Update and Upcoming PNW Posts

I'm going to be taking at trip tot eh Pacific North West in a few days with the family, so be on the look out for updates on that in the next few days! I am going to try to update more often and revive this blog (we've all seen how that goes, lol). After the trip, I'll also add some pictures to my Vietnam posts since I was so busy trying to get those posted that I just went a head and got them out without attaching any pictures to them (plus still need to get them off my phone).

Thanks to all of you who've bared with me so far!

Life Back Home

   I have been back for about a little more than two months now and its been interesting adjusting back. When I first moved back home after my time in Korea, I had a pretty hard time adjusting back to life in the US, living with my family again, and just dealing with being in a limbo of undecided, joblessness with no real direction before I decided to go to Vietnam.

There was a grace period, a "honeymoon phase" if you will, of about 2 months where things were great! I was enjoying being back home and getting to see my family and eat all the food that I was not able to have while I was abroad (or have for cheap abroad). It was good while it lasted, but then by month 3, the glamour started fading away and I was feeling annoyed and put off with my surroundings. Things that, a few months earlier, I found comforting and entertaining, I was finding to be obnoxious; cars were unnecessarily big, food out in restaurants  grossly overpriced, people back home were coming across so closed minded and selfish. I was finding it harder and harder to be excited and happy about being home. Luckily, it was around this 3 month mark that I decided to move to Vietnam a month later, so my last month in the US consisted of me excitedly (and a little nervously) getting ready to move abroad again.

   This time around, things have not been as emotional and "honeymoon-esque". I really did not do what I had originally planned to do while I was in Vietnam, so did not have as much money coming home as I did when I came back from South Korea. This meant that I needed to find a job while I was home to start earning a wage to pay off student loans and credit card debt. Last time I came home, I basically was unemployed for 4 months, but not this time. It has only been about 6 weeks since I have been back home and I was able to get find a job to help pass the time while I am looking for more permanent work and figure out if I want to head back out in the world or try working domestically for once in my life.

   I am living with my parents right now and that is working out well since I don't have to worry about rent or a car, since they let me drive their extra car when I need it, plus I don't have to pay for food. I don't have to worry about insurance until next year because I am still allowed on my parent's insurance through this year.  Basically, I really have the chance to save money and not have to worry about any expenses until I need to get gas for until 2020! In an ideal world, I would not be spending money at all, but I am not going to lie to you all and myself by saying that. But it is a good chance to bulk up my nest egg some more before I do anything.

But in terms of reverse culture shock, there has no really been anything noteworthy about being back. I think a large part of that is that I am working 40 hours a week while also looking for another job. Basically, unlike last time, I don't really have the free time that I did before when I came back from Korea to really process and notice the changes. Rather I am just working and taking things in stride and not really focusing on anything that does not revolve around my job or looking for my next adventure. I'm sure that something will come up in the near future, but so far my transition back into life here at home has been pretty smooth. My only worry seems to be about saving up enough money to move out again and hearing back form job recruiters.

   

Life in Hanoi

Around the 6 month mark of my time in Vietnam, I was transferred by my company to Hanoi. I was to replace an outgoing Faculty Manager who was coming to the end of his contract. He, like myself, was a manager that they brought over from Korea and the Branch Manger in Hanoi wanted to get another "Korean Manager" again for his branch. As as it turned out, I was the only person from the pool of Korean managers that they had recruited to still be in a Faculty Manger position (all the others had left or were promoted and transferred to higher management positions in the company). 

I was very excited about this move since I was no longer enjoying my placement in Hai Phong (long story) and had really enjoyed the few times where I had visited Hanoi and seen how metropolitan it was in comparison!

Hanoi has a huge expat community. Because of this, there are pockets of the city where you can get by with using English, apps where you can have any kind of food you can imagine delivered to your house, so many familiar food chains for when you are feeling homesick, and my favorite thing was the growing movement for sustainability and the environment. While this movement was mainly centered around the expat neighborhoods, it was really nice to see the community coming together to fight back with the high levels of plastic use and pollution that comes from the high carbon emissions let off by the cars, motorbikes, and older buses that are used 24-7! Packaging was given in paper containers, you were given the option of foregoing plastic utensils and straws, and even the deliveries themselves were given in paper bags, not the single use plastic bags that are so common.

I really lucked out with having friends in Hanoi that were more than willing to help me out with every part of the move. I was able to have my Hai Phong landlady call me a taxi that took me all the way to my friend's how that I would be staying at while I was in Hanoi looking for a one bedroom apartment to rent out. I knew that I wanted a one bedroom apartment, because while it is a lot cheaper to rent a room in a share house, I have lived on my own for so long that I am not sure how I would have done with a roommate (I also did not want to risk the chance that I would live with someone from my company, let alone my branch so I would not have to deal with any office drama like I did when I was in Hai Phong). But a small part of me wanted to splurge a bit and treat myself after my time in Hai Phong and being a homebody who needs a comfy space to recharge, spending a bit more on a nicer apartment was just what I needed.

The friend that I was staying with was kind enough to give my the name and contact for her realtor, a very friendly girl who spoke practically fluent English (and who was also a kpop fan, so we really bonded and became fast friends over that- ngl I probably got a little better than normal service because of that!!). I had talked to her before my move while I was still in Hai Phong about what I was looking for and we had narrowed it down to about 4 apartments that I wanted to look at before signing.

I asked my friend to come a long with me since she lived in the area that I wanted to live in and also could tell me what to look out for (construction nearby, layout, security, shopping nearby, etc.) in terms of what was normal and what was sketchy for Hanoi neighborhoods, especially in Tay Ho- the main expat neighborhood that I was going to live in.

If you are not that familiar with the layout of Hanoi, Tay Ho is in the northern part of the city near a major lake, so you will also hear it referred to as West Lake ("Tay" is the Vietnamese word for West/Foreigner and "Ho"comes from the Chinese word for Lake). This is where majority of the expat community lives in Hanoi; while majority of the tourists go to the Old Quarter- very big difference between the two places! Old Quarter is like a lawless, chaotic fever dream with all its winding streets, vendors, rushing traffic, tourist spots, and 24 hr bars/restaurants. Tay Ho is more calm, relaxed, and residential, being home to mainly apartments and smaller boutiques and family restaurants. You party in Old Quarter, you live in Tay Ho.

