Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now?

Stuck at home, sick, on a Saturday I realize that it's been a while since I've posted anything. My initial excuse would be that there hasn't been anything worth writing about, but is that fair? Perhaps then I should take it as sign that I need to be out there doing more interesting stuff or maybe I've been here so long already that I've lost the ability to find what makes the things in my life extraordinary. I'm inclined to think it may be a bit of both.

Not able to find things of interest to outside, I began looking in. I helped Daphne out by making her a website for her yoga: www.daphnechua.com. And also took some new yoga pictures for her, as she has just been sponsored by a local clothing company: www.yborn.net/home/.





I looked even further in and started taking Mandarin on Rosetta Stone. I now know more Chinese than Vietnamese. Why am I not taking Vietnamese instead? Learning languages is difficult for me so I want to use my energy to learn one that I want to know forever, rather than just one that I'll use for a year or two.

I was fortunate to have three people this past month that pulled me out and reminded me that I was living some place different and special. The first was my university mate, Zane, who has just come here to do his CELTA[for which I got a $200 referral fee] at ILA and teach English here. He described things that to me were ordinary in a way that made everything glow. For him everything shined like the sun, while I was still squinting to see the stars. As we taught him simple words and numbers, and he told us about the things that he saw on his first day and the people he talked to, I felt nostalgia for the naivety that comes with being some place new and that I too felt just a year before.

Later that same week, our friend, Bret, who had done the CELTA with us came for a brief visit. He has been living and working in Shanghai and was now on a six week paid vacation traveling through Vietnam and Cambodia. He wanted me to take him shooting around Saigon, something I hadn't done since after my first couple of months here. So on his last day I drove him to District Five, China town, and we walked about all afternoon taking photographs. ...

[Bret shows these guys the photo he took of them]

[Vietnamese grannies are cute, no?]

[Obviously, he didn't get it]

[I took this with one of Bret's lenses. After he left, I placed a long overdue order for two new lenses of my own]

[Cupping, removes toxins from your body, leaves giant hickeys]

[These kids will sell you a lion mask for a good price]

[While I go through great lengths to take mediocre shots, I hand feed great material to Bret on the ground below]

Bret was hardly gone when Daphne had a friend from Singapore visit us on their International Day weekend. Yvonne is actually Taiwanese so we can forgive her lack of patriotism for leaving The Red Dot on its biggest day of the year. Since Daphne was working most of Friday, I was left alone with her friend on tour guide duty. I took her rock climbing for her first time, as well as a few of my other favourite places.
"Just for you reference, that was a red light."
"And just for your reference, a bribe is only ten dollars."
Whenever she tried something new for the first time, it almost felt like I was trying it for the first time, too. Food tasted better, the coffee was stronger and sweeter and everything was beginning to look fresh again.

Now that my contract at ILA is coming to a close I've had to spend the last few months contemplating on what comes next. Do I stay another year or try somewhere else? My three visitors were like prophets pointing the way, they showed what glitters when I was hard at seeing. I'm thinking it's stay.

School's Out

Done! The course is finished! So what's next? Daphne's packing her suitcase right now for the trip to Hoi Ann tomorrow. We get back next Sunday, she flies out Monday at 9 and at 11 I have a job interview at ILA Vietnam. I'm going to send my CV out to a couple other schools, but I could be at work as soon as two weeks from now. We'll see how things go.
Yesterday morning we had a potluck with our students. The students generated a game that involved picking tasks out of a bag. Like truth or dare without the truth part. John, one of the teachers, had to flick a student on the nose, and Bret, another teacher, had to kiss his 'favorite student' on the cheek. I had to chug three glasses of water. Foreshadowing for the night ahead maybe?
The school day was halved and just involved a few minor administrative details. Then some pre-evening tea and movie[The Bedford Incident~I recommend it] and we were back at Quan An Ngon for dinner with the CELTA crew.

