Caps of Knowledge!!!

Adam's eighth grade Social Studies class in all of their glory with caps of knowledge.

How does one try to make note taking on the causes of WWI interesting to a group of eighth grade students? Obviously you have them take their notes on paper hats that they have made and call them "caps of knowledge." Who would have thought that there would be so many smiles after a lecture with such a dry/depressing topic. This is why middle school students are so fantastic.

Just Like Greenlake

Over the past couple of years we have become lovers of walks. Sometimes those walks start our day and sometimes the walks are those involving "walktails" as a nice way to wrap up a day. Moving to Saigon we were unsure if we would be able to continue our habit of walking.

Initially this seemingly simple activity proved pretty much impossible. Walking in this city can be a daunting task. There are about four ba-jillion things going on at one time. One minute you are walking and the next thing you know you are dodging a motorbike, stopping as a lady is emptying a bowl of soup right in front of your, or finding yourself walking in the middle of the street as the sidewalk is now a parking lot/freeway/badminton court. In the midst of this walking adversity, we have persevered. We are now mall walkers.

There is a mall about two blocks from our house. While we do not shop there, we have used the wide sidewalks to reinstate our walks. This town won't know what to do with us when we bring the G&T's with us on our walk next time.

Heidi rounding the corner in full stride. Look at that form!

The main drag of the Hung Voung Plaza route.

One of the reason walking can be hard. Rush hour in Saigon.

Weekend Mashup

Our weekend started a little early this week as we found out late Thursday night that our school "gifted" all staff and students a half-day on Friday in honor of Thanksgiving.  We celebrated the extra addition to our freedom by doing what any good educator would do -- we took a fat nap!  This seemed to set the tone for our entire weekend as we took advantage of having nothing on our schedule and lazed our way through the next 48 hours.

We had heard rumors that a local coffee shop was actually selling slices of pumpkin pie with REAL whipped cream.  So, Saturday we loaded up on our hog and set off in search of our slice of Thanksgiving.  All of our hopes and Thanksgiving dreams were crushed when we found that the pumpkin pie had been a 1 day special.  Instead, we ended up indulging in another traditional Thanksgiving treat -- a banana muffin.  While it was no slice-of-heaven-on-a-plate, we did enjoy the muffin as we walked around the city, taking in the sites.  As we wandered, we did stumble upon something that made up for the lack of Thanksgiving in Saigon.  A road of Christmas delight.  Yes, here in Saigon, a Buddhist nation, we managed to find a road where many shops were selling decorations for the Christmas season.  After some serious discussion which must have lasted 5 seconds, we picked out our mini, pre-decorated, pre-strung-with-lights and tinsel, fake Christmas Tree.  $5 later, we were riding down the road with Heidi balancing the tree, in all it's glory, on her lap.  How she managed to do that and still throw out the hand turn signals, we may never know.  To fully culminate our venture into the holiday season, we watched Love Actually and ate a traditional holiday meal of Thom Yam Curry!

Adam wondering if they at least had some whipped cream left over.

Our $5 tree.  Adam thinks that the components most likely did not pass inspection to be shipped to the states.

Love Actually is all around.

 This morning, we ventured out into South Saigon to participate in the Terry Fox 5k Race to raise money for cancer research.  This is the ONLY organized road race that occurs in HCMC so the turn out was large.  There were over 10,000 participants who came out to "Outrun Cancer."  Of those 10,000 participants, approximately 100 actually ran.  All others walked, biked, or Rollerbladed.  And, in the spirit that is Vietnam, a few motorbikes found their way onto the course, as well.  Man, did we feel fast as we passed people up and crossed the finish line (even before most of the bikers!)  And, even though we only ran 3.1 miles, you bet we rewarded ourselves with BLT's and french fries at 9:00 am.  Terry would have been proud!

Waiting for the run to start.  It was so hot that we had sweated through before the event even began.

Part of our group saying, "Don't mess, cancer!"

To run with us you MUST have some flashy shoes!

Who Needs Turkey ...

