akv musings: life, travels, becoming a doctor

back in USA!

2009-07-01T10:19:00.003-04:00

I arrived safely and with all luggage intact at BWI very early on Tuesday morning. Checking into ORD was really easy, they let me take the picture with frames as carry-on and United didn't charge me for the third bag! Hooray all around!!

The transition back to the US was as if I'd never left; I drove home from the airport and it wasn't too weird. It was just like coming home from school when I was in Chicago or Philly - no big deal! The best thing about coming home was seeing my parents, eating cheese, and watching the birds and squirrels fight over the bird feeder on our deck. It feels like I've gone to the countryside!

Anyways now the fun "back to reality" stuff starts. Calling health insurance to make sure I'm covered for next year, worrying about financial aid, making bill payments, running errands, unpacking and packing again, laundry...all to get ready for the roadtrip and new life in Las Vegas!

last year

2009-06-29T03:43:00.003-04:00

This time last year, I was in London!
Running around Picadilly's Circus and Hampton Court Palace with Claudia, Sonal, Christopher Martin, and my family!!

and of course, Kings Cross!

What fun that was...and then a few days later, I went to Wimbledon, aiaiaia!!!!

it it wrong

2009-06-29T02:46:00.004-04:00

that my first real meal outside of Vietnam was at McDonald's?
ahaha but it was delicious.

10 hours at Seoul Incheon Airport

2009-06-29T00:31:00.005-04:00

well, t minus 10 hours!

My motto of "buy now, worry about packing later" and its results:

Apparently I have become a very bad international traveler - I planned to check in 3 bags into my Asiana flight to Chicago O'Hare (by way of Seoul Incheon) and have my backpack and the painting with frames as carry on. Technically only 2 bags are allowed to be checked in, but em Na's mother knows the director of Asiana in HCMC and we all went to the office in Diamond Plaza and I got permission from him to have a third bag, 23 kgs each piece. Sweet deal since an extra bag costs over $100. Though I will still have to pay once I am in Chicago and have to check into my United flight to Baltimore...but here's the kicker: I already checked in and went through immigration and security told me that my frames were not allowed on the plane.

WHAT?! It's not the size, because other people had longer or bigger items. Pieces of wood? Urgh, em Thao and I had just talked about it as she helped me pack and we both laughed at the notion that it would be considered a weapon. I guess, well whatever, can't argue when they say go back. Except now I would have 4 pieces of checked luggage but again Asiana waived a fee. And I just hope and pray that I can either take this onto the United flight or fit it into my luggage, because paying for 2 extra checked luggage will make me really sad.

Sheesh, maybe it's just from traveling alone, but it was too stressful of a situation and my mom had to calm me down as I talked to her while waiting for my flight to Seoul.

Haha I had sticker shock at the SGN airport, $3 for a bottle of 500 ml water, $3 for croissant, $10 for box of chocolates, $6 for sandwich - it's going to be hard to adjust when just last night I had paid...yeah okay best not to think about it now...!!

I arrived at Incheon a bit after 8 am and quickly found my way to the "Rest and Relax" area so I could pass out for a few more hours. Seoul is 2 hours ahead of HCMC so I was really tired even through I slept the whole flight.

So I paid $3 for my 500 ml of water but then here in Seoul was not able to take it through the airport after the security check-point for my transfer. Poopie, just bought it at the SGN airport! Anyways, Incheon is a super nice airport, with computers and wireless internet available, a resting lounge, and lots of light and space...and tons of shopping.

Alrighty now just about 6 hours to go!
It's 12:44 am on Monday, June 29 EST time and I will arrive 11:50 pm tonight!!

Last night in Vietnam!

2009-06-27T06:45:00.005-04:00

Wow, two and a half months has really gone by fast. At this time tomorrow night I will be at the airport, checking in my huge bags and saying goodbye to Chu Dung. Now I know a bit more Vietnamese (elementary Vietnamese rockstar!) and have a really bad sandals tan, but still I wish I was able to take the next level of classes. I am a bit jealous of Keisuke, em Na, and my other classmates because of this.

