Rainy Commute

With Hanoian spring comes your daily morning mist; granted, when you ride through this mist on your motorbike (as I do every morning), you get more than just a little wet... you get soaked. I'm not one to excessively complain about my lifestyle here, even though there are more than enough things that warrant a good complaint or two (i.e. the complete disregard of traffic laws), but when it comes to an early commute in less than desirable circumstances, I can't help but spend the whole 30 minutes cursing the weather. Every morning I trudge down my stairs around 7AM, throw on my huge, ridiculously dirty poncho, and wheel my bike out into my wet alley. Now making sure I remain dry is a bit of hassle, but with all the practice I'm getting as of late, I've gotten pretty good at it. First I have to tuck my poncho under my butt, to keep my backpack and teaching materials dry. Next, I drape the front end of my poncho over the front of my bike, forming a kind of tent for my legs. When driving the streets during rainy season, one can see that there are various methods for driving with a poncho, but given my short stature and the XL size of my poncho, I feel that hanging the front part of my poncho over my motorbike's handlebars is a bit safer; I am continually terrified that my poncho (which is long enough that it drags on the ground) is going to get caught in my wheels and seriously injure me. So, to put everyone's mind at ease (most importantly, my own) I have chosen to embrace the "drape method", even if this results in damp pant-legs. Usually by the time I'm out of class, the foggy mist has cleared up and my only worry is muddy street puddles. But rush hour traffic + rain + early morning... not very enjoyable. I am very much looking forward to the stifling summer heat so I can at least appreciate a good breeze on my face.

I'm working a lot right now, and am taking on an online Physics course (credits necessary to apply for Architecture Grad school) beginning Monday. I have a sneaking suspicion that I am going to be working like a mad woman for the next half a year, but hopefully I will be able to handle the workload. My books arrived at my house yesterday, and I immediately started to get that dreaded, sinking feeling when flipping through the pages. Math has never been my strong suit, and looking through these physics equations I started to get very worried. Luckily, a friend of mine living in Hanoi has a degree in Physics, so he's offered to tutor me a bit to make sure I stay on track. It's been almost 2 years since I've done any actual school work, so getting back into study mode should be interesting. With this in mind, I'm giving all my faithful readers a heads-up that I will probably be posting less, as I will have a lot on my plate beginning Monday...