Elsbeth writing…
TGIF like you would not believe! My first weekend off in 19 days! Finally a break. I slept in late Saturday morning and moseyed around trying to plan the itinerary for my trip with mom in April and May.
The International Kite Festival has come to Vung Tau this year and thousands of people (more tourists than usual on the weekend) thronged Back Beach, which is only three blocks from our house to watch the many elaborate kites float weightlessly in the air. I met friends Saturday evening at the Beach Club (our usual hang out) to catch my first glimpse of the kites. The main festivities were going on right out on the beach from the bar. Even in the dark they were flying their huge kites shaped like teddy bears, sharks, and squid. I walked along the beach for a bit and later had dinner at a nearby seafood restaurant with a friend as we watch the kites shining through spotlights in the dark. There was some sort of Vietnamese celebration going on at the restaurant and the karaoke was deafening, considering that the people inside insisted on opening the windows. Later I joined the other girls for a movie under Kaidian’s cupcake pink mosquito netting.
On Sunday morning I woke up early—7 a.m.! That’s way early for me and drove out to Back Beach again to watch the kites being set up and lifted off. I walked down the beach and then sat in the sand while I watch the largest ones being teased into the air. They’re beautiful and there were so many Vietnamese people out swimming in the cool of the morning. It’s a nice event for families. Kids were running up and down the beach with their own little kites. I took lots of pictures and once I get them Photoshoped I’ll post them on Shutterfly. It’s so nice to get up early and have the whole day before you. I should really try this more often. I was falling asleep by 11 a.m., though, yet I never got a nap in. I talked with the parental units for three hours! Then I went to the Essentials Grocery Store where I bought some food and made myself lunch at home.
Then later that evening we met other teachers at ILA and drove to the dog restaurant nearby. Yes, I said dog restaurant. We...um…I don’t know how to put this for all you dog lovers out there (myself included)…we ate dog. Yes, I admit that I tried a bit of those poor, poor dogs. I didn’t think I could do it, but I plugged my nose a tried a bit of almost every dog meat dish they put in front of us. It tasted like beef…. I’M SORRY WOOLY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! I don’t know how you can….I have betrayed you and your dog kind. Never again. When we came in they had two roasted dogs (thank goodness there were no heads) ready to be chopped up on the cutting board. To make it worse there was a dog nonchalantly sleeping in the corner while his pals cooked in the steaming vats behind him. I feel like such a traitor and a cannibal in a twisted sense, but it was all for the experience…right? They try to justify eating dogs by saying that they would eat me if they had the chance and that they only kill the stupid dogs. Still….
Well, aside from that disturbing news, I have some other interesting news for you. Ellyn and I have decided to move to Hanoi. We originally wanted to move up there when we took the job with ILA, because we wanted to experience both halves of the country. Although I still love this town and it’s peaceful, laidback lifestyle, it’s also a dead-end town where old Aussies and Oilies congregate to chase after young bar girls. There isn’t much here for 20-something women…well, women in general. When all the tourists have left after the weekend, it’s a man’s town, plain and simple. I love teaching, my students, the other teachers, and the staff at school, so I'll miss them.
It’ll be very sad to leave my friends here. We’ve had some good times. But, a lot of people are leaving at the same time—some of them going to Hanoi as well, so that makes leaving better. After all, we’re young! As the song says “Take a chance, make a change.”
So that’s where we are now. I have so much to do this next month to prepare for leaving and for my mom to come, so I may not have much time to update this blog. Wish me good luck! I hope all is well at home!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
You Never Know What You're Going To Get
Elsbeth writing…
So much for my New Year’s resolution. It’s been another month since I last updated this blog. No worries, though, nothing really interesting has happened in my life since then. I’ve just been here in Vung Tau the entire time working, working, working. Come Friday, I’ll have worked 19 days in a row. I’ve covered for the last two weekends, which is fine because I’m racking up hours. I didn’t have a first class on Monday/Wednesday/Friday for awhile so I needed to make up some hours, but today I start that new class. It’s the same level as I have for my second class, which I’m so glad for. Now I can just use my previous lesson plans and update them a little.
I’ve also been working on preparing for something else, which I’ll tell you once I’ve finalized it at the end of this month (I don’t want to blurt something on an open blog—I’ve done enough blurting already and I’m sure many of you, who do read this blog, know already). Then I’ve been starting to think of my mom coming at the end of this April. I’m sooo excited! I can’t wait to see her, but of course, I wish my dad and brother could come as well. I already have all these things in mind that I want to show and do with her. I’m planning to take the train up the country to Hanoi with her, making stops along the way in Hoi An/Danang, Hue, and whatnot. Now it’s just a matter of getting it all organized….soon!
Hmmm, what else. I’ve been trying to fix my bike here, but no mechanic is willing to make it go faster, because apparently it’s illegal. Plus, they think I’m a stupid girl. It says it’s a 50 (engine) on the front of the Cub, but it has a 70 engine, however, the previous owner was ‘smart’ enough to put a piston meant for a 50 engine in it. I’m going to ask some of the Aussie guys at Belly’s if they can fix it or if they know someone who can. Hopefully, they can help. Right now it tops out at 40 K (a.k.a. not very fast, but decent for city driving). Haha, Tony’s been helping me with this bike and one day when we were going to pick it up from the mechanic we almost got into a crash because some idiot pulled out from behind a van into our lane and almost hit us, so Tony pushed the guy, but he just drove off. Then just down the road he almost ran into a little dog. Oh, driving in Vietnam. You never know what you’re going to get.