It has been really great and I think what I will miss most are the people. Culture and food aside, whenever I asked other travelers what they like about Vietnam, always one answer is "the people". They are kind and generous with their time and energy. If it was the reverse situation, I don't know if I could be as generous? I feel like there are too many excuses we use: not enough time, I want to watch my tv show, it's too far, it's not what I want to do, whatever.

And maybe because we are tourists, we are sensitive to this (and also perhaps some are too kind, especially when they want money) but I do think that it is different than any other country. People here want to know, it's about community. Where are you from? What do you do here? How old are you? And always...do you have a boyfriend or husband?

And the people are everywhere: eating, sleeping, drinking coffee, resting, working. People are hired to open doors for you at the shopping centers, parking lot attendants for even the smallest restaurants and stores, security guards for hotels, banks, etc at night...it's awesome just the humanity that you see here. No waiting in line at the post office (omg it's fantastic!). And in the lobby of my hotel room in Nha Trang? 5 workers! At the shopping mall, there are 2 to 3 people per every counter. They are ready to pounce if you even think of buying something. Someone's always there, where ever you are, whenever you need anything.

It's people that drive this country.

I will also miss:
- displays of affection and friendship between two people is okay between two men or two women, any age
- seeing people hanging out at the park and watching the older people exercise and stretch
- not being addicted to what's on the news right now. No more 24 hour CNN.
- the relief we all get when it's rainy and cool; even on motorbikes it doesn't feel like a damper to the afternoon
- seriously, not having to wait in line for things is wonderful!
- abundance of fruit and delicious fruit drinks and desserts
- watching people carry crazy things via motorbike: aquarium, small fridge, 6 boxes of Heineken beer, a family of four...a dog??
- where honking is so common it's message is less "Eff you, jerkface" and more "I'm here!"
- Asian babies, because they are the cutest

I realize now that I have not worn a seat belt for over two months. And I really appreciate our dental health care and hygiene.

I am also ready and looking forward to seeing my family, for cooler weather, an actual closet and my own home. Not having to worry "will this place make me sick?". Mom's home cooking and Dad's singing and laughter. Doing my own laundry (odd, no?). Going to the library and Costco. Being able to know exactly where to shop, not bargaining, and being able to drive myself there.

Alas it is on to the next chapter: Vegas and med school!

Long Xuyen

2009-06-21T16:15:00.003-04:00

Friday, June 19, 2009

I left with Cau Giang (Chu Dung's nephew) in the afternoon to catch a MaiLinh express bus to Long Xuyen, my mom's hometown. I still have some extended family there, and would be staying with an aunt, travel around and meet family, and then come back to HCMC on Sunday evening. A really quick trip, considering it takes about 5 hours by bus (though less crazy than the trip to Bac Lieu), but it was worth it to see this side of my family that I'd never met before.

This bus to Long Xuyen was one of the larger charter buses and it was quite nice, though a bit more difficult to sleep in than the buses I take from PHL to DC and NYC, I think because the extra leg room make it harder to put your legs up. But the trip was fine, we again took a ferry to cross a large river, and on the other side was Long Xuyen, a rather large city just west of Can Tho.

My mom's father was one of five brothers, and he was brother #7 (Ong bay = literally Mr. 7). Ong Thu (#4) and Ong Nam (#5) are the only siblings still alive, but many children of these siblings are still in Long Xuyen. I stayed with Di Dung (Aunt Dung) and her family, she is the daughter of Ong Sau (#6), I believe, and when he passed away, she lived with my mom's family and that is why they are very close. Di Dung has three children, but my aunt took one of them as her own when she came to the US. But now, cousin Dennis (who was 10 at the time) can only speak English and has lost a connection back to his family. He has married and his children are half Vietnamese and half Hispanic but can only speak English.

I understand fully now the importance of keeping with your heritage and culture, so much history is in the language itself!

Saturday was spent walking around and visiting all of the relatives. Ong Nam really reminded me of my grandfather, and he has 11 children and many grand-children, many of which still live in Long Xuyen. We had dinner that night with some family on Ong Nam and there were about 30 people (lots of kids), and it was absolutely crazy to know that they were all family. I had normally thought of the "family" as small since my mom and dad don't have very many siblings combined and there aren't so many cousins.

In English, they would be called "extended" or "distant" family and relatives, but it was clear that at dinner, "distant" was not the right word. In English, they still called me "sister" and invited me to travel with them to Nha Trang. Sadly I had to say no since I will be back in US by then - but imagine, traveling with 40 family members! I wish I could have gone!!

I was sad that my mom's old school was not there anymore (new school built in its place), and my grandfather's land after the war had been claimed by the government. A large government building and state-owned gas station are in its place.

It was incredible to see this side of my family, I hadn't really even heard many stories about them; but I'm so glad that I was able to see them and speak just a little bit of Vietnamese with everyone. I really hope that I can come back and see everyone again.

Thursday night outing

2009-06-18T15:41:00.004-04:00

haha what a crazy day I planned for today!

Since I'm leaving for Long Xuyen (my mom's hometown, going to see some extended family) tomorrow and then leaving for the US shortly after that, Chu Dung wanted to host a dinner for some of my new Vietnam friends. What a great way to say thanks and bye to my new friends!

In the afternoon, I met up with Keisuke and YoungJi at Parkson Plaza across from the medical school (126 Hung Vuong Street, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City); it's a huge shopping center than sells all the name brand stuff, cosmetics, handbags and shoes, women and mens clothes, kids stuff, etc. Some of the prices are more expensive than in the US, but I suppose you could find some good deals there. There's also one floor of food court, one floor for a gym (which was completely enclosed in glass and looked really cool), and a movie theater on the top, 7th floor.

We got some bubble tea and walked around the mall. Em Na met us later and we all got tickets for the 3:15 show of the new "Star Trek" movie - only 60,000D because it was a matinee showing before 3:30 pm. That's only $3, so for sure I was going to see a movie here in Vietnam before I left. And the movie theater and seating was great, just in like in the US. Although the popcorn is sweet and sticky, not the salty kind that YoungJi and I were expecting to taste =/ boo!

Loved the movie more than I expected too, and everyone else seemed to have a good time. YoungJi said she really enjoyed it and hoped to see again with Korean subtitles so she could fully get the whole movie.

For dinner we headed out to district three and met up with Chu Dung, Chi Cindy, Chi Linh, Chuong, and MooYoung (student from class). We had a great meal of seafood, meats and rice, and it was fun to see all my friends from different parts of my Vietnamese life at the same time.

L to R: Chuong (mom's friend from US that travels back and forth between VN and USA, finishing up MBA in Vietnam, and really helped me plan my trip here), Chu Dung (my host), me, and Chi Cindy (former coworker of Chu Dung, we went to Vung Tau together, and since then we have become friends).

After dinner we walked over to Cafe Soi Da (went there a few times with Chuong and once with anh Khanh) to enjoy some dessert. I also brought along some chocolates to share, the little chocolate liqueur bottles and we had a blast giving the Vietnamese Cheer "YO!" and taking our shots of chocolate. Thought sometimes they were so melted because of the heat, so it was a bit messy to eat them...

With YoungJi and MooYoung.

A good way to celebrate the trip with friends and say bye!

pictures from Thursday

Happy birthday em Thao!!

2009-06-16T22:52:00.006-04:00

Chúc Mừng Sinh Nhật

June 16, 2009
em Thao turns 25!

