I did it, I take full responsibility for my actions, I left my window ajar in the rainy season. It was a lesson well learned because the wind blew my window all the way open AND, lucky me it soaked my bed! Now, this wouldn't be such a problem if I had a DRYER but, no, there is no dryer here and humidity takes care of any hope of items drying quickly... wet sheets it is.
Not only did I end up with a wet bed, but I also had the pleasure of pooling water on the floor (which clearly = wet towels) and seepage into Krista's room which is directly below mine. I get it now, when they say rain, they mean it!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
...and a Rat-a-tat-tat
Continuing on the theme of pests. I not only had an encounter with a cockroach but I also had a meet and greet with a rat. Once again I should quantify that rats are not small little things but rather large, almost cat like, creatures that seem to thrive in this neck of the woods...or should I say city...Anyway, I will set the stage.
After a long day of apartment shopping which, as you know from previous posts, was horrible, hot, humid, hunger inducing, and simply hateful, a group of us bewildered expats decided to go get something to eat. After wandering aimlessly looking for a place to eat, Krista and I decided that enough was enough and we were just going to stop at a nice looking restaurant, fitted with beautiful Chinese lanterns and a good sized patio. We left the others and took a seat. We initially thought it was a sushi place but once we were seated it became abundantly clear that it was not sushi after all. Being the adventurers that we are we decided to stay anyway and the waiter was hovering over us (the Vietnamese waiters and waitresses, I have learned, tend to think that as soon as you sit down you will be ready to order so they exhibit helicopter type behaviour until you actually do place your order). Clearly we were taking too long to decide and our waiter was getting a bit flustered. The problem was, we were trying to find something that we thought might be worth trying (remember we were extremely hungry and discouraged at this point). Finally, he decided that he would choose our meal for us. "You like this" (pointing at menu) "This very good and this, yes". So without really knowing it we ordered fermented shrimp rolls and rice. Exactly what you need after a super shitty day.
Anyway, our dinner was served and Krista and I both ate a piece of our fermented shrimp roll. Now, I have been known to use the expression "I am so hungry I could eat the South bound end of a North bound skunk" but I honestly think that skunk ass would have been better than this shrimp roll...I have never eaten anything like it before and I pray that I never have to again. Gross does not even come close to explaining what it tasted like and I believed at that moment that even if I sandblasted my palate I would never forget the taste. The frosting on the cake was as our dinner was being served I noticed a cat like creature on the sidewalk. "What is that?", I asked, but as it drew nearer I realized it was a rat, a very big rat, very, very,very big rat. I was fine with the rat actually, I mean clearly it is on the sidewalk, it is not going to bother us, right? WRONG! Next thing I know the fearless rodent is running along the patio right at us, and I mean right at us. It was so close I could have touched it. Krista actually shreaked and we both pulled our feet up on our chairs. Not the kind of dining experience we were hoping for after our awful day. Anyway, we took it upon ourselves to move to a table further away from the rat runway and ate rice in a highly alert state.
After a long day of apartment shopping which, as you know from previous posts, was horrible, hot, humid, hunger inducing, and simply hateful, a group of us bewildered expats decided to go get something to eat. After wandering aimlessly looking for a place to eat, Krista and I decided that enough was enough and we were just going to stop at a nice looking restaurant, fitted with beautiful Chinese lanterns and a good sized patio. We left the others and took a seat. We initially thought it was a sushi place but once we were seated it became abundantly clear that it was not sushi after all. Being the adventurers that we are we decided to stay anyway and the waiter was hovering over us (the Vietnamese waiters and waitresses, I have learned, tend to think that as soon as you sit down you will be ready to order so they exhibit helicopter type behaviour until you actually do place your order). Clearly we were taking too long to decide and our waiter was getting a bit flustered. The problem was, we were trying to find something that we thought might be worth trying (remember we were extremely hungry and discouraged at this point). Finally, he decided that he would choose our meal for us. "You like this" (pointing at menu) "This very good and this, yes". So without really knowing it we ordered fermented shrimp rolls and rice. Exactly what you need after a super shitty day.
