I'm...dreaming, of a wet Christmas...

I saw the bells and the lights and the Christmas trees on the backs of motorbikes, and I heard the classics and plans of good cheer and I Just.  Couldn't.  Feel it.

"Aww, is this your first year away?"

asked a seasoned expat friend.  Sigh, it is.
The last couple of weeks have been a little tough, tougher than I had anticipated.  I debated including these woes into the blog and decided it was a good idea after all.  I made the decision to move out here and accept the ups and the downs.
So I got involved in as many Christmas-y festivities as possible - mission force the feeling!!

Rise of the Spiders

It has been quite the eventful week of seeings and doings so I figured I'd jot a few of them down.  Our weather has been impeccable, and my dad and I jumped through a few hoops getting my slackline shipped out to Da Nang (long story about never sending anything with text or maps through the mail

), so I took to the beach in search of the perfect place to set up and have some chill time with the line.
This proved to be slightly more difficult than I had anticipated.  I needed the right distance between palms, a soft landing level ground, and preferably out of constant sight.  As a westerner, I get enough stares as it is, I didn't want to attract even more attention, especially since I hadn't slacklined since July.

Lately...

I have been meaning to sit down and blog for the last couple of weeks.  Sometimes it seems that I just can't find the words for things that happen, so here are several snippets of happenings:

Thanksgiving:  Many countries have celebrations of their own for thankfulness, especially when connected with the annual harvest, so celebrating Thanksgiving in Vietnam wasn't so far of a stretch.  We also have a handful of American and other western expats living in Da Nang, so many of us came together for a traditional plate of delicious food at Bread of Life.  I had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls, green beans and even pumpkin pie!  The one BIG difference between T-Day in America and T-Day here is that I had to go to work two hours later, feeling the full force of turkey pulling down my eyelids.  

Floating

I always look forward to Mondays and Tuesdays.  The weekend shifts at school are early and high-energy, so Monday brings much needed relief and relaxation.  This Monday morning, I was enjoying the soothing sound of pelting rain as I surfed the net and watched a movie, but then I heard a different kind of *drip..drip…splat.*  With a large fish tank gurgling in the room and the downpour outside, I chose to believe this new dripping sound was part of one of those...until I heard it again…and turned my head to the left.  A small trickling turned into a steady stream of water pouring from the second floor through the middle of the staircase onto the tiled first floor. 

Oh… crap

My, my our time flies. 100 DAYS!

 Gettin my hurr did...

The last two weeks have been full of guests and warmth here in Nhà KelseyStacey.  For the first time since moving, I was able to play host and tour guide for DaNang and her surrounding cities.  It has been fun showing friends my favorite restaurants, going to the beach, hanging out in local bars and sharing our home.  Some of the smaller highlights of living here almost go unnoticed now that I am so familiar with them, such as ushering a frog off of the coffee table before we eat, or complimentary lounge chairs on the beach.  Guests help me re-appreciate these wonders as they experience them for the first time.  As much fun as I’ve had with the visitors, today I said goodbye to my dear couchsurfing friends, and realized how tired I was!  Time for a little much-needed pampering. 

It has been four months since anyone has touched my hair, and boy did it need some attention.  I was really worried about finding a salon because, without a language barrier, getting across what you want someone to do with a pair of scissors is scary enough.  I would have to surrender all control over what I think my hair should look like.

And then Scrabble became more than just words...

I love Scrabble.  And Scramble.  And Bananagrams. And all other games that foster strategy through the use of language.  I don't enjoy dominating the world in Risk.  I'm not huge on the capitalism of Monopoly - but I do love language - and I miss playing these games.  I thought, moving out of the country of my native tongue, I would still find wordsmiths in a new family of English teachers.  Sadly, this has not been the case.  I toyed with the idea of posting an ad in Bread of Life:

WANTED:

WORD NERDS

Buuut I was draggin' my heals on it.  Then, last Thursday night while volunteering at BOL, one of the Vietnamese girls I close with [out of the blue] asked "Do you play Scrabble?"  I hoped that my verbal "yes" was more toned down than my mental "HELL YEAH!"  She said that was great, and that she'd bring her game next Thursday.  

Enter: Tonight.

I arrived at my usual time ready to eat my Thursday night western dinner.

