone is too close, you slowly inch your way a little bit to the other direction. And there’s no road rage. There’s billions of horns all day long, but that simply means ‘Hello, I’m here, and I’m coming up beside you.” So civilized!

I started my internship at AsiaLIFE on Monday and my task was to research and find three events or festivals in SE Asia to feature on the Dispatch page. I chose the bike race “tour de Lankawi” in Malaysia finishing in Kuala Lumpur, and a film festival on Ko Phangan island in Thailand featuring environmental films to promote a “green” and “forward-thinking” way of life in Thailand.

Tomorrow we depart for the Con Dao islands south of HCMC. It’s meant to be a tropical paradise if the weather holds out. We will be there to celebrate Pete’s 26th birthday. With mine two weeks later, I can’t help but think “Shit we’re getting old!”

See you in a week! No internet for me when I’m in paradise!

Saigon

The earl bird gets the worm…or a little peace and quiet

Mornings in Saigon are amazing yet I’m rarely up early enough to enjoy them. I’m up early every morning compared to when I’m at home, but hours later than the Vietnamese.

On the way to my 7:20 am class this morning I arrived a little early to the school which is directly across from the Notre Dame cathedral. Usually this central city location is a buzz with honking motorbikes, food vendors, construction, and thousands of workers and tourists. This morning when I got off my xe-om it was surprisingly peaceful. Almost even quiet.

Adjusting to life in Vietnam has been a struggle. I’d say we’ve adjusted remarkably well, with very few negative opinions or perceptions of the country, but each day is still a challenge.

This busy city seems to never sleep. The constant hustle and bustle becomes tiring, which was why an early morning was so refreshing.

Even in the middle of the night you hear food vendors riding bikes through our local alleys chanting their sales pitches or ringing a bell in case you want a midnight snack. It’s all very intriguing, but when you’re sleep deprived a bit annoying.

Beyond the noise and annoyances, the city and people still never cease to amaze. While on our way out on Saturday night, we merely made it through our alley to the main road before we made some little-while friends.

My regular xe-om driver was sitting with his pals on their miniature plastic stools drinking what seemed to be vodka and enjoying the view of the toxic river bubbling in front of them. All having a beer in our hands, we were an instant target.

Within seconds we were welcomed into their group and fed spam-like sausages out of a plastic wrapper, cheese Ritz, and mini mandarin oranges. And of course shot after shot of vodka-like alcohol.

We felt bad that we were taking what was probably their best food, so we ran home and brought them a bunch of our beer. Our conversations were mostly between those who spoke English (us) and those who spoke Vietnamese (them). We tried to teach each other ‘cheers’ in our respective languages, and that sealed the bond of friendship.

Dodgy sausage meat and potent vodka seeping down our digestive tract, we decided we better get out while we can. Surprisingly I was deathly ill the next morning, but it was well worth the experience.

relaxing in style

Mui Ne weekend

This weekend we traveled five hours on a bus to Mui Ne, a beach town on the coast. An hour into our trip the second bus driver decided it was time for a nap and pulled out a hammock. Full sized. And tied it at the front of the bus, and the other end onto the arm rest four seats down. He slept like a baby in the aisle with his head next to passengers, and oblivious to the constant honking of the swerving driver.

We stayed at Thai Hoa Resort which was beautiful, bungalow style rooms surrounded by palm and banana trees. The beach was gorgeous other than the two enormous rats that lay dead on the shore.

We rented a motorbike one day and rode about a minute before it ran out of gas. Of course they wouldn’t have thought to put gas in it, that’s crazy. A little Vietnamese girl was our savior, laughing when it wouldn’t start, then popping the seat up and pointing at the gas tank. She was the prettiest little girl I’ve ever seen. She was 11 years old, selling shells and bead neclaces. Her smile was so big and beautiful and she had a slightly low voice and contagious laugh. She asked me where I was from and told me she was from the moon.

Once that was taken care of we drove to the orange sand dunes past the fishing village. It was amazing to think we were in Vietnam while walking over mounds of reddish coloured sand, it looked more like the desert.

That night a Vietnamese lady was showing her daily catch off on the beach and asked us to buy some crabs. We considered it, but wondered how we could cook them. We though she said she would, and away she ran with five fresh crabs. Five minutes later, she ran back with a plastic baggy filled with five cooked crabs, and a small dish of salt and pepper and a lime. We sat during sunset and had crab and beer. Living the life!

We rode into town for dinner number two, more seafood and cocktails at happy hour. We then rode to DJ Station on the beach, where coincidentally, it was happy hour. A young Vietnamese guy about 20 years old came out with two chains with fire on the ends and started performing. It was entertaining until he let go of one flaming chain and it landed on the table infront of a guy sitting alone in the corner! About 10 inches from disaster. “Sorry” he said, and grabbed the chain to re-light it. Saving ourself from burns, we got on our bikes and headed home. We didn’t make it far before Pete’s chain broke in half. He jumped on the back of mine and we zig-zagged our way back to our little paradise.

All the little angels

As I walked into the primary school in District 1 I immediately freaked out thinking that I didn’t have enough material. Actually I didn’t have any material, really.