.... when you have BBQ chicken!?!  As tempted as we were, we were not willing to fork over the $30 USD per person for the local Thanksgiving Buffet.  While the turkey, potatoes, stuffing, and pie almost tempted us to pony up the big dong, we decided to be a little more practical.  Instead, in honor of an American holiday that NO ONE celebrates here in Vietnam, we headed to our favorite local restaurant.  We sat on stools, threw our garbage on the ground, enjoyed hot BBQ chicken, over-easy eggs, broken rice, stir-fried veggies, fish sauce, fresh chilies, and a bottle of beer.  We offered a "cheers" to our family and friends, had a moment of silence for the never-to-be-seen pumpkin pie, and walked away for $2.50 USD per person.  Happy Thanksgiving, indeed!

The chef-extraordinaire working the grill at our favorite local joint that we have affectionately named "Orange Awning" in honor of its bright orange awning.  Yes, that is one large bowl of ga sitting in the sun.  Big woop!

Egg On Face

The guy you ALWAYS yield to on your motorbike!

Teacher's Day, Part Two

Heidi was able to video some of her students preforming at Teacher's Day on Friday.  Here is one cool performance that the 3rd through 5th graders did.  It took a lot of coordination and a lot of hard work, but it turned out pretty cool.  If nothing else, the fact that the music teacher was able to arrange 20 kids ages 7-10 in any semblance of order is pretty darn impressive.  Enjoy!

Friday was a National Holiday in Vietnam.  It was Teachers' Day -- a day for students and families to say thank you for all that teachers do for their child's upbringing and education.  We did not actually realize how big of a celebration this holiday was until we arrived at school on Friday to flowers, gifts, cards, and screaming youth.  Yes, we were both loaded down with gifts from families to show their appreciation and gratitude.  Between the two of us we were gifted dozens of roses, journals, fancy pens, coffee/tea cups, thank you letters, and wallets (Heidi's Coco-Chanel wallet a little fancier than Adam's Levis one).  Some other staff were handed everything from makeup to alcohol to $100 US bills!! 

To honor teachers, each school put on performances for the staff.  These assemblies featured singing, dancing, speeches, and award ceremonies.  It was evident how much time and energy was poured into these events, all to show appreciation and gratitude for the teaching staff.  After a long Friday at school, all staff were able to leave with a smile on their face and a filled soul.  Now, if only we could wish the same for all teachers around the world ...

One of the baskets of flowers from Heidi's students.

Adam was one of five teachers that students presented an award to.  His title was, "Funniest, best smile, most handsome, married" teacher.  His sash only had space for the "funniest" portion.  Good thing -- it was going to his head!

Weekend Getaway

This weekend we decided to get away. We were supposed to be running the Bangkok half marathon, but it was canceled due to some of the worst floods Bangkok has seen in 50 years. We emailed the race organizers saying that we were willing to paddle the race in a makeshift raft, but they were not so enthusiactic about our idea.

Since we were planning on traveling this weekend, we had to come up with a back up plan. The name of our plan ended up being Vung Tau. Vung Tau is a coastal town that is about an hour and a half from Saigon. We opted to class it up a little and take the fast hydrofoil boat instead of the bus. It was a very nice way to get there, very different from Washington State Ferries, but still nice.

It will be best to let our pictures tell the stories of our trip, but there is one story that must be told that we do not have a picture of. The day that we arrived we decided to take a walk along the waterfront promenade. There we are, strolling along the water around 11am. The sun was high, the sky was blue, fishing boats were moored in the bay, and there was a older women across the street from us walking along TOTALLY BUTT NAKED!!!!!

Holy What?!?! Seriously, not an ounce of clothing, but she was smoking a cigarette.

We hiked up to a giant Jesus. Big hike, big Jesus, big views, lots of sweat ensued.

After our summit to the giant Jesus, refreshments were needed. We opted for a cold 333 beer. Mother Mary and baby Jesus liked our choice.

The beach at Vung Tau. Really nothing too special, but still pretty.

We took a gondola ride up to the top of Small Mountain, not be confused with Big Mountain. We double checked and the gondola was Austrian built.

At the top of our gondola ride there was a nice nature park. We lucked out as Santa and his Reindeer were visiting Vietnam that exact day. Hedi got to drive the sleigh for a hot minute. So cool.

Giant Radar.

Giant Buddha.

Giant View.

