New Photos

Last week was the local Terry Fox run - I did not participate, but S2 did.  Last year there were over 17,000 people who participated.  I haven't heard numbers for this year.  There were at least 3,176.

Don't come to Vietnam to avoid Black Friday.

  

Wait a minute!  I thought Black Friday had something to do with Thanksgiving.  I did go to the mall today.  Everything I bought, apart from groceries, was on sale.

Yes, we are embracing Christmas as well.

Advent Calendars

Disney's Magic of Christmas (center stage in the mall - where the yellow happy faces and the Halloween photo shoot was previously)

  

I didn't get this photo taken quickly enough.  The little boy was pointing to Santa just before I took the photo.  Yes, how does a Vietnamese father explain who Santa is to his little boy?

Regardless, my favorite mall find this week was Dinosaur World.  Yes, you can pay to ride those dinosaurs.

But the highlight of the weekend might have been the rooftop showing of "Rocky Horror Picture Show" that we went to.  It was our 2nd date (back in 1981).  The showing started at 7:30, thus it was easily my favorite viewing ever, because I was able to stay awake for the whole thing.

None of the previous showings I've been to included the cues on their own screen.

Things to Think About

Life continues to be fascinating and inspiring.  Could I ask for more?

The view from the rooftop of our building (looking toward District 7 and District 5 beyond)

Two stories today – that will come together eventually.

Parent teacher conferences were three weeks ago.  As usual, when first meeting with parents, I ask, “why do you choose to send your child to this school?”  In my mind, they have a choice.  Nine of my eleven students are Vietnamese, none of them have dual nationality.  There are public schools, countless private Vietnamese schools, and 12 international schools in the city.  I feel it gives me more focus, more purpose, if I understand why parents are choosing to put their 4-year old on a bus for a ride to school that lasts as long as 85 minutes.  Most of the conferences were translated by my very able bi-lingual Teaching Assistant.  As one father spent a considerable amount of time speaking to her in answer to my question, I pondered how far I was from my oldest brother (I remember watching the draft lottery the year his birthday was pulled) shooting at this man’s father in the early 70s.

This father made his choice based on his perception that current Vietnamese schools are not developing the character that he wants for his children.  He did some research and felt the school where I work was the answer.  You can see how that provides me with more purpose when I’m working with his child.

Second story:

Recently, a friend was in the country with Habitat for Humanity.  S2 and I met up with her and five members of her group, providing them a brief tour of what we know about the center of the city, known as District 1.

We met at the Post Office, a Colonial building that makes me feel like I’m in the 1800s (in a good way).  It is a well-known landmark and always seems to be open.  I went with some things to mail, because no trip there would be complete without using the glue brush, as one paints the glue on the stamps that have to be attached (no meters here!).  Let me know if you want a post card.  They are still sold here.  Or, if you want one of those incredible pop-up cards, I can arrange that as well.  Of course, I need your address as well.

So, we met the group of 6 and pointed out some nearby sites: the cozy book street located next to the post office and my personal favorite, the fish pedicure (which I was eager to try until I just ran a search to find out what they are called and found out about all the dangers of one).  We strolled down “the walking street” and ended up on the balcony of a tea shop watching the world go by (including a man sitting backward on a motorbike as he towed a helium canister).  It was therapeutic to visit with people not related to work.  They had moving stories about the work they’d just done.

From there we moved onto a nearby Hindu Temple they read about.  I stood in the temple befuddled by the notion of all the religions that are in this area, and the length of time such practices have been here.

We ended up in a “hole-in-the-wall” restaurant that a colleague showed me.  I like the family atmosphere of the place.  We were seated upstairs, between the air conditioner and the fan.  I chose the Morning Glory and Beef with an Avocado Smoothie.  The waiter was very attentive to the large group, meeting everyone’s drink needs.  Once he placed the food order, his curiosity got the best of him and he returned to ask if anyone of us had been there during the Vietnam war (here it is usually known as the American War).  A self-admitted History buff, he wanted to hear our perspectives and knowledge. 

