Pineapple-Carrot

As I walked into the tailor's this afternoon, Dung ("Yoom" - obviously, right?!) greeted me by saying, "You look tired today. Are you tired?"

Ha! Either I just looked worse than usual today... or she was able to see my long and busy (but good!) week. I've been surprised more than once at how good and in-tune people here can be at reading a person without anything having been said.

I plan to use this weekend to reenergize myself... just enjoying the time and filling it with things that make me feel good (going to a cafe or two, reading, working out, writing postcards home and going to my favorite post office to mail them, drinking lots of fresh fruit juice... etc.)

I have already begun this plan with the fresh fruit juice part. I just got back from stopping in at a restaurant a couple blocks from my apartment and ordering a pineapple-carrot juice with no sugar, to-go... quite the order to communicate but I did it!

Sitting across from a tiny-sized, food-only elevator (the restaurant is 5 stories), I watched two carrots be taken out and brought to the preparation counter. The girl behind the counter came around to the cooler and took out a little pineapple. ...The juicer revved up... and soon after, one of the workers walked back inside with a to-go cup and straw. (I guess they don't usually do to-go!)

For less than $1.50 (tip included) I left the restaurant sipping my freshly-juiced pineapple and carrot juice... which is just that and nothing else. Mmmm perfection in a to-go cup!

Canisius College

On my drive home today there was a young guy ahead of me with a Canisius College bag on his back!! I figured that there might very well be more than one Canisius College in the world than the one in Buffalo, NY... buuut I  still got an immense feeling of excitement and 'Home'!

I pulled up next to him at the next red light and said, "Canisius College!"

He looked at me with some fear on his face and began trying to look at his back (since I was pointing excitedly!).

I knew that he probably had no idea what I was saying... buuut I kept going... "Canisius College! That's in New York... where I am from!"

...Well... much to my surprise, he got it! AND he spoke fluent English!

He said that a friend of his gave him the bag. He asked how long I've been in Ho Chi Minh and what I do here. He is in a pharmacy school in the city but is from the middle of Vietnam.

...Then the light turned green and I'll probably never see him again.

I loved the little, random piece of home! I know I'm not from Buffalo, NY... BUT being halfway around the world, it's close enough to count as my hometown.  :D

"Make it work."

This week has been extremely busy for me at school. It feels great to be teaching so many classes and tomorrow we are participating in an international writing competition.

I have been in Ho Chi Minh for almost 3 months now and honestly, parts of this city and the culture are driving me crazy and can be very frustrating. There are so many emotional ups and downs to living abroad - but I remember a friend telling me before I left the US that my attitude about this experience will be 90% of my happiness and success here.

I've been telling myself, Tim Gunn-style... "Make it work," over and over this week. It helps! I can make this experience whatever I want it to be. AND there is plenty for me to love in this city.  :)

Thank you to everyone who has sent me postcards! I cannot even tell you how wonderful it is to see a security guard walk through the library doors holding mail with my name on it.

The library checkout counter is lookin' good!

Last weekend I finally got around to having pictures printed and the students in the library for study hall last period today helped me put them up...

I love it! It was a lot of fun to do this with the kids - they really liked seeing the pictures and guessing where some of them were taken. It was nice to be involved in a fun activity with them and get to know each of these kids a bit better.

One of the 7th graders, Tom, put my picture of the roasted banana in tapioca sauce on the inside of the counter, near my computer. We joked that now I will always be hungry when I am at my desk!

I was telling them how much I like this dessert but have not been able to find it since. I've even gone out a few times just driving around the touristy areas in the city, looking for one of the food carts selling this! Phuong wrote down the name of it, che chua, in Vietnamese for me and I tried to find it in the Ben Thanh Market but was told they would have it tomorrow, not today - DOH!

Fish-On-A-Motorbike Street

Mmmmm Pho for dinner...

Remember my past post about streets all selling the same thing? 

For instance ...If you want to buy a toaster, you must find Toaster Shop Street.

Well... this guy and his fish are near my school 

and apparently this is Fish-On-A-Motorbike Street... 

because there are 4 of them... 

there every day... 

selling their poor, bagged fish.

Welcome to Vietnam.

My school! AIS Middle School.  :)

(Why have I not posted these sooner??)

And the big building on the right is The Manor - a huge apartment building (two actually) that also has restaurants, a bank, a convenience store, a spa, a travel agency, the gym that I belong to, and much more.

Some of the teachers at my school live there and it's less than a 5 minutes walk to school.

A bit of Saigon Street Life

I love the photos below... but I almost didn't even take them... 

so many things in Vietnam have become 'normal' to me.

The culture and street life here are really cool and hold a special energy.

3... --GO!-- 2... 1...

Generally, the rules of the road... are that there are no rules.

Like a river, the traffic is a steady flow... and, for the most part, things just work.

Traffics lights have a countdown... for both green and red lights. 

It's quite dangerous counting down a red light... 

since many people start going on 3... --GO!-- 2... 1...

Quite dangerous... especially since the oncoming traffic continues through their green light about 3 seconds AFTER it has become red. The change in lights usually creates a woven basket-pattern in the middle of the intersection...

...Lefthand turns are an entirely different monster...

...and turning on a red light (whether it's a righthand turn or left)...

...Oh, Saigon traffic... how I love and hate being a part of your craziness.

Rooster on a leash

Rooster on a leash! 

Funny enough, this actually reminded me of Koura (Lenny's dog) tied to the tree and waiting for us outside Sweet Action Ice Cream in Denver, CO. That'd be awesome if this rooster was waiting for its owner (or in Koura's case - the only person in the world that matters in her life... Lenny!).

The world I'm living in... (I'm monster-sized!)

I bought a great basket-bag in Dalat for about 25 cents. A ton of natives carry these and I think it's so functional - and cute! WELL, I've been told by multiple Vietnamese people that it is an old lady bag. Both my tailor and one of the IT guys at school laughed and told me that their mothers carry a bag like this! (WHAT?! O-M-G... not your mother?! haha... I think it's pretty funny... I like the bag, I think it's cute, and I'm pretty ok with having a little bit of 'old lady' in me... at least it's 'cute old lady' in my mind, haha.)

Here, it is carrying all of my produce bought to make salsa - perfect!

The two bouquets of flowers I bought came to about $2.00 and filled 3 vases, which are all over my apartment now  :)

I also bought produce on the street. I plan to make carrot juice... and the rest is for salsa. Everything below cost less than $1.00  :)