Besides the sighting of the naked women, we had a fabulous weekend. It was very nice to get away, enjoy some sun, some greenery, and some peace and quiet.

RIP PB

Addiction might be the word you need to describe our love for Adam's Peanut Butter.  Nearly every morning for at least the last three years we have enjoyed peanut butter on toast for breakfast.  When we learned that we received a shipping stipend to move to Vietnam, we quickly added Costco sized peanut butter to our packing list.  It was a sad morning today as we finally finished our last bit of Adam's.  Yes, we did manage to find PB in Vietnam.  However, the fact that the first three ingredients are peanuts, sugar, and hydrogenated soybean oil leave us little hope that it will be even remotely close to the goodness that is Adam's.  Maybe this is our time to break ties with PB and head another direction.  We can't help but wonder ... What would Ba Ho spread on his bread?!?

Maybe Heidi wanted to lick the jar, just like Baker!

Celebrate the Rain

We were very excited to learn that we have reached the end of the rainy season here in Vietnam.  So, we were a little baffled today to learn that now we are in Monsoon season.  We still see rain every day but now our rain comes in downpour form for 10-20 minutes per day instead of an hour.  Ah, that is better!  The rain poses a challenge when it comes to driving a motorbike.  Since the bike offers little protection from the rain, everyone carries a poncho with them at all times.  As soon as the first few drops of rain are felt, the driver of the bike will stop (pulling over not necessary), step off their bike, put on the poncho, ensure that the poncho is placed OVER the handlebars to keep hands dry and slip-free, and carry on.  The lucky passenger gets to pull the tail of the poncho over his/her head and ride in complete and total darkness, pressed against the driver, praying that someone does not sideswipe them nor that his/her balance is impeded by lack the lack of sight causing said passenger to fall off the bike.

When we rented our bike, the owner provided a bright yellow and blue poncho which Adam loves to pull out in the rain.  He claims to be "sponsored" and that he "feels like a race car driver."  So far the poncho has done it's job and kept us mostly dry.  The one big issue is that Adam's large, American sized head is a tight squeeze for the small opening provided.  Heidi thinks that if the head opening becomes too tight, that she would be more than happy to drive down the road with an open umbrella for protection!

What good luck!  The poncho is large enough to put Adam's shoulder bag under.  What bad luck!  This makes him look even more abnormal.

The helmet goes ON TOP of the hood.  Obviously!

First Annual Siagon Apartment Crawl

Yesterday we took part in the first annual Saigon Apartment Crawl. Ok, so it actually was not really a organized event, but more something that our friends and us came up with for something different to do. The concept was that we would move between the apartments where we all live. There would be eating, drinking, game playing, rooftop hanging out along the whole way.

For our part we decided that we would keep it simple and provide a absolutely packed fridge full of the finest cheap beer that Vietnam has to offer. To satisfy our beer drinking appetites we walked down to our local Ban Xeo resturant and walked away with huge plates of spring rolls and fried shrimp muffins. Nothing says beer drinking food like Shrimp Muffins.

Thirsty???

I always think of fried shrimp muffins when I think of beer drinking food.

Safety first on apartment crawls. "Helmet Up!!!"

To say that the first Saigon Apartment Crawl was a success would be a understatement. The amount of laughter, impromptu dance parties, and competitive charades face-offs made the night one to remember.

Santa! I Know Him

Every evening, people set out their goods on the sidewalk to sell to all the motorbikes passing by.  One of Heidi's favorites is the little neon light up figures in all sorts of shapes and patterns.  Possibly night lights, possibly pure novelty, they are always pleasant to look at as their glow lights up the Saigon night sky.  Tonight, walking home from dinner, Heidi became extra excited as she noted a new addition to the glow-toys -- SANTA CLAUS.  Yes, the master of Christmas was there, beaming in all his neon, holiday glory.  However, Heidi's dreams of bringing Santa home to be part of the family were quickly shattered when the woman on the street would not budge from her $3 price tag.  Maybe next year Santa.  Maybe next year.

Where's Heidi?  Staring with longing at the glow toys.

Someday, Santa.  Someday!

