Doug and I finally paid our deposit, signed our contract, and moved our four large and two small suitcases into our brand new apartment in Ho Chi Minh City. We're living in Phu My Hung (known by Saigonians as Korea town), located in district 7. Our apartment is in the Sky Garden complex, which I would liken to a giant country club. There is a pool, gym, tennis courts, yoga facility, ample running nearby, and much less traffic than the rest of the city. The complex is, admittedly, a bit much, but we're liking it so far.
There are three phases to Sky Garden, and between each building is a courtyard. Built into the complex are restaurants, grocery and convenience stores, bootleg DVD shops, and just about anything you could need or want. The best part? Everywhere delivers!
The high-rises are everywhere, but somehow there is still a sense of calm amidst the concrete.
From level two (where many of the shops are), you can look down to the manicured grasses, pool, tennis courts, and other pleasant sights.
Our apartment is brand new and rather large. It has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a laundry room (outside), and a spectacular view of the city.
Finally! No more movies on my MacBook Pro.
Remember the freestanding sink in the kitchen of our last apartment? Well, this may look small to you stateside folks, but we feel like we have a gourmet kitchen.
One of the two bathrooms actually has a western shower! The master bath has a large tub with an Asian-style shower.
Although Sky Garden is a bit more expensive than other parts of the city, it's pretty amazing how cheap everything is. Last night, we had a leisurely dinner at Paris Cafe, which is a wonderfully relaxing restaurant with a 15 foot tall (or so) Eiffel Tower replica. I ordered vegetarian rice noodle, Doug ordered beef instant noodle, and we both ordered a beer. In the states, we might have paid US$25.00 or more for our lovely dinner on giant wicker, cushioned seats, surrounded by fountains and greenery. Our bill totaled US$6.75. Last week, our house was cleaned for US$10.00, our laundry was washed and folded for US$11.50, and we paid around US$3.00 for both of our breakfasts. I don't know if I'll ever get over the shock of how inexpensive everything is. In many ways, it's hard to think about returning to the states and paying triple or quadruple for everything.
All in all, Doug and I are very happy and loving Vietnam. Our apartment is wonderful, our neighborhood is charming, and our quality of life is above average. What more could we ask for? Except for all of our friends and family to move here, of course.
Today, we had to go to the hospital to have a medical checkup for our work permits. We were sent from laboratory to laboratory, given x-rays, an EKG, a physical, and, of course, a blood draw. In third world fashion, we played scavenger hunt, going here for this, there for that, running all over the hospital in a caucasian parade.
Any of you that know me know that I'm terrified of needles to the point of hyperventilating or passing out. In the states, I am able explain to the nurse, "I am terrified of needles, so I'm going to concentrate on that point on the ceiling over there, okay?" The nurse will give me a minute, then draw my blood without talking to or distracting me from my focus. I always have someone (usually Doug) hold my hand while I do anything that has the word "shot" or "needle" in it. Today was no different.
It took awhile to communicate that I needed Doug in the room with me. Finally, I got permission to bring him into the room. The two nurses that drew my blood today at FV Hospital in Saigon could tell that I was incredibly nervous. This nervousness was only amplified by the fact that I need to make sure that they're using a new needle and disinfecting the appropriate areas. In the states, I don't need to think about cleanliness or hepatitis or anything else third world, so I can focus my energy on becoming and remaining calm. Here, though, there are so many things I have to worry about besides the little pinch.
So, today, as the nurses were fluttering about, saying over and over, "breed fadst," by which I think they meant, "breath slowly," rubbing my hands, telling me "it's okay," and "don't worry," I was hyperventilating and unable to focus the way I needed to. Doug tried to quiet them because he knew I needed to focus, but they didn't understand the way Westerners are, that we are a quieter and more reserved bunch. By the end of the blood draw, during which I did not breathe at all, I could no longer hold up my head and felt as though I was going to black out any minute. Doug had chocolate on standby and the kind, although sweetly overbearing, nurses gave me juice. It took about 10 minutes for me to recover. Thank goodness for having someone with me abroad, I can't imagine being there alone.
As I was lying there, the older of the two nurses blotted my face, rubbed my arms, and massaged my hands. She gave me a blanket, rubbed my forehead, and said, "You same my daughter." Her eyes reassured me and I knew that her heart was bigger than about 97% of the people I've met in my life. Her unexpected kindness was much appreciated and made the whole ordeal a little less awful. And, so, I found charm in the most unexpected of places.
