I just had to take a moment to jot down some ridiculous things I have seen lately before I forget all about them. I tend to run into something ridiculous at least once a day, and it's getting pretty difficult trying to remember them all.
1.) Obama Obama Karaoke.
--> It's awesome that they love Obama here, and it's even more awesome that he gets a Karaoke bar in his name. Better yet, they use it twice, so that really is somethin'.
2.) Flip's new apartment located behind the Hanoi School of Music
--> My friend Flip lives right behind the dormitories for the Music University, so every time I go to visit, I hear people singing opera or people playing the trumpet/piano/guitar/accordian (you name it). He says it is not nearly as entertaining when they start practicing at 5am...
3.) 3 people on a motorbike doing wheelies
--> Driving in Hanoi is scary enough, but three men on a motorbike doing a wheelie, that is just plain ridiculous. The guy on the back was almost brushing the pavement with his head... !!!!
4.) The Vietnamese concept of "yours and mine"
--> Culturally, it is incredibly different than America. A very accurate example of this is how my cleaning lady just takes my bicycle, or my towels, or my sandals. It's nothing I can get upset about because everybody here just shares everything. It doesn't do too much harm, I just have to keep an eye out to see where my things have been moved to.
5.) My tofu lady at the market
--> I have gotten into the habit of getting fresh tofu from a lovely old lady down the street in the market. She is super interested in America and asks me lots of questions every time I visit (although I can't understand too much of it... I heavily rely on the 'smile and nod'). Two large chunks of tofu cost me 3,000 dong... or 15 cents. Now is that ridiculous or what?
Gosh, I have so many more absurd things that happen daily, but they are becoming so common place that they don't even strike me as ridiculous anymore. My students are getting back to class in a minute so I have to go, but I shall put some thought into some things that may strike people from back home as absolutely strange. Until then-
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Stuck In The Mud
I had been looking forward to Friday all week; My friends Lien and Rueben rented a "party boat" to celebrate their birthdays and sail along the Red River.
The boat had a dance floor on the rooftop, a hookah lounge, and a bar. I was a little skeptical about the success of actually floating, since the Red River is pretty much mud at this point. But we all boarded the boat nonetheless. When it came time to shove off, it took about 20 minutes to break away from all the mud at shore. Since the river was so low, the boat pretty much found an area where it could float, and stuck to it (pun intended)- When it came time to sail back, the boat was utterly and completely stuck. There were so many people on board that it was too heavy to get back to shore, so that is when the problem-solving began. Over the music, the sound of an antique boat engine could be heard. A tiny, wooden fishing boat pulled up alongside and about 10 considerably intoxicated people jumped in.
It didn't look in the least bit safe so I opted to wait on the bigger boat, waving to my friends as they departed on the rickety thing below. After the tiny boat made three trips, the cruise boat was light enough to lift from the mud and take us back to the dock. Despite all the mud, it was a wonderful time.
I arose early on Saturday and went with Son to the market down the street. I guess there aren't too many white people who shop at the market, so all the Vietnamese ladies were very interested in my presence. As I would be trying to purchase some tofu or eggs, the ladies would question Son about me. Usually I am by myself and have to try to answer the questions alone, which tends to make shopping at the market a very long-winded experience. This time, I had Son to field the questions and managed to get out of the market relatively quickly; instead of me pointing to items and attempting to communicate how much I wanted, Son simply asked and received... really need to start studying Vietnamese names for vegetables.
I bought all the ingredients to make vegetable spring rolls, and, upon getting back to my place, set to work. A large mess and an hour later, I was sitting down to eat my own spring rolls, which were an incredible success! I can't wait to come home and cook them for everybody in the states... they are so delicious! I actually rolled them a lot better than Son, which was probably my proudest moment of the day.
I spent Saturday evening visiting my friend Flip's new apartment. It came fully furnished, and I couldn't help but envy the oversized pots and vases he had scattered around the house. I have been inspired to spend a couple of my hard-earned dollars on some decor. So, that's my plan for Sunday.... work week starts tomorrow (ugh). We have a school talent show this week which I am greatly looking forward to. We have some hilarious 5th graders that do "street dancing", and some of them are rather impressive. Definitely bringing my camera...