Official

Well, we have done it.  We have become more Vietnamese than we could have ever guessed we would.  This week we picked up our Residency cards for Vietnam.  For the next three years we can claim that we are "Temporary Residents of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam."  This means that we are able to travel in and out of the country as much as we would like without needing a visa.  It also means that we get dropped to a lower tax bracket (Hallelujah!!  The 20% being taken from our paycheck has been anything but enjoyable).  And most importantly, it means that we can claim we are Vietnamese, well, for the next 3 years at least!  Man, it's good to be home.

For security reasons, the passport numbers are being blocked out.  Thank you for still trusting their validity.

Would we call that a weekend?

While the weekends are always fantastic, this week ours was a little different from our normal. Not that it was better or worse, just a little shorter. We were presented the opportunity to proctor SAT exams on Saturday, which in the end we ended up doing. While not a 100% ideal way to spend a Saturday, we were able to make a little extra cash money. Adam suggested that we take the money, change it into very small Vietnamese Dong denominations, fill our bathtub with it like Scrooge McDuck, and dive into our money.  Heidi thought a little more practical and voted for savings.  We will see who wins this argument!

For having to work on Saturday, we made up for it with a very nice Sunday. We ate some pho, went to the market, and headed to the gym. Our nice workout finished with a bizarre ending as someone at the gym decided that they liked Heidi's water bottle so much that they would steal it from beside her treadmill. Really!?!? an old, used water bottle!?!? Who does that???  (She is still secretly hoping that the stomach bug she had this week is all over the mouth of that water bottle!!)

After the water bottle incident we hopped on Flowanda (our motorbike) and headed down to a restaurant that we had not been to yet. This restaurant is kind of a deli/cafeteria that has been around a super long time down in District 1 of Saigon. If anything could have helped the stolen water bottle blues it was our fantastic lunch. In a city where eating is always an adventure (for better or worse) it is always super great to go to a new place to eat and have it be great.

Heidi in deep thought. "Will this BBQ banh mi be as good as I hope it will?" Answer: "Hell Yeah!"

We at lunch directly across the street of the biggest skyscraper in the city, the Bitexco Tower. Next time we eat here maybe we will take out helicopter to the helipad on the building and walk across the street. Or maybe just ride our motorbike

 Later, after meeting some friends for coffee, Heidi went for a facial and Adam headed to a nearby park to read and walk a little. Even though the weekend was a bit shorter thanks to a standardized test, it was great as always.

A rare green space in Saigon. Great for reading and walking

Ba Ho's Revenge

Nearly 3 months in, it finally happened, one of us got our first case of food poisoning.  And that lucky person .... Heidi.  This morning, Heidi woke up violently ill.  She has spent all day rotating between the bed, the toilet, and tears.  She had to take the day off of work which means that Adam had to ride solo today.  Being the amazing partner he is, he took his hour prep to drive all the way home, purchase Heidi the required 7up needed to make it through any illness, and rush back to work.  Thankfully things are looking up for Heidi and the 7up has worked its magic, again.

The most interesting part of this whole deal is that early tomorrow morning, Heidi has to role into the school nurse's office for a check up to obtain proof that yes, indeed she was a hot, puking mess all day long.  Only with the school nurse's clearance can she actually take a sick day without penalty.  Heidi is crossing her fingers for a lollipop, too!

Halloween in Vietnam

Eiley:  Here are some students per your earlier request.

Half of grade 5 decided they were "too old" for dressing up.

At the elementary school, part of Friday was spent celebrating.  For two hours, students were allowed to run around in utter chaos all in the spirit of Halloween.  If that were not enough excitement for one day, Heidi's students decided to throw her a surprise birthday party which started as soon as they walked in the door well before the school day actually started.  Both celebrations were fun and filled with much anticipation for the students.  Both celebrations were mayhem and stiff-drink inducing for the staff.  Either way, even though celebrating Halloween is atypical in Vietnam, these students had a great time and managed to not throw up from the copious amounts of sugar they ate all before 3 o'clock.

My birthday cake -- perhaps the ugliest bear EVER.  Yes, that is frosting.  Yes, that is edible!

Heidi's gifts from students:  A picture frame, a glass snake, a photo album, and of course ... a blow dryer.  The dryer is so Heidi can do her hair and stop wearing it in a ponytail.  Obviously!