Lephrecauns and Pigs Invade Hanoi

Elsbeth writing…

It seems like this last week has been a never-ending string of hassles. My motorbike broke down earlier this week—luckily this happened just as I was pulling up to my alley and it was fixed quickly the next day. My computer has been a continual pain and I have yet to deal with it, much less work on those many pictures I have. My second pair of headphones broke, so I had to replace them. Although I had fewer hours last week it seems like school still took up all my time…. Blah, blah, blah poor me. But then I caught my maid stealing from me.

I’ve had my suspicions for the last several weeks. When I first moved into my apartment my landlord warned me not to leave any money out, so I didn’t I kept it hidden. However, one day as my maid was cleaning my room and I was in a rush to get out and have coffee at a café, I took some money from where I’d placed it. I didn’t do it obviously; I tried to hide what I was doing, but she must have been aware. About two weeks ago now I had four 200,000 d bills in my hiding place, which I counted the night before. I left again to go to work while she was cleaning. I had an 8:30 a.m. class. That evening I looked and there were only three 200,000 d…hmm, my suspicions were growing like a stingy old heiress who thinks the pool boy is out to steal her family jewels. Okay, maybe not quite like that. But anyway, this last Tuesday I got up early to count my money again and, the sneaky person I am, take a picture of the bills spread out. I had 12 100,000s and 1 200,000 bills—1.4 million all together (that adds up to about $95. I usually don’t keep that much money in my room or on me, but you also have to have cash because that’s practically the only means to buy things here). Anyway, this time I didn’t go anywhere. I went up a flight of steps to read. She knew I went up there. When she was finished I went down and counted my money. 200,000 d was missing!

Straightaway I went up to my landlady who was chatting with the maid. I had my money in my hand and paused to look at the maid who was standing on the threshold. She just looked back at me. I couldn’t tell if her expression was one of faked innocence or surprise at noticing the missing money. I went to my landlady and showed her my money and the picture. Of course, the maid denied it and said that she didn’t have the money. She even showed us the little amount she had in her pocket. Who else could have stolen my money between the time I counted it and when I came back to my room after she cleaned? It must have been that little green leprechaun who sneaks into my room every Tuesday and Saturday around 8 a.m. He likes to climb in through my balcony window and search for the bag o’ dong hidden in my room.

We went down to talk to the landlady’s son and he helped translate what his mom said and I showed them where I put my money and how the purse was folded differently when I found it. They said that they believed me, because of the picture, but they couldn’t do anything until the landlady’s husband came home (he was on a business trip abroad). The maid had been working for the family for six years and they said that it was difficult to find a good maid in Hanoi. They told me that I had two options. She could clean my room but I had to be in there at all times or I could clean the room myself. I said that I would think about it.

On Sunday I talked with the landlord and he said that he couldn’t prove anything, but believed me. He said that this was the first time something like that had happened and that they couldn’t get rid of her, because she was a good maid and they had gained a relationship with her these last six years. He also said that she had four children to support (I don’t know if this was meant to put me on a guilt trip). He said that 200,000 d doesn’t mean a lot to him, but it means a lot to her because she doesn’t get paid much in the first place. So he gave me 200,000 d back. He told me that it still doesn’t make it right that she stole from me, but he has to think of supporting her. If he made this a big deal, she might not only loose her job here, but her jobs with my landlord’s extended family who she also works for. Apparently she didn’t even come into work on Saturday because she was afraid and perhaps felt guilty. I don’t know if she came into work today, since I haven’t been out of my room yet, but at least she knows. In the end, somehow I agreed to pay the full rent (I wanted to get money off for not having a maid). He also said to forget the whole situation. At first I thought, sure that sounds compassionate enough, but why can’t they just pay her more if they want to keep her? Why should I have to pay for a maid who doesn’t clean my room and stole from me? I’m paying her more money despite the fact that she took it from me without asking. That doesn’t seem right or fair. I don’t hate her and I’m not vindictive, but I think that people who knowingly do wrong should have to deal with the consequences of their choices. Yes, I can see from her point of view that she’s poor and perhaps a little desperate, but it still doesn’t make it right what she did. I’m mostly disappointed because she was really friendly and I love custodial people in general. They’re always the friendliest people you meet. Instead she betrayed my trust.