The boat had a dance floor on the rooftop, a hookah lounge, and a bar. I was a little skeptical about the success of actually floating, since the Red River is pretty much mud at this point. But we all boarded the boat nonetheless. When it came time to shove off, it took about 20 minutes to break away from all the mud at shore. Since the river was so low, the boat pretty much found an area where it could float, and stuck to it (pun intended)- When it came time to sail back, the boat was utterly and completely stuck. There were so many people on board that it was too heavy to get back to shore, so that is when the problem-solving began. Over the music, the sound of an antique boat engine could be heard. A tiny, wooden fishing boat pulled up alongside and about 10 considerably intoxicated people jumped in.
It didn't look in the least bit safe so I opted to wait on the bigger boat, waving to my friends as they departed on the rickety thing below. After the tiny boat made three trips, the cruise boat was light enough to lift from the mud and take us back to the dock. Despite all the mud, it was a wonderful time. I arose early on Saturday and went with Son to the market down the street. I guess there aren't too many white people who shop at the market, so all the Vietnamese ladies were very interested in my presence. As I would be trying to purchase some tofu or eggs, the ladies would question Son about me. Usually I am by myself and have to try to answer the questions alone, which tends to make shopping at the market a very long-winded experience. This time, I had Son to field the questions and managed to get out of the market relatively quickly; instead of me pointing to items and attempting to communicate how much I wanted, Son simply asked and received... really need to start studying Vietnamese names for vegetables.
I bought all the ingredients to make vegetable spring rolls, and, upon getting back to my place, set to work. A large mess and an hour later, I was sitting down to eat my own spring rolls, which were an incredible success! I can't wait to come home and cook them for everybody in the states... they are so delicious! I actually rolled them a lot better than Son, which was probably my proudest moment of the day.
I spent Saturday evening visiting my friend Flip's new apartment. It came fully furnished, and I couldn't help but envy the oversized pots and vases he had scattered around the house. I have been inspired to spend a couple of my hard-earned dollars on some decor. So, that's my plan for Sunday.... work week starts tomorrow (ugh). We have a school talent show this week which I am greatly looking forward to. We have some hilarious 5th graders that do "street dancing", and some of them are rather impressive. Definitely bringing my camera...
Monday, April 5, 2010
Traditional Cooking
So I arose bright and early on a relatively rainy Saturday to meet up with some of the Singapore International staff for a cooking class. It was really great to hang with some teachers outside of school, since we are all usually pretty well-behaved in class. Some of the ladies had incredibly interesting lives (ranging from speaking fluent Arabic to having a husband who is an underwater doctor...) and were so much fun to cook with. There were some hysterical cucumber jokes from the principal of a kindergarten, and I was really happy to have had the opportunity to see the less professional side of my coworkers.
We had a lovely introduction to Vietnamese cooking, then were told to get into separate cyclos for a trip to the market. I was very dismayed at this request, since I have been avoiding a cyclo ride since I first set foot in Vietnam over 2 years ago. Opting out of the ride wasn't exactly an option, so I boarded a cyclo after much hesitation. There were 9 of us, each in our own cyclo, causing traffic and looking like a huge pack of tourists. I was feeling rather embarrassed, since being on a cyclo is the most efficient way to brand yourself as a naive tourist. After communicating to my very old cyclo driver (I felt I should be peddling him around) that I studied Architecture in the USA, he gave me a little Architecture tour in Vietnamese; I understood maybe 10% of it (mostly just the words "French", "building", and "very beautiful")but it was a nice effort on his part nonetheless.