(Note: I had promised a blog on the Jade Emperor Pagoda, which we visited last weekend, but my camera battery is dead. Normally, I would just charge the battery and upload the photos, but I used our converter today and it started smoking...not a good sign. So, no functioning converter, no charging the camera and, thus, no photos of Jade Emperor Pagoda. Don't worry, though, I'll get them up as soon as I can!)
Today, Doug and I, along with a few new friends, visited Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City. Wikipedia very nicely summarizes the historical merit of the building:
Reunification Palace (Vietnamese: Dinh Thống Nhất) formerly known as Independence Palace (Dinh Độc Lập), built on the site of the former Norodom Palace, is a landmark in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was designed by architect Ngo Viet Thu and was the home and workplace of the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It was the site of the end of the Vietnam War during the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, when a North Vietnamese Army tank crashed through its gates.
The site is a very popular tourist destination and spectacular in its own right. While history usually bores me, this was actually quite interesting. From the basement control rooms to elaborate rooftop ballrooms, Reunification Palace is a must-see if you visit Saigon. Enjoy the photo tour below.
We arrived Friday evening on a delayed flight, went through customs, and stepped into the city that we will call home for the next year.
Walking out of the Saigon airport is a little overwhelming. If you've ever seen footage of fans waiting for a celebrity to walk the red carpet, then you might have an idea of how the airport is set up. The first thing we were met with was throngs of Vietnamese crammed against the railing, trying to watch for whoever it is they're waiting for. Some are holding signs, some are asking if you need a taxi, and some are just, well, staring at you like you just arrived on a spaceship from Venus.
We were met by a colleague and waiting for another to arrive on a later flight, then hired two cabs (one for luggage and one for us). I wasn't able to see much out of our taxi windows as we took the 15 minute ride to our apartment, but what I did see looked very similar to Santo Domingo. The tall buildings, palm trees, weather, and traffic screamed Dominican Republic to me as I strained my eyes to see take in the city that night.
The next morning, we woke up, got ready, wandered to the balcony at the end of our hallway, and looked out over our neighborhood. Apparently, we're in the nicest district in town.
The owner of our building suggested that we eat at Black Cat restaurant, which is just across the street and over from where we're staying. We insisted on starting the morning in the most authentically Vietnamese way, as you can tell from the photos below.
After breakfast, our Vietnamese American colleague offered to take us into District One, which is the touristy part of the city. I took a few shots out of the taxi window on the way.
We were dropped off and set off on foot to explore. I, unfortunately, had sliced open my toe within five minutes of arriving at our apartment the night before. But, oh well, what's a little injury when there's so much exploring to do?
The city is really different from anything I've ever seen. There are so many different types of buildings and hundreds of little stores within this one district.
Oh, and, the power lines in this city are worse than any I've ever seen in my entire life!
Eventually, we ended up near lovely pond, then headed to Benh Tham Market, a famous market in District 1.
At this point, we were hungry from all of the walking and decided to stop for lunch. It wasn't the best food, but it was fun to try all of the different dishes. The smoothies were yum!
Later, we decided to go to the supermarket to get some necessities for the week. The market is pretty nice and clean, but I was a little shocked that they sell such cute fish for people to go home and eat. Sad.
The produce section includes large barrels of rice for people to scoop themselves.
This section also sold several things I've never, ever seen before.
They also had lots of delicious-looking fruit. The photo below is dragon fruit, which is apparently amazing. I'm looking forward to trying it!
All in all, our first day was pretty great! The city is very unique, although living in the hectic, tourist-filled District 1 might slowly drive a person mad.
This seldom talked about phase of moving abroad is often the most important. This is the point in which you are selling, storing, and giving away your things, saying goodbyes over coffee and dinners, and trying to convince yourself that leaving really is worth it. It's the time when the traditional American dream starts to creep its way into your everyday thoughts: comfort, stability, home ownership. It's also the time when you have to remind yourself, day after day, second after second, that it really is worth it. That it's the adventure that matters. That all of those wonderful people and things will be there when you return.
Why is this adventure so important? Why do we seek to discover the world, to crawl across the continents, to eat weird food and drink local beer and stay in two-dollar-a-night hotels? Why are we ever-seeking the otherness of worlds outside our own?
I think that it's the same reason that many people lose (or find) religion later in life. It's as though we need to see what we're not in order to validate what we are. Maybe this isn't true for everyone, but I think that, in a lot of ways, this holds a little truth for everyone. Travel allows us to hold views that are "justified," to really "know" how the world is. It allows us to have a varied world view and, most importantly, a wide range of experiences to draw upon.