That’s one thing that really irks me, people who take things from me without asking and don’t return them. For instance, at work people just take things from my or other people’s supply boxes when they could just as easily ask for them from the ladies who deal with the supplies. So I’m at a loss when I teach a class on a day when the power and elevators are out, it’s stiflingly hot, I’m on the 7th floor teaching a class of 18 excitable children, and I open my box to find that I only have 3 boxes of colors (two of them unsharpened colored pencils and one small box of crayons) when I should have seven or eight nice, full boxes of crayons. How is this fair that I’m the one prepared, but I pay for someone else’s forgetfulness? Yes, I’m possessive of my stuff, but you know, I made the effort to get it in the first place. Go buy your own pens if you keep forgetting. I’m fine if you ask and return. No problem! Khong sau. It’s when you ask and don’t return or don’t ask and don’t return at all that gets to me. It seems to be this way a lot here. Okay, enough ranting.

Anyway, back to the maid situation, I already paid for these next two months. Perhaps, it’s best not to make a big deal of it now, but the next two months I think I’ll bring up the fact that I’m paying for a maid who I don’t use and I shouldn’t have to pay.

Moving on. Did you hear? Hanoi primary schools are closing because of the Swine Flu scare. Crazy. Language Link hasn’t closed, but the security guards are wearing face masks and checking everyone’s temperature when they come into school. So far they haven’t sent me home. I’ve been wearing a face mask a lot more, but that’s mainly because I actually have a good one that fits me now. Here’s an article from AsiaOne.com:

Hanoi closes schools amid swine flu fears:

Fri, Aug 07, 2009
AFP

HANOI, Vietnam - All schools in Hanoi closed Friday in a bid to contain an outbreak of swine flu that has killed one person and infected more than 1,000 in Vietnam, the city's education authority said.
The Hanoi Education and Training Department said it had asked all schools in Vietnam's capital not to open until further notice, in order to prevent the spread of the A(H1N1) virus, which causes swine flu.
The new school year will start on August 17, but schools have started convening students since the beginning of this week.
In Hanoi, three schools have recorded A(H1N1) infections among their students, according to the education department's online report.
Vietnam reported its first A(H1N1) infection in late May. Since then, 1,043 cases of infection have been reported, with 608 discharged from hospital.
The country's first death from a swine flu was a 29-year-old woman who died Monday in Khanh Hoa coastal province. --AFP

Source: http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20090807-159739.html

P.S. here’s a common misconception, if you see pictures on the news of Asian people wearing face masks it’s not necessarily because we have a lot of diseases circulating around here, it’s because people wear them on a regular basis to protect themselves from the pollution and sun. If your main means of transportation is driving a motorbike, you’re not as protected from the elements as you are in a car. Thus, a face mask is a logical protection.

Other than all these things not much has been going on here. My day off on Sunday was pretty blah. I went grocery shopping and went to see Indochine at the Cinematique with from friends from work. That was a great movie. It’s a French film about a love drama that takes place in Vietnam during the French occupation. It won a bunch of Academy Awards in 1992.

Yesterday I went swimming across town at this quiet, lap pool where mainly Westerners go. It’s a pain to get there, but when you’re there it’s so peaceful. You can’t hear the traffic—only birds and the wind. There’s also a fantastic view of the city skyline across the biggest lake in the city. I think this is going to be my escape. It feels so good to swim some laps and work out. When I got there in the morning I was the only person and later on when I was reading a few Westerners came. After that I drove around looking for a nice place to eat and stumbled upon this Indian restaurant that many people have been raving about. It was next to one of the lakes, the ambiance was great, and it was so peaceful. I had a chicken wrap which was about the closest thing I’ve come to a Chipotle burrito here. It was a good morning.

I’m not working much this week. I just finished one of my classes yesterday and so the rest of this week I have one class a day until Saturday when I have a full schedule of four classes. Gulp! That’ll be a long day. Otherwise this week I’m hoping to take advantage of my time off and work out, sign up for some yoga classes, buy some art supplies, get my computer fixed, and do whatever else needs to be done. Getting one thing accomplished a day here is a good day in this heat.

Becoming Officially Vietnamese

Elsbeth writing…

Time for a “quick” update. Not much has gone on this last week other than work, work, work. This was the last week of summer school, which is good and sad. Good in the sense that next week will be much quieter and sad in the sense that most of the summer school teachers are leaving.

