Maid Service

How did we, of all people, end up with a maid?  In Saigon, paying for goods is expensive while paying for services is quite cheap.  The previous tenants of our apartment had a maid for the last two years.  They recently asked us if we would be interested in hiring the woman to work in our home.  We did not see the need to have a maid as we both like to clean, cook, and do laundry.  Then, the previous tenants told us she is a young, single mother who needs the income.  Like the suckers we are, we both agreed.

We ended up splitting services with a couple who work in our school and live about two blocks away.  Now, three days a week for 3 hours each day, we have someone come into our home to clean, pay our bills, do laundry, and cook (if we would like). 

On Monday we came home to our maid, Chao, sitting in the doorway, ironing a stack of Adam's shirts.  She speaks NO English and we speak NO Vietnamese so right now the learning curve is huge.  Today, we used google translate to leave a task-list for her for when she arrives on Wednesday.  We should have put on the bottom, "Let's be honest ... we don't know the first thing about having a maid!"

Week in Review

We have kids!!  Finally!  Students arrived for the first day of school on Thursday.  We were both excited to be back working with youth and even more excited to be done wading through the administration muck.  The method of communication at our school seems to be the surprise method which means that Adam arrived at school on Thursday morning to find out he was teaching not only Language Arts but once again, Social Studies.  Heidi found (with a little more notice, thank goodness) that she is teaching grade 5 and also college counseling (struggling to see the connection?  Us, too).

Heidi's Grade 5 Class -- All 6 Students

The first two days went quickly and smoothly and provided many opportunities to smile.  We fielded questions about Seattle, tattoos, if we had ever known anyone who had snakes grow in their stomach, obscure cities in the United States, swimming in the Pacific Ocean, if we like the movie "Rocket Man" (who doesn't), and most importantly, "Why did you move HERE?"

This weekend we have been preparing for the upcoming year by sleeping a lot and drinking ample amounts of local beer.  We went out with friends last night to a grill-your-own-dinner type restaurant.  We pretended it was someone's birthday so that we got VIP treatment -- lights in the restaurant turned off, happy birthday blaring over the speakers, and sparklers for everyone.  Somehow we don't think fireworks being used inside a restaurant in the states would fly.  Something about fire codes!?!

Grilling our Wild Boar in 5 Spices

Heidi doubting this idea was thought through.

This morning we walked to our local market to purchase food for the next few days, continued to master the local bus lines, and visited our favorite french bakery for coffee and cream-cheese stuffed croissants and to develop curriculum for the next 178 days of school -- not that we are counting. 

All this goodness = $4

Seattle Rain Ain't Got Nothin'

Today, after a long, tiring day at work, we got off the bus to end up in the middle of a Saigon downpour.  Growing up in the PNW, we thought we knew rain.  Nope.  Uncle Ho's rain was kicking Seattle rain's hiney.  This rain seemed to come from every direction and along with the thunder, lightening and wind, our little umbrellas did not stand a chance.  The rain hurt when it hit our skin and water was pouring out of our shoes with every step.  Our two block walk from the bus stop home felt like a two block walk through a washing machine.  When we entered our apartment, the cleaning woman started yelling at us in Vietnamese and then mopped aggressively behind us all the way to the elevator.

After stripping down and drying the swimming pool that was our floor, we decided to warm ourselves from the inside with a little of Vietnam's finest -- Wall Street Whiskey. Yum. 

Saigon Weekend

Our first weekend after a full week of work has been a really nice one. The clouds and smog parted for most of the weekend and we were left with beatiful blue skies and temps that had to have been in or around the 90s.  We gladly sweated our butts off.

We have committed to each other that we have to come up with at least one random field trip/adventure to do in or around the city every weekend that we are here. On Saturday we visited the Reunification Palace. This was the presidential palace of the former South Vietnamese government. It has been basically left the same as it was on the day in April 1975 when the Northern Vietnamese army drove tanks through the front gates. It was a interesting look into Vietnamese history and an interesting look into home decor of the 1970s. 

Heidi at the Reunification Palace. Ho Chi Minh says "Take that democracy!!!, this palace is ours!!!"

 

Presidential receiving room in the palace. Complete with huge elephant tusk statue.

Saturday evening we were invited over to some coworkers house. They had a great view from the 23rd floor back to downtown Saigon. It was great to continue to get to know everyone. Plans have been laid down to find a micro brewery in Vietnam, the challenge is on.

Sunday was a pretty mellow day. We were pretty excited as we had probably the best bowl of pho thus far. It was just a mom and pop shop that we randomly stopped in at in our neighborhood.  The garnishes were plentiful, the broth perfect, and the noodles excellent, and it cost a grand total of 50,000 dong (about $2.25) for the two of us. That's whats up...

Murder on the 17th Floor

**WARNING:  SOME OF THE IMAGES IN THIS POST MAY BE UNSUITABLE FOR CHILDREN OR NIKKI!!**

Since we moved into our apartment, we have had a roommate.  One of the first nights, it was good Heidi was already on the toilet because she nearly peed herself when a gecko fell from the ceiling and nearly landed on her head.  (No, Adam did not run to see what the scream was about because he was "mid-brushing his teeth" and could not "ask what was wrong").  After the shock wore off, we were excited about our gecko friend and his duties as a roommate -- eating mosquitoes, ants, and other little bugs.  We affectionately named our gecko "Bino" since he was of the Albino variety.

This morning, we woke up to a crime scene.  This time the screams were of horror as Heidi noticed little Bino on the floor -- DEAD.  He had been squished between the bathroom door in the middle of the night.  Who was responsible for this heinous crime is undetermined and may never be solved.  This morning, we gave him a proper Saigon burial by tossing him off our 17th floor balcony.  And, ironically, Heidi awoke this morning with her first mosquito bites!

Week One Done

Today we finished our first week (or 3 days) of teacher orientation at APU. While sitting in a conference room going over handbooks and policies is not always the most fun, it has been great to start to get to know the people that we work with. The idea of APU being an international school seems to truly be reflected in the staff. There are people from the US, Canada, Bolivia, Serbia, Thailand, The Philippines, and Vietnam. The teaching staff is not all that big so it is actually pretty impressive to have such a diverse group. Next week we have a couple of days of planning time and then class starts on Thursday. Here we go...

California Fitness

Yesterday, we joined a gym in Saigon.  About three blocks from our apartment there is a high rise apartment tower.  The first two floors of the tower are a high-end department store.  The third floor is a food court and bowling alley.  The fourth floor has a grocery store and movie theater and the fifth floor has a brand new gym -- California Fitness and Yoga Center. 

Just like gyms in the states, the membership sales representative had to give us a tour and ask all sorts of information prior to discussing costs.  Part of his shpeal on why we should join included poking Heidi's stomach and telling her how fat she was -- she could lose pounds in months by working out there.  When we laughed, he quickly recovered and told us the ultimate reason to join -- the cast members of Vietnam's Next Top Model work out here.  Membership Sold!!

SEA->SGN

Last night, four duffle bags, three boxes, and us arrived in a steamy Saigon.  After being picked up at the airport (yes, the sign really was round), we were loaded into a van and taken to our new home in District 5. Our emotions were all over the board -- from excitement to fear to tears, it was an interesting first night on Tan Da Street. 

This morning the outlook was a little brighter (no literally, there was blue sky and sun).  Our first introduction to our neighborhood was a sweeping view of Saigon from our apartment on the 17th story.  We have spent the day walking, eating, and shopping for cleaning supplies to bring our apartment cleanliness up to Heidi and Adam standards.