I'll be across the water

I haven't committed to a blog site and I'm not intelligent enough to figure out how to post a video to YouTube. But I just wanted to say:

Despite this being a really awful, trying weekend; I had a really wonderful day. I talked to my mom, Courtney, and Michael, I got a lot of correspondence done, and I'm still not done :/ Though it's nice to be so loved that I have so many people to tell that I am well. I saw a bit of Burlesque, which I saw back home, but it was free and in aircon, so why not? And I went to a bbq/pool party with the Euros; that's what I'll call them, I think.

I met some more wonderfully nice people. Everyone is on their own journey, it's amazing. Some days are amazing and others I really wonder why I'm here. So far, overall, so good.

Past my bedtime, as usual.

First week's rundown

It’s been a solid and good first week here in Saigon. Seven days and I feel like I’m already forgetting.

I went to see Love & Other Drugs with Julie and Laurant. In the middle I wanted to get up, buy a plane ticket, and hitch home. Now at the end, I’ve decided no more “RomComs” for the next year.

My birthday was alright, nothing to really “write home about” as they say. Dinner with Danielle, Julien, Romy, Romain, Julie, Laurant, Ernst, and Isabelle. then one drink at Boston Bar with Danielle, Romy, Romain, and Julien.

Today was rough – wrong way to the bank, sequestered to pay for directions, told I was FAR from the bank by a xe om (motorbike driver). The text I’m reading gets worse every day. Plenty of expletives later, I’m happy to be back in my hotel. There will be more days like this…

I wish the internet was more reliable here. Oh, the bosses bought me beautiful flowers for my birthday – turns out everyone gets lunch or flowers. Had I been given the choice, I would have picked lunch. Romain also gave me flowers, which Danielle says is just him being French; what ever it is, it was really nice to feel completely welcomed by a practical stranger. It was nice of everyone to come out and help me celebrate my birthday when I’m so far away from my loves.

Thursday: Arrived. Two hours at immigration. Hard Rock with Danielle and her roommates for some DJ, drinks and dancing. Sleep over at Danielle’s.

Friday: Bullshitted around. Checked in Madam Cuc’s 127. Fake eye lashes; one and a half hours and one eye glued shut later, drinks at Lilly’s. Quick tour of the city and shopping for Danielle’s birthday thing. Back to her place, dinner, booze with her friends, T&R (a bar with open iTunes), Pho (all beef, so I didn’t have any), Go 2 (I’m convinced there’s no one in there that you’d want to see in the daylight. I do not plan on going there again). Bed at 5am.

Saturday: Walking and getting to know district 1 (tourist district) on my own. First xe om ride! Dull apartment, sort of a hole with a bed. Bill’s friend’s band with everyone.

Sunday: Successfully got a phone with no help from anyone. Another dull apartment visit. Drinks wit Danielle and Romy to meet Tracey and Hannah at Le Pub. T&R with Tracey and Hannah… new roommate?

Monday: First day of work, dull text about landscapes. Early night in zZz.

Tuesday: Work. Facial with Dani and Isabelle. Dinner at Le Pub. Lush for ladies night with Tracey; met Lizzy from Ann Arbor, a guy from Ventnor (!), and few wealthy Vietnamese girls, and Chris from Chicago (who insisted on buying shots to celebrate my birthday after midnight). Got to utilize “Rory.”

Wednesday: Happy birthday to me! Lunch at Angel’s Garden, dinner at Coriander, drinks at Boston Bar. First outside Vietnam Skype contact.

Thursday: Work. First bad day. Amazing bruchetta on Bui Vien. Cheap DVDs (Entire Audrey Hepburn collection and Season 4 of Mad Med for, like, $4). Bed early.

Alone in a big little city

I’m alone in my adorable hotel room. Danielle says she refuses to baby me and has left me on my own, with her cell at least. I’m going to get my own as soon as I recover from my most recent walk in the oven they call Bui Vien. I bought a bag less likely to be stolen and had lunch. I know where to go for a cell phone, I think. And I called “Mr. Jon” to look at an apartment.

