Edited Address

The other address should work too, but this one might be better. I'm not sure what a ward is, and Q. is an abbreviating for Quan, which means district. And I wrote my full name because some of the administrators here call me Ina because it's on my paperwork.

Viet Nam American Training Center
C/O Ina Carolyn Jones
123- 125- 127 Binh Phu. Ward 11 District 6
Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam

We had our demo classes yesterday and we start teaching for real for real tomorrow morning bright and early. I taught adults at training and I just loved it. My class tomorrow morning will start with 10-12 year olds. And my next class is 4 year olds! AHHH!

Our pictures are always dry because we don't want to get the camera wet.

It has rained almost every day here in HCM City. It doesn’t seem to last too long, but when it rains, it pours. The first day we walked to school in it, we experienced one of those ‘out of a movie scene’ moments. You know what I’m talking… It was slow motion; I saw the puddle. I saw the truck. I didn’t have time to react, but I only cringed and yelled to Erica as the water sprayed over us. And it wasn’t as dramatic as the movies because we weren’t drenched, but it was still funny.

Here is Erica in her poncho. I though she looked so awesome (we know it's all about the looks) that i just had to have one. I am now the proud owner of a green poncho as of a few hours ago. We heard they were more expensive if you buy them while it’s raining; however it seems that on our street you can ONLY buy them on rainy days. Clever.

Here I am when we arrived to lunch today. Spirits are high still for the HCM team even soaking wet. Aaand when my linen pants dried off, they were wrinkle free!

The power was out the other day and it was business as usual everywhere- just as it is when it's raining cats and dogs. This power-outage was apparently known in advance (except to us foreigners), maybe issued by the government. I am personaly surprised our power has been otherwise very dependable, since all of the power lines look like this-->

Roof of An Phu

Here is Ho Chi Minh City from 20 floors up.

plastic chairs

We keep finding little shops with new people and new food that we love. I believe this was our first experience with pho (pronounced fuh) and it was delicious. It was fun too because the women that gave us food came out to laugh at us and show us how to eat it, what to put in it, what to mix and what to dip in where. It was a bit complicated. And there was a fish surprise at the bottom, so that was nice.

I don't know if you can tell from these pictures, but in most of the small shops where we eat, they have little plastic chairs or stools for us to sit. These were the smallest we've seen thus far and we couldn't seem to get our knees comfortably under them, but it was close. It's hit or miss with the knees.

5 Days ago

Early on day two in Vietnam, Erica and I were greeted at our apartment door by two employees of our school. They negotiated the price for our taxi and then sent us on our way for a forty minute drive across town to the school’s headquarters. When it was time to leave, I showed the taxi driver the address that I had copied off a bench outside of our apartment. Apparently the fact that it was engraved in concrete did not make it the actual address of our apartment, which became clear when our taxi driver dropped us off at a Toyota dealership in District 5 of Ho Chi Minh City (my mistake). However, being the optimists that we are, we were enthusiastic about this opportunity to explore a different part of town. We got out our map and walked for a while, accidently stumbling upon a great coffee shop with free internet.

That was a nice distraction and we spent a couple of hours emailing, talking, and drinking coffee and some watery tea drink that they kept refilling. I scanned the map, looking for any road or landmark that might help to determine what district we lived in, to no avail. At this point we know exactly where we are, but have no idea where we live. We discussed our options and decided to venture down the street some more. We called our administrator’s assistant who gave us again the address of the Toyota dealership. Next we called our administrator who said that he would text us our address and then never did. It soon occurred to us that Erica had blisters, I was sweating through my clothing, and we were hungry, cranky and slightly less enthusiastic about seeing new parts of Vietnam’s largest city, population 7, 123, 340.

We decided that we needed to say a few words to our Father and we stopped to do that. Our next course of action was to try to get a taxi to one of the addresses on the business cards we were given. We only saw motorbike taxis and the drivers were eager to take us anywhere. I showed them the address and we put on the helmets. We held hands and said another few quick words to Father and jumped on the back of the motorbikes and headed off into the unknown.

It took about fifteen feet of driving into incoming traffic and darting over into the other lane before Erica and I both decided that this was our new favorite thing to do. Our drivers drove next to each other for a while and then hers sped away. I recognized the bridge we rode over to get into our district and I felt such relief. Thankfulness. Joy.

It gave us such strength to face our first battle and to get through it together. The solution appeared only minutes after we called out for help. I wanted to write the story down so we can remember it later when we get lost or frustrated or scared.

Ps. the other day we were so excited about having fish for dinner. We got all the way home with it before we bit into it and realized that it was fried banana. We have learned how to ask, "What is this?" but it is a silly question when we can't actually understand any answers to that question.

