A delightful 4 flights and 25+ hours of airtime later, I have arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam! No snags with finicky customs or baggage requirements, thankfully--my single suitcase and I arrived together and relatively intact. On the flights I watched movies, chatted with the captive audience around me, practiced basic Vietnamese on flashcards I made (such a student, I know), and read "American Theocracy" by Kevin Phillips. Proud to say I also weaseled a few extra snacks from the flight attendants.
Perhaps the most exciting portion of the trek was the stopover in Hong Kong. As soon as I stepped off the plane, soldiers in red and beige escorted us forcefully to a security checkpoint. All I know in Chinese are the phrases for "hello" and "thank you," and I think that this along with a goofy American smile helped assuage their fears. Plus, I was traveling with a Swiss-made red suitcase--what's not to love?
In the Hong Kong airport I made friends with three Vietnamese families, a Vietnamese gal and her boyfriend and a Canadian-Vietnamese lady--apparently I REALLY stand out, so they were all asking me many questions and making the kindest offers to help. Here's the gist of the conversations:
Hello--you are American, yes? (no pause here) Why are you going to Viet Nam?
Ahh, to teach Engrish...yes, I have many friends who teach Engrish. You can speak Vietnamese, yes?
Oh...you are traveling alone? Hm...well, someone is meeting you at the airport? *Long pause* So your parents are very brave, yes?
Yep. So my parents get the badge of courage for this endeavor, certainly not me. :)
Anyhow, I said goodbye to my new friends at the airport and was promptly beseiged by the most amazing crowd of Vietnamese people of all ages, chattering about taxis and hotels and currency exchange.
When you come to Viet Nam, you receive a new set of clothes: the thick, sticky, balmy, ineluctable humidity. The friendly heat wraps itself around your face first, then sneaks down your back, rolls over both your arms and settles on for the ride. This set of clothes has discouraged many from the vain use of deodorant and resulted in a fascinating array of featherlight clothing wraps.
I found a nice taxi man and off we went in his blue-and-white van through the streets of Ho Chi Minh City. He pointed out every single bar on the way to the guesthouse to me and shared his proud self-taught English by singing the pop songs that came on the radio.
The buildings here in Saigon (more popular name than HCMC) are smushed right up next to each other, many with gigantic signs in English. The construction crews reminded me of U.S. construction workers, with three watching as one holds a shovel.
The guesthouse is a nice little affair, complete with much pastel coloring and silver geometric shapes--a bit reminiscent of my town's China Buffet. It's extremely comfy and I do adore it; there are just two noticeable peculiarities. My room has two flat beds, distinguishable from the hard floor only by the fact they are a foot-and-a-half off the ground. Secondly, when the shower is on just average force, it shoots straight into the toilet--a bit odd, but probably perfect if you are one of those who likes to relieve oneself while washing.
I met with the CET program director, Rylan, for a few brief moments. He gave me the tools for exploring the city: a laminated map, a cell phone, the password to the wireless connection in the guesthouse, and a motorcycle helmet--ohhh yeah!!!!!!! I scoffed at his certainty that I would be awake at 5am thanks to jet lag. Either way, I meet my language professor at 8am, so I'll be ready to go!
I went back to the room and promptly crashed--a fabulous first few hours in the exciting city of Ho Chi Minh, halfway across the world from all I know.
No comments:
Post a Comment