I wouldn’t mind so much if she babied me. I didn’t come here to learn how to figure it out on my own, particularly since Asia was never in my plans and it’s unlikely I’ll have such a difficult time figuring life out in any other county. I wouldn’t have come had I not had a friend here already.

Most of her friends speak French… sure they all speak English, but one person goes off in French and they all follow. A tad annoying.

Her birthday last night was pretty fun. One could quickly adjust to the night life here.

The internet isn’t working on my laptop in my hotel. A sign of what’s to come? Alright, off to get a phone and see this apartment!

Destination Vietnam, complete.

I’m here, I made it to Vietnam. It’s almost one in the afternoon and rather warm. I’m tired, but adjusting well, I think. It’s Danielle’s birthday; should be an interesting evening.

Obama is cool around the world.

Still rather unsure about the time. I have a good feeling it’s the 17th here. I’ve definitely been traveling since 12pm Tuesday, February 15… it’s currently 1:30am Thurs Feb 17th in Jersey, so it’s been a solid 37 hours and I’m still not landing in HCMC until 6. A nice guy, I missed where he’s ACTUALLY from, but he lives in the Philippines, said I look for for my long travel time and little rest. He proceeded to tell me his girlfriend is my age and that he’s nearing 60. I felt the need to relocate.

En route to my gate, which I’m continuing the trend of being as far away as possible, I heard a 10-13 year old kid say, “Obama’s cool.” His 14-16 year old sister, presumably, said, “We don’t even live in America.” I winked at him as she badgered him about his grades.

Traveling alone is so freeing and yet extremely lonely. Lonely and alone don’t usually go together in my book. I like being alone, but on the other side of the world, there’s no one to comment on the sights with.

I’m carrying $10HK out of the country, mostly because nothing here is that cheap and I don’t want to exchange any more USD.

Welcome to Hong Kong, meet Jackie Chan

I think it’s 8:15am here in Hong Kong, I can’t be sure. Of course, and this should come as no surprise, I managed to lose something. Luckily it was just my cell phone and I’m organized in my own personal chaos. It was in the back of the seat on the plane. Jackie Chan (please laugh because I did) helped me get it back. Turns out, having it doesn’t make a difference because I’m roaming so far from Verizon satellites that the time won’t even adjust. I’m now in search of a charging station. This is a very interesting airport and damn humid. A precursor to my year to come, I suppose.

Tangled up in Blue

It’s next to impossible to get any good sleep on here. I finally found a solution, which wasn’t really a solution because my neck is killing me, but anyway the couple across the aisle from me, who I shared a few laughs with teaching them to use the remotes to the entertainment system despite our language barrier.

Anyway, they woke me up with their fighting, I have no idea what was being said (duh), but she was beating the shit out of him while he sat there and took it. She fell into a catatonic heap just before the woman in front of her complained to the flight attendant. The woman wouldn’t budge or speak to them and the husband continued to sit there like he had nothing to do with it. Now she’s sobbing and I can hear her through my cranked up Tangled Up in Blue…

That’s been the only really interesting thing that’s happened on he flight. Seven more hours of this 12.5 hour leg. (That’s a long time to be trapped in small quarters with someone you’ve fought with.) It’s night in Vietnam, I think. I’m really lost on all the time differences and changes. So, I think it’s 12:30, so I should probably try to sleep a little more.


I wouldn’t recommend 127 Hours without having some place to walk away to. Crazy film. I also wouldn’t recommend Going the Distance before going a distance from people you love. OR flying 18 hours with small children.

Best playlist, ever.

Find yourselves in my playlist, I made it thinking of you.

