Today, a group of us went on a food tour in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. 7 stops, 8 different dishes, 8 Americans, and 1 amazing (and hilarious) tour guide named Moon. For the purposes of this tour, I decided to be vegetarian ... I had pho ga a couple of days ago and they use EVERY part of the chicken, resulting in some odd textures that I'm not a fan of. Before we left the tour office, we did introductions and Moon gave us guidance on how to cross the street today. "You stay together like sticky rice, one group. Look at them and keep moving. Do not go back." So every time we cross the street ... "Sticky Rice!!!" . . . it later became a euphemism for other things but more on that later. *PARENTAL WARNING - there will be cursing and mild adult topics later. Moon also gave us mini Vietnamese language and culture lessons at each stop. Bun cha's lesson was on saying "Thank you" properly . . . "cảm ơn" = Thank you. Now pronunciation is super important ... if you say (phonetically) "come on" you would be telling the person to shut up. Therefore, don't do that. Moon made sure we could all say it properly "com un" (to the best of my typing pronunciation ability). . . . I'm not gonna lie, I'd definitely told a few Grab drivers to shut up instead of thank you ... oops.
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Today was a day of many appointments: 1 at school and 3 at strangers' houses. Needless to say, I became very familiar with Grab (Vietnam's version of Uber). They have a few options ranging from basic taxis to the equivalent of UberPool to motorbikes (oh yes, motorbikes) and I have used all three of those today. The first Grab took me to school and the assistant there, Tu, had me call her when I got in so she could give directions to the driver (apparently the school is hard to find and I don't really speak Vietnamese).
Paperwork was done at school and time to call another Grab . . . wouldn't work from my phone! Keep in mind I'm at least 10 km away from my hotel apartment. Luckily, Holly, another front office person, managed to get one from her phone and I just paid cash . . . crisis averted (and lucky I had gotten cash yesterday!) I didn't learn too much from these taxi rides as it felt very safe and secure and my life was in no way in danger. There's a lot of honking that happens but we'll get to that later. Cue my afternoon appointments. I let my realtor(s) go before I began my journey across the ocean in favor of finding roommates. Those of you that know me know that I'm not the most social person by nature so the thought was roommates = more opportunity to make friends or at least have regular social interaction. The teachers at the school seem friendly from what I've seen on Facebook but I don't want to place all my money on that. Anyways ... I've been scouring Hanoi housing groups for roommate listings and found 4 that were willing to let me look at their homes this week. First one isn't too far but I don't want to walk 30 minutes in 90 degree heat and 90% humidity (idk if that's accurate but that's definitely what it felt like) so I order a Grab Bike. However, I make the mistake of putting my pickup location on the spot where all the Grab Bike drivers hang out so I have NO IDEA which one is the one that picked up my order . . . and again, I don't really speak vietnamese. Luckily, the guy happens to ask what I'm wearing and I do know enough to say "mặc áo màu đỏ" or wear red shirt and the guy finds me, hands me a helmet and I hop on the back of a complete stranger's bike. This might be a good time to mention literally none of my drivers today spoke any English ... or if they did, they didn't let on at all. So things I learned about riding on the back of a motorbike 1. Hold on to something (the person, the handle behind you ... something) and squeeze the bike with your thighs. Makes you WAY more stable 2. Breathe . . . why you ask? Well of course you kind of need to to live but why might you not breathe: 1. The paint that divides lanes means literally nothing to drivers here 2. Red lights are a suggestion apparently 3. Unless you're actually colliding with someone, there is no such thing as too close to another vehicle 4. SO. MUCH. HONKING. . . . Now I don't mind the honking while walking down the street or as ambient noise in my apartment but there's just something about being a part of the traffic and hearing it that sets you on edge a little bit Honking serves MANY purposes in Vietnam. I had read as much before coming here but it was very interesting to actually observe it first hand. Things a honk might mean: 1. I'm going to pass you now 2. I'm behind/beside you . . . aka I am passing you right now 3. I'm in your lane right now please don't hit me on-coming traffic 4. Walk faster pedestrian 5. I'm turning in front of you **Note: literally in front of on-coming traffic . . . like making a left turn while people are coming at you 6. Hello there 7. I know the light is red but I'm going anyways 8. Or the same thing as in the USA (general annoyance/anger/frustration etc) ... this one is by far the least used Anyways, I took 2 more motorbikes and another taxi getting to/from my house appointments. All but the last taxi and bike were good drivers in my opinion. The last taxi driver ran over a biker's foot (got too close!) and the last bike just didn't know where he was going even after looking at the map on his phone (we made 2 U-turns). Thoughts on the houses: First House - Ba Dinh area near Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (that can't be the right spelling . . .?). Pros - beautiful house, room available with balcony so lots of natural light. Cons - took A LOT of turns through alleyways to get to it (got lost and guy had to come find me). Didn't feel like the safest place . . . Not that it felt unsafe, I just don't have a better word for it. Maybe cramped location is better way to put it? Second House - Tay Ho (west lake side). Pros - easy to find, open street/alleyway, Giang says the housemates are very social with one another, room is well decorated and has mini fridge. Cons - I'd be sharing a bathroom with a boy . . . Not really a con but I felt I needed to put something. This one was my favorite so far. Edit: actual con - space to dry clothes on terrace isn't super well covered. It was raining when I went and the clothes drying had blown off and onto the wet floor. Third House - short walk from the second house so also Tay Ho/West Lake. . . Was not a fan of this house. Very cramped inside, a bit dingy, I would be the only non-Vietnamese tenant, TINY bathroom (imagine two airplane bathrooms glued together and that still might be bigger than this bathroom), the only window in the room has the next house's wall less than a foot away. Pro- covered place to dry your clothes (dryers aren't super common here) I think that's enough for today. Basically traffic is crazy and housing is coming along hopefully. One more to see tomorrow. I've been in Taipei, Taiwan for about an hour. I am now the minority (I've seen about 6 other non-Asian people) and understand nothing being said around me but that's okay. My flight left San Francisco after 2AM on Tuesday morning and was about 12 hours long. It is now Wednesday morning in Taiwan and I've lost basically a whole day. Doesn't matter though, I actually managed to sleep some on the way over. The flight wasn't full so we were allowed to move seats if we wanted. The guy next to me moved so I had a whole two seats to myself ... seats that reclined (so glad I upgraded to Premium Economy). No idea how long I slept but I think it was enough *fingers crossed*. China Airlines made sure we were all very well fed. One meal shortly after take off, a snack mix, a sandwich, and breakfast an hour or so before landing. Every couple hours they came around with juice and water. Overall a very pleasant flight. Only downside - the computer in the seat back told me my next flight would be at gate B3 . . . I walk what feels like 20 minutes to the transfer desk for the B gates and the lady is like . . . your flight isn't here it's at A2 (on the opposite side of the airport) . . . but I got my steps in this morning! The line is crazy long so I take the opportunity to go freshen up in the bathroom. Baby wipe bath, change of clothes, deodorant = "fresh". Gotta go through security again even though I'm not convinced I ever left the "secure" area so I chug my water bottle and go through. Next flight leaves at 8:25am and then I'll be done with airports for a little while. The above are Taiwan . . . but I've made it to Hanoi finally. A visa was procured, passport stamped and here I am. Dave, my new principal, met me at the airport and helped me get where I needed to go. I now have a Vinaphone SIM card and Vietnamese phone number. I've met a couple of the other teachers at St. Paul, had a bowl of ramen (no, not pho... but that'll happen soon I'm sure). Once I got into my apartment, got a shower first thing ... traveling is the easiest way to get passively disgusting I think. I had vowed to stay awake until at least 8PM but literally couldn't keep my eyes open. A short nap later and I drag myself out of bed to go to back to the grocery store I'd been shown earlier. It's midnight in San Francisco. My body thinks that it is 2 AM. The next flight doesn't leave until actual 2 AM ... my 4 AM. It's been a long day. My day began in Kansas City, Missouri where my sister, Crystal, and I started the day with a breakfast of grits and fresh carrot juice. I will probably not have access to grits again until Christmas. We went rock climbing for a couple hours, leaving just