Once I got an apartment in Southern Tay Ho, in a pretty Vietnamese part of the expat quarter, I settled into a pretty simple and comfortable routine. I slept in until about 9-10 most days, then hung out at the house before calling a Grab Bike (similar to Uber here in the US, but with a motorcycle) to go to work around 2:30-3 pm.  Once at work, I usually got coffee and then did admin and answered emails and messages until my teachers started showing up at 4:45-5:15 pm, when I switched over to helping them get prepped for classes. I really enjoyed hanging out with them in the workroom hearing about their days and what was going on in their worlds! When classes started at 5:30, I would go back to my spot by the front desk and watch CCTV and hang out with the Teaching Assistants (we called them CM-Class Managers). Classes lasted until 8:45, but I usually got a bike home around 7:30. From there I tended to order food for dinner (and a little extra for breakfast/lunch for the following day), or if it was getting towards the end of the month/I had not sent money home yet (I paid for things with my US PayPal account) I would make food with groceries that I got from a small grocer that was just down the street. Lather, Rinse, and Repeat!

Hanoi is known for being an extremely chaotic place to be with motorbike speeding and zipping their way around the city, street vendors and hawkers trying to catch the eyes if pedestrians, people needing to walk in the street because the hundreds of motorbikes parked on the sidewalks. But somehow, I was able to carve a little bubble of peace and calm while living there.

My only regret was not getting out and exploring more of the smaller streets and more residential areas of the city. As I said before, I tended to mostly stick to the areas near my home and work, and never really went out or explored that much. I feel like I may have missed out on a lot that makes Hanoi such a special place, but maybe one day I can go back.

Northern Vietnamese Weddings, My Observations

   While I was in Vietnam, I had the honor of attending three different weddings. Two of them were for staff members at my centers and one was for a teacher that I managed when I moved to Hanoi. Each weeding was so unique and special, but I found it interesting how similar and different they were from wedding back home and even the weddings  that I added while I was living in Korea!

   I guess the best place is to start at the beginning and talk about the first wedding that I attended. I was still living in Hai Phong at the time and  was invited to come to the wedding of a staff member that I was close with at one of my centers that I was managing at. She and her fiance were going to be married at the giant wedding all across the street from the English Center, so we all planned on taking an extended lunch break to go watch the ceremonies. 

A few days before the wedding we were invited to go to her parent's house to watch the engagement ceremony where the groom would show up with his groomsmen and gift her family with traditional platters that were piled high with coffee, cigarettes, fruit, sweets, and meat. We were going to joining in on the bridge's side of the family and have tea while we waited for the pageantry. I later found out that we were given seats of honor since we were told to sit inside the house and were closest to the immediate family during the tea hours. The bridesmaids acted as waitresses and made sure that we all were never without a full cup of hot tea. But the most interesting thing that I learned was that my co-worker really did not know any of the bridesmaids and the groom did not really know the groomsmen; apparently you are able to rent out a set number of people to work as your wedding party for you, they even come with their own matching formal wear that they can wear while doing their traditional roles, so while you can have members of your family or friends be your wedding aids, most people rent out the wedding party. Its was a bit of a squeeze though since my co-worker's parents lived on a pretty busy market street, so when the groom arrived in his car and the groomsmen came in their van to present the goods, the street had to somewhat shut down, but as like most streets in Vietnam, that just meant that the motorbikes had to get creative about maneuvering around the festivities. 

A few weeks later we were going to the wedding hall for the quick lunch time wedding before we all had to go back into work. The wedding hall was on the top floor of the shopping complex and was filled with big round circular tables that seated about 10 people or so. All of us foreign teachers were sat together near the front and for the most part were left on our own. As soon as we all were seated, the waiting staff started bringing out food and drinks for us to have. All in all there were about 8 courses or so that we were given (seafood, chicken, rice dishes, soups, steamed veggies, also fruit) to eat while my co-worker and her fiance were going through the wedding on a stage in the front of the room. They walked in and then were taken to a back room where they were signing official papers and doing the official part of the wedding. While they were gone, there was an MC that would sing and introduce other singers and dancers that would take turns entertaining us until the bride and groom came back out to pour champagne into a gigantic flute sculpture while we all toasted them. By the time that they were finished with the toasting, we were getting out last few lunch courses and the bridge and groom had starting going around to all the tables individually with their parents to talk a drink/ shot with the members of each table they visited. 

Our work group (teachers, sales team members, etc.)  was one of the last ones to leave (even thought we had only been there about an hour), so we gathered everyone from all the tables that we had been sat at to gather on the stage so that we could take a large group picture before we all headed into work again. 

On the way out, everyone left a money donation in an envelope to the newlyweds. Giving money as a gift at a wedding is not something new for me, as it is something that is frequently done in Korean weddings as well. Everyone gives money as a gift and the amount of money that you give differs depending on what your relation is to the bride and groom and what your social hierarchy is (your job title, social status, etc.). I can't remember the denominations off the top of my head, but if you ever go to a Vietnamese wedding where they give money gifts, ask around and someone can give you a ball park range that you would fall in!

~*~*~ 

The second wedding that I went to was for my Branch Manager for the center that I managed at when I moved to Hanoi. He was going to be getting married out in his home village that was about an hour outside of Hanoi. Because he was the Branch Manager, practically everyone at the center was going to be in attendance (only a few teachers could make it though). We met at the center at 8 am, which was one of the reasons that quite a few of the teachers did not attend (as after school ESL teachers, it is a rare day that we are out of bed by 10 am), and then jumped on a few rented buses to drive out to the village. 

Once we got there, we walked down an alleyway to get to his parent's how for tea and then down a ways to eat lunch in the space that was set up for the speeches and festivities that would happen later. The food was much the same as the previous wedding that I attended in Hai Phong, but this time we were eating and drinking with only the groom's side of the family, since the bride was holding court over at her parent's house on the other side of the village. 