After the mortifying cyclo trip, we got back to the restaurant and were given a chef's jacket along with a ridiculous hat. Many absurd pictures were taken at this point, and I will do my best to get my hands on a few to chronicle just how hysterical we all looked. I successfully learned how to make banana flower salad and a very famous Vietnamese sauce that is used with mostly everything (ranging from salad to spring rolls). After the salad, we made some tofu vegetable spring rolls fried with breadcrumbs (which is actually the Southern version of a spring roll) that were so incredibly delicious. After botching 2 spring rolls I finally managed to get the hang of rolling, and ended up with a nice amount of some perfect looking rolls. I brought home some leftovers to show off to my Vietnamese friends that I actually COULD roll them. After being splattered with burning hot oil, we moved on to a tofu vegetable medley, followed by sauteed shrimp with cashew nuts. These dishes proved a bit harder, but once I had the opportunity to try them all, found I had done a pretty good job. The cooking class gave us some wonderful recipe sheets and I absolutely plan on trying some of the dishes in my own kitchen. I will surely write a post regarding any successful cooking, so keep an eye out for that.
I spent my Easter with Son, who was very excited to try my deviled eggs. Although they lacked paprika, they still turned out very nice, and since he ate a good amount of them, I rightfully assumed he enjoyed them. I got a little nostalgic eating my deviled eggs, thinking of my family, and reflecting on how far away I am. It's strange how something as small as a piece of food can bring forth so many memories. I didn't get any candy, so I'm thinking I will go to the store and buy myself some today just because, well, I love candy. It was one of my student's birthdays this morning and he brought in some chocolates, so I technically got my chocolate fix already. Jellybeans would be nice, but I am 99% sure they don't have them here. I guess jelly bunny rabbits are the best I can do.
My students are returning to class any minute, so I should wrap this up... bye!
We had a lovely introduction to Vietnamese cooking, then were told to get into separate cyclos for a trip to the market. I was very dismayed at this request, since I have been avoiding a cyclo ride since I first set foot in Vietnam over 2 years ago. Opting out of the ride wasn't exactly an option, so I boarded a cyclo after much hesitation. There were 9 of us, each in our own cyclo, causing traffic and looking like a huge pack of tourists. I was feeling rather embarrassed, since being on a cyclo is the most efficient way to brand yourself as a naive tourist. After communicating to my very old cyclo driver (I felt I should be peddling him around) that I studied Architecture in the USA, he gave me a little Architecture tour in Vietnamese; I understood maybe 10% of it (mostly just the words "French", "building", and "very beautiful")but it was a nice effort on his part nonetheless.
After the mortifying cyclo trip, we got back to the restaurant and were given a chef's jacket along with a ridiculous hat. Many absurd pictures were taken at this point, and I will do my best to get my hands on a few to chronicle just how hysterical we all looked. I successfully learned how to make banana flower salad and a very famous Vietnamese sauce that is used with mostly everything (ranging from salad to spring rolls). After the salad, we made some tofu vegetable spring rolls fried with breadcrumbs (which is actually the Southern version of a spring roll) that were so incredibly delicious. After botching 2 spring rolls I finally managed to get the hang of rolling, and ended up with a nice amount of some perfect looking rolls. I brought home some leftovers to show off to my Vietnamese friends that I actually COULD roll them. After being splattered with burning hot oil, we moved on to a tofu vegetable medley, followed by sauteed shrimp with cashew nuts. These dishes proved a bit harder, but once I had the opportunity to try them all, found I had done a pretty good job. The cooking class gave us some wonderful recipe sheets and I absolutely plan on trying some of the dishes in my own kitchen. I will surely write a post regarding any successful cooking, so keep an eye out for that.
I spent my Easter with Son, who was very excited to try my deviled eggs. Although they lacked paprika, they still turned out very nice, and since he ate a good amount of them, I rightfully assumed he enjoyed them. I got a little nostalgic eating my deviled eggs, thinking of my family, and reflecting on how far away I am. It's strange how something as small as a piece of food can bring forth so many memories. I didn't get any candy, so I'm thinking I will go to the store and buy myself some today just because, well, I love candy. It was one of my student's birthdays this morning and he brought in some chocolates, so I technically got my chocolate fix already. Jellybeans would be nice, but I am 99% sure they don't have them here. I guess jelly bunny rabbits are the best I can do.