[Which, side note, I don't think I can do anymore.  Since living here for a while, I've become incredibly accustomed to and in love with Vietnamese food.  Tonight was the final nail in the coffin of Western dinner as I showed up starving to BOL and only had five bites of my eggplant burger.  They make very yummy food but greasy french fries and breaded eggplant isn't working.  When I have pizza here I don't wake up feeling great the next day either.  Vietnamese food is always a balanced medley of starch, vegetable and meat.  When these powers combine, my body is captain digestion and feeling oh-so-good.  Not to mention all the prepared food here is fresh from the market - not processed or packed with preservatives.]  

So I found my regular booth next to the cash register and flashed Thu a smile. 

"Got the game?"

"Of course!"

Now, the way I play Scrabble is of the vicious variety.  I like competition and the best opponents for me will provide a somewhat balanced win/lose streak.  As I sat down with my very sweet, English language learning friend, I put away my Scrabble fangs and competitive drive. I realized how grateful I was that this prayer had been answered - even if not quite in the way I was hoping.  I didn't even flinch when it was apparent that we were not going to be keeping score.  

And then something awesome happened.  

Won't you be, my neighbor

Andy, Tuyen and I went to a soft opening of a new restaurant in Da Nang last night.  It was somewhat hidden on a small street about 7.5km away from where we live (that’s far for us).  Three times, we had to stop and ask local VN people on the street for help with directions.  They readily stopped what they were doing and explained where to go as if we were friends in need. 

The restaurant was very nicely decorated with outside dining (helloooo mosquitoes!) and inside lounge dining.  We were literally sitting on new sofas while eating the only two food items available:  BBQ chicken and BBQ pork ribs.  There was live music and overall a really comfortable atmosphere. 

It was raining when we left, so on went the ponchos as usual, except Andy’s bike would not start.  The bike guards noticed their trouble and came over to help.  This small gesture turned into twenty minutes of three guys making it their personal mission to get his bike purring.  When one guy’s efforts wouldn’t work, the next would take a turn at the kick start or a push and rev until finally, they got it going.  I watched with amazement at this friendly hand from complete strangers.  I got the feeling that they would not stop until the mission was complete.  There was no, ‘well, we gave it a shot.  Time to get it towed or push it to a mechanic.’  Time and time again I witness this can-do attitude in various forms.  When I couldn’t reach a window near my ceiling to shut it, a (shorter than me) Vietnamese man put my efforts to shame with ninja maneuvers up some shutters.  When our fish tank light wouldn’t switch on, my landlord’s cousin, who appeared to be twenty-something, came over and dissected the light, removing and replacing only the switch, which then worked perfectly.  Willingness to help no matter how long it takes.  MacGyver abilities.  ‘Nuff said.

It's Something Unpredictable, but in the end is right...

Try to imagine a life without timekeeping

You probably can't.  You know the month, the year, the day of the week.  There is a clock on your wall or the dashboard of your car.  You have a schedule, a calendar, a time for dinner or a movie.  

Yet all around you, timekeeping is ignored.  Birds are not late.  A dog does not check its watch.  Deer do not fret over passing birthdays.  

Man alone measures time.  

This new Albom book dropped into the Kindle right in a time when I've really been pondering that particular buzzword.    

Day to day time has changed so much.  I don't wear a watch, I severed ties with the dark side (back to using a "dumb phone" which is on ... sometimes), and I don't use a calendar.  I know when my volunteering and classes are and I make sure I'm prepped and on time to teach them.  

These changes...er...improvements have created a strange disconnect with life in America that I'm not sure is good or bad.  I have an indescribable sensation of being on a parallel universe - like everything at home is not in the same time that I'm in.

Vietnam Autumn

This past weekend was the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival for China and Vietnam.  Some regions practice different cultural traditions but there are a few constants that you can always count on: Mooncakes, lanterns, and lion dances. 

I am disappointed in my lack of Mooncake tasting variety.  There are many different flavors from sweet to salty to savory but there was really only one mooncake for me: Sua Dua (pronounced soo-ah yeu-ah).  It’s a heavy round cake about four inches in diameter packed with coconut, magic, and in the middle?   Surprise!  A salted egg yolk.  Oooh man, I’m sad those are gone.