After the lunch, we had about an hour and a half to kill before we all had to get back on the bus to accompany our boss to go collect his bride and bring her back tot he wedding area to finish the rest of the ceremonies and speeches. Since the village was pretty small and there was not much to do really, we all found the only open coffee shop that doubled as a karaoke place. Most of the staff split themselves up and went to the two largest karaoke rooms since they were air-conditioned- one room was for people who wanted to sleep/nap and the other was for people who wanted to sing. The other teachers and I mostly hung out front in the cafe section of the place and ordered coffee to keep us awake (we were tired from waking up hours earlier than we were used to, but also because we has about 4 hours of teaching/managing after this). It was a good thing that we ended up in the cafe when we did since it started pouring outside (a very brief summer rain shower that was gone about 30 minutes later). 

When time was up and when the rain went away, we all wandered back to the buses and started our perilous drive across the village to go collect the bride! I say perilous since the bus was almost the same width as the streets we were driving on, especially when we had to turn and go around corners! I could have stuck my hand out the window and touched buildings we were so close! But we made it all in one piece and made out way to the house where the bride's parents were setting up their tea reception. The foreigners were seated up near the front of the make shift stage that they had set up and we were right next to the speaker, so had perfect seats to hear the karaoke and speeches that were going on. We had our tea and listened to the speeches (not really sure what they were about since they were in Vietnamese and I was not sitting next to an English speaking member of staff.

Once all the pageantry was finished, we all processed in mass back to the cars and buses to head back to the main wedding spot by my branch manager's parent's house. the bridge and groom stopped  by the car that had been brought for them to take some really cute wedding photos, so those of us who were in the back of the procession stopped and watched them do their quick little photo shoot before we hopped on the buses.

Back at the main reception all (the same place that we had our lunch earlier) we were all told to find a table to sit down at. While we were waiting on the bride, groom, and their families to arrive we were entertained by a club DJ that went heavy on the EDM music (think eastern European EDM clubs in the early 2000s). Two of my teachers who came along for the wedding- 2 young Irish guys- ended up leading the dancing with a group of Vietnamese guys and older male relatives that were also in the crowd! Not going to lie, i was fun to see everyone dancing like it was midnight at a club, not 2 pm on a weekday.

When the wedding party and their families arrived, they all processed in to the EDM music and then the fathers gave speeches and took shots together. Then the bridge and groom poured champagne into an arrangement of champagne flutes that had dry ice added to them. After that, those of us from the branch had to leave since we needed to get back to open the center and to get ready for the classes that were going to happen later that evening. We all gathered around and took a group picture with the bride and groom and then made our way back to the buses that were going to take us back to Hanoi. It was a pretty close call, but we made it with 30 minutes to spare before classes started and I (thankfully) had the foresight to message the teachers who did not go to the wedding to see if they could do the printing and class prep for the teachers that were on the bus with me.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The final wedding that I had the honor of being invited to was the wedding of one of my Hanoi teachers to his Vietnamese girlfriend. Setting and ceremony layout was very similar to the first wedding that I had visited (the one in Hai Phong) in that it is in a large wedding all that is a central meeting place for both families, rather than the weeding traveling between two households. While I was not privy to the groom going to the wife's home with his guifts, apparently my teacher had his friends at the other centers be his groomsmen rather than hiring a group of random guys to help him out.

The entertainment was a bit different this time around compared to the other weddings in that the DJ was a bit light on the EDM/club music. Rather, the MC went around singing karaoke quite passionately (and actually really well) and also had some hired dancers to come up and entertain us while the couple were making their rounds to all the tables. All in all it was a pretty energetic and fun wedding, just like the couple!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

From what I have seen of Northern Vietnamese weddings, they are more of a celebration and a party of two families becoming one- of the groom's family gaining a new member in the bride. While weddings back home are religion heavy and tend to be more formal affairs, the weddings that I attended were very much celebrations were you as a gust are expected to eat, drink, and be merry in a laid back venue, all the religious and official ceremony is done behind closed doors between the immediate families, not their guests.

Tet Holiday pt. 1: Phu Quoc

Lunar New Year. It is during this time that most of the world celebrates the coming of spring based on the Lunar calendar. For Vietnam, it is called Tết Nguyên Đán or just Tết for short. Tết is considered one of the most important holidays in Vietnam, so of course, my company gave us almost two full weeks off so we could celebrate! 

So because this was going to be the only time I would be getting this much time off until Christmas holiday, and because the day directly after my birthday was the start of our two weeks, I really wanted to do something fun! When I first heard about the holiday I was thinking of just staying in Hai Phong to see how the Vietnamese celebrated, but once I got to training I was told that everything shuts down and people leave the major cities to go to their ancestral hometowns (much like they do in Korea), so there would be nothing open and no point in staying at home. Majority of the teachers were going to be leaving the country, so I had contemplated going to Korea for the holiday since many of the other former Korea teachers were going to be there. But since the Winter Olympics were going on and I did not pack any of my winter clothes (since the coldest it gets here in Vietnam is Korean Fall weather) I quickly thought better of it. It is one thing to freeze in one of your favorite cities because you don't have a heavy enough jacket, but it is a whole nother story to freeze to death in your favorite city when it is overrun with tourists and prices are raised since there is a global event happening just outside the city limits! Plus I felt I would be letting myself down if I did something that I had already done before. So it was back tot he drawing board! Hong Kong was an idea, since the last time I was there I only stayed for 3 days and did not really get to do many touristy things, but after checking in with my friend there and learning of her LNY plans, I thought better of it and did not want to intrude on her already made plans. 

I started to ask around with the teachers at my centers and one of the teachers that I have gotten really close to suggested that I go to Phu Quoc Island. She and her Boyfriend were going to be there for a few days and suggested that we should hang out (they ended up not being able to make it last minute, but that is another story), so after googling some pictures of the island, and convincing a friend from training (J) and another co-worker I knew from Korea (E), I made up my mind and bought the tickets and booked the Airbnb!