My students are returning to class any minute, so I should wrap this up... bye!
Friday, April 2, 2010
It's Friday! Wooohooo! The weeks have been FLYING by, I've been working for a month now and everything is starting to blend together. Guess I really am a full-time worker now? On Fridays, the kids are absolutely CRAZY so I can never get them to do much work. In lieu of anything productive, we watched the Thriller video... twice. I have one student who has all the moves down pat, extremely impressive. Maybe I will have them put together a Michael Jackson tribute dance for the talent show coming up?
I rode my bicycle to work in some intense rain this morning. Unfortunately, my hood didn't stay on too well, and I showed up with my hair and face dripping water. The Vietnamese staff had a good laugh at the foreign girl who couldn't figure out how to stay dry, but oh well.
All this past week large masses of dragonflies have been descending into the Singapore International playground. Apparently they come around this time of year, but I still haven't gotten used to the thousands of large flying bugs... BIG bugs. I tend to spend my recess duty looking up at the clouds of dragonflies above my head... although I should be making sure all the kids are safe of the playground, whoops. One of the most happenin' bars downtown is called Dragonfly, I think I finally get it.
So I've been in a pretty big rush to get home after school with errands to run, and I've found out that putting eggs in a bicycle basket and hitting large bumps at a relatively high speed does not insure the safe return of eggs. Granted, this should be common sense, but twice I arrived home with an egg or two (or three) completely exploded. Guess I'd be better off buying my eggs at the market and walking them home...
Speaking of eggs, I totally forgot this was Easter Weekend until a student drew me an Easter Bunny with a basket of eggs. This will be the first Easter of my life away from my family. I would like to say that I will definitely be missing my grandmother's famous jello eggs. I guess I could attempt to make my own, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it will not be successful. I can't even get a whole carton of eggs back to my house in one piece, let alone create my own. What I CAN do is some real nice deviled eggs, which I shall make and give to my Vietnamese friends (they have no idea what deviled eggs are) as an Easter present. I will be spending this Saturday making Vietnamese food, which is a far cry from my typical Easter weekend, but hey, at least I'm learning something new. I am half-tempted to put together an Easter egg hunt for my buddies over here (people looked at me like I was crazy when I tried to explain the concept of an Easter egg hunt) but this whole weekend is supposed to be thunderstorms... this could put a real 'damper' on an intended hunt. I do live across from a park, which would be a lovely spot for a hunt, but I doubt that I can even find plastic eggs to stuff with candy, AND all the children who hang at the park would likely steal them all. Looks like I will have to forgo any sort of Easter egg hunt this year. Alas.
I hope my family and friends back in the states eat enough candy to make up for the fact that I don't really have any. ;)
I rode my bicycle to work in some intense rain this morning. Unfortunately, my hood didn't stay on too well, and I showed up with my hair and face dripping water. The Vietnamese staff had a good laugh at the foreign girl who couldn't figure out how to stay dry, but oh well.
All this past week large masses of dragonflies have been descending into the Singapore International playground. Apparently they come around this time of year, but I still haven't gotten used to the thousands of large flying bugs... BIG bugs. I tend to spend my recess duty looking up at the clouds of dragonflies above my head... although I should be making sure all the kids are safe of the playground, whoops. One of the most happenin' bars downtown is called Dragonfly, I think I finally get it.
So I've been in a pretty big rush to get home after school with errands to run, and I've found out that putting eggs in a bicycle basket and hitting large bumps at a relatively high speed does not insure the safe return of eggs. Granted, this should be common sense, but twice I arrived home with an egg or two (or three) completely exploded. Guess I'd be better off buying my eggs at the market and walking them home...
