And these are dried squid. We don't ever eat them because they smell horrible and have the consistency of shoe leather.
We finally returned to the apartment after 4 am and went to bed. A few hours later we woke up, ate rice buffet for lunch, and headed to the zoo. We saw everything from elephants to snakes to monkeys. You can only imagine how excited I was to be at the zoo, despite the fact that we we forced to ignore the horrible living conditions of the animals. For instance, the male elephant had a large iron chain for a bracelet.
After the zoo we went to our favorite coffee place and read for a while. It's cool to travel around the city at this time of year because everything is decorated for Tet, the New Year, which is on Monday, January 26th. The streets here are covered with little yellow flowers and birds strung above the streets as well as red banners with the Vietnamese star and the Communist hammer and sickle.
We then took DiDi's motorbike into district 2 in order to meet some friends at a pool. We discovered that the pool was really a swank pool club for rich ex-pats. There was a giant, white French villa that had been converted into a restaurant and what should have been the front yard had been turned into a pool, a dance floor, and a bar. Don't forget the gorgeous Vietnamese women hired to hang around in their bikinis. I know that completes the picture forming in your head.
I felt so out of place because this scene didn't belong in Vietnam. It doesn't belong in my Vietnam at least. We met the friends and went swimming before leaving for dinner. We had the usual rice buffet and I chose an egg and pork with my rice. Although DiDi tried valiantly to persuade me to go out with her that night, I was exhausted and relaxed and went to bed around 11:00.
On Sunday we woke up late, grabbed a lunch of what I've deemed "unidentifiable meat soup" (UMS), and went to our favorite coffee shop again. We then traveled back to district 2 to meet more friends for a swim. Again, I was unprepared for the giant gated community at which we arrived. It looked a little like Sawmill Lakes in Florida!
I was stunned and it turns out that that community is for rich ex-pats. We swam, read by the pool, and then went back to the friends' house for a barbeque. The food was good and it was so nice to be part of a dinner party. It's a new life here for sure. The dinner was funny because every one of the ten adults at the table spoke at least 2 or three languages. We had everything from Chinese, German, and Italian to Vietnamese and English. Actually, there was not one language that everyone could understand. It was wild but enjoyable and I returned to the apartment at 11 pm after an awesome night of good friends and good food.
This morning I returned to my reading and relaxing ways before my meeting with my boss. I signed my contract, which is for a full year, but can be terminated with a letter 30 days in advance. I also filled out paperwork to open a bank account here so that the money I earn is legal. This is very important. I then met with the guy who makes the schedules for my first school, the Australian International School. I'll be making $15 an hour (taxes taken care of by the company) to teach 6 year olds for about 15 hours per week, with the hours all in the afternoons. I'm excited and it seems I've somehow beaten Jenny to working with the young kids. :) Work doesn't start until after Tet, the New Year, so I still have about two more weeks off. I'll go with DiDi and J.P. to DiDi's family's house in Bac Lieu (the southernmost part of Vietnam) for the holiday. We leave very early this upcoming Saturday morning and will return on the following Thursday or Friday. Almost time to start taking my anti-malarial meds...
That's all for now! Miss you all terribly...
1 comment:
oh my goodness! that gated community DOES look kinda like sawmill lakes! hahahah. you're too funny! cool pics, missing you!
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