Freedom

Vietnamese Independence Day has arrived.  We all know what a synonym for independence is ... freedom!!  So, today, a lovely Monday off work, we were free to do the following:

1)  Sleep in till the leisurely hour of 6:00 am
2)  Head to the gym where the air conditioning had not been turned on to sweat, sweat, sweat our way through a workout (and to have the cleaning lady glare at us as we dripped sweat across her mopped floor)
3)  Go to "lunch" of fresh spring rolls, banh mi, Hu Tieu, and smoothies at 10:00 am
4)  Lounge by a pool all day with intermittent naps and reading
5)  Head to a shopping center in the midst of a typical rainy season downpour where we spritzed ourselves with cologne and laughed at the tourists
6)  Enjoy a delicious pitcher of Sangria at a roof-top happy hour
7)  Rub shoulders with the locals as we ordered a seafood hot pot (Thai style), tofu, and beers at a local beer garden for the grand total of $15 and overstuffed stomachs
8)  Catch the national holiday fireworks show from the comfort of our apartment as we lounge in pajamas and dream of one more day of holiday

Thank you, freedom, for allowing us a sunny day by the pool.

No work = plenty of "reading for pleasure" time.

Milk coffees in the afternoon would not happen if working.

Who loves holidays?  This guy!

How we did not discover $7 pitchers of Sangria earlier is baffling.

Another cool sunset to close out a national holiday in HCMC.

Independence

Four day weekend?  Yes, please!!  We are in the midst of celebrating the reunification of Vietnam.  While most Vietnamese have left the city, we have decided to stick around to enjoy a quite, peaceful Saigon.  With what feels like at least half of the population gone, our new home feels like a much different (re: emptier) place.  This has allowed us to be tourists in our own city and actually enjoy all that downtown Saigon has to offer.

Today we shopped, ran, and consumed our way through our city.  We plan to do the same for the next 2 days as we do not have to report back to work 'till Wednesday.  God Bless ... er ... Vietnam!?!

Adam says "2 thumbs up" for a 4 day weekend.

The streets of downtown were eerily quiet ... not many motorbikes in sight.

The city is decked out in posters advertising the holiday weekend.  Pretty amazing.

Flower arrangements have been left all over the city.  This statue of Uncle Ho is no exception.

We have honored the day of independence by shopping and picking up some much needed items.

Adam heard that on Monday there would be a reenactment of the tanks crashing through the palace gates.  This turns out to be false.  The gates cost too much money!

Another fun poster advertising a 4 day weekend.  Children and doves, oh my!

We also celebrated by going to the Ho Chi Minh museum.  Even Adam's short legs could not fit inside this old car.

This boat was carved in the 13th century.  We could have climbed in for a picture, if we had liked.

A mural summing up what our long weekend is all about.

One of the people.

Cho Lon = our part of this amazing city.  So glad to be here for a national holiday.

Music & Me

Right on the heels of the amazing Science Fair, we had another abbreviated day of instruction so that our students could participate in and attend the Spring Concert -- "Music & Me!"  Once again, we were crammed into a 6th floor room with too many people, no air conditioning, and the fire-exit locked up like a bank vault.  The kids preformed their hearts out and enjoyed their time in the spotlight.  The teachers (those of us who stuck around) winced at the off-key moments (which there were many), gasped at the "dirty dancing" of first graders to Britney Spears, and yet, still celebrated and honored our students as they rightfully deserved. 

The first graders dancing to the 1994 hit, "Return to Innocence."  An obvious choice!

This student for-went the option to wear the Native American costume the choir teacher was encouraging as she sang her Pocahontas hit, "Colors of the Wind."

Warmed up and waiting.

Adam had the very important job of raffle ticket drawer and verifier.  Included in the raffle prizes were tickets to the upcoming Prom which, yes, a teacher won.

A common view on campus -- students with technology.

Science Fair

Today was the annual science fair at our school. For the past three months students have been working on researching scientific concepts and constructing projects that could displayed in a school setting. It was interesting and baffling to see what students came up with for their ideas. Three months is a long time to prepare for something. With that time, some students killed the project and some students were killed by the project.

Enough said.

Homemade telescope and yes it worked great!

Heidi and one of her amazing students.

Of course three 17 year old boys made a "air compression gun" for a science fair exhibit.

Adam getting ready to crush the Popsicle stick house that he painfully watched being built for three months. 

Open fire on the sixth floor with only one exit??? Pish posh. That's how we roll.

Meat

The other night we met our friends, Jimmy and Kim, for some street fine-dining.  We parked in someone's living room, sat on small plastic stools, and drank in the pollution filled air that goes along with road-side restaurants.   We also enjoyed a large platter of meat -- chicken feet, legs, and gizzards all for a screaming price.  Ah, the simple pleasures of life!

One large pile of chicken pieces and a small side of fried sticky-rice.  Can it get much better?

Mixing It Up

The other day we thought that maybe we should mix things up and eat something different...like Asian food...oh, wait. Ok, so maybe we did not get that crazy, but we did go to a new place to eat. The Korean restaurant we went to came highly recommended. Even though we ate in the same "geographical genre" of food, the flavors were so different from what we have been having for the last year. It was another delicious meal in a city obsessed with food.

The Land of Fish Sauce

This weekend, we were able to sneak away and head back to one of our favorite places in the world -- Phu Quoc, Vietnam.  While about 95% of our time was spent lying in the sun on an isolated beach, reading good books, and cooling off in the warm, warm ocean, we also had time to enjoy a few other things on the island, including ...

... ice cold Vietnamese coffees ...

... bowls of pork based noodle soup for dirt cheap prices ...

... iced cold Tiger Beers during dinner at the Fish Sauce Factory ...

... amazing, beautiful sunsets on the beach ...

... grilled corn on the cob ...

... fresh caught and grilled squid for $2 ...

... fresh caught and grilled red-snapper with lemongrass for $8 ...

... iced cold Saigon beers (with ice) ...

... reenacting wedding photos on palm trees ...

... big salads for breakfast ...

... hot coffees served in a bag with a straw ...

... and cheap airfare to and from the island that we love!!

A Nice Way to End the Day

Today Saigon gave a beautiful sunset to end the day. Is it bad to say that maybe this could be the positive side of pollution?

Sandwich Artist

We learn from the best.  Now, instead of heading to our local banh mi cart to spend the 50 cents on a sandwich, we simply walk to the market to buy all the sandwich components to fabricate one ourselves (Yeah, that's a little Coastline talk for you, Ken)!!

Purchase large, delicious, hot baguettes from the market (3,000 each).

Purchase 2 skewers of fresh BBQ pork in a sweet and sour sauce (25,000).

Purchase a small bag of pickled veggies -- you can't have a banh mi without crunch.

Add the chili sauce for some heat ...

... and the soy for some salt.

Marvel at the amount of pork that $1 can get you.

Marvel even more at the chunk o' bacon they throw in for good measure.

Add meat and enjoy the delight that is a pork based breakfast sandwich.