Map of the Island

Phu Quoc Location in Vietnam

Day 1

I took the bus to Hanoi to meet up with my friend before we both went to the airport to catch our flights down to the island. Not really much to report since all airports are similar and unless there is something really unique about them, I don't really remember them too much. But one thing that I did remember was that as soon as we stepped off the plane, we were hit with a humid heat wave! Up in Northern Vietnam, it was still pretty nippy to the point that we had on long sleeves and jackets, but as soon as we got to Phu Quoc, we quickly learned that that was not going to be the case on the island for the next few days! The weather was so hot and the sun was shining so bright every day that even thinking of my jacket was going to give me heat stroke. But it was the weather you would want to have when you go on a tropical beach vacation!

Off we go!

Since it was late at night, we grabbed a cab from the airport and had it take us to the entrance of the small side street our Airbnb was located down. Even though it was hot and pitch black, walking down the little dirt road was fun since all the small cafes and hostels along the road had little market lights and music playing despite the latish hour (around 9 pm). I was texting my friend from Seoul (E) who I had talked into coming to the island for a few days as well. He is working in the same company as I am but is based in Ho Chi Min City, so the quick 30 minutes flight was nothing to him. He had arrived at the island earlier in the day and had spent the day relaxing on the beach with a friend of his (M) from training and another teacher from our company (N). They were all at a restaurant dinking and invited J and me to join in for dinner. 

Anyway, J and I dropped off our bags in our room and walked out to the main road to flag a taxi to take us to the hotel bar/restaurant that E, M, and N were at called The Sunset Beach Bar. The food there was actually really good for bar food, like steak and potatoes, luxury burgers, and sushi grade fish good! After dinner, M, N, and I bonded over drinks and got to know each other, while the guys (E and J) ordered balloons and chilled. For those of you who don't know, balloons are a bar staple here in Vietnam. Essentially you can order a huge balloon filled with laughing gas -- yes the same stuff that they use to put you under at the dentist office-- that you can use to inhale in order to give you a "high" for a few seconds. There is a bar at the other end of my street back here in Hai Phong that offers them as well, so they are pretty easily found across the country. (side note, I did try a hit from one of my friend's balloon and also one from E&J, but both time I felt nothing and ended up with a headache later on in the night, so I personally don't do the balloons here). 

We ended up staying in our private cabana on the beach for a good long while and made plans for the following day until the bar closed around 1/2 am. E, J, and I shared a cab back to our area of the island since our lodgings were near each other, just on opposite sides of the main road. M and N were staying farther out the night before they were moving to another hotel that was closer to the main city on the island early the next day. But we all promised to meet up at the southernmost port, An Thoi, the next day to charter a boat to take us out to the smaller islands so we could go snorkeling. 

I found it funny that they bar still had its Christmas decorations up

Day 2

E, J, and I met up for a quick brunch and coffee at a cafe that was along the main road that separated our hotels before hailing a cab to take us down to An Thoi. The drive down was not too bad and was actually pretty cool seeing all the trees and little houses dotted along the highway. The town of An Thoi was small nut bustling. Once there though, I quickly realized that this was the more Vietnamese side of the island and the farther north you go up the island, the more touristy you got. Down here was where the locals lived and you could definitely tell by the lack of flashy signs, lack of English, and just the general vibe of the city (also the fact that most of the roads were a little rough and not paved in some places). When we got to the port, there was a lady that was trying to charge us an entrance fee to just walk through the gate to get to the boats. She was not charging the Vietnamese people who were walking in or driving past the gates on their motorbikes, so we knew she was just trying to get money from the tourists. We expressed as much and politely argued a bit before a boat captain of one of the speedboats came over and told the lady to stop. She did and he brought us into the port while showing us a brochure for his company and telling us what his chartering plan included. It was going to be about 4-5 million VND for a private speedboat for the whole day ( or roughly 40 USD per person), a little expensive normally but the captain and the first mate would take us to any of the islands that we wanted, would take us snorkeling, fishing, swimming, and to a lunch spot and we could decide how long we wanted to stay at each spot and would have until sunset to essentially have free reign of the boat and go where ever we wanted, plus a whole case of ice water was included! Also because it was Tet (Lunar New Year) they were asking a bit more since they were technically working on a holiday and not at home with their families. 

Our captain was an older gentleman who did not really speak (I don't think he knew any English), but out first mate was a younger 20 something guy named Kang. Kang was actually pretty good at English, at least he knew enough to have a basic conversation with us. The first thing we did was go snorkeling at one of the farther islands away from all the huge junk boat that other tourists had chartered for the day. One major difference between having a private speedboat verses being on the junk boats was while our boat was more expensive, we could choose when and where we wanted to go, it was only our group on the boat, and we had the who day on the boat, while the Junks were only about a 3 hour experience and you did not have that much choice of where you and the other 100 or so people went. 

Leaving the marina

Kang helping us off the boat

When we got to the snorkeling island, we pulled into the bay and Kang and our captain got out the snorkeling gear. It was pretty shallow, so we mostly floated on the top of the water and propelled ourselves around using our hands. It was not Great Barrier Reef, but the water was clear and a deep turquoise blue and the fish were sparse but friendly and inquisitive so it was easy to get close to them and follow them around. Also, I just got to say that I love that our current technology allows us to take professional quality pictures on cell phones and that cellphones today are able to get wet and go underwater. We had so many fun photo shoots and took so many fun pictures climbing on the rocks in the bay and in the water.

After about an hour or so, we attempted to go fishing for lunch, but since it was the middle of the day there was not much big fish out and they were just not taking the bait. So after about 30 minutes of just floating on the other side of the island away from all the boats, we asked Kang and the captain to take us to the island lunch spot they told us about since we were all pretty hungry. Turns out the island that they took us to was a private island for their company (at least we think so) that a few of the captains lived on with their families. There were a few huts and shelters dotted along the beachfront where we pulled up and a few more groups that were also with the company relaxing on the hammocks and picnic benches that were placed around the beach. It was pretty cool to see a few of the European children that were there running around kicking a soccer ball with the Vietnamese children who were on the island. There were also so many chickens and puppies running around. But despite the chaos, the vibe of the island was really chill and laid back.

Kang brought us to an empty picnic table and we ordered off the menu that was stapled to one of the roof posts that was nearby. Mostly stir-fried noodles and rice with either just veggies or seafood. There were also local fishermen in the bay who would take you out to their boat to pick out fresh seafood they had just caught. E went out to their boat to see what they had and to pick something out for us if he thought it was going to be a good deal. The boat that they used to take him and Kang (our translator for the day) out to the fishing boat was pretty unique, to say the least. It literally looked like a mattress on top of truck tires and plastic flotations, but it got the job done. E was out there for a good, long time but came back empty-handed, He said that there was a lot of interesting fish on the boat, but the price that the fishermen were asking was way too expensive and they were not willing to negotiate a lower price. So, we ended up ordering off the menu that we had been originally guided to order from. The food took a bit to come out and they got our orders a bit mixed up and I ended up with the seafood rice when I had ordered the veggie rice. Now I am not a huge seafood fan, but let me tell you that that was probably the freshest and best seafood fried rice that I had ever eaten! 

While we were having our lunch, all the captains were hanging out nearby and were gambling with all the Tet money that they had earned over the past few days. it was an interesting type of gambling game, called Bau Cua Tom Ca. The game is played with each player placing money on a mat that has a picture of a gourd, a rooster, a crab, a fish, a shrimp, or a deer (each player places money on the pictures that they think will be picked) and a dealer has three dice that have a picture that matches the mat on each face. The dealer places the dice under a bowl and shuffles the dice and then reveals the shuffled dice to the players. The players who bets were placed on pictures that match the dices' faces get all the money that was placed on the mat. Our captain had joined in, but was not very good, while Kang stood off to the side watching while eating a bowl of food that one of the ladies in the kitchen had brought him. The gambling went on for a while (our boat crew mostly just sat around an watched after the first round or so of money exchange) and after we finished digesting we just sat around and took in everything there was to see on the island. Kang noticed us wandering around so suggested that we move onto the next island to relax and swim. It was getting pretty late in the day so we agreed that his idea sounded pretty nice.

The island he had in mind was actually the last one that we ended up going to, but it was really nice since for the whole time we were there we were pretty much the only ones on the whole island. There were a few locals there (two girls and a little boy, but they seemed to be friends with Kang because he ended up talking and playing in the sand with them after a while. E and J did not want to lay out and take pictures like us girls and swam out to a floating bar that was a little bit out from the shore. Getting tired of laying out and slightly afraid that I was going to burn since I have not been to the beach in a few years, I started to explore the immediate area and convinced M to take some artsy Instagram pictures of me with the palm trees and rocks in the background. There was also a pretty cool ruined house (well more like house foundation) that was just past the sand line on the beach that our captain was napping in. Kang also eventually also took a nap, but he had found a tree limb to pass out in. All in all the whole vibe of the island was chilled out relaxation.  We stayed there until the sun started setting and then it was time to go.

Thinking back this probably was one of the top highlights from the whole trip and made me remember just how much I love boats and the ocean even though I don't go visit them as much as I would like. 

When we got back to the main tourist area near our hotels, we on a whim went to a restaurant called Rory's Beach Bar. Rory's was actually run by an expat couple (I believe) and had one of the best views of the sunset on the island. The food was so good that we ended up eating there about 3 more times during our whole trip since they have something for everyone on their menu (both Western and Asian dishes, plus a plethora of fun drinks). 

sunset at Rory's

Day 3

This was the actual day of Tet, so everything was closed down and more relaxed. Everyone was actually a little sunburned and tired still from our boating adventure the other day, so we all just agreed to meet up later to get dinner around M and N's new hotel and to see the fireworks that were going to be set off later that night for the holiday. 

  

walking down our alleyway

Since there was nothing major planned for most of the day, E, J, and I just hung out at the pool in E's hotel. It was a really nice infinity pool that had stairs on the other side that led down to the beach. We were camped out on the pool deck under the umbrellas for a good part of the day and took full advantage of the bar and restaurant that was right behind us. Toward the later part of the afternoon, we all walked down the beach to see if we could find a place that would do massages. After finding a place, E and I decided to stay and get the after sun wrap that they had since we were the most burned from the boat trip the other day (J decided he just wanted to go back to the pool and relax some more). E wanted to get his message in the cabana that faced the beach, but because we had to be naked for the massage bar sheer, single-use underwear that was provided I opted to have mine done in the closed-off room that was next door. Now when I say naked, I don't mean that you and all your glory is out for display to the world. You are covered with towels after the attendant slathers you up with the aloe-milk-ice-cucumber-honey concoction that comes with the after sun massage, so it is not too bad. 

The mixture was actually really cold, but felt wonderful on my sunburn when the lady was putting it on! Once I was slathered and wrapped up though, my body heat was turning the mixture to room temperature and then it no longer felt as nice since it was no longer super cooling against my burn. But the aloe and the aloe and cucumbers really made my skin, not as raw feeling and the pain was pretty nonexistent afterward. My attendant was an angel and gave me a head and gentile shoulder/arm massage while I was basting on the table. I was there for a good long while before they woke me up and had me rinse off in cool water before putting my clothes back on and heading to the lobby of the spa where I was going to be getting a pedicure since I had forgotten to get one done before I had left Hai Phong. The same attendant did my toes and we talk a bit using facial expressions and simple English until she finished and E came back from his message ( he got started later than I did so we finished at different times) and we walked back down the beach to his hotel.

 the infinity pool

Around the time we had agreed to go meet M and N for dinner near their hotel, E decided that he was going to stay in and relax at the hotel and then maybe join us for the fireworks later since he was pretty zen and not that hungry. When we got to M and N's hotel we walked to a nearby bigger hotel that had a sit-down restaurant we had looked up on Google that got pretty good ratings. But the best thing about the restaurant was that I finally got my coconut! I had been trying to order coconut water since I had arrived as they literally just cut a hole in a green coconut and give it to you like that. And it was so good! 

After dinner, N decided to stay in for the night and try to see if she could get a message for her sunburn as well, so M, J, and I got a taxi to the city of Phu Quoc to see the fireworks display at the pier. We climbed up to a small temple that was attached to the lighthouse that was on the pier and then walked around all the street vendors finding a spot to watch the show. We bought beers and bottled drinks off a lady that had a cooler nearby where we were sitting and just sat back and enjoyed the atmosphere. It was really fun seeing everyone celebrate and the kids near where we were sitting yell and laugh as the fireworks were going off; definitely made the holiday more special and relatable for me. 

Fireworks at the Pier

The only downside of the night was that it was almost impossible for me and J to find a cab that would take us back to our hotel. After about 20 minutes of trying to flag one down, we just said f*ck it and started the 30-minute walk. At this point, I was tired, sunburned, and developing a bit of chub rub on my inner thighs, so I was not in the best of moods. We eventually found a cab that would take us about 15 minutes into our walk, but he refused to turn on the meter and told us to pay him 100K VND for taking us the rest of the way home. So while I knew that he was ripping us off, I did not even argue and got in. But it was worth it since he was blasting the a/c and I did not need to walk anymore!

Day 3

This was probably one of the most fun days that we had on the island. E, J, and I rented bikes and drove up to M and N's hotel to pick them up. We wanted to explore the northern part of the island and drive to the most northern tip since we heard that you can see Cambodia from the shore. N was not up for the trip since she wanted to try to go to the spa again today since they had closed before she could go the other night. But the rest of us started following the roads and heading north. Driving a bike was so exhilarating and fun, but also really nervewracking since road laws are more like suggestions here in Vietnam. Really the only rules of the road are don't hit someone and honk your horn when you are nearing another vehicle so they know you are there. Eventually the map we were following took us off road down some construction paths and into the woods, so eventually, our little road trip turned into an offroading trip. J was the most experienced with motorbikes since he was the only one out of the four of us who actually owns a bike so he was the leader of our little caravan (M was riding on the back of his bike as well). Well, J's back wheel slipped into a small rut that was in the dirt road and M and he fell off the bike and skidded a bit. No one was hurt and J only got scrapped up a bit on the side of his leg, but we decided that it was a good time to find a place to eat and see if we could get J patched up. Navigating back to the main road, we ended up going to a REALLY nice hotel and getting a table at the poolside restaurant there. While J went to the restroom to wash up and get the dirt out of his leg, the rest of us ordered water and since the prices of the food was a bit much, decided to share one of their special brick pizzas. I guess because the island is targeted towards tourists, but everything we ate was freaking amazing! The pizza that we ordered was a curried beef pizza and I could have cried at how good the taste was. After eating and washing up, we switched from Apple maps (what we were following) to Google maps and realized that there was a direct route to the northern point from the main road we were on (aka no more off-roading!) so we decided to head off and continue on our journey. The rest of the trip was pretty cool since we got to drive through some smaller little towns and wind around the coast. 

vroom vroom

To congratulate us getting to the northern point, we sat down as a small street stand that was set up on top of the beach wall and ordered coconuts for everyone. There were stands set up facing the beach and true enough, past the moored and beached fishing boats, we could see Cambodia rising out of the ocean.

 

We hung out there a good while and then made our trek back to M and N's hotel. E and I ran out of gas on the trip so had to pull in front of a house and ask if they knew of any place that had gas. Turned out the family had some with them in little coke bottles and we were able to purchase about 1.5 liters of gas each for about 50k VND. It was actually a little funny when they were filling up my bike since none of us could figure out how to access and open the gas tank. It took about 4 of us pressing all the buttons and fiddling with the bike before we figured out that the opening to my gas tank was near the footrest under a small metal plate that we all took for decoration!

That night all 4 of us (N joined us once we got back) at the at some restaurant as the one from the night before and just hung out until we decided to part ways around 9 when the restaurant started to close down. E had to leave in the morning, but J and I promised M and N that we would stop by the next day to hang out.

Day 4

This was the lazy girls' day that I so desperately needed! J wanted to go out exploring on his motorbike and see the other side of the island, but the other girls and I just wanted a down day. After J dropped me off at M and N's hotel on his way up the island, us girls just hung out. We walked tot he nearby beach and claimed some beach chairs and tanned for a good while. Eventually, N went out to the spa to get another message while M and I were just lazy beach bums all day.  After getting all the sun we wanted/could stand we went back to their hotel and hung out at the pool until N joined us again. When dinner time rolled around we messaged J to meet us at the Night Market for dinner.

The Night Market is just what you would expect: lanterns everywhere and craziness from all the people that were there. It was awesome! We walked around a bit until we were able to find a place to sit down and have dinner. The place we choose was a huge seafood restaurant/ warehouse that was on the main road near the entrance (our first mistake). When we got there it was not too crowded and there were a few other groups of foreigners dotted around the open floor, so we knew that it was at least a little English friendly since none of us speak Vietnamese. The menu there was pretty extensive and it took us a while to decide on what we wanted, but after a bit, everything was ordered and we started chatting and passing time before our food arrived. Well, that turned into a 2-hour wait for everything to come out. Our drinks took about 20 minutes and the rest of our food came out sporadically over the course of the 2 hours despite us flagging down the wait staff and reminding them of our orders. During this time about 3 big groups were also seated and had put in their orders and were being served before us. We tried to keep our cool, but that is a bit hard to do when you are starving and just want to get your order of fried rice and veggie!

After the dinner, we decided to walk around and look at what was being sold. It was fun walking around and just looking (I did get some comfortable gray elephant pants, a few bottles of essential oils, and a statue to add to my travel souvenir collection back home). Plus the rolled ice cream that we got to pick ourselves a la Cold Stone Creamery was really good! 

There were so many people wandering around and small little restaurants and bars that dotted the street, the atmosphere really did feel like a festival or party! The only thing that I did not really like was that there was one street performer that was doing an act with a pair of snakes. Now, I do not hate snakes, nor am I terribly afraid of them-- they are just not my favorite animal to be around...something about the fact that they just slither and slink around (which is strange since I am a SlytherHorn for all my HP readers)... anyway, he was having the snakes go through his nose and out his mouth and vice versa. N, M, and J all stopped to watch, so I went on ahead and took pictures and started to look at the little stands that were farther up ahead.