I met up with em Na in the afternoon at Ben Thanh market so that we could shop and walk around a bit before the dinner party. Em Na bought some flowers for Thao (they met previously at the Jazz club outing) and I had my gift ready (some printed pictures of our recent outings and to Bac Lieu, the Twilight soundtrack, and Oil of Olay lotion) and just needed a card.

We met up at the medical school dormitory and there were lots of people there ready for the birthday celebration. We went to a nearby restaurant for ban xeo, beef hot pot and banh trang, lots and lots of food. em Na and I practiced our Vietnamese, as we were meeting many of Thao's friends, all medical school students or doctors already. I met Thao's roommates (6 girls in the room) and other classmates; everyone was very friendly and spoke English, but willing to talk to me as I practiced my Vietnamese.

Thao said that this was the first time she'd celebrated with friends; normally she goes home and celebrates her birthday with family. Keeping with tradition, Thao paid for the dinner because she invited us all out. Completely different from what we do in the US, but I suppose it makes sense?

After dinner, we all headed to a nearby ice cream and coffee shop for more celebration and cake! There were two beautiful and yummy cakes; one traditional cake has gelatin on the outside, then the flour cake inside, it was so delicious!

Best picture of the night: Tuan sneaks a bite of a cake from Minh...

Thao gave bookmarks to everyone and gel candles that she had wrapped with tissue paper. She seemed to have a great time and it was really fun to share the event with so many people!

all pictures from em Thao's birthday celebration

Bac Lieu, Vietnam

2009-06-15T07:21:00.017-04:00

Last weekend (June 5 - 7, 2009) I traveled with some friends to Bac Lieu, Vietnam (about 7 hour bus ride south west of Ho Chi Minh City) to spend time in the countryside and attend an engagement party. The bus is really like an extension van, about 15 seats, and so the ride isn't bad, depending on how crazy of a driver you have. I traveled with 4 other girls (all doctors!) and they all had to take medication to prevent car sickness. I survived, but the driver was a bit maniacal.

Like "HOLY WTF we're going to crash head first into oncoming traffic as you pass these 4 trucks....wheeeeew that was a close one!!!!!". And repeat...

I talked with em Thao a bit, it has been really nice to make a good friend here in Vietnam. And I was able to sleep, thanks to the help of my ipod. I think otherwise, it would be have been a bit difficult for me with the honking, music, and general crazy noise of the trip. We did have two 30 minute rest stops to use the bathroom and eat/drink, so that was nice. There was also a really cool ferry ride across the Mekong River, where we passed through the city of Can Tho.

We arrived in Bac Lieu about 10:30 pm and the town was very quiet, it was actually difficult to get a taxi to take us to the Bride's home. But we finally made it, and met with the the Bride's family and their friends. We had a late meal and then the family took us to the hotel where our group would be staying the night, a small guest house with a great big room with 4 beds. And air-conditioning...which is all I really needed as Bac Lieu was hotter than HCMC, if one can even imagine that...seems like there are less big trees, more flat land countryside...

But the countryside is beautiful, watching the buildings pass by, seeing how simple life can really be and also how poor the country really is. Often I'd see something really interesting: above ground coffins facing all the same direction, rows of lamps illuminating pools of water (em Thao though this may be somehow related to raising shrimp or crabs), a huge house every now and then, a large factory with rows and rows of motorbikes and bicycles. Seems like everything is fascinating out in the countryside.

Saturday morning, we woke up around 6:30 and prepared our dresses for the engagement party. Bich and I were the only ones who chose to wear ao dai - and it nearly killed me, because it was so stinking hot and the ao dai is supposed to be tight fighting and therefore very hot. At least we suffered together and we did look very nice!

We arrived at the house close to 8 and watched Minh (the bride) get her make up and hair done. Minh is already a beautiful girl but these people can really do some magic with these glosses, powders, and sticks of color. And the hair! Lots of hairspray and pins, and they even hot glued pearls in a crown shape. Sounds weird, but it was so beautiful and really reminded me of a fairy princess.

