A Trip to the Hospital

No, I didn't get hurt. I had to take a physical to get my work permit. The lawyer who I hired sent me with her assistant to the hospital. For $100 you get the VIP treatment, which means you don't wait for anything. No lines. For an hour and a half we ran from one room to the next. I had my heart monitored, my chest x-rayed, my hearing and teeth checked (dental examine consisted of my opening my mouth and she looking inside), a urine analysis, and a couple of other things I'm not really sure what they were. All in all it was painless.

Yes, the doctor at the end said I had some protein in my urine and I should keep an eye on it. But I chalk that up to being dehydrated at the time because I had gone for my 5 mile run and not been allowed to drink water before the examination. Then again, maybe I have diabetes. If I do, given my diet and exercise routine, it would be a miracle and I'd take that as a sign that God wants me home. I would never ever take any pills. Just kill me first.

I've got three classes a week that I'm getting paid to teach and 8 classes I volunteer.  I plan to do 50-50. Lan who owns the language school that I teach at (with Mike from America) asked me if I would be willing to teach at Pacific Ocean University (last year they asked me, but did nothing, so I was going to say no), they were willing to pay me. I said in that case I would. It really doesn't matter, it's only $10 or $12 an hour. I just like doing it.

My neighbors continue to make themselves home at my house. They gather at my steps in larger groups now as you can see from the photo. Frequently I will be making something in the kitchen and the pop in. I've eaten dinner at their restaurant now a couple of times, so. It's nice.

Next on my agenda is to buy a motor bike.

These Are My Front Steps

I love my neighbors. I must because someone is usually sleeping on my front steps whenever I come home. Actually, they aren't my neighbors, they work at the restaurant next door. Mostly it's the afternoon when they are sleeping, taking naps because they work from 9am till 9pm. I also hear them chatting away in front of my door while I'm upstairs working on my computer. The only time I'm not happy is when they completely block my way in. The other night I came home around 9 and the guy in the photo was passed out drunk. I told the women that the next time it happens I'm putting him in the street.

Moving In

It didn't take long to remember why I love this place so much. Mornings begin at 5:30 with a 5 mile run and a swim in the South China Sea. Nothing but smiles and nods from some of the sweetest people on the planet. Shower, email, market, smoothie, and off to teach the morning English class. College kids so eager to learn and soooo fun to be with. Lunch, nap, odds and ends, evening class, dinner. The day flows by effortlessly. The only way I could make this any better would be to have all my family and friends here.

At least that's how it looks this second morning in my new living space. Moved into a fairly new two-bedroom house facing the ocean and river. The views are wonderful, the car and truck noise constant. It was a trade-off. I'm in the middle of everything. Completely opposite of my life in Rhode Island. Nice kitchen and living area on the first floor. Wide door opens to the sidewalk where all my neighbors know exactly what I'm eating...which is usually fruit smoothies if it's breakfast or  salad for lunch. Dinner is out and I'm loving Vietnamese food more every day as I try something new!

Second and third floors each have one bedroom with balcony, bathroom, and office alcove.  I think I'll sleep on the second floor and use the third for a guest room/living room. There is a roof deck with the best views. If I put  table and chairs it could be wild.

 I've got wifi, a subwoof speaker system, a/c, and all the fresh fruit and vegetables I can eat.  My neighbors are friendly. The woman next door has already scolded me for leaving my kitchen window open when I leave. I've also left my keys in my motor bike several times, without someone stealing it.

Anyway, living in a house now, I don't know how I survived all last winter in a hotel room. Now I feel like I really live here. Home sweet home away from home. I know one thing, I could not feel comfortable here if I didn't know that I still could always come back to Rhode Island, because if you are from Westerly, you can never really leave home.

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.

Returning To Vietnam

I often experience anxiety when I travel. But usually that happens after I've arrived. This trip to Vietnam I'm feeling it at the airport before departure. I could be in bed now instead of going through all this. The plane prepares to take off and I'm wondering why I do what I do. What drives me?

On the plane to Hong Kong, the anxiety is gone. 15 hours in the air, and I still will not be in Vietnam. But at least I'm relaxed and have plenty of movies and books loaded up on my iPod, iPad, iPhone, Macbook, and Kindle. I'm going to buy stock in Apple and Amazon when I get home.