Speaking of eggs, I totally forgot this was Easter Weekend until a student drew me an Easter Bunny with a basket of eggs. This will be the first Easter of my life away from my family. I would like to say that I will definitely be missing my grandmother's famous jello eggs. I guess I could attempt to make my own, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it will not be successful. I can't even get a whole carton of eggs back to my house in one piece, let alone create my own. What I CAN do is some real nice deviled eggs, which I shall make and give to my Vietnamese friends (they have no idea what deviled eggs are) as an Easter present. I will be spending this Saturday making Vietnamese food, which is a far cry from my typical Easter weekend, but hey, at least I'm learning something new. I am half-tempted to put together an Easter egg hunt for my buddies over here (people looked at me like I was crazy when I tried to explain the concept of an Easter egg hunt) but this whole weekend is supposed to be thunderstorms... this could put a real 'damper' on an intended hunt. I do live across from a park, which would be a lovely spot for a hunt, but I doubt that I can even find plastic eggs to stuff with candy, AND all the children who hang at the park would likely steal them all. Looks like I will have to forgo any sort of Easter egg hunt this year. Alas.
I hope my family and friends back in the states eat enough candy to make up for the fact that I don't really have any. ;)
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Hip Hop Hanoi
Sorry it has taken me a bit to post, things seem to just disappear in Hanoi (like the internet). On the other hand, things have randomly been appearing as well. Earlier this week I came home from school to find that a door had been installed to my bedroom. Granted, I live alone, so a door is not completely necessary, but I've been sleeping with it closed for the sole reason that I actually have one. Yesterday, after riding 30 minutes in the sun on the back of a motorbike, I came home to discover that an air conditioner was hooked up in my bedroom. This was a wonderful discovery, since the use of the aircon and my door together produce a wonderfully cool room. I had resorted to leaving my windows open for a breeze, but the mosquitoes have begun to be a bit of a problem; waking up to a loud buzzing in my ear is never an enjoyable thing. Another life improvement- a bath pouf! I have moved on up from the bar of soap and, oh my, such luxury. Next step, mosquito net.... and maybe another pillow....
So this past Sunday I made my way over to Vincom Towers (a Vietnamese version of a shopping mall) and managed to get tickets to see Alice in Wonderland 3D. Although the movie was incredibly fantastic, the biggest thrill of it all was the crowd at the theater. Fighting my way through a "line" of Vietnamese families was quite the challenge, but after ten minutes of pushing and shoving I managed to get into the theatre. Little Vietnamese kids have a rather peculiar reaction to violence, as they were laughing and cheering when heads were cut off, or blood went flying. In an American movie theatre, kids would be crying as mothers quickly ushered them from the theatre. I wonder what makes the difference?
There is a strange concert going on down the street from me right now. I'm not sure if concert is the right word, because that would mean that the person singing has some sort of talent. Right now, from what I gather, a rather old man is chanting on a microphone to a techno beat. After listening to children scream and shout all day, then hearing hundreds of motorbikes honking on my commute, getting back home to the quiet of my apartment is the best feeling... but that is obviously not happening this evening. Rather disappointed, but it's almost Friday, and one of my best friends is arriving Saturday, so even listening to this absurd "music" can't get me down.
Speaking of concerts, I went to a hip hop concert a week ago featuring a rather well-known artist from the group Jurassic 5.
The show was absolutely stellar, as the 5 ft tall black guy got into the crowd and was dancing with people while free-styling. I was in the front and basically had my nose against his shins, but was loving every second of it. It cost me a whopping 10 dollars to see Akil and three other DJs. This weekend is a 3 day long outdoor music event that costs 5 dollars, and I will definitely be going. Saturday night is "experimental DJ" night, should prove to be very interesting. Surprisingly, a lot of considerably well-known artists have recently been frequenting Hanoi. Girl Talk was here last year (for those of you who don't know, Girl Talk is a very popular "mash-up" artist in the college scene).
Next weekend the staff of Singapore International is having a Vietnamese cooking class. This includes being taken into the market, identifying ingredients (this being one of the most difficult tasks of cooking in Vietnam) and then learning how to make 6 different dishes. Although it is at 8am on a Saturday (my mother will know that waking up this early on a Saturday is a BIG deal for me) I really want to learn to cook some traditional Hanoian food, so I shall be up and at it very early.