He was adamant that he had great respect for the U.S., because they did not use their full power.  At the time, I was still watching the Ken Burns 10-episode documentary on Vietnam (as per my brother’s suggestion).  The series is detailed and offers explanations that, as a child, I was not aware of, but when all the pieces go together, I have more understanding for what a difficult situation the American/Vietnam War was for so many people.  I had to admit, the waiter was correct.  The series never mentions that the U.S. contemplated dropping an atomic bomb.  Certainly the U.S. dropped a lot of bombs, but not the one that would have obliterated the conflict.

As I’ve combined my knowledge about Vietnam and the war that raged on here for years (I highly recommend the Ken Burns series, check your local library or Netflix) with the words of the parents of my students, I feel like I’m living in a remarkable place, at a remarkable time.  I am teaching the son of a man that wants me to develop “human integrity and intellect” so that his son will become a global citizen.  Could I ask to be part of a greater task?

Some recent photos:

Super Hero Paddle Bike Race at the shopping Mall

Over 50 children under the age of 6 went speeding through the mall, 

parents and cameras sprinted to follow and capture the moment.

I'm not cooking much here.  Instead, I am using a meal delivery service.  

Every weekday, a young man delivers two meals.  I take one to school for lunch and we split the second one for dinner.  This costs us 850,000 dong ($36.50 for 15 meals).  One day, the delivery man told me, "Madam, it is VERY cold today."  It was 77 F/25 C.  I admit, yesterday I had the thought, "I could almost be cold" in my dress and short sleeves.

It's my Birthday and I'll have fun if I want to ....

I turned 60 last week!  Imagine that?  During President GHW Bush’s term, one of Wyoming’s U.S Senator’s, at his wife’s 60^th birthday party, toasted her with the phrase, “I never thought I’d be sleeping with a 60-year old woman.”  First Lady Barbara Bush walked out.  Hmmm … my husband is now sleeping with a 60-year old woman.  It seems like a pretty great thing to be alive just now - 60 or not.  I feel like I embrace all that I have or can be part of right now.  I'm living in a place where people smile, wave, help each other, and accept what is while not worrying about what isn't.

In the weeks leading up to my birthday, I pondered what I could do with newfound friends to celebrate this milestone birthday.  It prompted a review of other decade birthdays. 

For my 50^th, I flew to Barcelona to meet girlfriends for a long weekend.  We stayed in an Air BnB before there were Air BnBs.  We ate good food, drank great wine, and wandered the streets in awe of the architecture, the buskers, the color, and the sunshine (we were all living in northern Europe at the time).  S2 and the kids had sought quotes from family and friends to put together a book of quotes for me.  I still have it.  My favorite remains “Revenge is better than Christmas.”

My 40^th is a blur.  I was teaching a class on-campus that semester.  I drove nearly 5 hours to my parents on a Sunday afternoon, left the kids with my parents the next day, drove nearly an hour to the university, taught the class, drove back to my parents, stayed the night, and drove back home with the kids on Tuesday.  We’d bought a house that August.  It was December before I stayed in the house more than 10 days in a row.  Plus, my youngest’s first birthday was that same week.  I had known for a year that would be a far more important event in my life than my 40^th birthday.

My 30^th birthday might be indicative of my nomadic lifestyle.  We were on our world trip then.  I woke in Borneo.  I went to sleep that night in Singapore.  In between:

•         We’d cleared the army of ants out of the panniers we’d stored at the airport in Kuching.  I can still remember the marble floor in front of the left luggage room as we unpacked everything to find what exactly these ants were after.  The best we could piece together was they were after the scant drops of moisture remaining in our water filter.  I can still see the huge white egg sacs they were carrying in their mouths.  They were working toward bringing a battalion of ants to life, based on the less than 1/8 teaspoon of water in our bags.  Yes, water is precious.  Don’t take it for granted.   
•        I was thrilled to eat fresh papaya and mango for breakfast at the airport.  It was something I’d never had for my birthday.
•         I pointed out to the money changer, who had to see my passport, that it was my birthday.  He gave me an Australian dollar coin.  I still have it.
•         I bought an ice cream cake at Baskin Robbins (a train cake – it was all they had) and took it to Raffles Hotel where they turned off the ceiling fans for me to light the candles.  The whole place sang “Happy Birthday”.  I blew out the candles, drank a Singapore Sling, and watched the inspirational tango dancers.  I still can’t dance like that.  Probably will never be able to.  Shoot, I can’t even stand in heels like that, let alone walk or dance.