On Friday afternoon I took my motorbike driving test across town. It was more of an obstacle to get to the testing center than to actually take the test. What with buses shooting out disgusting smog, deep pot holes, idiotic, speeding motorbike drivers, and SUVs honking and turning right in front of you. I’ve been working through the process of getting my license for several weeks now and I finally took the test. I met a Vietnamese lady from the Language Link head school there. I practiced once through the course and then we headed upstairs through the old building crowded at the top floor with other people waiting to take their written test in a hot, non-air conditioned room. I didn’t have to take the written test—only the practical one. There was another Western man there and when we had to come forward to sign our papers the woman calling names couldn’t pronounce them so she just said “foreigners come forward.” Everyone laughed and looked to see the two white-skinned, sweaty people make their way to the front.

Then we eventually made our way downstairs and stood with a small crowd of Vietnamese people waiting to take their practical tests. My guide was able to get us to take our tests earlier, because I had to go back to work (sometimes Westerners have priority, which can be good, but also unfair; then again, sometimes Westerners are purposefully served last). It was kind of embarrassing to take the test in front of a crowd of locals. I’m sure they thought we were pretty stupid and ridiculous to be doing what we were doing. Even the guy who controlled the test motorbikes held onto the bike and indicated that I needed to click it into gear as if I’ve never ridden a motorbike before. “Gee, thanks, I had no idea, but hey I’m taking the test anyway, dur!” The first part of the test is the most difficult and it didn’t help with the crowd or the fact that I was sweaty, nervous and hadn’t eaten much that day. You have to make a tight figure-eight while staying within the white lines and not letting your feet touch the ground. I did okay, but my foot briefly touched the ground. I thought “Shoot, well I’m done for.” I finished out the test just fine and came back. Both of us thought that we hadn’t passed but we did! Such a relief! Maybe they didn’t notice my foot touching or maybe they just wanted to get rid of us Westerners, but now I have my receipt and can pick up my real, bonafide Vietnamese motorbike license in a couple weeks.

As I’ve said before, traffic is crazy here and I’m glad I at least have my license now (about 8 months later than I should have). Just tonight on my way home from the movie there was a motorbike crash right in front of me. Everyone was okay, but two people weren’t wearing their helmets and the person at fault was stupid and driving right into traffic. As a Westerner, though, you can’t stop for those things, because you might be blamed so they can extort money from you.

Anyway, on Friday night I met the summer school people after work and we went to a bar out in the boonies for awhile. Saturday I worked, but then some of us had dinner at a Bia Hoi near school to have one last hurrah with the summer school people.

Today I ran some errands in the afternoon. I got some groceries, a good face mask (one that actually protects you from pollution and matches my helmet perfectly), and a floral/rose patterned long-sleeved shirt to protect me from the sun. Many Vietnamese women wear these to keep their skin white. They look old-fashioned, but they’re comfortable. Next I need to get an Ao Dai and some leopard print pajamas tailored. Then I'll be officially Vietnamese. I also bought a new helmet shield, because I broke mine one night a few weeks ago when I was trying to open my door. I ventured to a café one co-worker showed me and sat and read for a little while. Afterwards I got my motorbike washed and tried to find this art supplies store that I found on the New Hanoian, but it either wasn’t there or closed. Instead, I went to a dress shop and tried on some clothes, none of which I really liked. Finally I met two of my co-workers at the Cinematique for the 7 o’clock movie (now that I’m a member I need to take advantage of it). We had some drinks and a cheese platter there beforehand and some free popcorn during the movie.

The movie was pretty good, I thought. It’s great to see a real Vietnamese movie made by a Vietnamese director. It was called "Nostalgia for the Countryside" and, surprise, took place in the countryside of Vietnam. The story is from one 17-year-old farmer boy’s perspective as he lives in his small farming community and comes of age. It was fascinating to see the things I’ve seen first hand on my travels there on the silver screen. Somehow seeing those things in a movie makes it all more amazing, especially when you can say that you see that way of life every day.

Even going on a year, I am still amazed sometimes by where I am. The culture is becoming modern and at the same time is still old. Like I said a long time ago, Vietnam is at a very romantic point in time. You see women selling flowers and vegetables in woven baskets every day on the street, I walk past an ancient wooden communal house on my way to the modern, upscale Vincom Mall, and on the corner near where I live is a dusty, old, Eastern apothecary. But then I think that in the States there are some amazing things there too. Even the old brick buildings from the 1800s in Buffalo are pretty fascinating when you think about it. Any place you go to, especially if it’s a new place, can be fascinating and beautiful.

It’s my goal to do at least one new thing every week and every day I have off. So much still to do, but even running errands, like I did today, is new.