It's a little after 5pm and I think I'm going down the street to get some seafood noodles (discovered an AMAZING seafood spot around the corner that is, shocker, incredibly inexpensive).
So this past Sunday I made my way over to Vincom Towers (a Vietnamese version of a shopping mall) and managed to get tickets to see Alice in Wonderland 3D. Although the movie was incredibly fantastic, the biggest thrill of it all was the crowd at the theater. Fighting my way through a "line" of Vietnamese families was quite the challenge, but after ten minutes of pushing and shoving I managed to get into the theatre. Little Vietnamese kids have a rather peculiar reaction to violence, as they were laughing and cheering when heads were cut off, or blood went flying. In an American movie theatre, kids would be crying as mothers quickly ushered them from the theatre. I wonder what makes the difference?
There is a strange concert going on down the street from me right now. I'm not sure if concert is the right word, because that would mean that the person singing has some sort of talent. Right now, from what I gather, a rather old man is chanting on a microphone to a techno beat. After listening to children scream and shout all day, then hearing hundreds of motorbikes honking on my commute, getting back home to the quiet of my apartment is the best feeling... but that is obviously not happening this evening. Rather disappointed, but it's almost Friday, and one of my best friends is arriving Saturday, so even listening to this absurd "music" can't get me down.
Speaking of concerts, I went to a hip hop concert a week ago featuring a rather well-known artist from the group Jurassic 5.
The show was absolutely stellar, as the 5 ft tall black guy got into the crowd and was dancing with people while free-styling. I was in the front and basically had my nose against his shins, but was loving every second of it. It cost me a whopping 10 dollars to see Akil and three other DJs. This weekend is a 3 day long outdoor music event that costs 5 dollars, and I will definitely be going. Saturday night is "experimental DJ" night, should prove to be very interesting. Surprisingly, a lot of considerably well-known artists have recently been frequenting Hanoi. Girl Talk was here last year (for those of you who don't know, Girl Talk is a very popular "mash-up" artist in the college scene). Next weekend the staff of Singapore International is having a Vietnamese cooking class. This includes being taken into the market, identifying ingredients (this being one of the most difficult tasks of cooking in Vietnam) and then learning how to make 6 different dishes. Although it is at 8am on a Saturday (my mother will know that waking up this early on a Saturday is a BIG deal for me) I really want to learn to cook some traditional Hanoian food, so I shall be up and at it very early.
It's a little after 5pm and I think I'm going down the street to get some seafood noodles (discovered an AMAZING seafood spot around the corner that is, shocker, incredibly inexpensive).
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The daily grind
I've been getting into the thick of things over here, starting week 2 of being an official teacher. Just received the contract offer today, turns out the company wants to pay me WAY less than I expected. This will not do, and I guess I have to negotiate. I was hoping it would be super easy, with my ideal salary, vacation days, and contract length, but alas, tis not the case. I'm going to seek out advice before I start negotiating, so if anyone has any tips, PLEASE feel free to send 'em this way!
Since talking about school just makes me tired, I will take this opportunity to describe my morning commute, which is definitely a daily adventure:
I hop on my bicycle in the morning and take a right to cross 3 lanes of insane traffic (this being the most difficult part of the commute, so once I'm crossed, all is well). Immediately to the right of my house is a park, which abuts the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.
This whole area consists of magnificent French mansions, all of which have been converted to government buildings. This fact makes my alley incredibly safe, since there are armed guards all around the vicinity. The French houses have been beautifully cared for, with lovely gardens and fresh paint, making it an absolute joy to cycle past them every day. After passing through the Government district, I hit Kim Ma, which I consider a Vietnamese version of Route 22. Each side of the street is one way, and the variety and number of shops is unmatched anywhere else in Hanoi. Now if you picture Route 22 with some trees and thousands upon thousands of motorbikes, you might have a better idea of what I'm dealing with. I stay on this street pretty much until I take a right and end up at the front gate of Singapore International. This street has 3 primary schools and one university, so traffic at 4 pm is absolutely atrocious... although, having a bicycle is a great advantage. I can pop up onto the sidewalk if it gets too bad (that is, if people haven't set up stools and grills). Despite the fact that I cannot take my eyes off the road for even a second, I really do have a great time riding my bicycle to and from work. I actually feel like I'm part of the daily grind, taking part in the Vietnamese work force in all its glory.