[At Quan An Ngon]

On the way there, we had a bit of a fright. We saw a four-year old boy take a bus to the face. Luckily he was on the ground crying and his mom was there, so it seems that there was no serious injuries. I can't blame the bus on this one, the kid was crossing the street with his mom and did a 360 in the middle of the road, right into its path. People are pretty careless about safety here sometimes. 'Hold my son's hand while crossing the street at night? Why?'
Anyways, dinner was really good but a little tightly packed. One guy had to crawl under the table on one side to get to his seat. The service was kind of slow, after five minutes I had to get up and get behind the bar to get my beer.
After dinner we headed to an over decorated five story karaoke bar where two of our tutors, Rob and Joanna, joined us. The talent was poorly balanced, with Angela being an absolute diva on the mic, and Phillip, who didn't know when to let go[he REALLY needed to let go]. Bill, the 70 year old New Yorker in cowboy boots, had bought some rice wine in the Mekong Delta. I took a small sip and cringed. Joanna, being Polish, teased me for being a Russian and cringing at alcahol so I was obliged to take a double shot straight from the bottle, look her in the eyes and smile as proof of my rights to heritage.

[There were also some real cool shots of polar bears]

At the end of the night there were some goodbyes but also some see-you-arounds as a few of the crew will still be in Saigon teaching, maybe even in the same school as me.
Alright, Daphne's done packing and we've still got a bunch of errands to run. Updates after I get back from Hoi An. Wish me luck at the interview!

Crocodile for Breakfast

Only a week to go. I'm told that the third week of CELTA is the hardest, they'd better be right. I had hardly a dollop of sleep all week. To illustrate my point, the sunrise:

[Too HDR?]

This was my Wednesday night/Thursday morning. I had a lesson plan to make for the next day and an assignment due. On top of that, one of my tailored shirts turned another two shirts pink in the wash and the ants got into my cereal. The day went by in a cloudy haze, teaching and classes until 6pm on zero sleep. I wasn't the only one suffering. After our 3pm break, there were ice coffees on desks from one end of the room to the other.
This weekend brought a much needed relief with some great dining and some expensive drinking. Somehow, the CELTAs and I managed to find the three most expensive bars in Saigon Friday night after class. La Habana was not only expensive but charged a sneaky service charge of 10%, a rude move considering that tipping doesn't exist in VietNam, or tax. We hauled out of there to another spot, Vasco's, where there was dancing and bad music. It was just around the corner, but not knowing this some of the CELTAs went into a taxi for a 30 second, 10,000VND ride. We weren't there long, thanks to the weak cover band, crowded dance floor and drink that topped La Habana. So we headed down to the backpacker's area to hit up Go2. On the way, one of my students rode up next to me on her motorbike and chatted me up for a bit. This city can really feel small at times.
Next day, Daphne and I took another trip to Ben Thanh Market. After some yummy soup and cane juice we dropped off her shoes to get fixed and went for a stroll. We found a flashy little Indian temple, not sure if it was truly Hindu, and wanted to have a look. Outside, a gentleman stopped us with an offer of incense. We told him we weren't interested in buying any, but he persisted and it seemed as though he was giving it to us for free, as an offering. When we went inside, he showed us how to light the incense and that two sticks had to go at each shrine. Another woman came over and gave us a bag each with a candle, lime and some kind of leaf inside to put at a shrine. After having a look around this gaudy painted temple and trying to make sense of what just happened we headed out the exit, where the man and woman were waiting for us, rubbing fingers. I anticipated this, but what I didn't anticipate was that they'd ask for 125,000VND[$8USD]. Each. That's fine, I don't think they anticipated getting only 20,000VND.
With that headache behind us, and Daphne's fixed shoes, we headed to do some shopping and get my horn fixed in my bike[always something with that bike]. On the roundabout in front of Ben Thanh, we laugh as we see a shiny yellow Lamborghini trying to navigate through a river of motorbike madness. What a waste of car in a place like this. We got our errands done, had a pot of Pu-er tea at my place, and then headed out to meet a Couchsurfer group at a really nice, decently priced restuarant called Quan An Ngon. Some of the Couchsurfers were actually taking the CELTA, too at another school called Apollo. They had only just finished their first week, with the worst of it still to come.
After dinner, most of the crew went out to Vasco's, but Daphne and I decided to join Steve, Charlie and a couple others for a game of pool and beer at a fourth the price. After a bad couple games of pool I gave up and danced to Abba and Johnny Cash, while Charlie threw down some sick moves to Thriller[A LOT of Michael Jackson is getting played here right now].
And this morning? I had crocodile for breakfast. Probably my new favorite thing ever. Even with the amazing variety, deliciousness and cost of food here, I can't help but start to feel a little greedy for some home-cooked food, especially some of those poppy seed pastries my mother rocks out on the weekends.
Sorry again for the infrequent posts, I'm afraid I won't improve on this until a couple weeks from now. Daphne and I are taking a plane to Danang and Hoi An and vanishing among the ocean waves for about a week, trying to forget CELTA ever happened to us. Then I'll be back in Saigon doing interviews, while she, sadly, goes off on the next leg of her adventure. I might be a little late on the posts, but I'll supplement with some wicked photos, as I'm told Hoi An and Danang are good places for it.
Wish me fun.