Otherwise, during the week we’ve just been doing our usual. I’ve been going to the orphanage to teach for an hour or two on Monday mornings. Then we’ve been going swimming at the lap pool, playing tennis, playing football on the beach, and I want to go to the driving range here. Another teacher and I are planning to go on Monday.
The weekends haven’t been too thrilling. I’ve just been trying to get things done and run errands. Not last weekend, but the weekend before, we caravanned out to the Ba Ria mountains to try to find a way up the mountains, but our search was unsuccessful. I rode on the back with Tony, because I didn’t have by bike back from the mechanic then. We went on these bumpy, gravel roads in the back country to a quarry. He gave me his camera to take some video and I thought I did a pretty good job with all the bumps in the road, but I almost fell off on one huge bump because I wasn’t holding on. It was a good time. We stopped on the roadside for some sugarcane juice, which I hadn’t had in a long time, and got our bikes splattered with dirt and water. It’s nice to just get out of town, have a little adventure, and see the countryside.
Then, last weekend our roommate, Tony, left us and moved up to Hanoi. It was sad to see him go, but we’ll see him in a month or so (I’ll explain more later). Kristof, our other roommate, is also coming back to live with us until the middle of April, so it’ll be nice to have him back. He just finished his DELTA and now he’s on vacation in the Philippines.
Well, that’s about all that’s been going on for now. More to come in the next week. I can’t wait for this weekend! Finally, some real down time. I’m hoping to get a bunch of things done. I’d like to also drive around town finally. I’ve been wanting to do that for awhile, but I haven’t been able to with my bike problems and working on the weekends or whatnot.
So much for my New Year’s resolution. It’s been another month since I last updated this blog. No worries, though, nothing really interesting has happened in my life since then. I’ve just been here in Vung Tau the entire time working, working, working. Come Friday, I’ll have worked 19 days in a row. I’ve covered for the last two weekends, which is fine because I’m racking up hours. I didn’t have a first class on Monday/Wednesday/Friday for awhile so I needed to make up some hours, but today I start that new class. It’s the same level as I have for my second class, which I’m so glad for. Now I can just use my previous lesson plans and update them a little.
I’ve also been working on preparing for something else, which I’ll tell you once I’ve finalized it at the end of this month (I don’t want to blurt something on an open blog—I’ve done enough blurting already and I’m sure many of you, who do read this blog, know already). Then I’ve been starting to think of my mom coming at the end of this April. I’m sooo excited! I can’t wait to see her, but of course, I wish my dad and brother could come as well. I already have all these things in mind that I want to show and do with her. I’m planning to take the train up the country to Hanoi with her, making stops along the way in Hoi An/Danang, Hue, and whatnot. Now it’s just a matter of getting it all organized….soon!
Hmmm, what else. I’ve been trying to fix my bike here, but no mechanic is willing to make it go faster, because apparently it’s illegal. Plus, they think I’m a stupid girl. It says it’s a 50 (engine) on the front of the Cub, but it has a 70 engine, however, the previous owner was ‘smart’ enough to put a piston meant for a 50 engine in it. I’m going to ask some of the Aussie guys at Belly’s if they can fix it or if they know someone who can. Hopefully, they can help. Right now it tops out at 40 K (a.k.a. not very fast, but decent for city driving). Haha, Tony’s been helping me with this bike and one day when we were going to pick it up from the mechanic we almost got into a crash because some idiot pulled out from behind a van into our lane and almost hit us, so Tony pushed the guy, but he just drove off. Then just down the road he almost ran into a little dog. Oh, driving in Vietnam. You never know what you’re going to get.
Otherwise, during the week we’ve just been doing our usual. I’ve been going to the orphanage to teach for an hour or two on Monday mornings. Then we’ve been going swimming at the lap pool, playing tennis, playing football on the beach, and I want to go to the driving range here. Another teacher and I are planning to go on Monday.
The weekends haven’t been too thrilling. I’ve just been trying to get things done and run errands. Not last weekend, but the weekend before, we caravanned out to the Ba Ria mountains to try to find a way up the mountains, but our search was unsuccessful. I rode on the back with Tony, because I didn’t have by bike back from the mechanic then. We went on these bumpy, gravel roads in the back country to a quarry. He gave me his camera to take some video and I thought I did a pretty good job with all the bumps in the road, but I almost fell off on one huge bump because I wasn’t holding on. It was a good time. We stopped on the roadside for some sugarcane juice, which I hadn’t had in a long time, and got our bikes splattered with dirt and water. It’s nice to just get out of town, have a little adventure, and see the countryside.
Then, last weekend our roommate, Tony, left us and moved up to Hanoi. It was sad to see him go, but we’ll see him in a month or so (I’ll explain more later). Kristof, our other roommate, is also coming back to live with us until the middle of April, so it’ll be nice to have him back. He just finished his DELTA and now he’s on vacation in the Philippines.
Well, that’s about all that’s been going on for now. More to come in the next week. I can’t wait for this weekend! Finally, some real down time. I’m hoping to get a bunch of things done. I’d like to also drive around town finally. I’ve been wanting to do that for awhile, but I haven’t been able to with my bike problems and working on the weekends or whatnot.
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