It was my first day teaching. I’d taught kids before, but never taught them English. What if I ran out of things to do?

I walked in the class and the kids’ faces immediately lit up and they ran up to me and asked me my name. One shook my hand and asked me if I knew Michael Jackson.

The TA introduced me to the class and in slow, rhythmic form they all said “good morning Miss Kristen how are you?” I didn’t know whether to burst out laughing or cry, it was just so sweet.

The lessons flew by with ease. At recess I watched from the balcony of the third floor, looking onto the courtyard in the middle. A school-wide tug of war was taking place. The kids would compete class against class in an ultimate battle, leaving the loser extremely disappointed. The kids would shout in English “pull it! pull it!” when the whistle blew and the rope began to move.

“Thank you, see you again!” they all shouted as I left the little classroom. 35 little angels waved goodbye and ran to the door to get one last look.

When I watched a demo class the teacher told me that it really isn’t work, that he enjoys it too much to call it work. I knew what he meant, but I thought it still must seem like work. But he couldn’t have been more right.

Smells like home

I walked home from the backpacker district today which took me about an hour, and each new area brought about a new smell, and a new feeling inside me. Most of them were of disgust, as you often experience many unpleasant smells walking the streets of HCMC. These smells can be of urine, fish, smelly salty fish, or just filthy water that contains anything and everything you could ever imagine.
As I turned into our small alley, I smelled a familiar smell which I realized is home. It wasn’t the normal aroma that fills my nostrils and makes me think of home, but it has become a familiar scent, a scent of that very alley, which is to be my home for the next six months.
Every day I explore a little bit more of Ho Chi Minh. Mainly by foot, as I’m too cheap to keep paying for xe-om’s, so I’m definitely getting some exercise. The city is growing on me more and more each day. There’s no doubt that living in a developing country has it’s negatives, but I’m starting to see the beauty in it, in the simplicity of people’s lives here.
We’ve discovered some great eating locations, our latest being an up-scale street meat place near the Ben Thanh markets. We opted for the seafood hot pot that consisted of clams, squid, fish, and prawns. It looks revolting as she pours a variety of raw fish into the hot pot but give it ten minutes and yummm! You then put in the mound of ‘veggies’ which look like grass and twigs picked off a local bush, and plop them in….wait a few minutes and they too, become edible.
Things are finally starting to fall into place here. I got a job teaching English, and am also doing a writing/editorial internship at AsiaLife magazine which is an English expat guide to living in the city. Here and now seems to be the right opportunity for me to do something like this, when I have the time and am motivated by a new world around me.
Working for the magazine and interviewing people who live in the city and can divulge information about it’s history, culture and future will be a great experience and a great way learn more about Vietnam.

Mekong Delta

Yesterday we took a two hour bus trip from Saigon to the Mekong Delta. Vietnam…we had finally arrived! It was just how I had pictured the country before we arrived. Lush green banana and palm trees poked up from beneath the water as we sat in a rotting old boat, floating down the many canals.

First we stopped on Unicorn Island where I was hoping the landmass would live up to it’s name and produce a few unicorns for some photo ops. Instead of Unicorns, we were presented with a very large disgusting snake. I don’t know what kind it was and quite frankly I don’t care. As far as I’m concerned, it’s of the kind that I hope I never see again.

People (including Pete) took turns wrapping the massive beast around them for photos. I stood as far back as possible, wishing I had a better zoom lens when it was Pete’s turn. We sipped honey tea there, and bought some delicious honey peanut candy.

We then loaded into the boats, donned a traditional Vietnamese triangular straw hat, and floated down a skinny canal, bashing into other boats making the little Vietnamese ladies roar with laughter.

Walking through a grove of tall green palms, I had an urge to run from the group, find my own little space on the island and live there for a while, rent and hassle free. (weird?!) We arrived at a little hut where they collect the coconuts from the island and make make it into coconut candy, combined with either chocolate, durian or green onion?! The chocolate and plain coconut varieties were heavenly like most sickly sweet fattening sweets here in Vietnam.

Back into the boats, we arrived at another little port with a big bang as our boat just crashed into the dock. What’s one more little boo-boo on this vessel’s exterior? It adds character. We sat with a Japanese couple and enjoyed a delicious Elephant fish, deep fried, that you roll in rice paper with fresh herbs to make spring rolls. Mmmm!

We then took one of the many rusting bikes available to borrow, and pedaled in a direction chosen by chance, with no destination. Little children gathered at the gates to their houses shouting “hello!” and pointing and laughing at us. I still don’t completely understand why they laugh, but I think it’s all a combination of not seeing many white people, wanting to practice their English but a bit timid to do so, and that we are probably the biggest giants they’ve ever seen.

Crossing the river back to My Tho, a huge bridge resembling the Alex Fraser in Vancouver lurked in the distance. It seemed a bit out of place, not very Vietnamese. The Australian government had helped them build it only a few years ago. What used to take over an hour to cross now only takes a few minutes.

Back on the bus I sat contently, reminiscing about the events of the day. This was the real Vietnam. I realize that life here is not going to be like that very often as we’re living in the largest city of more than seven million people, but this was what I came for. This was traditional Vietnamese…the real deal.