I will not be updating this frequently, but we came for coffee and still have time before the Int'l Fellowship. Here's a picture from yesterday.



We were told that there is "group think" here, where they see us as being one group instead of two individuals. We haven't done must to dispell that since we have done everything and gone everywhere together. And I haven't minded yet either. We have noticed that they seem to do orders the same way. For example, when Erica orders a drink and then I order a different drink, that changes the drink order and they bring out two of what I ordered. That's hard to communicate with pointing and smiling.
Fortunatelyy Erica is a good sport, though it usually turns out better when she orders.


Here is the smoggy sunset from our apartment

Expect More Metaphors to Come

I thought I was being so clever with my title, but there has been some confusion. Since many of you are reading this in a different time zone, I thought it appropriate that you hear about my day before that day even happens for you.... Does that make sense? Please feel free to comment on my cleverness.



Just an update on my status. We are still sitting in the same cafe and Erica is reading and I am typing. We have finished the coconut milk and are now scraping the coconut from inside the shell with a spoon. It comes off so easily and is so tastey. Today we found a market near our apartment and we bought some dragon fruit and some other thing that I love and Erica hasn't made up her mind about yet. There was also so much seafood that we hope to check out later. Fish off the street for dinner tonight!






We are struggling a bit with learning Vietnamese. It's hard to write down the words in a way that helps me remember how to pronounce the words. There are 6 tones, so one sound can be pronounced 6 different ways and have 6 different meanings. One of the tones makes the word sound like a question. And since I am usually unsure that I am saying the right word, i say it with a question inflection, which changes the word. Frustrating.

Here I am assembling our water filter with Vietnamese directions. Thankfully, there were pictures.

So far, I haven't had food here that I haven't loved. Here is the food at a stand where we had breakfast the other day:
















Also, in case there was any question, we are having the adventure of a lifetime. I expect there to be hard times, bad times, maybe times when I'll need to come back and read this post, but for now, everything is exciting (especially motorbikes and street food). It helps that my roomate is fantastic (more on that later). We've been frustrated, confused, lost, hungry, scared, bored, very very sweaty, just about everything, but we feel very cared for and protected(and thankful that so many of you are lifting us up).


And crossing the street in HCM City has tested that faith but has also increased it so much more. Motorbikes and cars do not stop when pedestians cross. We were told, but didn't learn until we experienced it firsthand, that when you walk across the street you mustn't falter. If you keep your pace and continue walking, the motorbikes will avoid you, but if you stop or speed up, there's a greater chance that they'll hit you (Don't worry Mom, I'm being safe). It is SO HARD to keep walking when there are vehicles in every direction that look like they'll hit you. It also helps that I have Erica with me and that we can encourage each other. Do you see where I'm going with this metaphor?

We make babies cry

View from our 6th floor apartment during a rain storm.

Today is day four in Ho Chi Minh City and I have neglected this blog because I don’t have any pictures (and because I am a perfectionist when it comes to writing and if I’m not satisfied, then I start over). I have remedied one of those situations.

Erica and I have had coffee in Vietnam every day. It is served over ice and has varied in strength and price at each location. This morning, I think I could have poured the grinds in my mouth and swished them around and it might have tasted about the same. We really like going to the little shops to meet different people and to find that one special place so we can be “regulars.” We have frequented a street stand for dinner and now when we walk by, we recognize them and wave. They recognize us too, but that’s not too hard since we are the only blonde people that walk by. Many kids that see us, whisper to their friends and giggle. Some yell, “Hello!” Others stare, point, smile, offer us a ride on their motorbike, or try to sell us lottery tickets. We’re already used to the attention and sometimes we bask in it as young girls will tell us that we are beautiful. Of course, we keep our self-esteems in check by appearing around babies, who see us and immediately start to cry.

And they aren't crying because of our masks. Everyone wears them here. I can't decide if I think people wear them becausse of the pollution or because of illness. Our temperature is checked before we step foot into our school. If we or the kids have a fever, we can't go to school. Even the flight attendents on the way over were wearing them.

Our school is only a short walk from our apartment--which has also surpassed our expectations. Everything in it is brand new. Though one day we came in to find that our table had disappeared, and the following day a delivery man showed up with a new table and a bill for 1,500,000 vnd. After 20 minutes with the delivery man and a dictionary and Erica and I giving each other looks saying, "What?! Do we really have to pay??!" our landlord showed up to pay him. It turns out that everything in our apartment is borrowed and as we pay each month, she will buy her own stuff and slowly trade it out.