Anyway, our dinner was served and Krista and I both ate a piece of our fermented shrimp roll. Now, I have been known to use the expression "I am so hungry I could eat the South bound end of a North bound skunk" but I honestly think that skunk ass would have been better than this shrimp roll...I have never eaten anything like it before and I pray that I never have to again. Gross does not even come close to explaining what it tasted like and I believed at that moment that even if I sandblasted my palate I would never forget the taste. The frosting on the cake was as our dinner was being served I noticed a cat like creature on the sidewalk. "What is that?", I asked, but as it drew nearer I realized it was a rat, a very big rat, very, very,very big rat. I was fine with the rat actually, I mean clearly it is on the sidewalk, it is not going to bother us, right? WRONG! Next thing I know the fearless rodent is running along the patio right at us, and I mean right at us. It was so close I could have touched it. Krista actually shreaked and we both pulled our feet up on our chairs. Not the kind of dining experience we were hoping for after our awful day. Anyway, we took it upon ourselves to move to a table further away from the rat runway and ate rice in a highly alert state.
La Cucaracha
There had been talk of large cockroaches but after having them crawling all over my body in Africa I thought, "how bad can it be?" Clearly worse than I had figured.
I was in the school supply room signing out materials (you have to sign everything out and I mean EVERYTHING...I had to count paper...it is ridiculous - I digress). The school uniforms are also located in the supply room so there were a number of parents and students around trying things on and getting what they needed. Anyway, I reached into a box of student workbooks and a cockroach ran up my arm, this was not a small African cockroach, this was a GIANT cockroach, this cockroach was so big it could have carried my supplies for me, and the sucker should have seeing as I threw them in the air and screamed at the top of my lungs making a complete spectacle of myself in front of students and parents. Needless to say there was no recovering in a graceful way, the biggest cockroach on the face of the planet didn't flee it just skuttled about my pile of supplies...fantastic...So as I did the "I'm so grossed out Mexican Hat dance" this disease infested creature walked over my ever so carefully counted supplies. I clearly need to work on my pest control. Where is a gecko when you need one?
I was in the school supply room signing out materials (you have to sign everything out and I mean EVERYTHING...I had to count paper...it is ridiculous - I digress). The school uniforms are also located in the supply room so there were a number of parents and students around trying things on and getting what they needed. Anyway, I reached into a box of student workbooks and a cockroach ran up my arm, this was not a small African cockroach, this was a GIANT cockroach, this cockroach was so big it could have carried my supplies for me, and the sucker should have seeing as I threw them in the air and screamed at the top of my lungs making a complete spectacle of myself in front of students and parents. Needless to say there was no recovering in a graceful way, the biggest cockroach on the face of the planet didn't flee it just skuttled about my pile of supplies...fantastic...So as I did the "I'm so grossed out Mexican Hat dance" this disease infested creature walked over my ever so carefully counted supplies. I clearly need to work on my pest control. Where is a gecko when you need one?
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Loft Lust
So, after spending countless days looking at hideous apartments Krista and I finally found a place that we could live in. It is a 140 m2 Loft apartment in a giant complex called "Sky Garden". It is close to one of the main highways so when the windows are open it is a bit noisy, actually it is a lot noisy during the day, but there aren't many places that are quiet and nice. We opted for noisy nice...and I must say at night it isn't too bad (at least I haven't really had a problem sleeping at all), there is a beautiful view...and I think it is really nice.
Part of the process of getting an apartment here is meeting with the landlord to 'bargain' for things. The idea is for the landlord to meet you to see if they like you, and for you to try to get rid of the majority of the super tacky crap that has been won at the carnival and found its way into your prospective apartment (I know, I know, it wasn't really won at a carnival, it was purchased at a market. Why must people buy tacky shit to stick on every surface? Why?). It is also a chance for you to try to reduce the price of the rent... In our case, nothing doing. It was like bargaining with a brick wall. Our landlord= flexible like concrete. Great. Just my luck. Find the nice place with the not so nice landlord. In the end Krista and I decided that getting the place cleaned and painted would suffice because it is a great spot.
We moved in on Friday, which was a bit of a fiasco...carting suitcases the size of small countries around is never a fun task, add the heat, the language barriers...you get the picture...Anyway, we managed to get into the apartment. The place was cleaned but as you all know, my definition of clean is slightly different than most humans (thanks mom), so I had to scrub down my bedroom before I unpacked anything and, of course, there was a hint of mothballs in my closet - brilliant - just what I've always wanted clothes that smell like mothballs...talk about fitting in with society...
By the time I finished cleaning it was time to go to sleep that was when I discovered my pet. Apparently geckos can get into your apartment with out too much trouble - who knew. So I have a small lizard that has taken up residence under my bed. It isn't too big of a deal I guess, free bug control perhaps. The only issue is the little sucker makes a lot of noise. I tried to catch him to release him into the wild...clearly another story...