It's not Fish, it's Banana

Weekend's here! And I'm trapped inside by the rain. Out the window I see the cityscape disappear in front of me as the rain falls harder and harder. In a couple hours I'm going to the opening for Natasha's school, a 35 minute minimum drive by bike[assuming I don't get lost] but if the rains keep up it could mean flooding in some parts.
Its good to have a day of rest after a rough week of 12-hour days, lesson plans and four hours-a-night of sleep. Not to mention other distractions. Thursday I missed lunch so that I could pick up my tailored shirts. Amazing work, and only 300,000 VND[18USD] a pop. But I got lost on a roundabout when driving back to the school. I circled it a couple times until I couldn't even recognize the direction I had come from. By the time I was back on track I was starving, had five minutes to get back to school, and it would be another four to five hours before I'd have a chance to eat. At a red light[which isn't always a requirement for stopping] an old woman had some fried food that looked kind of like fish. Turned out to be banana, but it was better than nothing.
Back at school, I've been learning far more about the English language in two week than I ever did in my entire schooling in the States. We have three tutors, Rob[young Brit and amazing teacher], Benita[old Brit, wrote a Grammar book, has traveled the world several times teaching English], and Joanna[Polish]. The class is more diverse than I was expecting, especially since I was worried I wouldn't get in for having a Russian name. But there's a Vietnamese girl from Cali, an Indian girl from...I forget, a Korean, and another girl from Singapore, Daphne, making up part of the fifteen student class, and ages ranging from 21 to 70. We did have sixteen in our class but Phil, a Hawaiian ex-journalists, showed up two days late, brought us laughter, and then disappeared without notice. It would take too long to explain what kind of character he is, but if you've ever seen the cartoon Home Movies just think Coach McGuirk and you'd have a good idea of what I'm talking about.
To celebrate the weekend several of us went to a really neat restaurant that was four stories high, open-window and stuffed with patrons. The beer there was only 12,000VND[.66USD] and the food was cheap, with a menu that included deer, rabbit and turtle alongside the usual beef and seafood options. We finished off the night with more drinks in the 'white people area', as my roommate likes to call it, in a cute little bar called TamTam where Rob[Welsh, upper 20's, very straight laced during the week and a riot on the weekends] proceeded to get us smashed with a drinking game that was very much like The Postmodern Game we used to play in college.
But distractions aside, Sunday's going to be rough. I have to revise my first assignment, finish the second one, and lesson plan for Tuesday. Wouldn't be so bad, but something tells I'm not going to make it out of bed until noon.