We stayed pretty late at the market until almost all the stands and restaurants were closing down (so around 11ish?) and then decided to head on back to our hotels. I road back with J on the motorbike while M and N got a taxi to take them back to theirs.

Day 5

This was our last full day at on the island and we all decided that we wanted to just relax and go to the most famous beach on the island, Sao beach. J and I jumped into M and C's taxi as they were heading down the main road that passes our house around noon. We really lucked out because the taxi driver offered to come back to pick us up since the entrance to the beach was pretty far away from the main road so it would have been a little difficult for us to get a cab back home. Telling him to pick us up at 4 pm, we headed off to the beach.

view from our lounge chairs

Whenever you see pictures of beached in Southeast Asia, you always see these beautiful white sand beaches with turquoise blue waters. I had always thought that that was an exaggeration since I had always gone to the beach in Northern Florida. The sand there is not pearly white and the water is dark blue, sometimes a little brownish gray. So seeing that the white beach and turquoise water combo was actually a real thing was pretty cool. BUT  THERE WERE SO MANY PEOPLE!!

Everywhere we looked there were people walking around, playing in the sand, walking around advertising parasailing and boat tours, people walking around trying to sell fresh cut fruit. It was a madhouse right at the entrance of the beach. Luckily for us, the beach is shaped like a huge crescent moon, so we saw that the far sides of the beach were pretty bare of people. We walked towards the left side of the beach and once we got almost to the end of the stretch, we found a pretty secluded area that had beach chairs for rent. At 100k VND (~$5USD) for the whole day, that was not a bad price so we grabbed 4 chairs together and just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. I had picked up some fresh cut mangos and a small platter with other cut up fruits when we were walking through the main drag of the beach, so we got to snack while we were relaxing. After a while, J got antsy and walked off to go exploring and us girls decided to have a photo shoot with the giant swing that was tied up to a palm tree close to our seats.

As we were getting close to the time we needed to meet up with our taxi driver, we started heading back to the main tourist drag. On the way, N got hungry and stopped at a banh mi cart that was parked on the beach. Since she was getting food we all ended up getting sandwiches filled with all the different types of meats n(hot dogs, sausages, meatballs, pulled chicken) that he had available to saute before putting in the toasted bread.  I think that was our major mistake out of the whole trip.

When we got back to our side of the island, we had the driver take us back to Roary's for our last dinner. Sometime during the fantastic sunset, J started getting sick and decided to head back to the hotel early to lay down. The girls all stayed pretty late and we all made plans to do stuff in Hanoi once we got back since we were on flights back to Hanoi that was just a few hours apart. I was also invited on a trip to Halong Bay in N's place since she decided to head back home and finish packing since she was going to move back to the UK in a few weeks.

Ater my 15-20 minute walk back to the hotel, I saw that J was still not feeling any better and was still in the restroom. I got ready for bed and went to sleep hoping that he got whatever it was out of his system by tomorrow.

Day 6

Our (J and I) flight was for 9 in the morning, so we had to get up around 6:45 to pack and check out of the hotel and get a cab to the airport. J was feeling a lot better and I was feeling pretty groggy from waking up so early. When we got to the airport, we realized that our flight was pushed back until about 11 and we had not been informed, so we just chilled in the airport lobby until check-in time. When they opened up the gate for ticketing we were surprised to see that we would be on M and N's flight back to Hanoi! So we all checked in and waited together at the gate for our flight. I was not feeling too good, so I grabbed some water and crackers thinking that I was just a bit creepy since I had to wake up earlier than normal (I usually don't wake up until around 10/10:30).

I was still feeling really bad on the plane and at one point felt that I would vomit, but luckily all I ended up doing was sipping my water and then taking a cat nap back to Hanoi.

-Since this is already so long, Halong Bay will be in pt.2-

Temple of Literature and Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum Complex

   Since Saturday was our first real day off since arriving in Hanoi, my roommate and I decided to explore the city and go see some of the touristy things here in the capital. Jonny was out meeting friends and looking for apartments, so Aileen and I decided to have a girls day out and have some fun. I had looked up what were the main touristy things to do in the city and the 2 that seemed the most interesting were the Temple of Literature and Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum Complex.
  We first visited the Temple of Literature. The temple itself is nestled just south of the Old Quarter and is connected to one of Hanoi's oldest and most famous university. Inside there are pillars and slates that if you graduate from the university with a Masters or a Ph.D. you can have your names engraved on them (as told to us by one of the Vietnamese visitors to the Temple- even though I don't think you can do that anymore). The temple itself was small compared to most of the ones I have visited in Asia, but it was still gorgeous!

  Since there were a lot of recent school graduates, many of them were taking graduation pictures at the temple. Many were university graduates, but there were a few students who looked to be in high school as well, maybe they were wanting to go the Univesity and wanted to take pictures there as good luck!

   Another highlight of the temple was actually our interactions with the lady in the gift shop. Whenever I go to a temple, I always try to go to the shop inside and buy something special. This way I have a souvenir from the temple, and it is a good way for me to give back to the temple and monks financially, especially when I have taken pictures in places where there is a possibility that it might be considered rude or disrespectful, ie. inside of the main prayer room (I always make sure that I am respectful of the hall and any practitioners when taking pictures at temples. I wait for practitioners to finish praying and clear out and I ALWAYS make sure that my flash is off and I am discreet in taking my pictures, and even then I make sure to follow what I see locals and other visitors do. I do not make a scene).  Anyway, back to the story:

   We go to the store and wander around. I notice the jade necklaces in the back and just walked in to take a look. But the jade was very different from what I had seen at other temples during my time in Asia. There were so many different kinds of Jade: big, small,  dark green, light green, silver decorations, gold accents, etc. I was not thinking of buying anything, but the lady who was running the jade counter was very friendly and ended up talking to us for a good 15 minutes about life in Vietnam, the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) Holiday, and about Vietnamese jade and the meanings behind all the different shapes and patterns in the metal filigree.