Anyway, the apartment is spacious and it has an extra bed for visitors...hint, hint...
Part of the process of getting an apartment here is meeting with the landlord to 'bargain' for things. The idea is for the landlord to meet you to see if they like you, and for you to try to get rid of the majority of the super tacky crap that has been won at the carnival and found its way into your prospective apartment (I know, I know, it wasn't really won at a carnival, it was purchased at a market. Why must people buy tacky shit to stick on every surface? Why?). It is also a chance for you to try to reduce the price of the rent... In our case, nothing doing. It was like bargaining with a brick wall. Our landlord= flexible like concrete. Great. Just my luck. Find the nice place with the not so nice landlord. In the end Krista and I decided that getting the place cleaned and painted would suffice because it is a great spot.
We moved in on Friday, which was a bit of a fiasco...carting suitcases the size of small countries around is never a fun task, add the heat, the language barriers...you get the picture...Anyway, we managed to get into the apartment. The place was cleaned but as you all know, my definition of clean is slightly different than most humans (thanks mom), so I had to scrub down my bedroom before I unpacked anything and, of course, there was a hint of mothballs in my closet - brilliant - just what I've always wanted clothes that smell like mothballs...talk about fitting in with society...
By the time I finished cleaning it was time to go to sleep that was when I discovered my pet. Apparently geckos can get into your apartment with out too much trouble - who knew. So I have a small lizard that has taken up residence under my bed. It isn't too big of a deal I guess, free bug control perhaps. The only issue is the little sucker makes a lot of noise. I tried to catch him to release him into the wild...clearly another story...
Anyway, the apartment is spacious and it has an extra bed for visitors...hint, hint...
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Motor Cycle Makeout
Motorcycles, motor scooters, electric bikes, actually, anything on two wheels is the most common mode of transportation here in HCMC. I could probably talk for days about what I have seen so far being transported on these two wheels: coffins, toilets, dogs, pigs, chickens, a family of five, but, actually, I am going to talk about something I hadn't heard about, or even thought about before...Parking. How do you discretely go parking with your boyfriend on a motor bike? The answer:YOU DON'T! But here, in a city of two wheeled transport, 'parking' does happen.
My roommate and I were taking a stroll one night after dinner and happened upon 'Lover's Lane'. I must say it was kind of funny, there were about 10 motorbikes pulled over to the side of the road and there were people making out on all of them. I felt like I was being rude, like I was barging in on some private moments, but it was the only road we could take...and clearly they didn't even notice us walking by. . .
My roommate and I were taking a stroll one night after dinner and happened upon 'Lover's Lane'. I must say it was kind of funny, there were about 10 motorbikes pulled over to the side of the road and there were people making out on all of them. I felt like I was being rude, like I was barging in on some private moments, but it was the only road we could take...and clearly they didn't even notice us walking by. . .
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Sofas For Sitting and Showers With Stalls - Apartment Shopping in Saigon
Okay, I dont even really think I can put to words my first experience looking for an apartment. There are a few things that I should explain first (although, I am not really sure that I have it perfectly clear - language barrier and all...): Buildings are not owned by one landlord. Landlords buy the apartments and then rent them out. So, if you have one hundred apartments in one building, you could potentially have one hundred different landlords. On top of that, each landlord designs and decorates their own space - I use those terms loosely and I mean very loosely (will explain later) also they get to pick their fees, which as a landlord myself I understand, BUT I don't understand how random the prices are. I think the whole process could be like the mystery grab bag at a carnaval...I envision Vietnamese landlords at a carnaval, they go around at the carnival and the cautious ones just take the grab bag with the price in it and leave, the rest of them spend hours at the ring toss trying to win the giant purple parrot so they can put it into their apartment - because every one needs a purple parrot. Seriously, you just never know what you are going to get. Behind every door there is something new and exciting (often with a hint of mothballs).
It became abundantly clear that I will be adapting to my surroundings...because if I don't I will be sleeping under my mosquito net and ranger poncho for two years (hmm, that actually doesn't sound bad...). I decided to see if I could convince someone if they wanted to share an accommodation because more money SHOULD = better apartments, but not so much...It generally means you have a bigger space to clutter with weird stuff. At least now I have a partner to suffer through this daunting task.
