This is the exact scene that is behind my computer as I write this post.
I'm not at the Intercontinental Hotel or Park Hyatt Saigon, nor a rooftop lounge of any type. I'm writing from my new apartment, the place where I sleep. Exciting things have happened lately since we approached the end date of our lease in our previous, withering house. We've moved on to a 24th floor, posh penthouse on top of an apartment building in district 5- a lofty loft. The old Ly Chinh Thang house was great, but a combination of eroding paint, molding walls, and relentless construction noise from next door led us to our new cloud-soaring party pad. We found the apartment through a friend and we jumped on it (or into it, the pool). I have that feeling of a new beginning and heightened excitement, as well as one of spoiled indulgence. The flat is incredible. The icing on the bánh is the relatively low price. If you are reading this while standing, you might want to sit down. I only pay 5,000,000 Vietnamese Dong for this. What a STEAL! If you are fluent in Dong conversion and already did the calculations, excuse the redundancy. That's about $250 USD/month. The view alone is worth 20,000,000,000 VND. (A million bucks, keep up). I still have my same roommates, with the addition of Gabe, another teacher who is from Washington DC. None of us is used to the new Vietnamese lifestyle of the rich and famous, and we hope the initial thrill won't ever wear off. Note: we also have a sauna in the upstairs bathroom.
Besides the new address, the weeks are floating by while I absorb more Vietnamese culture. The highlights of the past month and a half include:
- Oktoberfest, Saigon. Yep, you know it as Southeast Asia's biggest Oktoberfest celebration. A large hotel hosted a gigantic German slosh fest complete with polka dancing, German rap, sausages, pork knuckle, pretzels, beer stations, and most importantly, Vietnamese and Westerners dancing on tables. If only I had video footage of the beer-induced, awkward movements set to music. Reminiscent of the giant, fan-propelled stickmen at car dealerships, I learned some exciting new dance material from most of the Asian revelers.
- Evil sister. Before my move, I used to jog in the park near my old house. In the park was a mini carnival that included a small, circular track for children to drive little cars. As I was jogging through, I noticed a car with young girl who had a maniacal grin on her face, and a frightened one on her younger brother's. After swerving to create her own routes and crashing into the other cars, a worker came running after her to set her straight or better yet kick her off. She accepted this challenge, though, and powered ahead, weaving between the other few cars to haul forward. But she ended her tyrannical reign with a powerful crash into the light post, which triggered all the lights of the entire carnival to go out. I smiled and continued jogging in the dark.
-Balancing act. While driving, I saw a girl on the back of another zigzagging motorbike eating noodle soup with perfect precision.
- My girlfriend. One of my young students drew a picture of what he thought my girlfriend should look like. Enjoy.
- Little Hubbie. On the first day of an adult class, I'll usually give each student a piece of paper and allow everyone to write down any one question they want to ask me. With the anonymity, the questions are always entertaining. Of recent note was the question: "Would you like to be my little husband?"
- Classroom profanity. In another new class, a student introduced herself with her real life name, "Phuc Dat".
- Scary, all eight of 'em. In our old house, we had a large kitchen that housed an entire nocturnal food chain. At the bottom were the ants, which were eaten by the lizards, who competed with the unavoidable Vietnamese cockroaches (which can also FLY). At the top of the chain was Cuc, our cleaning lady. But one night I stumbled across another contender for the top spot, and she could steal my kill any day she wanted.
- Memorable farewell. On the last day of one of my favorite kid's classes, the students told me that they had a surprise for me during the last 10 minutes of class. They all lined up, unveiled signs they had colored, and sang a traditional Vietnamese song that shows respect and gratefulness to a teacher. Although, I did give them candy that day so maybe that's what they were grateful for.
- 'Lil party-er. "What happened last night?"...was written (in Vegas-style, bright-colored font) on the t-shirt of an ~8 year-old student meandering through the halls at school; he was probably heading for the coffee.
- Fan's biggest fan. I often give oral examinations to students, where I ask students certain questions to grade their oral responses based on appropriate grammar and fluency. One of the questions was 'What do you think are the three greatest inventions?'. Upon asking, a student responded with "the computer, the motorbike, and the fan". Maybe next time, wheel. Just goes to show how important the fan is in a tropical country that lives through oppressive heat 12 months/year.
- Halloteens. On Halloween, I had to teach a teen class that was full of the usual impudent, hormone-filled characters. Besides giving out candy, playing the song "Monster Mash", and a brief history lesson, I had one last ghoulish trick for the cheeky teens. To prep, I taught them about 'Where's Waldo'. Then, I invited the most defiant student up to the front of the class. I told him that he had 15 seconds to find Waldo, and if he did, I would give him 200,000 VND ( = $_______, see *solution at bottom). Then, I played a YouTube video clip of a 'Where's Waldo' scene and a timer counting down from 15 seconds. But, at about second 12, a heinous, grotesque, screaming zombie face pops up to shock a concentrating onlooker. The entire class, and especially the student up close, all recoiled and screamed in such terror that made all the Halloween spirits proud.
*$10
The rest can be said in pictures and a few more words:
The heart of the old French quarter.
The new apartment's day view.
The night view.
From a cloud's view, I can witness the huge array of veinal streets and arterial alleys that provide blood flow to the city, a true living organism. Every building serves a purpose and the human cells never stop working. When I'm in the streets, I become part of the hectic bustle that keeps the city alive. But from my axial vantage point, I see the cityganism as a whole, with each structure matching its function. It's a complicated and beautiful life-form.
The scene that greets me each morning. The sounds crawl up the walls and I can a hear the unlimited buzz of the city. There is an uninterrupted symphony of distant honks that pay tribute to the reckless traffic on the ground.
Driving down a road that aligns perfectly with the towering Bitexco Building.
The last picture I took from the rooftop of our old house. The blanket of buildings is endless.
Time is still spilling forward but I'm enjoying every day. The food of Vietnam is continuing to titillate all my senses and the city's roads and alleyways create endless exploration. After eight months, I know I've enjoyed an incredible adventure but yet I feel that there is so much more to see. I have no complaints. Vietnam is providing for me an insatiable craving for....life, fast or still.
Great post Jon! "Time is spilling forward..." I agree wholeheartedly.
ReplyDeleteYour new place looks awesome! Roof top pool...so sweet.
Keep up the great work, I know your students love you.
Love, Laura