Reggae > Christmas Music

I'm so so happy to be out of the US for this time of year. I can't stand Christmas music and the excessive waste of energy and money.

That said, there was a Reggae "Festival" in one of the nicer areas of HCMC. I put festival in quotes because it wasn't much of a festival at all, but the music was good - the band was great even if they weren't actually playing reggae - the food, what little without meat in it they had, was delicious, and of course anyone that is going to spend an entire day at a reggae show is probably pretty laid back, so the company was great.

However, it must be said time and time again - have no expectations and you'll never find yourself disappointed. I hope there's another before I leave!

I'm rounding out on my last few champagne brunches. Turkey twice in one week, unbelievable.

Thanksgiving

Here we are at the obligatory Thanksgiving post. I went to dinner at a friend of a friend's apartment. The food didn't compare even a little, but it was my first time having turkey since I've been here... apparently they don't have turkeys in Vietnam. I can't imagine where they get it from when it is available - it's expensive enough to come from Indiana. Stuffing, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese, all good enough. I met some other Americans, which is always nice, none I think I'll see again though.

We showed up a little late and so missed the "I'm thankful for ..." round, which I'm incredibly thankful for because I never know what to say. I'm aware of the irony. Anyway, I will share with you all what I'm thankful for: this amazing year abroad, all of the people I've met, the love and support of my family and friends, the job experience and assurance that this is something I deeply enjoy and would be happy to do forever. I'm thankful for all of the travelling I will get to do in up coming months. I'm sure there are other things, but you know the magical powers of turkey.

Happy Thanksgiving!

One Year

It's been one year since my surgery.... one year without a single stomach ache or any other effects of cronhs. Most days I don't even think about it and that's a huge relief.

Hope you're all gearing up for lots of familial holidays and delicious foods! I hope the snow doesn't get you too bad ... believe me, I'm not missing that here. xo

Classic randoms from the past few months

Here is a random selection of photos from random evenings.

Graffiti

Happy Birthday, Lizzie!

Fish tank in the bathroom... kinda creepy, gotta say, especially since that fish follows you.

So true. Beer cozies in the Bread and Butter; you would only find this in an American owned establishment I'm betting.


Double date Friday:

Maria and Duy

Random cat and I, ha

More from Nha Trang, Round 2

Here are a few photos from my second trip to Nha Trang back in the beginning of October. There were 11 of us and it was really rare that we were all able to agree to do the same thing except get on the train.

View from the beach at 8am

Where Bill laid nearly all day Saturday... that's what you get for drinking on the train all night :P

The Euros (and their two token Americans)... All 11 of us in one place! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESSICA

Before the mist...

The mist before the storm that inevitably sees you out of Nha Trang

Maids

I think it's a well known fact that I have a maid... and I'm going to start off by saying that I feel like an over-privileged jerk even complaining about the situation, but:

I don't know what this woman does. She folds our blankets and sheets and puts them on the pillow as opposed to making the bed, so when I come home late, like tonight, I have to make my bed before I can sleep. She washes dishes, but she doesn't put them away. She moves stale/bad food from one place to another in the refrigerator as opposed to throwing it away. She washes the toilets and some sinks, but doesn't clean the mold or soap scum in the showers. I don't think she mops the floors in our bedrooms. She doesn't wash, hang, take down, or fold our laundry. She throws away perfectly good contact lens cases with contacts in them. She doesn't clean behind, under, or around anything. I don't know what she does?!

Oh wait, she makes sure our bills get paid, as long as we lay the appropriate amount of money out on the table, but we have to wait a week or two to get refunds or change.

The icing on the "I have an awful maid" cake: my flatmate came home to pen drawings on his wall... know who will have to pay for the repaint? Us.

I'm not very happy with this woman. But then again, I feel immense guilt complaining about a luxury that I will probably never be able to afford in the western world.

My friend has a studio and pays his maid $25 more dollars than we pay ours a month and she does all the things my maid doesn't PLUS his grocery shopping. I seriously think it's time to switch. (Or maybe start doing these things for myself in the event that I move to a place that I can't afford to have a maid and realise how much I really appreciated what little my current maid does ... I know, you don't have to remind me.)

But really, as I told a friend, if more people in the US had maids, more people would have jobs. Just like if more states had gas attendants. Sure, they aren't the most exciting or prestigious jobs, but I'm just saying.

Goodnight!

English lesson and life update

Just when you think rainy season is over you're soaked in 30 seconds flat... sweet.

Anyway, this link gave me a laugh, hope you can make it through, and pronounce all of the words!

All is well here. Half way through our 2012 MS collection... it's the easiest collection with only 10,000 words and 122 captions. Not always the most relevant text to go with the images though.

Rumour has it the NY Times wants to interview the boss-man about 'Bikini Story', that would be kind of cool. I'll let you know if that happens... or rather, you let me know if you read about Parkstone Press in the Times.

This past Sunday I had a (very expensive by Vietnamese standards) free-flow champagne brunch. The food (and champagne) was delicious. Halloween, on the other hand, was nothing to write home about.

No exciting plans for any upcoming weekends, the guys are having a 'boys weekend' in Singapore... as it's mostly a shopping city, I look forward to hearing about it. I'll be in touch, love to all!