Independence Day, Vietnam style

Today is Reunification Day, or something of the sort.  Basically, marks the day that Saigon fell, so it's somewhat like July 4th in the states.  It's a little weird being in Vietnam, as an American Vietkieu, on this day, but at the same time, everyone treats it like just another holiday and they go out and get drinks. 

 

To mark the day, I decided to take a 6 hour trip down to the delta.  No, it does not usually take 6 hours.  Yes, it usually only takes 2.5 hours.  And yes, I am being sarcastic when I say it's how I celebrated the day.  It just happened that the day I wanted to go down to the delta for one last visit with the family was a major holiday, one of the buses broke down, and it was pouring rain.  Just my luck.

 

Come back here, you little thief!

So, an update on the unsuccessful thief who took away my sense of security. Turns out that the day after he tried to take my cell phone, he approached a friend of mine at 4:30 in the afternoon, trying to take her laptop. Thankfully, he was unsuccessful.

Oh no, but our little thief doesn't stop there. A mere 2 hours later he approached the same girl, trying to steal her headphones. Yeah, same day, same girl. Again, unsuccessful. You'd think that if you were going to be a thief, you'd learn to be a good one.

ROYGBIV, Part II

So, I've changed the colors again because the previous colors were giving me a headache (and I thought perhaps it was giving my loyal reader a headache as well). Enjoy! Hopefully this one will last more than a week.

How's the weather?

I just checked the weather in the various cities I have lived in, am currently living in, and will live in and here's the run down:

• Vellore, India - Reached 100 degrees last week and staying there for the foreseeable future. Thankfully, I got out of dodge.
• Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - Hovering around 90 degrees for the rest of the week. Very doable, considering I have air conditioning! However, rain is likely for the rest of my time here, which puts a big crimp on my plans to gorge myself on all the street food in this city.
  
• San Ramon, CA - High 60's and low 70's recently, sounds like paradise.
  
• Boston, MA - 60's all around, a bit cold, but I can handle it.
  

So, in less than one week, I will be back to the states (and a climate where I don't feel the need to change my clothes after being outside for 10 minutes).

One funny story: I spoke to my dad today and asked if he was going to be at the airport to pick me up when I arrive and he said yeah. Then, he asked, "what would you like to eat?". I love it - he's planning my meal a week in advance! I think that's proof that he knows me well (and loves me lots).

Xin Chao!

I am back in Vietnam and boy, does it feel good! Never before did it make so much sense and never before did I think it was so clean!

Bye, bye, bye

I leave India tonight and it's a little bittersweet.  I have to admit that I didn't enjoy my time in India as much as I thought I would, but I definitely have some great memories and met some great people.  But, I am excited to be going back to Vietnam, where I can enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables (cholera be damned!) and enjoy food that doesn't make my mouth burn for hours after the meal.  More so, I am excited for returning to the states.  It's been close to 15 weeks now and I can't believe that I have been gone this long.  However, I know that once I return, I will have to face the real world and my perpetual to-do lists will undoubtedly expand and grow. 

I'm in Chennai/Madras for the day and spending the day shopping and buying souvenirs for people.  My itinerary is that I fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, then back to Saigon! 

Violated

Yesterday, just as I had finished a 5 hour stretch at the computer lab, I was heading back to the hostel when a kid approached me and asked for the time. I told him it was 2 o'clock, but he feigned no English (that's when I should have been suspicious... I even held up two fingers). So, I showed him my cell phone - but just as I was doing so, I remembered that a few weeks ago, a couple of Australian girls got their cell phones stolen by a kid asking for the time, so I made sure I was holding on tight. Expectedly, he grabbed the top of my flip phone, but didn't get it out of my hands, then looked at me in the eyes with bewilderment, thinking, "what do I do now?" So, then he walked away and, for some unknown reason, I followed him. When he realized I was following him, he ran. Being my gimp self (I have stopped using my brace on a daily basis, but still am limping and stairs pose a challenge), I could give chase. Of course, there was not a soul in sight.

So, I told the woman who works at the hostel and she got all furious and grabbed the closest security guard (they're all around campus when you don't need them and never there when you need them!) and told the story to him in Tamil. Then, she marched over the the main security post and told them. The result: today on my way to the computer lab, there are about a half dozen guys (presumably working for security) in the courtyard where it all went down yesterday. Like that doesn't scare the kid off.

I am a little shaken from the thing, not because I was ever in physical harm (the kid was so skinny, I felt like I could take him, even with my defunct knee), but because I felt violated. Since I have been in India, everyone has been so nice and I have never felt like I was in harm's way (other than walking on the street, where any type of vehicle or animal may run into you). So, when something like this happens, on campus and in a campus building, nonetheless, I feel like my little bubble of security has been burst. This morning, I saw a teenage boy on a bike and immediately held my purse tighter, and I hate that I did that. I hate that the kid yesterday has done this to me.

Needless to say, I am much more cautious about security now.

Hypochondriasis, part deux

So, my aunt sent me an email today informing me of an outbreak of diarrhea in Vietnam and that I should avoid fresh vegetables (which, admittedly, is very hard for me to do). I googled it, of course, and found out that there is an outbreak of cholera throughout Vietnam. Now, it has been thinking, did I have cholera? It's a good thing I took antibiotics and am a healthy adult. I semi-seriously thought that I would just die on the toilet that day.

Ah, just another episode of retro-hypochondriasis.

Overrated

U.S. News and World Report just put out a new report (gasp!  the shock!), this time about careers and the most overrated careers.  I am sad to report that being a physician is one of them.  I would beg to differ, or at least I hope I have enough gusto to differ, since it is my chosen career (and I have yet to technically start it).  And some of their argument is that you sometimes see patients die, as though you can help them get better, but if they die, oh gosh, run for the hills!

 

Their alternative?  Physician Assistant.  What do you guys think?

 

On the other hand, they say landscape architect is one of the hot careers, which is a good sign for my friend, Margaret! 

 

Going back to Massachusetts

As I'm doing my project at the computer lab (which is pretty boring and uncomfortable - these chairs are definitely not meant to be sat in for hours on end), I am listening to my iPod and the BeeGees song, "Massachusetts" came on (yes, I have terrible taste in music).  I was just reminded that, yes, I am graduating soon.  Yes, I am going home soon.  I'm homesick.  After so many months on the road, I just want somewhere to rest my head for more than a few weeks at a time. 

 

But where is home?  I don't know, really.  It's not in Boston, where I have friends, but nothing material to keep me there.  It's not at my parents' house (though I know they would like it to be).  It's not in San Jose, because, although that will soon be my home, I don't exactly have one yet.  It's not in Vietnam, where I have spent the most time this year thus far.  And it's certainly not in India, where I feel like I am just an interloper and am soon leaving.  So, technically I have no home to go back to, but definitely looking forward to one.  I even bought a bedspread here... for a queen-size bed (as one of my friends, Margaret, says - you're a true adult when you finally get a queen-size bed).