OK, OK, I know I've been here eight weeks without as much as a whisper in a long while. It's taken me a while to acclimatise. In fact, I know it will take much longer, if ever, to feel at home here. There is the obvious fact that I don't look like everyone else, and this means that I stand out wherever I go. Walk down the street, "Madame, madame, mo-to-bike?" is pretty much the standard sound I hear everywhere I go. Except when I actually want to get a motorbike taxi ride and then there is none to be seen.
The teaching is going well, the only problem is that I haven't got a full-time load of classes yet, so I have quite a lot of leisure time. Two weeks ago was Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, which followed on so closely after Christmas that it's just felt like one long holiday here since mid-December when I arrived. Now the crazy time is over and hopefully things are now back to "normal", although I'm still getting used to this type of normal. Anyway, the students are great, very polite and serious and keen to learn, so that is all fine.
I'm now living in a house with three other Australians: Simone, Ben and Bec. I didn't plan it that way, it was just the best house available at the time, and they wanted me to move in as well. The house is a 15-minute bike ride to work and I'm proud to say that I am now confidently riding a bike (push-bike that is, not a motorbike!) every day, negotiating the crazy traffic and even successfully doing left hand turns, which I always have to psych myself up for first. Location - wise, it's good, because we are out of the old quarter but still quite convenient for everything. It takes about 10-15 minutes by taxi to get anywhere.
Next time I write (and I promise it'll be sooner!) I'll do an overview of the best and worst food in my travels so far.
The teaching is going well, the only problem is that I haven't got a full-time load of classes yet, so I have quite a lot of leisure time. Two weeks ago was Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, which followed on so closely after Christmas that it's just felt like one long holiday here since mid-December when I arrived. Now the crazy time is over and hopefully things are now back to "normal", although I'm still getting used to this type of normal. Anyway, the students are great, very polite and serious and keen to learn, so that is all fine.
I'm now living in a house with three other Australians: Simone, Ben and Bec. I didn't plan it that way, it was just the best house available at the time, and they wanted me to move in as well. The house is a 15-minute bike ride to work and I'm proud to say that I am now confidently riding a bike (push-bike that is, not a motorbike!) every day, negotiating the crazy traffic and even successfully doing left hand turns, which I always have to psych myself up for first. Location - wise, it's good, because we are out of the old quarter but still quite convenient for everything. It takes about 10-15 minutes by taxi to get anywhere.
Next time I write (and I promise it'll be sooner!) I'll do an overview of the best and worst food in my travels so far.