before two school buses of children were to enter for their summer field trip. A lunch of leftovers, a phone call with our younger sister, Grace, and we were off to the airport. Believe it or not, the Kansas City airport doesn't appear to have baggage carts to help you lug your two 50+ pound suitcases into the check in counter. Apparently they expect you to be superhuman and while I would like to think that I am pretty awesome, I'm not that good. Crystal, being the wonderful sister that she is, paid $1 to park and help me carry everything in (Thanks sis!). Once through security at my gate, it's 3:10 PM . . . my flight doesn't leave until 6:05 PM. So much time to kill. Some word search, some people watching, the seats around me fill up for the flight about to leave for Seattle. I call a friend from school and chat for a bit then I realize that by the time I get to San Francisco, it'll be pretty late at night on the East Coast. I begin calling family to have a last chat and that basically gets me through until boarding time. My dad has no signal being as he's in a camp with thousands of other people who are also biking across Iowa, but everyone else gets talked to before I leave. The flight from KC to San Fran is uneventful. No screaming children, only one guy not using headphones as he plays some video game on his Nintendo Switch ... but I can't sleep. Maybe a 20 minute nap but that's it. I've never been good at sleeping on airplanes. But I did finish my book, "Eating Viet Nam." When we land in San Fran, we can't get off the plane yet because the buses that came to pick us up forgot to bring the gate agent (the guy who opens the plane door to let everyone off) ... he gets there eventually. It's chilly in San Fran, I wished I had thought to grab something mroe than a t-shirt from my checked bag earlier. While waiting for the train to the international terminal, a Buddhist monk comes and asks me for directions to I'm not sure where. We attempt to talk for a minute and I figure out he's headed to the international terminal as well so I tell him to just come with me. We attempt to talk on the train (he was heavily accented and I don't think his English was that great) and I find out that he has just come back from Griffin, Georgia (why a Buddhist monk is there I have no idea) and we chat about me moving to Vietnam. He says I should go to China (where he's from). We get to the international terminal and split ways as I try to figure out where to go. I have to check in again for these next two flights so I look for the China Airlines counter . . . it doesn't open until 10:15 PM . . . it was 8:40 at the time. Dinner and internet browsing get me through to 10:15 when I join the large line at the ticket counter. I hand my passport to the lady at the ticket counter and let her know I want to check a third bag (I had carried it through the first leg of the trip). Then she asks for my visa into Vietnam . . . I don't have one yet but I have my entry letter which I've been told will get me a visa once I'm in the Hanoi airport. So that's what she gets. She takes it, makes a copy, and staples it to a form which I have to sign. This form basically says "This idiot doesn't have a proper visa and they're signing this to release the airline from all liability should they get upset if they don't get let into the country they bought a ticket to." I sign, get my tickets, and go on my way. (No, I wasn't supposed to get a visa before I went ... I promise) By this point, it's around 11:00 but I know from my internet browsing that there's basically nothing to do once you go past the security checkpoint ... plus I'm not done with my coffee yet (I'm SO TIRED!). But there's an art exhibit ... about cats (why not?) ... so I peruse while finishing my coffee. Then on through security ... bucket for big electronics, small electronics, carry on bag, and shoes. The TSA agent seems to appreciate not having to ask me a million questions about stuff to take out of my bag ... I did this once today already, I got it down. Once I'm reassembled on the other side, I start walking. I know I'll fall asleep (and maybe miss my flight) if I sit down so I walk circles up and down the international gates. After about 3 passes, I realize some other guy is doing the same thing. He has a full size red pillow attached to his bag (hard to miss). Once I hit my 10K steps for the day (at 11:55 PM), I go find my gate and start typing this entry. I have no wifi for some reason so WordPad it is ... you guys will have to deal with me posting this later. It's 12:30 AM. My body thinks it's 2:30 AM. My flight boards at actual 1:40AM ... my 3:40AM. It's been a long day. I think I'll walk some more. |
ShannonMath Teacher living and working in Hanoi, Vietnam Archives
February 2022
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