And, I will say, travel is quite cathartic in many ways. There is a certain freedom in being far away from everything that is normal and comfortable, everything that has so long caused you to stay the way you are. I have evolved in the past year from a person who was too cautious to cross the road without the bright white walk signal to a girl who jumped and slid down 27 waterfalls in the the Dominican Republic. The euphoria I feel in being a little wreckless (I did wear a helmet and life vest, so I'm not that wild) has leveled out my person and allowed me to really enjoy life in a way that I might not have been able to.
And, so, on Friday we will arrive in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to start the next phase in our lives and travels. I'm the first to admit my apprehension, partially because I know just how difficult the first few months can be. Culture shock really has a way of creeping in on you slowly; sometimes you think that you're well-adjusted and enjoying yourself, then bam! it hits you, all of the sudden, like someone just cut the hot water in your wonderfully warm shower.
This time will be very different from the last. Our jobs are such that we should have the time and freedom to really enjoy ourselves in this new and interesting place. Travel should be easier, less expensive, more accessible, and more enjoyable now that I don't have piles of grading waiting for me the second I get home. This experience should, in many ways, be the experience we were hoping for in our last location. Pero, a ver...
Dear Dominicans that robbed my fiancée, our friend Caitlin and I at gunpoint,
First of all, I just want you to know that Stacy, our friend Caitlin and I are all fine. We were pretty shaken up for a little while, but thinking about it I’m happy we all met the other night... When you sped your car at us before coming to a quick California stop you reminded me of many cabs we’ve taken in this country. So much so that I remarked, “Looks like this one’s a speeder.” We’d called a cab only a few minutes before and thought you were it. I was ready to tell Caitlin goodnight, to make sure she got back in her apartment safely and get home to the cat. Then you kept going I was a bit confused. “Maybe you’re someone else’s cab,” I thought. “No biggie, ours will be here soon.” Then you slowed again, hesitating about something. “Maybe you are our cab?” Then you started again. When you finally stopped it was clear that you meant business. Flinging your doors open so quickly they bounced back at you, knocking you a bit as you made your dramatic exit (careful about that next time) sent the message for sure. “Haha, it looks like these guys are going to rob us”, I joked to myself. As we both know, however, this was indeed what you’d intended and I felt like an idiot. As you exited your vehicle our eyes met. For that brief moment there seemed to be more recognition than either of had bargained for and I think it fueled a lot of questions, for both of us. You: “What ami I think? There’s a lot of other people in this area and assaulting a foreigner carries a heavy penalty in this country… Should I do this?” Me: “Wow, this is actually going to happen. That’s a huge gun that guy has, looks like a glock or something. What do I do? Can I stop this? This guys looks as scared as I do.” I might be delusional, but this is what I remember. When you cocked your huge gun, on the other hand, and pointed it at me yelling in Spanish I was too scared to try and understand all of that dissolved immediately. I raised my hands and said, “OK, OK , OK, OK, OK” as calmly as I could while looking down and away from you or your partner’s face. When you guys came directly for me and pressed your gun barrels into my stomach and legs respectively, I have to admit, I was pretty worried. In all honesty, I was accepting that you were going to shoot me. I didn’t think it would be in the head or anything like that, rather that while you were leaving you would probably shoot me in the leg. Because I was busy looking down, trying not to upset either of you and wondering if I would be shot or not, I didn’t notice it but thank you for not touching either of the girls. Luckily for Caitlin she didn’t have anything but her keys. Thankfully you chose not to take those because that would have opened you to her building and a whole host of other potential victims. Stacy was smart and handed you her purse, which you took. I hope you’re enjoying the 700 pesos, apartment keys, and nice cell phone (by the way, she’s out of minutes, so you’ll have to find a Claro vender). Maybe you and your buddy can go get some McDonald’s, buy a 150 peso Claro card and try to coordinate just which door in this city of 3 million those keys work; hurry though because we both know that's not a lot of minutes. By the way, there were some pictures on that phone we really liked, if I gave you my email could you text them? Also, when you guys were searching me, one of the gun barrels felt pretty warm against my stomach. I can’t remember which because I was a bit agitated at the time, and in fact the warmth I felt may easily have been one of your hands. Nonetheless, if it was the gun barrel I felt the warmth from, making me think it had recently been used was certainly a nice touch. Any latent thoughts of heroism were quickly put to the side. I’m not sure if any of the cambios will allow you to exchange American coins, but if they do there’s $3-4/150 pesos to add to your haul. I’d planned to use that to help my students learn American money, a big part of the math curriculum I have to teach, so make it worth it. Remember that with RD$250 you get an extra 50 pesos of talk