The flight isn't all that difficult. I watch movies and sleep. Before I know it I'm in Ho Chi Minh City again. This is my 7th trip in 3 years. My friend Loan meets me at the airport. I've brought her over a computer because it is 25 percent cheaper in the States. She's my oldest and best Vietnamese friend.

I take a taxi to my hotel and feel the anxiety again. It begins to subside as I speak to the driver in Vietnamese. I realize that all the studying is paying off and that you do not have to be young to learn a new language. I do wish though that Vietnamese were easier like Spanish and not a tonal language.

Thanks to a sleep aid I've brought with me I get a few hours of sleep before the morning light and traffic wake me. Surprisingly I feel joyful and rested. I'll go for a run now and to the market for coconut water and a fresh durian.

Ready To Leave

I leave Nha Trang in three days, Vietnam in five. It has been an interesting learning experience being here for nearly six months (less a month off to return home for Christmas). I survived Lam, barely. Still feeling horrible guilt over my cowardly departure. I made many good friends. Enough so that I would never have to feel lonely here. And I've found something to do with my education, teach English.

I got the opportunity to teach poor university students and then teach at a Five Star Hotel on Vinperl Island. I got a big kick out of being employed by someone for the first time in nearly thirty years. (Still not sure that they are going to pay me. I haven't seen any money yet, and this being Vietnam.)

I did learn this while I was here:

One  People everywhere are really the same. The biggest thing that makes people different (in general) is economic situation and opportunity.  It is easy to be nice when you have a roof over your head and food on the table. Take that away and people do what they have to do to survive.

Two People everywhere are really pretty messed up. Human beings are crazy. We do stupid things. We think stupid things. The things we believe are just plain wild. I swear to God, we have no clue as to what we are doing on this planet.

Three Since we are all essentially the same it is a waste of time to judge people as good or bad. And since we are all crazy, we might as well relax and enjoy the ride. Accept the fact that the world and we humans in it are incomprehensible and just do your best. 

A short prayer from A Course In Miracles is what I say to begin my day and how I try to live my life. "I am here only to be truly helpful." The world is beyond my ability to understand. People, even apparently well adjusted people, have all kinds of personal issues and problems we don't know the half of. So, if I can live each day trying to be truly helpful, I can't ask for much more.

I am really looking forward to spending the next six months back home in Westerly with my family and life long friends. I'm sure I'll have trouble finding something to do since I won't have teaching to keep me busy, but there will be a lesson to be learned in that too. And when the summer is over, I wonder if Vietnam will call me back. I hope so.

Paradise Lost

If you live some place long enough you begin to see what it's really like. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the honeymoon is over here in Nha Trang and I am seeing the real city and people. And guess what, it and they are just like every place else...except the beach and the weather. (and that counts for a lot.)

I try my best not to become upset when I go to the beach now. It was never this bad, but the trash is unbearable. I don't know how or why they let people do this. There is so much garbage on the beach it looks like a landfill with sand sprinkled over it to cover it up. I'm not kidding, the only thing missing are the seagulls (you know what I mean if you live in Rhode Island). I thought I was a spiritually advanced person, but I'm not because I want to punch everyone of these people who dump their shit all over the place in the face.

The second big awakening for me is regarding the people. I know I've always said the Vietnamese people are the most friendly and nicest in the world. And maybe they are, buy just barely. In fact the more I think about it the more I realize that people are the same all over. We just behave differently because of our situations. And that usually has more to do with economics than anything else. Change the financial situation of a community or country and you change everything. But under it all...we are exactly alike. Which only makes sense because under it all we are one.

I guess I can't stress it enough, people really are nearly a product of their economic fortunes. As best I can tell, the only way out is to become more aware. Aware of that and aware of everything in general. Otherwise we are nothing but slaves and robots, slowly learning our lessons over lifetimes.

While I have come down to reality, I still love this country and the people. The friends that I've made are interesting and fun to be with. My friend Brad, a self-employed American teacher here, who wants to kill himself and is an avowed athiest, is a hoot. My Vietnamese friend Vung always shares his total love of nature and God. ( His brother works for Thich Nhat Han.) And of course best of all are my students. I'd rather be with them than any one else, except for my family.

Odds and Ends:
Nearly got into my first motorbike accident. Going about 20 mph a car cut me off and another bike and I collided. We managed to stay upright.

Found a really good vegetarian restaurant, best veggie food I've ever tasted.

Several people have been trying to fix me up with friends. Nothing to report on there.

My daughter Angela arrives here on Friday. That'll be really nice.