Speaking of the work force, people put some pretty ridiculous things on motorbikes. I often see men holding giant plates of glass, and I make sure to steer clear of these bikes, since an accident with them could get pretty messy. A lot of dogs stand at the front of the bikes, with their paws over the handlebars... I would give anything to see Petie and Penny do the same. Parents tie toddlers to their wastes with scarves, in order to keep them on the back of the bike. An American child care advocate would have a heart attack seeing the way children are draped all over motorbikes. The motorbike culture in itself so far has proven to be the most interesting/entertaining part of Vietnam. The things people carry, the way they carry them, and the absurd vehicular maneuvers never make for a dull moment on the streets of Hanoi. I am going to make an attempt to get a video recording of my morning commute... when the mist lets up (don't want to ruin my camera just yet). I think it will prove to be a very enjoyable video.
Since talking about school just makes me tired, I will take this opportunity to describe my morning commute, which is definitely a daily adventure:
I hop on my bicycle in the morning and take a right to cross 3 lanes of insane traffic (this being the most difficult part of the commute, so once I'm crossed, all is well). Immediately to the right of my house is a park, which abuts the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.
This whole area consists of magnificent French mansions, all of which have been converted to government buildings. This fact makes my alley incredibly safe, since there are armed guards all around the vicinity. The French houses have been beautifully cared for, with lovely gardens and fresh paint, making it an absolute joy to cycle past them every day. After passing through the Government district, I hit Kim Ma, which I consider a Vietnamese version of Route 22. Each side of the street is one way, and the variety and number of shops is unmatched anywhere else in Hanoi. Now if you picture Route 22 with some trees and thousands upon thousands of motorbikes, you might have a better idea of what I'm dealing with. I stay on this street pretty much until I take a right and end up at the front gate of Singapore International. This street has 3 primary schools and one university, so traffic at 4 pm is absolutely atrocious... although, having a bicycle is a great advantage. I can pop up onto the sidewalk if it gets too bad (that is, if people haven't set up stools and grills). Despite the fact that I cannot take my eyes off the road for even a second, I really do have a great time riding my bicycle to and from work. I actually feel like I'm part of the daily grind, taking part in the Vietnamese work force in all its glory.
Speaking of the work force, people put some pretty ridiculous things on motorbikes. I often see men holding giant plates of glass, and I make sure to steer clear of these bikes, since an accident with them could get pretty messy. A lot of dogs stand at the front of the bikes, with their paws over the handlebars... I would give anything to see Petie and Penny do the same. Parents tie toddlers to their wastes with scarves, in order to keep them on the back of the bike. An American child care advocate would have a heart attack seeing the way children are draped all over motorbikes. The motorbike culture in itself so far has proven to be the most interesting/entertaining part of Vietnam. The things people carry, the way they carry them, and the absurd vehicular maneuvers never make for a dull moment on the streets of Hanoi. I am going to make an attempt to get a video recording of my morning commute... when the mist lets up (don't want to ruin my camera just yet). I think it will prove to be a very enjoyable video.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
A day in pictures
Today was Sports Day at Singapore International. It started out hysterically, all the kids were so pumped to compete. By the end, I had about 6 children crying due to their loss (and having to watch another class receive medals). I finally managed to bring out my camera today, and since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll just post about Sports Day with images... enjoy!
Here is one of my classes, before the tears...
This is my other class, posing with their spirit posters right before the activities started.
Students lining up to head to the "fields"...
Tug of war... ended up pretty messy
Soccer dribbling relay, after this loss the tears started flowing
Here is one of my classes, before the tears...
This is my other class, posing with their spirit posters right before the activities started.
Students lining up to head to the "fields"...
Tug of war... ended up pretty messy
Soccer dribbling relay, after this loss the tears started flowing
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