[Side note, in the time it took me to write this, the rain has completely stopped. If you don't like the weather in Saigon, wait five minutes]

Disco 2000

Whoo. What a busy weekend! I just finished my first assignment and prepared my lesson plan for my second 40 minute teaching session tomorrow morning. Pretty much took up the whole day, but to be fair I did sleep in until 11 thanks to the excellent house warming party Anh and I threw. Yesterday we spent 3-4 hours in the supermarket getting stuff together[my former housemate, Kait, would shudder at the thought]. Plates, wine screw, towels, food, beer, ice, speakers... We had billed the party for 6 but didn't get back from shopping until 5:30, with cooking and cleaning still to do. Luckily, people didn't start showing up until 6:30, but I was still making food when the house was starting to get packed. Early comers were helping out, cutting fruit and such.
The security downstairs [who we bribed with food and beer to give our guests a hastle free time] were graciously 'accepting' beers from anyone they saw carrying a case upstairs. The guest list consisted of Anh's coworkers[mostly Vietnamese], my fellow CELTA victims and an open invite to the Couchsurfing community. It was a really good, diverse crowd of French, Polish, Viet, Americans, Welsh, Singaporean, etc. We had the world in our apartment, Natasha even brought a puppy that she had bought not four hours prior.
The neighbors were friendly and didn't give us a hard time, partially thanks to the fruit we brought over to them.[Highlight: me throwing a dragon fruit into the air and chopping it in half] We couldn't wait until the morning to clean, we had to race against the ants, but even so the place still looks hit. A maid is coming tomorrow to fix this since neither of us has time. Bourgeois I know.
Music played[Herbaliser, Deltron, Daft Punk, Girl Talk, Justice, Pulp, and wrapped it up with some Tom Waits]

[Outside my place]

I'm having a genuinely good time in CELTA. I like my tutors and I feel very strongly about the teaching methods I'm learning. You can really see how it works. Some of my former teachers could've used training like this. I do miss having time though, that's a luxury I'll more or less have to do without for now.
And I miss climbing. There's a wall in town but its too far and not open late enough to be practical. I'll try to go next weekend if I can.
Sneak previews: Getting clothes tailored, those before and after pics of Natasha's new school I promised, and maybe my bike will make it one week without having to get repaired.

Toooo Busy

CELTA course=no free time. I just got done writing a lesson plan for tomorrow at 9am, and then I'll be in the school until 6 or later, depending if there's any other prep work I have to do. This weekend, shopping. Me and Anh are having a house warming party so if you're in Saigon, you're invited! We have to get a lot of supplies, foods and beers for guests and the security guards[for a hastle free time]. Also, I need to buy more work clothes, I've been circulating three shirts and two ties. Gotta run and get some sleep, I have to take my bike in to the shop on the way to work and figure out why it still runs even after I take the key out. I'd rather not have to pull the spark plug to turn it off and risk getting electrocuted[again]. I'll write more on the weekend when I have more free time.

End Of My Vacation

Let the madness begin. Tomorrow is the first day of the CELTA course, which means my social life will probably be mia for the next four weeks. I have to go to bed soon, since I have to be up in five hours, but I wanted to post a few pictures. I took another trip through my neighborhood and found this little buddhist temple hidden away:


Here I met a friendly monk, Thien, who invited me to join for lunch. I had already eaten but said yes anyways. Good food, and apparently they can eat chicken, which I thought was against their religion. Thien and I exchanged numbers[apparently monks can have cellphones, too?] so that we could have coffee and help each other learn our respective languages.

[Thien serves me tea]

I spent yesterday helping Natasha look at locations for her new school in An Phu[sort of a French expat district] and found and signed a lease on a place that day, as well as organized the entire redecoration of the space. It's really interesting to see first hand how somebody starts a business here. Everything here is done so fast, Natasha even plans to start classes there in two weeks! I'll put some before and after shots of the place when everything is done so you can see what I mean. In the meantime, enjoy these shots of my mechanics working on my bike, again.

[D4 Represent]

[Eating on the job]

That's all for now. Wish me luck tomorrow...