Al we have observed several classes so far and I think we start teaching on Wednesday of next week. The people at the school have been very helpful getting us settled, helping us buy minutes for our phone, etc. My favorite thing so far is riding motorbike taxis. They are indescribable. Our plan is to take a video of it one day, though I'm pretty sure it wouldn't capture it completely. Even now, i'm at a loss for words. It's so exciting.

Here is Erica today trying on helmets. Her head is small and the children's helmts fit her the best. I wanted her to buy this lady-bug helmet, but she didn't. She did get a pink panda bear helmet though and that was a close second place.

We are actually sitting in a cafe now that has free wifi and we are sipping on coconut milk with a straw after a day of exploring. Two fans are pointed straight at us and there is bamboo growing all around us. Want to come visit yet?

Meet Team Vietnam

There are teams of teachers here going to Hungary, Czech Republic, Russia, Slovakia, Kazakstan, and Vietnam. Let me introduce you to the Vietnam team.

We shall start with Susan. A one-year alum in Danang, VN, she is a paramedic turned English teacher who frequently recounts to us the times in her life when she almost died. I can't remember how many times she has broken her neck and back. She is sarcastic and enjoys breaking the rules. Consequently, I really like her.

Next we have Dawn. She has lived in Danang for three years and she is now the Regional Director. Her love language is words of affirmation. From knowing her for a month, and even longer if you count facebook, she seems to be a pretty up-front person. Her reaction is right out there for everyone to see and I appreciate that. She is obsessed with Dr. Pepper.

This is Brittany. She is our resident Texan. Her diploma is larger than everyone else's (those Texans have to make everything bigger). She was on the worship team here at training. Represent Vietnam. Made us all proud. She has an incredible memory for all things, but especially song lyrics and anything comedy. She is a quiet spirit. A journaler.

Here is Barbara. She isn't what you would expect from someone her age (no offense to her or anyone 'her age'). She is open to new things and will spike her hair with gel and look crazy with the least amount of persuasion. She likes loud worship music. She has been one of my roommates for this month and is going to live in Danang.

Steph and I became friends through facebook immediately and I wasn't sure if we would be such fast friends in person, but we were. She is hilarious. Hailing from New York City, her accent is fantastic, as is her personality. She sings in the shower and often throughout the day. I love her voice and listening to her dad when he calls. She pushed me all the way uphill to campus in the Barbie corvette that we found.

Nikki is from Oklahoma and proud of it. I am borrowing some country music from her as we speak. She also roomed with Barbara and me, and because she was the last one of us to arrive, we gave her the middle bed with the sheets that were just a tad too small for the mattress. Sorry Nikki. She is an old roommate of Dawn's from college and has a history as a youth leader and I haven't asked, but she MUST have a history of working on a ropes course or being a camp counselor.

Kristen is beautiful. That was my first impression. But it turns out she has a great personality too (a potentially irritating combination). She has a great sense of humor and I'm not just saying that because she laughs at me... She is from Michigan, so obviously we're friends. Also, she's a vegetarian and has great teeth--not that those are related--I just thought them both worth mentioning.

Lance is the lone man on team Vietnam. Also a vegetarian, he is married to Kristen and they will be in Danang. I confessed that I wasn't excited that there was a married couple and secretly did not want to be on a team with them because I didn't want to feel like the third wheel. I could not have been more wrong about them. Now I wish that we were goign to be closer to their city! They are fantastic to hang out with.

Liz is a returning teacher. She is extremely tall and has a unique but hilarious sense of humor. She taught for a year in Vinh, VN last year and she and her roommate lived in a house with one wall that was almost entirely gone except for bars. Their bathroom only worked for half of the year and when they showered, they had to squeegee the water down the drain in their room. She'll be in Danang this year too.

And last but not least: Erica. Meet my roommate. I do love her. We are both nervous because everything is going so smoothly right now and we don't want to mess that up. Knowing that I am going to be living with her in HCMC and that she is easy to talk to and committed to being here, and adament about praying together, makes me all the more excited to go. Yesterday she said that she wanted bangs, so we stopped into a hair salon and she sat in a chair and got them cut just like that. Unbeknownst to each other, we both packed our knitting needles and we both make Brian Regen references throughout the day.

I feel like I wrote increasingly more about each person so maybe the first few people got cheated out of a more wordy paragraph. I'll try to make it up to them later.

Xin Chao

ESI Teachers 2009

Today is the beginning of the fourth and last week at training here in Pasadena, CA. I just spent 45 minutes trying to come up with a creative name, so I'm out of time for writing an actual blog. I'll update soon.