There are many nice apartments in Saigon, don't get me wrong, they are just too far away from the school I will be working at. At this point I have no mode of transportation aside from the heel toe express and school starts at 8am. Most people know me well enough to be laughing at this point because I am not a morning person. Anyway, factor in the heat, a 20 minute walk, and I have a feeling things will not be pretty most days (mind you, I am loving the heat which is more than I can say for most people without broken internal thermostats - Raynauds Disease is good for something, who knew?). I digress... So nice apartments are anywhere from a 15 minute drive to a 40 minute drive away, add insane traffic, the potential for miscommunication and having to pay someone to drive me...ah the rub of it all...furthermore, I would be too far away from grocery stores etc. so clearly a close apartment is important.
Anyway, during orientation it was mentioned that you need to check many things like: water pressure, water heating, the beds and the sofa to make sure they are comfortable. Now, I was a little bit skeptical I mean, how bad can a sofa be? Clearly I wasn't taking this seriously enough. Most sofas were one step up from a bed of nails or so ugly you would get nightmares if you sat on them. Not exactly what you want to come home to. I, being the trooper that I am, decided that the sofa would not be the thing to hold me back from renting a potential apartment. There was another deal breaker for me, the shower situation. First, even though it is very hot here, there must be hot water in the shower. I can't take a cold shower everyday for two years, come on! Also, there should be a stall for the shower, and no, I am not joking. I don't know how many places I saw with a room that had a sink toilet and shower head with no stall. I guess it could potentially save time in the long run because you could shower while using the toilet...but maybe not...
To discuss decor would take far too long but I will share some highlights:
Behind door number one you get: A two bedroom apartment, with one bed (???)and it is an extra $50 a month if you want a second bed, a kitchen with giant plastic ants and butterflies on the wall, lattice work with grapes hanging from the ceiling in the bathroom, plastic starfish, decorative stones and sand in the living room all for $800.00 US ... Or, how about a purple sparkle butterfly light and a big molded red sparkly sink...quite the combo. Bathroom tiles with cartoon tigers anyone? And mint green paint, what is it with the mint green paint!? How about the bathroom kitchen combo - you can cook your eggs and take a crap at the same time (another time saver I guess). I could go on but I believe that I have taken far to long already.
Maybe that poncho was a good investment.
It became abundantly clear that I will be adapting to my surroundings...because if I don't I will be sleeping under my mosquito net and ranger poncho for two years (hmm, that actually doesn't sound bad...). I decided to see if I could convince someone if they wanted to share an accommodation because more money SHOULD = better apartments, but not so much...It generally means you have a bigger space to clutter with weird stuff. At least now I have a partner to suffer through this daunting task.
There are many nice apartments in Saigon, don't get me wrong, they are just too far away from the school I will be working at. At this point I have no mode of transportation aside from the heel toe express and school starts at 8am. Most people know me well enough to be laughing at this point because I am not a morning person. Anyway, factor in the heat, a 20 minute walk, and I have a feeling things will not be pretty most days (mind you, I am loving the heat which is more than I can say for most people without broken internal thermostats - Raynauds Disease is good for something, who knew?). I digress... So nice apartments are anywhere from a 15 minute drive to a 40 minute drive away, add insane traffic, the potential for miscommunication and having to pay someone to drive me...ah the rub of it all...furthermore, I would be too far away from grocery stores etc. so clearly a close apartment is important.
Anyway, during orientation it was mentioned that you need to check many things like: water pressure, water heating, the beds and the sofa to make sure they are comfortable. Now, I was a little bit skeptical I mean, how bad can a sofa be? Clearly I wasn't taking this seriously enough. Most sofas were one step up from a bed of nails or so ugly you would get nightmares if you sat on them. Not exactly what you want to come home to. I, being the trooper that I am, decided that the sofa would not be the thing to hold me back from renting a potential apartment. There was another deal breaker for me, the shower situation. First, even though it is very hot here, there must be hot water in the shower. I can't take a cold shower everyday for two years, come on! Also, there should be a stall for the shower, and no, I am not joking. I don't know how many places I saw with a room that had a sink toilet and shower head with no stall. I guess it could potentially save time in the long run because you could shower while using the toilet...but maybe not...
To discuss decor would take far too long but I will share some highlights:
Behind door number one you get: A two bedroom apartment, with one bed (???)and it is an extra $50 a month if you want a second bed, a kitchen with giant plastic ants and butterflies on the wall, lattice work with grapes hanging from the ceiling in the bathroom, plastic starfish, decorative stones and sand in the living room all for $800.00 US ... Or, how about a purple sparkle butterfly light and a big molded red sparkly sink...quite the combo. Bathroom tiles with cartoon tigers anyone? And mint green paint, what is it with the mint green paint!? How about the bathroom kitchen combo - you can cook your eggs and take a crap at the same time (another time saver I guess). I could go on but I believe that I have taken far to long already.
