GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!!!!

Ellyn Writing.....

Here we are!  Set up our blog!  Which hopefully will be used enough to keep everyone updated.  We reached our final destination yesterday Aug 20 around 11:00 am (11:00 pm Aug 19 for all of you back home).  We reached our hotel in Ho Chi Minh City after about 30 hours of travel.  Our trip actually went pretty smoothly, only 1-2 hour layovers at every stop.  We found that having 2 people is very nice because we catch each other making mistakes.  Example of one of my big mistakes....I did not print out a copy of our visa that they emailed us...big oops! Luckily Elsbeth had printed out 2 copies.  The trip was long, we were able to get sleep on the 13 hour plane ride, so we had enough to get us by.  A girl from the company we are working with, about our age picked us up to bring us to our hotel.  

First Impressions of Vietnam....As we flew over the countryside of Vietnam we saw many rice fields as we would have expected.  As we touched down we saw old war planes, not something I would have expected to see right away.  The airport was actually very nice, we however feel very stupid because we do not know any Vietnamese and have to keep asking how to pronounce the most basic words.  It sounds so different from any other language I have come across in all of my travels.  Hopefully we able to learn enough to get by and look like we are trying.  I also need to read up on my Vietnamese history!  I know nothing, I will be doing that very soon!  Driving through the city we are stunned.  I do have the experience of Cairo to compare Ho Chi Minh City to, whereas Elsbeth really has seen nothing like it.  Like Cairo the streets are buzzing with traffic, unlike Cairo however there is an outstanding amount of motorbike travelers.  Everyone has a moped or a motorcycle.  Traffic laws are not followed and you wonder how people aren't in more accidents.  There is a constant honking noise going on.  I had been wanting to get a moped and drive it around to school and elsewhere....I don't think that will be happening any time soon.  The buildings here are pretty run down, the pollution is pretty hard to handle, everyone has big hats and some have masks (we asked the girl why that is and she says for the sun and pollution, we are ready to go get our masks for the pollution!), everyone is dressed pretty well so we were ready to be somewhere to clean up.

When we first arrived at our hotel we were told that we could not move in today because some of their guests were ill and were at the hospital.  We could, however, stay at her friends place, which happened to be across the street.  So we walk across our street and they bring us right up to our room.  As soon as the door is shut there is silence and after a while I ask Elsbeth "What the heck are we doing here?"  She answers "I don't know" So we start talking to remind ourselves what is is we are doing here besides...do we really want to do another 30 hour trip back home? :).  We also realize how much we appreciate being with each other as we both had wanted to do this on our own but find that we would be hurting if we were on our own.  

What are we doing here?

I will talk for myself.  I graduated from Concordia College in May with degrees in exercise science and psychology.  So why English and why Vietnam?  My junior year of college I went on a study abroad trip that changed my life.  I went to Malta a small country in the Mediteranean, and during this time had the opportunity to travel to other countries in the Meditteranean.  While in Malta the group of students I was with was able to volunteer in a refugee camp to teach English to some young adults.  Then when I traveled to Egypt during my spring break I met a couple who had just come from Korea after teaching for a year.  They were traveling for a year after only saving up while teaching for a year.  I knew that I loved teaching at the refugee center and that I loved to travel...I thought to myself "I can do that!"  So the research began...I know I wanted to take a class because I needed to know how to teach before I could teach, might be helpful! :)   So I found the Cambridge CELTA course.  CELTA stands for Certificate in English Teaching to Adults and is the most internationally accepted certificate, therefore if I want to teach anywhere else, I would be more likely to get a position (even the US).  So I decided it would be a good idea to take the class in a country where I would want to teach.  This way through the duration of the class, 1 month, I could get a taste of the country and city where I was taking the class and decide whether it was a good place for me.  Somehow in all the research Vietnam became a good option simply because of timing.  Vietnam also had a certain appeal to me because of our history in the country.  

Then the last question is how did I end up with Elsbeth?  This was quite accidental, Elsbeth and I had met freshmen year when we lived down the hall from each other.  We really only hung out a few times and then only ran into each other in passing in college.  One day, towards the end of senior year we ran into each other and decided we should get together and swap travel stories...after a couple coffees we found that we both wanted to travel and teach...so why not together?!  A lot safer and a less lonely!  So it all came together and here we are!  After a year of waiting I am back out traveling! 

So that is why I am here with Elsbeth.  After reconnecting to people back home with our internet and listening to music, and taking a shower I was reconnected and ready for more.  I think its the whole two steps forward and one step back ideas.  We went out to find a bank and some food.  Somehow we stubbled upon the main ILA Vietnam office on our way.  ILA Vietnam is the company that we are taking the CELTA course through and also the company that we may get a job through once we are done with the class.  After stubbling across the building we find an ATM and some AMAZING Vietnamese food...we also grabbed some ice cream....2 for a total of less than 50 cents!  I think we will be able to deal with these prices.  We were beat by about 7 pm and it was getting dark!  It gets dark at 7 here!  Which was to our advantage last night because we were out by 7:30 and woke by 5:30...we hope to get on schedule and stay up till 8 or 9 tonight.  Well sorry for the length of this post but I thought I would set everything up for future stories.  Please feel free to comment we love to hear from everyone!  Miss you and love you all back in the great state of Minnesota! :)