    Long story short, this lady was an excellent sales women since we walked out of the store after having bought a necklace each. I got one with a lucky dragon going across a circular jade piece that is designed to resemble the full moon. The lady said that it would be a good piece for me since I have a round face (similar to the moon) and have a feminine, motherly vibe (again like the moon).

   The Moseuleum of Ho Chi Minh was interesting more so for the history museum that is also on the grounds. I hate to admit this, but I am not as well versed in Vietnamese history as I am for other countries. So my knowledge about Vietnam comes from the little bit of the Vietnam War that I learned about in AP US HIstory back in high school, and even then it was taught to me with a US bias. So going to the museum and seeing Vietnam's history as told by the current government of Vietnam was very interesting, especially when they covered the Vietnam War, or War of Reunification as told to me by one of the museum placards. Not going to lie, I got a little nervous about being there when we got to that particular part of the exhibit. I know that the US is not perfect and that we have a track record of fighting in wars that one can argue are not our fights to fights, but to see how demonic and evil the US was portrayed left me feeling edge a bit. I was not worried about my safety or anything, but it was more of a self-realization of " wow, this is how my countrymen (and me to an extent) are seen abroad. This is how some countries view my home."

   While I do not believe that these feelings still exist in Vietnam (at least I have not encountered any ill wishes form others once they find out I am from the US), it is definitely an eye-opener and reminds you that you don't live in a bubble! That there is a big giant world out there that has a different viewpoint from you; that not everyone will agree with you; that what you may think is a right and noble action may not be seen the same way by the other party.

   That is why I love traveling and learning about other countries and cultures. By doing so, you are able to see the many many similarities that connect us as a species, but also the differences that allow us to be unique and diverse. Hopefully, more people will get the chance to leave the bubbles of their hometowns and get out in the world to learn all the similarities and learn to appreciate all the differences.

First Week Update

  Things are starting to get better and I am starting to (slowly) get used to everything about Vietnam. I started exploring the area the apartment and even ducked into a small Korean market to pick up a few food goods so that I could cook meals at the company apartment that I am currently living in. Not going to lie, it was nice seeing some familiar things. Even just the other day, when we (my roommates and I) went to a bigger general grocery store nearby, there were still a lot of Korean brands that I recognized, as well as affordable cheese! Grocery stores are always very fun to visit when you are in a different because there is always something familiar about watching people sort through vegetables and peruse all the different aisles to see what there is to buy, no matter what language everyone is speaking or the signs are written in!! Plus there is also the chance that you can find some local treat that you have never seen before, or learn that in order to buy produce, you need to have it weighed and stickered before you go to the checkout counter or you leave a whole line of people waiting for you to run back to the produce section to get your green peppers weighed!

  But yeah, I am definitely not scared of being here anymore. I'm not going to lie, the first few days I was here, I was seriously questioning why I was here and if I had just made a horrible mistake. The city confused me, my head hurt from language overload (because I was focusing so hard on what people were saying in hopes that magically I could understand them), I was terrified for my life every time I had to cross a street because traffic laws are more of a suggestion here, plus I can't read anything so it was almost impossible to find anything. It is still a little difficult adjusting to life here? Yes. Am I as dramatic or overwhelmed? No! I still can't really understand everything and am a bit nervous about going out and exploring on my own, but I have figured out a lot of stuff that was scary/overwhelming when I first got here. I have (kind of) figured out the currency, crossing the street still makes me a little nervous but I can do it, now that I have data I can google map places and use translate to figure out what things are, and I have become a master at Uber! All in all, I feel like I am going to really like it here once I get used to how the country works.

   One thing I will never get used to though is going to a doctor's office in Asia. No offense to the doctors that I have been to though, they have all been very nice and very good at what they do, but what I will never get used to is how shocked and concerned they get about my weight. While I am a bit over the recommended weight category for my age and height (a category that was created in the 50s and is based on the idea that everyone's bodies are the same), I am by no means in danger of having poor health/health issues because of my weight (I have talked to my healthcare provider in the US), I just hate the fact that the doctors I have seen in Asia act like I am about to drop dead of a heart attack at any moment during our consultation! After all the tests were run at the hospital here in Hanoi, the doctor pulled me aside and told me everything was great, that I had nothing to worry about, but that he was extremely concerned about my weight and wanted to put me on a diet plan. While I do trust his opinion and am planning on eating better while I am here, I keep having to remind myself that I am not like the Vietnamese people that he sees every day. Out of all the Vietnamese women, I have seen here in Hanoi, on average they come up to my chest and have smaller frames than me. So of course to him, my weight would be something to be concerned about, because if a small Vietnamese woman has my numbers, yeah she would be in trouble of having health problems! I don't know why what the doctor told me bugged me so much, but just hearing him bring up my weight as a big issue, not once, but FIVE different times during the conversation, really ticked me off. I've really been working hard on body positivity and self-love for a few years now and so to have him tell me that was a real set back. But like I said, I just need to take it all with a grain of salt and keep on doing me! 

  So I know I kind of turned this into a big long venting session, but I promise this week was actually pretty fun! I have two roommates in company housing who are from the UK, so we have been staying up late a lot just talking about living abroad, training, our fellow trainees, and the differences between our two countries. We get along great, which is making me wonder if I should look for a room in a shared house rather than look for a single apartment when I move out to Hai Phong. But then again, I have a feeling I might need to have a place where I can get away from the world and recharge on my own. Most of the other people in training that I have talked to are thinking about renting rooms in shared houses, so maybe they'll rub off on me (we'll see). 

   Now that the first week of training is over I'll have a day to just relax and get to see Hanoi before I start up my second week. For next week, I will mostly be training for my admin duties and shadowing other FMs/Headteachers and then getting ready to head out to Hai Phong the following Monday. Then I will be meeting with the teachers that I am replacing and the BM to figure out what is the best course of action for the branches. So by the sounds of it, I should be working full time in my position by the 30th! But for now, I just need to get through my second week  T^T