One Month Back in Viet Nam

I've been back in Nha Trang for one month now and things are greatly improved over my time here last fall. The biggest change is my address. I am no longer living on the other side of town where I had to travel through traffic noise three times a day. I'm also much happier back close to the schools, restaurants, and markets that I go to regularly. There are more people that I know and it just feels more comfortable.  And now the beach is just a block away.

I'm happiest most about the teaching. I'm enjoying it more and hopefully doing a better job. I began teaching at Nha Trang University which is awfully exciting. This is a dream I've had since I was 20, to be a college professor. It has taken a while, and who would have thought I'd have to go half way around the world to do it. The students in the above photo gave me a tour around NTU on my first day of teaching. They are my students at Crazy Kim's school as well as being students at NTU.

My first day at NTU they had a film crew there. Half of the class time was taken up doing things for the sake of the filming. Then I was interviewed and asked what I thought of NTU students. Thankfully I knew plenty from teaching them at Kim's. 

Another great thing this time is the discovery of several vegan restaurants. The food here has been incredibly delicious. I leave full and totally satisfied. Hien told her parents that I was a vegetarian and she made one of the best home cooked meals I've ever had, with no animal products at all. I didn't know they could do that. I'm asking for recipes and instructions.

I even had 4 shots of Hien's dad's home brewed wiskey. I shouldn't have because it gave me a headache. Either way, the food here in Nha Trang has been wonderful. This is the easiest it's ever been for me to eat a plant based diet.

I miss my home and family and friends a lot. It's hard to describe the feeling. I am a stranger in a strange land and at the same time the Vietnamese are so kind and easy to be with. Especially my students. It's like I'm not comfortably at home, and I can't stay here forever, but I feel so useful and appreciated. I guess half the year here and half the year in Rhode Island is a good balance.

Lastly, as many of you know my mom passed away while I was in America over the holidays. At first it wasn't too difficult missing her because we had just been with her, but it seems that as time goes by I miss her more. The farther away it gets from her hugs and kisses the more I miss them. Thankfully, I can still feel her presence and hear her voice clearly in my ear. I hear her familiar "Hi Hon," the way she always answered the phone when I called her. When I let the sounds of the day go and quiet my mind I can always hear her "Hi Hon." And then I see her smiling...   love ya mom, miss ya.

Leaving Vietnam

Heavy heart. Sitting at the airport in Cam Ranh waiting for the plane to take me to Ho Chi Minh Cith where I will leave for home tomorrow. Heavy heart.

This trip was at times a struggle. Three months of mostly rain, noise, and neighbors without boundaries. I found myself yesterday cursing to myself everything I heard a driver honk a horn. And frustrated that the sun had finally come out and the water was clearing up, now that I am going home for Christmas. I am happy and sad to be going home.

On Sunday we had a big party at my house with students from Crazy Kim's school. They are the bright shining light of my life in Vietnam. On Tuesday we had another little going away lunch at the home of one of my students in the morning class. I'm happy that both my morning and evening classes have native English speaking teachers to take over. I'm not happy about their methods. (Mostly they talk and students listen. How satisfying for them and useless for their students.)

It is a lot of work to get here and a lot of work to leave. I had to buy a lot of things for the house which I am leaving. My rental house is a small mirror of Vietnam. A view of the South China Sea to die for and the constant bombardment of noise from the street traffic 20 yards from my front door. So frustrating.

Went for a boat tour of some islands on Saturday. Tour guide looked a lot like president Obama.

I do love Vietnam in a way I've never loved another country. And I love the Vietnamese people in a special way. I don't know what the future will bring. I don't know what to do. I'm trying to breathe and just be present and see what unfolds. I'm a little scared. I'm trying to just accept my sadness and uncertainty. I'm sure I will know what to do when the time comes.

Well, America here I come! Can't wait for Christmas, can't wait to see friends and family!

Brown and Gray

What a difference a year makes. Last winter we had sunshine and beach weather nearly everyday. This winter it's brown and gray everyday. The ocean is brown from being stirred up constantly and the sky is gray with clouds and rain...constantly. Nha Trang's colors are brown and grey and in a week or so I'll be trading those colors for New England's winter colors of...brown and gray. Shit.

This has not been a party by any means. The house that I have rented, while having a great view of the brown ocean, is bombarded by the sound of cars and motorbikes. It's almost impossible to practice my guitar. There is no peace here. I've found it difficult to eat a healthy diet. (Although I found a great vegetarian restaurant last night.) Even teaching has been a chore this winter. I don't know what it is but I haven't been able to find a formula for teaching a class that feels productive. What is the best way to teach English? I don't know and I'm frustrated. Thankfully the students are wonderful and I just love being with them.

Most difficult is a lack of Americans here that I can talk to and hang out with. I lost the one good friend I had here when I told him the truth about his teaching. He didn't appreciate my perspective and told me our "association" was unhealthy. So now he gets drunk and stoned everyday alone, with the idea that some organization is going to send him thousands of dollars to become enlightened by "Mr. Brad" on the only correct way to teach pronunciation. He barely survives on the money he makes tutoring out of his apartment.

I'm ready to come home and recharge my batteries. I broke out in a rash last week and I'm still itchy and can't stop scratching. I need some good wholesome food from Wholefoods. I need my mom's spaghetti and meatballs. I need some sunshine!

Nothing Satisfies The Ego For Long

Eckhart Tolle points out that "nothing satisfies the ego for long." Isn't that the truth? I remember buying a Mercedes convertible in my younger crazy days. Boy, did I love that car! For about three months.