time; sweetness. You also got the chap stick I’d recently brought from the states. Pretty annoying in all honesty because those things are a couple bucks more per tube here. We had some shopping bags, too. We’d bought some largish ceramic bowls that I was excited about, and about 30 clothes hangers we desperately needed. Also, we’d bought some small rugs to wipe our feet on because as you know all of this tile everywhere makes your feet filthy. Nice work cause you got all of that, except the bowls. You’re either not a fan of navy blue, or simply do not like bowls. Either way, when you saw them you didn’t hesitate to drop them. Luckily for us only one shattered. Score one for our team, half a box of cereal in one sitting here I come. So all in all you made out alright. For about 20-30 seconds worth of work you made off with close to USD$25 worth of cash and goods, plus Stacy’s nice phone. Unfortunately for you when you guys were running your hands through my shorts you neglected to search the pocket in which I had my Dominican Bank card, almost $40 in Pesos and a credit card I actually didn’t mean to have on me. Also, if you’d looked closer you would have seen that my fiancée was actually wearing a diamond ring we surely would’ve handed over given the circumstances. Oh well, score another for us. Then, as you guys were leaving you caught me sneaking a peak at your license plate and started shouting at me. All that person to person, I-Thou relationship stuff went out the existential window and your eyes told me that you were seriously contemplating shooting me; I remember feeling a very warm surge go up my spine. Nice work because I’m not sure I’ve ever been so afraid. Even when I turned around and looked down you kept shouting. Again, nice, because at that point I was still thinking you might shoot me but this time I was thinking you were about to aim somewhere more serious. Luckily, however, you decided to leave without firing and we were all able to count our blessings; I hope yours are as many as ours.
Best, D
P.S. Stacy's more succinct and well-put perspective: Hello all, First of all, I'm fine, Doug is fine, and our friend Caitlin is fine. :) Don't be too alarmed by the story you are about to read - we knew about the dangers when we moved here. I wanted to send you a personal account of what happened before you read it in a facebook update or something equally impersonal. Last night, around 1:30 a.m., Doug, Caitlin, and I were robbed at gunpoint. We had stepped outside to wait for our cab, when we saw a white, late-model, white Honda Civic with black windows speed toward us and stop. They paused in that spot, then drove a little further and stopped again. We thought, at first, that it might be our taxi. Doug said something to the effect of, "Oh, look, we have a speeder" (referring to our taxi driver). Before we knew it, two men jumped out of the car with huge guns, one cocked his, and both started yelling at us. They shoved one gun into Doug's stomach and pointed another at his leg while they searched his pockets. He said the barrel felt warm, which means that it was probably just used. Caitlin, thankfully, didn't have anything on her except her apartment key, which they didn't seem to notice; she said, "No tengo nada," and they left her alone. They didn't even really come near me (thank God); I had the presence of mind to hand them my purse and pull out my pockets to show that I didn't have anything (although, now that I think of it, I could have gotten myself shot by reaching into my pockets). I was so afraid that they were going to abduct or rape me - I was just reacting to that fear, I guess. They took our shopping bags, realized one had two ceramic bowls, then dropped it and shattered one of the bowls. As they ran to the car, Doug turned to try to memorize the car make and model, and they started screaming at him. He says that he felt like the guy was considering whether to shoot him; thankfully, he decided against it. Immediately after, a guy started yelling and running towards us. Reflecting upon it, we're pretty sure he was trying to help, but in the moment it just freaked us out. All of us stood there for a second, dumbfounded, until I finally said, "Open the door, Caitlin!" and proceeded to make the process more difficult for her by continually saying "hurry up, hurry up, hurry up" (poor Caitlin). She scrambled to unlock the door to her building and we all hurried inside and shut the door. Whew - what an experience! They got away with 30 newly purchased hangers, some soap, two floormats, a bag of American change, my purse (including my sunglasses, cell phone, and Dominican debit card, my house and classroom key with my new "Idaho" key ring [bummer] and about $30)...in my opinion, not much! I had my engagement ring on - luckily they didn't think to look at my hand. The funny thing is that I had my hands up and the diamond turned around so that it was facing them (I usually walk with it turned in to deter robbers). Doug had his credit card, Dominican debit card, ID, and about $60 in pesos in a pocket they didn't search. Caitlin had her keys in her hand - they could have forced her to open the door and then robbed their apartment. All in all, we were so so so lucky, it's amazing. Anyway, we're fine, but I'm admittedly a bit shaken. I now know not to wait outside for taxis from now on! Love to all, Stace
P.P.S. Also, here's a brief snippet from Caitlin's blog. She had some insight that I think is really helpful. It was a scary experience but a good lesson for us. I think we have all been feeling so safe here that we have stopped taking some basic precautions that we will be taking from now on.
