Troi Oi!

Elsbeth writing…

Troi Oi! It’s been a long time since I last wrote—over a month—but I’ve been so busy this last month that I haven’t had much time to sit down and write a blog. I’ve been working every single day this last month and a half, except for Vietnam’s National Holiday two weeks ago today where everyone got the day off. Speaking of the National Holiday, I made sure I relaxed all day. I pampered myself—got a massage, pedicure, hair wash/facial, and hair cut all for about $15. A-MAZING! Then I went swimming at that pool across town and met my friends for dinner at this wonderful restaurant where they train street and disadvantaged kids for the hospitality industry. We had a long, relaxing dinner and then went to Vincom to see “The Proposal”—very corny and formulaic, but funny.

So you may ask why I have been working every day? Well, I switched my schedule to a M/W/F/Sat/Sun schedule, because I wanted two days off a week instead of one. So now I have to work an intense, long weekend and then I get two days to relax. However, I had one class on Tues/Thurs/Sat that was my favorite class. It was the last class of the day and I only had a month left of it, so I decided to work every day this last month to finish out the class. I figured that I might as well get the extra money and I hadn’t planned any trips anyway. So this last week I finished that and another M/W/F class, so yesterday (Tuesday) was finally my first real day off in a month and a half!

I didn’t get to relax a whole lot though, but I did get a lot done. I brought in my bike to be tuned up and pay the rent for it, I went to a café to eat and read for a bit, went to Vietnamese lessons, went grocery shopping, went home and corrected photos from my trip with mom, and then the Vietnamese family I live with invited me to a late dinner. They were having their Japanese friend, who first lived in my room, over for dinner. He was in town for a week and is a professor in Japan. My landlady made bun cha (noodles with grilled beef cakes, spring rolls, and leafy greens soaked in a vinegary fish sauce). It was very delicious. We waited for a bit for him and his friend or student (?) to arrive, but they didn’t get there ‘til later. Then we all talked for a bit. Him, my landlord, his student (a Japanese woman who is attending graduate school in New York, but studying in Hanoi) and I compared Vietnamese, Japanese, and American culture and it was very interesting to hear their perspectives on their own cultures and other cultures. Conversations like this really open your eyes to why people do the things they do in a culture and how they perceive other people’s cultures. You learn a lot and have a greater appreciation for the world and its diversity when you have conversations like this.

Anyway, that evening there was a bad thunderstorm just as they were leaving. Apparently there’s a typhoon heading this way…but not. I’m a bit confused by the weather. Right now it’s quite overcast, but hasn’t rained. I won’t drive myself to work if it’s bad—I’ll take my motorbike driver or get a taxi. I’m terrified of the streets if it gets really flooded. I’ve heard horror stories about what happened in Hanoi last year when there was major flooding in the city. They open the drains in the roads, so people walking through the flooded streets can accidentally step in one, get sucked in, and drown. *Shiver*

Well, forgetting about that, I’ve been taking yoga classes in the morning and Vietnamese lessons in the afternoon on Tues/Thurs so those days have been quite busy. The yoga lessons are good and only with Vietnamese people. The instructor doesn’t speak English, but some of the other people do and they’re all very helpful and nice. The weeks have flown by, but at the same time not. I’ve kept myself busy with yoga, Vietnamese lessons, quiz night at the bar on Tuesday nights, going to the Cinematique to see a foreign or classic film on Sunday night with some friends from work, going to a new restaurant with the same friends on Wednesdays, going swimming at the pool when I can, and whatever else. I finally got my computer cleaned up and I can now correct my photos on Photoshop and hopefully upload them, so hopefully soon they’ll be on Shutterfly. On Monday I also went to the tailor with a friend from work and had a dress and traditional ao dai (Vietnamese dress) made. I’ll pick them up next week and I’m so excited to see how they’ll turn out. I had the dress made from a little picture with no pattern, so I’m not sure how well it’ll turn out or if the fabric I chose with work….it’ll be a surprise. The tailor seems really good, though, and a lot of Westerners like her, plus she’s actually a tailor and they make all their clothes right in the shop, so I trust her. Last week I also went to Ellyn’s new house across town. It was good to catch up, since we don’t see each other much any more considering that we live so far apart and are busy with work and whatnot. Now we’ll have the same days off, though, so that’s nice.

Phew! It’s only two months now until I come home. I’m so excited and ready to come home, but there are still tons to do. It’ll be good to have two days off a week from now on, so I can get all this stuff done and see all the things I want to see before I leave. Things have been getting on my nerves more and more and it seems like lately I’ve just been waiting for the next crappy or annoying thing to happen.

For instance, my landlady has been getting in the habit of taking out my motorbike on whatever little errands she has. She has her own nice automatic bike, but for whatever reason wants to take out mine because hers is parked in the house and it’s difficult to take it out or whatever, so I let her. I don’t know how to say no in a polite way because she doesn’t speak English so we only communicate in Vietnamese, plus it’s just a cultural norm for everything to be shared here. But on Sunday, just as I was pulling into the alley she came up behind me on her motorbike and asked if she could take my bike. I was like, “okay…,” thinking 'why in the world can’t you take your own bike?' But I let her because I was just going to walk to the mall nearby to meet my friends for dinner and I didn’t need it. So the next afternoon just as I was about to rush to work I couldn’t find my keys anywhere. I went up to my landlady and she looked and looked, but couldn’t find them. She lost them! Great, and I had to bring in my bike to my rental guy the next day so how was I supposed to explain this to him? That evening they still hadn’t found the keys, but luckily the next morning as I was going downstairs to figure out what to do they were there on the microwave. They had found them. Nevertheless, I’m keeping my keys with me from now on and not letting her drive my bike if I can help it. She asks sometimes to drive it, but I kept my keys downstairs with the other keys in case they needed to move my bike, so I think she’s been taking it out without asking… Actually, I know she has because as I was out on my balcony one evening I saw her driving past on my bike. Sorry, but I’m very possessive of my things and it’s not even mine! I guess I will never be able to get used to the communal aspect of Asian culture.

I know this attitude is very pessimistic, but after a year I think I just need a break from it all. And it has been over an official year now! Wow, the time has flown by and so much has happened. It’s been a good year and a bad year—both for many different reasons. I don’t regret it though. I think it’s changed me a lot. So don’t get me wrong—my traveling and living abroad days are far from over.

I think that’s enough of an update for now. I’ll try to be more frequent about my updates these next couple months now that I have time. I’ll also be going on two small trips in October, so I’ll tell all y’all all about them! I hope all is well at home and wherever you are—starting a new school year and moving into the fall. It’s supposed to be getting cooler here, too, but I’m still sweating bullets every day. Yet another thing I’m completely sick of!