I've settled into living in Nha Trang like an ordinary person. I teach, I have a boss. I drive a motor bike like most of the people here, not a car like the rich. I do love Viet Nam. Most people are caring, playful, intelligent, and honest. The culture is quite different from America and much simpler. People enjoy ordinary things. They laugh and sing more. A mental health counselor could not make a living here.

"Nothing satisfies the ego for long." I found myself thinking this week..."well, the excitement of living in Nha Trang has certainly worn off." Life has become just...life, again. Am I happy or sad or bored or what? What do I feel now? Because I take time to meditate and reflect on the lessons I have learned over the years I realized that this is just what life is. We don't get to be excited all the time.

And then I thought about why I'm here. I've always felt I was needed here. I was needed to teach English and be a good person. At that point, I did not feel excited, but I certainly felt happy, and peaceful, and content. I supposed to be here. I'm being useful. Isn't that enough? Yes, it is.

Odds and Ends:

It's been raining like crazy still. No hot water because no sun. They say this is the worst it's been in 50 years.

I walked down to my kitchen one rainy afternoon and found two women sleeping there:

One Saturday in between all the rain I took a little ride out of the city along the coast and came across this waterfall on the side of the road:

Good News Bad News

Well, I've been here two months now. One more month and I come home for Christmas.

The good news is that the rainy season should be ending soon. The bad news is that the dry, i.e. hot and sunny, season begins.

The good news is that now I'll have all the hot water I can use. The bad news is that I don't need any.

The good news is that I love living here. The bad news is that I love living in Westerly, too.

The good news is that they are paying me to teach. The bad news is that I make about $45 a week.

The good news is that my house overlooks the ocean. The bad news is that it overlooks a noisy highway.

The good news is that I lost 5 pounds last week. The bad news is that I had food poisoning last week.

The good news is that I ate a lot of raw food last week. The bad news is that I had one raw food too many last week.

The good news is that I blocked up the hole that the rat was getting into the house through. The bad news is that he found another way in.

The good news is that I'm really studying Vietnamese a lot. The bad news is that I can't even ask for grilled chicken and be understood yet.

And lastly, the good news is that I just washed all the floors in my house. The bad news is that they will need to be washed again tomorrow!

Motorbikes and Playing Chicken

Riding a motorbike through the city is to play a game of chicken every time you come to an intersection. Really. Bikes just shoot out from everywhere and they will cut you off...if you let them. At first I was constantly slowing down or swerving in order to avoid them. After a while I got tired of just giving in so I tried to just ignore them and keep going. It was unnerving at first but I soon realized that it really is just a game of chicken. So screw it. Now they avoid me. Except yesterday.

Well, this one bike came a bit too close and I just responded with a big "F**k You!" He almost hit me! So the guy turns and follows me, gets ahead of me, glares, and give me the finger. He stays in front of me glaring and flipping. He is big for a Vietnamese but still no threat. So, feeling my testosterone pumping, I'm like, bring it on shorty. He eventually sped off. And I realized how stupid I was acting. It's that alpha male thing. I never have that experience any more. I shouldn't have yelled out the swear word, that was letting the other guy know that I was scared. And that doesn't work in the game of chicken.

In other news, my neighbors continue to move more and more into my kitchen. I prepare a salad for lunch and have to blast the speakers to hear NPR over their conversations on my steps. As the picture show, they are literally in my kitchen now. It's kind of funny. I don't really mind the company, but I've never invited them in, they just sit there.

My sink and countertop are just to the left out of the photo.

I often sit on my bed an practice the guitar. Here are a couple of photos of what I see while playing.

And last but not least, the school halloween party:

Buying A Motorbike

I've been renting a piece of junk for a motorbike since I got here for $50 a month. Brad suggested that I buy a new, low-end Chinese-built bike for about $350. That sounded like a good plan. Then I figured I could buy a Honda basic bike new for $700.  So that got me off shopping.

Before I knew it I was pretty much craving a Honda Air Blade, top of the line, cool as all hell. A babe magnet, as I was teaching my students. (We spent a class discussing what kind of bike I should buy. The Air Blade won out.)

A new Air Blade costs about $2200. This is the Lexis of motorbikes. You are definitely well-off if you can afford one in Vietnam. I decided to buy one because that is about half the cost of my scooter in America which I only use about 2 months a year. This one will get plenty of action.

So, credit card in hand I went to the Honda dealership, found the bike I wanted, asked the price, and gave them my credit card (there was a Visa sign on the wall) and was told they don't take credit cards. Okay, I'll go get cash. No, that won't work either, I'm a foreigner, foreigners can't own a bike.

I had heard that. Ex-pats have to put the bike in a Vietnamese person's name. Preferably someone they trust. So I drove to my lawyer's office to ask what my options were. And I was going to ask her assistant to come and help me make a purchase. Turns out the lawyer was selling her Air Blade (it was black and she wants a new yellow one). After going back and forth we settled on $1700. She would take care of all the paperwork, give me a bill of sale in case I was stopped by the police, and register the bike for me.

Anyway, two days later and 17 ATM withdrawals I had the bike. It's sweet. And my lawyer went straight to the Honda dealer with my cash and bought her new one. I've gotten lots of compliments since I've been driving mine around. I did have one problem that shows what an idiot I am and how funny our brains work. When I was given the bike I looked at the gas gauge and it read full. How nice of her to do that. To my dismay, after riding around the gauge never moved. Okay, it's broken I'll have it fixed. I still figured the tank had been full when she gave it to me. Two days later I run out of gas. When I fill the tank, the needle goes all the way over to the other side. That's when I realize that the needle didn't read full, the F was an E, she gave it to me on empty! How stupid can I be? Clear as day there was that E staring me in the face. Come to think of it, there really isn't much difference between an E and an F. I'm dumb but not all that dumb.