Maybe that poncho was a good investment.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The Airport - going commando vs. bringing the books
Okay, I have to do a bit of back-blog because I arrived in HCMC almost a week ago. So, from the beginning then.
After awaking at 05:00 on Friday, August 7th, I adjusted my suitcase, ate a peach, talked to the 'rents, had a shower, drank some coffee, and said a tearful good bye to Deindre. Then Brent and I left Deindre's house at about 06:45 to head to the Pearson Airport and face my fate at the Cathay counter.
On the way to the airport I told Brent that if my suitcase was too heavy I was going to have a meltdown, and yes, my suitcase was too heavy. Not the too heavy that you can buy your way out of, of course, but the beyond the weight restriction kind of too heavy. I was advised to go over to the empty British Airways counter where I could begin to take things out of the suitcase and use the scale to weigh my bag. Brilliant. This is exactly what I want to be doing. I don't want to be spending time with my boyfriend who I am moving away from for two years, I want to root 'round in my ever so carefully packed bag and remove essential items that I can't live without.
Brent, being the rational person that he is, volunteered to go purchase another big suitcase so I could disperse the weight of my bags and take everything with me. Now, as some of you know, I have packed up my house, and packed up my bags and the last freaking thing I want to do is unpack and re-pack my bags AGAIN. So despite his knight like, valiant effort, I decide to just remove things from my bag. (So clearly, the issue that I have is completely my fault, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. If you choose to read no further that is fine, I do take full responsibilty now that I am 22hours away from my resourses that I really do need).
As a teacher I wanted to have resources with me, resourses = books = too heavy. Lovely. So I took out my teaching resourses (except the three kilogram binder, I put that in my carry-on just to make my journey complete) and left them with Brent. There's always the internet right? Besides, I couldn't leave the underwear behind...they don't make 'em big enough to cover my hiny here!
Needless to say, now that I am here in Saigon I am thinking going commando would be fine if only I could have my books...
After awaking at 05:00 on Friday, August 7th, I adjusted my suitcase, ate a peach, talked to the 'rents, had a shower, drank some coffee, and said a tearful good bye to Deindre. Then Brent and I left Deindre's house at about 06:45 to head to the Pearson Airport and face my fate at the Cathay counter.
On the way to the airport I told Brent that if my suitcase was too heavy I was going to have a meltdown, and yes, my suitcase was too heavy. Not the too heavy that you can buy your way out of, of course, but the beyond the weight restriction kind of too heavy. I was advised to go over to the empty British Airways counter where I could begin to take things out of the suitcase and use the scale to weigh my bag. Brilliant. This is exactly what I want to be doing. I don't want to be spending time with my boyfriend who I am moving away from for two years, I want to root 'round in my ever so carefully packed bag and remove essential items that I can't live without.
Brent, being the rational person that he is, volunteered to go purchase another big suitcase so I could disperse the weight of my bags and take everything with me. Now, as some of you know, I have packed up my house, and packed up my bags and the last freaking thing I want to do is unpack and re-pack my bags AGAIN. So despite his knight like, valiant effort, I decide to just remove things from my bag. (So clearly, the issue that I have is completely my fault, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. If you choose to read no further that is fine, I do take full responsibilty now that I am 22hours away from my resourses that I really do need).
As a teacher I wanted to have resources with me, resourses = books = too heavy. Lovely. So I took out my teaching resourses (except the three kilogram binder, I put that in my carry-on just to make my journey complete) and left them with Brent. There's always the internet right? Besides, I couldn't leave the underwear behind...they don't make 'em big enough to cover my hiny here!
Needless to say, now that I am here in Saigon I am thinking going commando would be fine if only I could have my books...
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Getting Started
I have taken the leap, as you all know, to live and work in Vietnam. Although it is not really anything remarkable (many people work abroad), I believe that there are many remarkable things here that I will be able to share with the rest of you... and, of course, most of you know me well enough to understand the likelyhood that I will create my own "remarkable" experiences.
Currently my body wants to sleep at 21:00 and awake at 04:00 so I am working around that to be able to produce something worth reading... Give me some time...
Currently my body wants to sleep at 21:00 and awake at 04:00 so I am working around that to be able to produce something worth reading... Give me some time...
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