Perhaps the most exotic of my decade birthdays.

Then, there’s my 20^th birthday.  It was back when we changed clocks on the last Sunday in October.  This meant an extra hour on my birthday.  The boyfriend at the time, an avid hunter, wanted to go elk hunting that day.  I spent the day sitting in the car, in the woods, surrounded by a good 10 inches of snow.  All for love!  Although, when I do the math, and think about the hunting seasons I spent with him, this might have been my 21^st birthday.

ANYHOW … given that my Menopause party was just 3 years ago (took girlfriends to the Thai massage place near our apartment in Germany, ate little snacks and drank champagne before going to the public sauna two blocks away – it was Ladies’ Night), I hadn’t thought much about a good 60^th birthday celebration.  Nonetheless, I pieced together a fun weekend.

 

S2 and I went out for a Turkish breakfast.  A Turkish breakfast will forever be the best breakfast in my mind.  

I managed to FINALLY get to the fabric market, but was immediately overwhelmed by the amount of fabric packed into literally hundreds of stalls.  The color, in and of itself, was overwhelming, let alone the sequins, the beads, the embroidered edges, the eyelet trim, and the mega-meters of fabric.  

  

I battled with my phone to get my 70,000-dong renewal updated so I could get to my 3G access (it sounds like I know what I’m talking about, doesn’t I?).  At 2 PM I met 4 girlfriends at the Villa Royale Downtown Antiques Tea Room for High Tea.  We each were served our own pot of tea and two three-tiered trays of little sandwiches (cucumber, salmon, chicken mango salad) and quiches, chocolate sweets and banana breads, and cheesecake.  Additionally, cupcakes were brought out with candles that spelled out “Happy Birthday.”  

The three eldest of us (of which I’m the youngest) retired to the apartment of one of us and drank an incredibly good bottle of French wine as we discussed our lives; past, present and future.  I got home shortly after 10 PM.  S2 called me twice to see if I was alright.  It’s not often that he takes his phone out to use it!

THAT wasn’t even my birthday!  Sunday brought two lovely long Skype calls with my children.  THEN I met up with two girlfriends (one from the previous day and one who didn’t make High Tea) to go to Golden Lotus Healing Spa Land, a Korean Spa that uses a method known as Jjim Jil Bang. 

It was hours of relaxing time (for me) in three different kinds of saunas, one cool room, one cold room (a glorious 14C/57F), a “cave” with an infrared light (to replenish Vitamin D), a general area to rest and relax, an outdoor hot foot bath and an outdoor cold foot bath, not to mention the more traditional Japanese sento attached to the respective changing rooms.  My level of comfort with northern European saunas (clothing optional) prepared me well for the vaguely prison-type attire required, and provided.  Alright, it’s probably considerably more comfortable than prison garb, nice and baggy though.  Basically, who cares what I looked like or wore – it was a sauna, and I was covered up, as was everyone else.  I was completely baffled by why (let alone how) people were taking their phones into the hot and cold rooms, to read, play games, listen to music, have a family chat or, as I wondered when I sat down next to a young man who clearly didn’t want anyone looking at what he was looking at, accessing porn.  Don’t people want to relax and not think about anything?

It was a lovely afternoon that these two friends indulged me in, as it was a completely new adventure for them.  Afterwards, I did some grocery shopping and headed home.  Neighbors and colleagues prepared my requested birthday dinner, Mexican food.  It was our third time having Mexican food at their place.  All have been glorious!

Until next time...