I have only ever been to family weddings, so am familiar with some of the traditions of the Vietnamese wedding. But I was still interested to see how this engagement party was the same or different...Engagement parties take place in the Bride's home while the actual wedding ceremony takes place in the Groom's home. Then there is of course a celebration dinner and reception at a restaurant or hotel, but the ceremony of Vietnamese Buddhist tradition takes place in the home, in front of ancestors, family, and friends.

At 8 am, Tuan (the Groom) and his family arrived. As is tradition, they walk in a ceremonial process from the driveway to the front of the house. First is the Groom's representative (often a good family friend), followed by the parents and grandparents, then the Groom himself. Following him is a procession of other family and friends, each holding a gift offering to the Bride's family - all in all, it's about 30 people.

Meanwhile, the Bride's family is lined up at the house entrance, ready to greet the Groom. The Groom's Representative introduces the family and makes an offering. The Bride's family offers tea to the Groom's parents and the Groom's family is escorted in. The Bride has yet to be seen.

The parents, grandparents, and other high family members sit across from each other at a long table and one by one, make offerings and prayers to their ancestors and greet each other. Then the Groom makes offerings to the Bride's family, says prayers...and then the Bride comes down. Together the Bride and Groom make offerings to their ancestors and to each family member at the table. The Bride is presented with gold jewelry and other gifts. It takes about one hour and there's lots of bowing, clapping, blessings, and presentation of money.

It's a beautiful ceremony, enriched in tradition and with gestures to family, past and present. I really would like to have such a ceremony for my own wedding. Often at cousin's weddings, because not many people can make it to an engagement party (whereas here, most family from both sides live in Bac Lieu), it becomes a part of the wedding day celebrations. So in the morning you have the celebration at the Bride's home, then the wedding ceremony (either at Groom's home or church or other location), then the reception. It turns into an all day event, but I've always found it to be fun and interesting.

Minh the Bride is on the far right, in a traditional pink ao dai. Her wedding ao dai will be red. There is also a traditional ao dai for men as well, but nowadays they elect to wear the Western suit and tie.

Friends (and doctors!).

After a hearty lunch, our group of 5 girls headed back to the hotel to change and rest. At 4 pm, we headed back out to tour Bac Lieu and make the most of our (essentially) one day excursion to the countryside.

First up, a visit to the Goddess of the Southern Seas, a popular statue and temple in Bac Lieu.

The landscape is just incredible...those are clouds, not smoke from incense. Absolutely beautiful.

Then we headed out to the ocean. The Mekong Delta does not have beaches, it is rather muddy. And there are fascinating creatures that live in the mud, amongst the mangrooves. Small crabs the size of your thumb that have one huge claw the size of their body and the other claw tiny. Or weird amphibian/fish-like creatures that look like large tadpoles and can swim by moving their tail but like to get around by hopping on top of the water. They can also climb onto sticks and mud - it was really weird, like I was imagining these were prehistoric fish and they were going to evolve into frogs or land animals...if that makes any sense.

Best of all the ocean is shallow, so you can walk basically out into the sunset and it's a fantastic sense of really being on the edge of the world:

Urgh, I feel like I'm using all of these adjectives, but still cannot really describe how cool this place was. I really wish we had more time to be here, because walking out into the ocean like in the above picture would have been really awesome.

Then we met up with a larger group of friends and headed to dinner at a small restaurant that specializes in turtles. Yeah, eating turtle was kind of a weird thing, and definitely following the group into the back kitchen area was a bad idea (!!). Oops It was a novel thing to see, but I think when you see the process of live animal to dead animal, it makes it difficult to follow through with eating the thing. I think really only the guys were into the meal, the girls not to much. We kept asking for more noodles, to fill our stomachs with something. I didn't even remember to take pictures, as unique as this meal was.

