Wild In The Streets

It's the Mid-Autumn Full Moon Festival in Vietnam tonight and they are wild in the streets. Dragon dancing, lions, horns, mayhem. You have to love a country that celebrates holidays around full moons. It's Tet for children my students tell me. I've been given three moon cakes. Delicious.

It's been a week since I left Rhode Island. Every part of the trip went smoothly. Even getting to Nha Trang and finding a house to move into. And a job teaching that pays.

My students from Crazy Kim's school greeted me with big hugs, including Kimmy herself. It really is like one big family. I began teaching on Monday and again loving every minute of it. And it's all because of the warm friendships and students' passion for learning. So happy to find something to be useful at.

I've even found a house to rent. Oh my God! It is ocean and river view. A block from both. Two bedrooms, a kitchen/living room, and roof deck. Balconies overlooking the water from both bedrooms and deck. The kitchen is another story. Basically, if I open my wide front doors I've got my neighbors right there on the sidewalk. Noisy as all hell. I'm sure I will love it. My Vietnamese has to improve. And, I'm out of the tourist area and in a Vietnamese neighborhood. I've traded off privacy for open views of the ocean and river and a more authentic Vietnamese life. I'm also just a few houses away from my best friend in Vietnam, Brad Ness from Minnesota.  Oh, and the rent is $305 a month.

Tomorrow I start my paid job at Vietnam Advanced Education school. My friend started it while I was away and he has more students than he can handle. I'll teach a couple of classes a week. I've decided to split my teaching time, half volunteer and half paid. We'll see how this works. I have to wear a dress shirt and long pants to VAE...which I'm not happy about, but, heck, they're paying me $10 an hour.

Don't be too jealous. It's hot as hell here. I take 4 showers a day, but I love heat so...Even when it's 90 plus degrees and 100% humidity. That's it for now. More to come when I've moved.