Michael Buble – Me and Mrs. Jones
Leona Lewis – Bleeding Love
Paramore – Only Exception
Savage Garden – Truly, Madly, Deeply
Kings of Leon – Use Somebody
Taylor Swift – White Horse
Aerosmith – Crazy
John Legend – Ordinary People
Maroon 5 – Misery
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Zephyer
Garth Brooks – Unanswered Prayers
Snow Patrol – Chocolate
Adele – Make You Feel My Love
Bob Dylan – Tangled up in Blue
The National – Runaway
Natalie Imbruglia - Smoke
Joni Mitchell – Blue
Foo Fighters – Learn to Fly
Alicia Keys – How Strong My Love is
Lauryn Hill – Tell Him
Glee Cast - Mercy
All Saints – Never Ever
Elton John – Bennie and the Jets
Oasis – Wonderwall
Bill Withers – Ain’t No Sunshine
Joni Mitchell – All I Want
Shania Twain – You’ve Got a Way
Alicia Keys – Sleep with a Broken Heart
Bob Dylan – If You See Her, Say Hello
Snow Patrol – Chasing Cars
Red Hot Chili Peppers – By the Way
The Beatles – When I’m 64
Sara Bareilles – King of Anything
Glee Cast – Poker Face
Celine Dion – Have You Ever Been in Love
Lauryn Hill – Used to Love Him
Kings of Leon – Sex on Fire
Glee Cast – Don’t Stop Believin
Foo Fighers – Best of You
Bob Dylan – Visions of Johanna
Glee Cast – Defy Gravity
Coldplay – The Scientist
Radiohead – Creep
The Beatles - Something
Michael Buble – Home
Oasis – Champagne Supernova
Glee Cast – Take a Bow
The National – Sorrow
Patrick Swayze – She’s Like the Wind
Celine Dion – Drove All Night
Eric Clapton – Layla
Bob Dylan – Just Like a Woman
Sade – No Ordinary Love
Dirty Dancing – Hey Baby
Glee Cast – Somebody to Love
Juno Soundtrack – Anyone Else but You
Aerosmith – Cryin
Garth Brooks – Thunder Rolls
The Police – Roxanne
Michael Buble – Everything
Foo Fighters – Everlong
John Mayer’s Battle Studies.

Vancouver, anyone?

Why do they assume I’m exiting in Vancouver? Oh, Canada. We’re about an hour away, I fell asleep for a while to the best playlist I think I’ve ever made – considering my options. On random I got this gem:
The National – Sorrow
Paramore – Only Exception
Kings of Leon – Sex on Fire
Taylor Swift – White Horse
Aerosmith – Crazy

Then I hit a button by accident and f’ed it up, so it restarted. Back to sleep.

Away We Go

I’m currently on the plane (almost) en route to Vancouver --> Hong Kong --> Ho Chi Minh City. I’m excited overall, but mostly nervous as all hell for the time being. I’m sure once I get to Hong Kong, even, I’ll be so overwhelmed by the culture shock that I’ll forget to be so anxious. 

I’m exhausted and there’s a child screaming a few rows ahead and we haven’t even taken off yet. I may have to kill it. It’s crazy to think I’m going to be on here for five hours but only two will have passed. I know time change has to do with the earth’s rotation, but it’s currently the bane of my existence.

I feel mildly insane, I can’t believe I’m doing this, but away we go.

If you think of me once in a while, then I'll return to you

I'm leaving tomorrow and my heart skips a beat every time I think about it too much. I'm excited, but I'm nervous as hell. I mean this is the exact opposite life that I'm used to. My two suitcases probably weigh more than I do; every time I walk into my mostly barren bedroom, I find another thing that I'm convinced I can't live without. I'm going to be so upset with myself in a year at all of the things I didn't even use haha.

It's Valentine's Day. Many of my facebook friends are boasting of this being their best Valentine's Day ever. I'm not bitter or anything, I am having a perfectly wonderful day, I just wouldn't say this is the best ever considering tomorrow's inevitable departure.

Bah, anxiety.

Come visit meeeeee!

I miss the way the sun lights up your face

In the early morning hours on the eve of my supposed departure, a calm is settling over me. I know I'm not leaving tomorrow, and I think a few days was just what I needed. Second guessing the biggest decision of my life is not something I should be doing 35 hours before my flight takes off.

What's the deal with being so upset about leaving people that mean so much to me? On both ends, it's like, of course we'll see each other again and inevitably have so much more (or God forbid, so much less) to talk about. I suppose it IS possible to outgrow people on the other side of the world, and there's a few I wouldn't miss but there's so many more that I would miss were this year to take us apart.

Ugghh, this sleep schedule is not doing me any good. Since I have a few more days to make the official adjustment, I think I'll sleep to dream now and wait for the "your trip has been delayed" email that will inevitably come.

Life