Creepy Crawlies

My apologies for the slight blog hiatus.  I’ve picked up more hours at school and have meant to update for days now.  Life here has become sweet in the way that you start to feel settled in a new environment.  My residence history has defined this feeling to be a danger zone for me, but I have not yet succumbed to the high I feel every time I plan for a move.  Da Nang is still showing me quite a bit of love and new experiences.  It’s truly another world living here.    

Language has to be the most difficult part of life in Vietnam.  My original intention of travel living in Indonesia was first spurred by their phonetic language being so easy to learn.  Vietnamese, a fast tonal string of one-syllable words, is incredibly hard to remember and understand.  I say this with a foreign ear, but I’ve also witnessed countless misinterpretations between fluent Vietnamese speakers.  It is hard to imagine learning a word, learning the correct pronunciation, saying the word, and being met with complete confusion.  Then someone else will say the word and the receiver magically understands.  Not to mention, the receiver will repeat the word and it will sound JUST like I said it!  I think possibly if I stayed here for multiple years, I might be able to converse freely with locals, but I would really need to invest some serious time in learning the language. 

Suoi Voi

Ouchie Everything

As it turns out, being sick while living abroad can be a bit distressing.  As a teacher of four years in the States, I have had my fair share of illnesses and built up quite an immunity, but there’s always room for more!

Waking up in a sweat with body aches, sore throat and a headache, my mind immediately raced back to recent water cooler chats about mosquito adventures in SE Asia.

“Holy crap I have Dengue Fever!”

Melodrama aside, Dengue is a very real possibility here and no, there are no vaccinations currently available.  The only proactive measure that can be taken is mosquito avoidance.

No Huế!

I believe it is safe to say we have officially entered the rainy season here in Da Nang.  Yesterday we woke up late because for the first time, the sun wasn't penetrating through every window.  Until now, we have had scattered showers in the evening and at night, but yesterday, it rained all.  Day.  Today the clouds look pretty doom-ish as well.  Nothing stops in Vietnam during the rainy season.  We are armed with ponchos, umbrellas and raincoats and they are used in that order.  If anything, the rain calms the traffic slightly and cools the air, so our season to come is bitter sweet.  I have to say I’m looking forward to feeling 65 degrees (F) at some point.

All I wanna do is Zoom A Zoom Zoom Zoom

Many personal triumphs were had this week. 

As we have begun to familiarize ourselves with the new living quarters, house guests who hadn’t previously introduced themselves have become quite comfortable doing so.  Our bathrooms (especially mine) have lately been a haven for the world’s most resilient super pest: cockroaches.  You would think that living in Chicago, I would've had my fair share of them, but I wasn't ever properly trained for roach combat.  The only pest that Chicago prepared me for were rats.  Although I don’t prefer to see rats running around everywhere, they don’t really bother me.

Pineapple and Dragon Fruit

Entrance to the Bodhisattva of Mercy

What a busy week!  I have a bit of a sporadic schedule with teaching, so it’s difficult to keep track of the days, but they whirl by anyway despite my constant efforts to slow them down.  I can’t believe I’ve been here for almost a month now, but many life components are thankfully getting settled.  I’m waiting for my “honeymooning” period with Da Nang to dissipate, but it is holding strong at the moment.  I’d say one of the only frustrating parts of living here is the immense red tape teachers have to slash through for work permits/visas/residency etc.  They don’t make it easy to start out, but I’m taking it one thing at a time, and hoping the paperwork and payments end soon.

So close, yet worlds away

Hoi An

One of the reasons I appreciate and love DaNang so much is the absence of tourism.  The “ugly tourist attitude” hasn’t totally tainted how these locals feel about seeing a westerner in their city, so there are many more smiles and gestures of warm acceptance than in other cities on the coastal circuit.  Seeing another westerner on a daily stroll in my neck of the woods is like seeing a two headed giraffe – it just doesn’t happen.  So it’s interesting how all of that will change 28km south in the bustling tourism hotspot of Hoi An. 

Week in Review

It feels like I have been in Da Nang for months after recounting the events that have taken place in the last seven days.  I am going to attempt posting once a week from here on out as I’m sure some aspects of life here will fall into new norms and there will be fewer sights and activities to recount.

