Vietnam Days: It's Raining Again...

As the thunder crashes across the sky on a gloomy Sunday afternoon, I can't imagine that two weeks have passed since my last blog. Days go faster and faster and the new becomes familiar. We no longer think of a trip to the grocery store as a big deal, whereas at first I felt like I had to do some major planning before I jumped as a fish into the mighty stream of people.

Some days are a little longer than others, like the day that Charles and I flopped into bed at about 8:00, talking about the cheeky and sometimes disrespectful ninth graders in my Algebra class and how to deal with them, and the grim outlook for a house sale in South Carolina amidst the economic environment of the times, when someone pounded on the door. It was Mr. policeman, doing a routine check. Although we did not yet have the appropriate paperwork, he was satisfied with a gander at our passports and gave me a number for school to call the next morning. I was also able to get our friend from school, Bich (pronounced Bik : )) on the phone and she talked to him, assuring us everything was OK after. It turns out we were the first teachers in three years to have a visit. "Honestly, I was ready to take the information out of the orientation guide." Charles Barton, our headmaster, told me. I am glad that it wasn't a complete surprise to us. I think the guy at school who is in charge of paperwork was in a little trouble...

Mr. Policeman was actually very friendly and said "No problem." quickly in response to Charles' concerned face. Some people have told us that he probably just wanted money. It is clear that sometimes it is a good thing to be a clueless American. Charles commented about how weird it felt that a policeman came alone and without any sort of weapon.

We have finally kicked our first round of kindergarten colds and Charles wound up with a sinus infection, as he always does. The best part is that he was able to go right to the pharmacy, tell them exactly what he needed, and buy it. He was almost giddy about being able to circumvent the $100 doctors visit that would have generated the exact same results.

We celebrated Charles' 41st birthday with a night out! We started with a drink at the Rex Hotel rooftop garden. Its historical connection is that it was where the correspondents covering the Vietnam War rubbed elbows. It felt a little like the Tiki room to me.... A great breeze and a couple of drinks was a great way to start the evening. We met an American woman from Texas living in Australia whose husband works for Mobil.

We ate dinner at a middle eastern restaurant called Skewers - really delicious. I couldn't help but feel the international similarity in big cities. As I sat and looked onto the street, I could honestly have been in New York. I am certainly still adjusting to city living. It is invigorating and exhausting to be sure.

Friday night we went to a grand party at our friends the Perkins. A reunion of sorts of the "newbies" at school this year. Such an interesting and fun group of people! I won't tell you who overdid it a bit and paid for it dearly on Saturday.

Maeve loves school more and more. (Hurray!) She has started calling me Ms. Dyana accidentally every one and a while. A good sign. Tomorrow, she will ride start riding the school bus by herself. She looks cute in her uniform, don't you think?

On weekends we make our way to school quite a bit - sometimes to ride our scooters in the gym or use the great pool. It is nice to have these spaces to run and play.

One of the fancy "Starbucks-ish" coffee shops is across the street from school so we can stock up and spend the morning.

Speaking of school, it gets more comfortable every day. Ray Smith is who I plan and teach 7th grade science with. He is a field biologist by training and we are embarking on a cool butterfly count study with our students. (Tim O'Keefe, if you are reading this and "doing" butterflies, get ready for some web collaboration.) My Center colleagues would be proud of our weekly planning sessions. It is nice to have something like this going on - I feel like so much of my teaching has to be fairly traditional by necessity right now given the newness of it all, 5 preps, and fewer resources that I have had in years.

It is a good thing that I can still laugh with my students about the incessant pounding of construction. Our new cafeteria is supposed to be done in October. A brief reprieve before they begin to build the new high school building...

Here's what I love:

watching Sophie wave goodbye on the back of the scooter
giving Maeve a kiss and wishing her a good day on her way into kindergarten
paying less than $1.00 for the best bunch of bananas you have ever tasted
ordering a fresh fruit smoothie right at school
riding in taxis (most of the time - see the end of the next list...)
pho
rice
home delivery of almost anything in the world
incredibly cheap 400mg. ibuprofen pills
discovering a great new restaurant
hearing live music and watching dance at school each day
hanging out with new friends, and meeting people who have had such interesting life experiences
the victory of finding something we need at the store
emails from people I miss

Here's what I miss:

family and friends
fluffy, clean, wonderfully smelling towels and clothes
the park near our house
the Columbia Riverbanks Zoo
using a debit card (I am always running out of Dong, and so are the ATM machines!)
plentiful, cheap art supplies
Target
the cabin
our back yard
being surrounded by books
people standing in line without cutting in front of you at the grocery store
other peoples deodorant use (Charles contributed these last two...)

Here's what I don't miss: