Tết 2014

So much has happened in the year since last Tết. I write this in the middle of the Lunar New Year celebration here in Nha Trang. The cold winter weather has finally eased off. Sunny and warm again. The streets are crowded with the normal Russian tourists and Vietnamese from the countryside and city trying to squeeze in some beach time. At some point this is going to become untenable.

Well, back to diary stuff. After six months of unhappiness on both sides Anh and I separated. We gave it a brief try again when I returned to Nha Trang is September, but that didn't work. So, in October Anh moved out of our apartment and I began the single life again. 

As for dating, mostly the usual stuff. The rocket blasts off from the launch pad only to crash shortly after lift-off. Some minor disappointments, others not so minor. With major cultural differences, language barriers, and opposing wants and needs, it may take years to stumble into a lasting relationship. (Unless fate steps in.)

Below is Ti, we are currently seeing each other frequently. Going very slowly this time.

The biggest thing going on these days is my intense dedication to learning Vietnamese. (That is one reason it has taken me so long to write again.)  I am averaging 3 or 4 hours a day. Mostly at coffee shops. That is not counting conversing with Vietnamese friends. Several of the women I have been dating speak no English. Not uncommon to have a 3 hour chat, all in Vietnamese. It is very satisfying to realize I'm actually communicating in a language so foreign to me. (I'm not teaching this year so I have more personal time.)

Do not let anyone tell you that an old person cannot learn a new langauge. And as my twin, John Locke said in Lost: "Don't tell me what I can't do!"