I started teaching this week and although I was nervous to take over classes, I knew that after a class or two, my beloved teaching instincts would pop through and nerves would calm.  Teaching art previous to this job has definitely helped me relate and motivate.  The kids love watching me draw on the board as they dictate monster body parts and adjectives to describe images in their vocab studies.  I have had as much fun watching them draw about their interests and explain them to me.  Their intense competitive nature and natural good sportsmanship make our language games very enjoyable.  There was a funny moment yesterday with the teens - I wrote a letter on the board which they had to then connect with an animal, food, country, and past tense verb.  For the letter D, one student wrote “dog” under the animal column, and for the food column?  …“Dog.”

Whaaa?

Since there are many “whaaa?” moments in the first couple weeks living in a new country, I thought I would take a minute to describe some of my recent favorites.

Drinks

Coming from a girl who likes ice in her (skim) milk, having ice in my beer is like a dream come true.  Ordering beer in America is like a race between money, toxicity and temperature.  Personally, I don’t favor chugging beer because I like the taste, I don’t like spending tons of cash on booze, and I don’t want to get drunk too quickly.  Here, all of these things are solved with ice.  Not to mention, Tiger (Singapore) and Heineken (Netherlands) are the main beers served and they are a mere 14,000 and 19,000 dong respectively (.60 and .90 cents - Helloooo running schedule that I've been meaning to make happen.) 

In Da Nang

Views from the train.  Finally on the coast!

After my train companions departed in Hue, I had a few hours to enjoy the scenery and prepare for arrival into Da Nang. 

My hotel room is small, quaint, and adorned with essentials (and a tv).  The only stations in English are MTV, CNN, and National Geographic.  I’m grateful for two of those.  

My bathroom might come off as a tad strange to an unaccustomed American, but I love it.  As you can probably see in the picture, I have the biggest shower ever!   ….because its floor is composed of the entire room.  The sink, shower, and toilet are all under the same floor, which is awesome.  Talk about morning multi-tasking.

The Giant Hanoian Post

Since my stay in Hanoi was only three days long, I wanted to pack in as much as possible.  I have been learning the ways of Vietnam rather quickly which is good – fewer lessons learned the hard way.  I want to give no illusion of having it all together right from the get-go.  Every day I see things that are so unique from anything I’ve experienced, and to be sure that I improve my navigational skills, I walk to every destination in Hanoi – no taxis.   

In Transit

Let me first start off by saying that I have never had a more pleasant flight and airport experience.  Even with three security check points, a building change between flights and two attempts at putting my backpack in checked luggage (it was over 10 kilograms), I navigated through the international terminals of Ohare, LAX, Seoul’s Incheon and Hanoi’s Noi Bai airports with relative ease. 

Bi-Bim-Bab!

Also to note – up until this trip, Southwest Airlines had taken the cake in airline love, but my heart now belongs to another – swoon – Asiana Airlines was like royal treatment compared to any American flight experience I’ve ever had.  With a fleet of graceful attendants dressed in silk aprons and identical tight buns in their hair, my flying companions and I were treated to pillows and super soft blankets, individually screened blockbuster movies and games, two delicious full course meals, complimentary wine, coffee and tea, and numerous rounds of orange juice and water.  If you ever have the chance to choose this airline, I wouldn’t hesitate for a moment.

Room to Spare

My stepmom got me these rockin' tags

You know those super fun lessons that you have the good fortune of learning "the hard way"?  I've had plenty of those, and although I'm sure "the hard way" may make for a few good stories, when it comes to my stuff, I don't mess around.  I want all of my things on my person at all times, and this means that I will only be traveling with carry-on bags.  This mode of travel is way superior to checking luggage for so many reasons:

Nerves, Acceptance, and Goodbyes: the ChronicWHATcles of Vietnam

I have been seriously planning this move for nine months, and it's amazing what hasn't hit me until a week before departure.  I am moving to Vietnam.
The words sound much different than they feel.

So what's this blog all about, and who am I?  Thinking someone will read it...
Since blogging hit norm status, I haven't quite been in the loop on their purpose, but I've come to realize that a blog can comunicate a number of ideas, and relate differently to every reader.  over the past few months, I have definitely enjoyed reading a number of travel bloggers' posts which have given valuable advice and comical anecdotes of fortunes and missteps.  If, at the end, my mom is the only one reading my entries, I'll be ok with it.