Luscious Latte Lovin'

Saigon knows how to make a good latte. I have been taking advantage of that on a daily basis for the past few months now. Thanks to Black Cat and Vietnammm.com -- Sarah, Michael, and I are able to get lattes delivered to school each day, free delivery! This has become a daily comfort, which would not be a part of my life if I were living in the States.

The pictures below show this morning's latte round!

...It's arrived!

Seeing Michael's eyes light up each morning as I 
walk into the lab with his latte never gets old.  :)

I like to think that Sarah's mornings get THAT much better 
when she sees me walk through her classroom door carrying our lattes!

...Because I know that's how MY mornings work when a security guard knocks 
on the library's door to signal the arrival of Black Cat's latte delivery man.

And the BEST latte mornings are the ones when I deliver Sarah's latte 

while carrying my BOOK so I can stay in her room ...read and sip for a while.  :)  :)

The Headless Department - JAMMIN'!

Guitar classes have just started this year at the AIS middle school. Music has become a bit part of our campus, which is awesome. We have a 7th grade and an 8th grade band... and our 7th grade ESL / English teacher, John, teaches guitar. John also jams with his wife, Mickey, playing the drums at school on the weekends.

Last night, John, Mickey, and two other teachers from our school (Ryan and Scott) played a set at a bar in the city!

It felt so good to be at a dive bar and listen to live music. I miss that piece of my life from Denver. ...And The Headless Department didn't disappoint! John knows how to entertain a crowd... barefoot, jumping around, swallowing the microphone, and... even a harmonica!

As soon as they started with a Ramones song for their first... I knew it was going to be awesome. But I didn't realize how punk rock John was! It was awesome - my favorite common of the night came from Donna, our art teacher, when she said: "I didn't know it was possible to love John even more until tonight!" haha... so true. We have a really great staff at the middle school! With more than 1/2 of the teachers moving next year, it'll definitely be different next year. (John and his wife are off to Saudi Arabia next year!!!)

They played at Yoko - a bar in District 3. It took me a while to find... but was a great little spot, hidden away on a side street.

The following video shows you some of the awesomeness that John Arunski created!... (I love when John starts singing directly to the camera around 0:50...)

"Please don't change..."

With only two weeks (TWO WEEKS!) left in the school year things are starting to wrap up...

Winny and I have started to 'wrap up' the library as well... everything needs to come down (but at least the books are allowed to stay on the shelves!)...

My favorite moment today came from a 7th grade student, Steve... who said to me, "Please don't change," as I was taking down the postcards from the front of the checkout counter.

Ha! So sweet.

For those of you who know me well... hopefully you can hear my 'silly voice' as I replied back to him...

"Ohhh don't you worry Steve, I'll still be the same Ms. Stacia next year!"

Sunday happenings with Andy in town

Andy's friend Karl arrived in Saigon today. We spent the day cruising and walking around the city...

Below, the boys are in the post office... with Uncle Ho's portrait in the background!...

We went to the Crab 'shack' restaurant for a great dinner... went hungry, left stuffed!

Karl at the Crab restaurant... Quan 94

After dinner we went back to the backpacker area (Pham Ngu Lao), where they've booked a cheap-cheap room at Chi's Cafe. We had some drinks on an upstairs balcony of a restaurant... nice view, ncie breeze... but the nicest --> no hawkers!

I plan on meeting up with the guys after the school day tomorrow... then they have tickets for a night bus ride up to Nha Trang... then on to Hoi An. They're planning on then riding motorbikes from Hoi An up to Hue -- which is supposed to be an incredibly beautiful ride... coast/sea on one side and mountains on the other! I hope they love it. ...From Hue, it's on to Hanoi and either Ha Long Bay or Sapa for them. I love their plan - sounds awesome and I wish I weren't working so I could go with them! It's been a lot of fun to have family in town for a bit... definitely a needed breather at the end of the school year.   :)

aaand I've tried DURIAN!!

Durian is known throughout Southeast Asia as the king fruits.

It is also banned from many public places - such as hotels and trains... because of its strong, distinct, and potent smell.

I adore the description of durian's smell in the Wikipedia article:

"The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust, and has been described variously as almonds, rotten onions, turpentine, and gym socks."


(Click here to read the Wikipedia article...)


This fruit is large in size and has a spiky outside.

Andy tried durian during a short stint in Burma recently... and talked me in to trying it today. I've been up for the challenge but haven't gotten around to it yet... nor have I been overly stoked to do so.  :P

We found a lady in my neighborhood with a basket of durians on the back of her motorbike... she cut one open for us, packaged the edible pieces of fruit for us, and we were on our way.

...On our way with a strong odor clouding up around us!

I've heard from people who have tried it that if you're able to get past the smell, the taste isn't so bad...

Overall - I'm glad I went for it. I would even eat it again... but don't plan to ever crave durian or buy it for myself to eat... unless that meant that I was getting a friend to try it for the first time!

Durian-face!

Durian-face!

After our durian snack we bagged up the leftovers and disposed of them outside.  :P

cousin in town :) :)

My cousin Andy got into HCMC last night! I picked him up from the airport on my motorbike :)

It's really nice to have family in town. It's fun to show someone the city... and for me to 'see' the city through their eyes.

Andy's been traveling for a while now... and most recently spent 3 weeks in Thailand. He's said that Vietnam is way more of a culture shock than Thailand was for him. That actually makes me feel really good... and proud of myself for having been so happy and comfortable living here (although that was definitely a process of settling in).

We've cruised around the city on my bike and it's been a really good time so far!

Here's Andy at a local cafe in my neighborhood earlier today...

Water Puppet Show

In Vietnamese, it is: Múa rối nước, literally translated to puppets that dance on water.

You can read more about this Vietnamese art form at the Wikipedia article for Water puppetry.

I was able to chaperone a field trip with our drama and choir classes to a local water puppet show (this theater is located right next to the Saigon Zoo and Botanic Gardens... in a museum)...

The theater was outside but covered, and really lovely.

Dragons!

My favorite piece of the Wikipedia article on water puppetry is that villagers would entertain each other with water puppet play when the rice fields would flood!

Each piece of the show had a different story... although most were about fighting (whether depicting cultural legends/folktales or national history.

This picture below was from my favorite number... dance of the water fairies!

The artists control the water puppets from behind a screen... standing in waist-deep water the entire time.

They came out for a bow at the end of the show!

And two of the puppeteers were nice enough to stay after for a bit to answer our students' questions and tell use more about this art form specific to Vietnam and its culture...

This looks like a retired water puppet.

They are each made out of wood and then lacquered.

If I were to go to another water puppet show, I would try to make sure to go to a theater that also has live music for the show. This one just played recorded music but I think live music would add a lot.

Also, if I get up to Hanoi again, THAT'S the place to view a water puppet show! ...As this art form originated in the north of Vietnam.