In fact the most interesting part of the meal was probably when we were waiting for everything to get ready, we ventured into the back, where there was a great view of the sunset and countryside filled with rice paddies, banana trees, and a few ancestral burial grounds...

Sunset in Bac Lieu

After dinner, we all headed to a famous large hotel, restaurant, and cafe in Bac Lieu. Built in 1919, it was formerly owned by the richest man in the province. He was so rich (through owning land and farms) that apparently he once burned money to cook an egg. Whack! Anyways I think probably the government seized the property after the war and now it's a hotel, restaurant, and cafe. A few of us walked around the area, it's about as big as a city block, and then returned to finish our drinks.

Turns out some people were still hungry (yes indeed!) and then we all ventured out to experience some special Bac Lieu seafood noodle soup. The small local restaurants have tiny chairs and tables that make you feel clownish and can put a kink in your back and cramp your legs. But some of the best food (and always super cheap!) comes in these locations, so it's just a part of the culture. And really these people, guys and girls, are tiny so it's okay for them. Haha, us Americans would be thinking, "Uhh you expect my butt to fit where?!"

And so after this late meal, our group of girls split ways and headed back to hotel to clean up and get ready for the overnight trip back to HCMC. Taking the 11:30 pm bus seemed like a good idea at the time (save time! sleep on the bus and you save a whole day!) except it was much harder to me to sleep. And plus there were still the 2 30 minute stops, where you have to get out while they clean the bus, so it's not a good sleep. At 5:30 am we arrived in HCMC, and I think we all still slept for another few hours after that....

It was really a fun trip; I really wanted to get out of the city and see something new, and spending time with these ladies was really great!

Special Bac Lieu album here, as I cannot post all of pics on the blog

HEI outing

2009-06-14T01:18:00.006-04:00

Sunday afternoon was my "goodbye" outing with HEI, the medical English club that I've been meeting with a few times during my trip. There was a big group of us that went out, most were the HEI officers and 3rd year medical students. We headed out to district 4, across the river, for what was an eventful night.

First on the menu? ốc! Snail!

We had little ones that you had to poke out with a fork, larger ones that just came on the shell, and these "fingernail" snails, called because of the shells they come in.

I have never eaten so much snail in one sitting, but it was quite good - though we all knew that one cannot really get full just eating snail!

Second course was a real sit-down dinner of fried rice, vegetables, noodles, and french fries!

After dinner, we headed back to district one so that we could walk around and burn off the meal. We ran into a group of bicyclists who had left Cambodia that morning and just arrived then at their hotel in Vietnam. That's the coolest thing about being in District 1: you can just walk around and see cool, fun things and run into a great variety of people.

We walked around a night market that was just closing up, enjoyed some coconut gelatin on the streets by Nhu Lan (where I had one of my first meals in HCMC with Chuong), and then continued walking. I ended up finding the new "Vietnam Quilts" store (64 Ngô Đức Kê), which was totally random, but there were two women still there and invited me inside to see the new shop. It's really big and beautiful inside, I hope to return in a few years and buy more quilts! (Total purchases for this trip include 4 quilts, 4 custom ordered pillows, 2 baby quilts, some aprons, and a bag - yeah my motto has become "buy now, worry about packing later".)

We also went through the large Fahasa bookstore, where I bought three more children's books to bring back with me. These books are about Vietnamese myths and have English and Vietnamese on the pages so that I can learn the new vocabulary quite easily. There were a ton of people in the store, even though it was so late, probably because it was nice and cool inside!

After this, it was time for goodbyes. One first year gave me a keychain that she and her roommates had made by hand out of beads and wiring, so sweet! Em Khue, who was my original contact person for the group, presented me with a small gift: a small display of 3 dolls dressed in traditional ao dai from the North, Central, and South Vietnam, a bookmark, and a note of thanks. It was really sweet, I know that they don't have a lot of time or money and their generosity is just overwhelming; these students are a lot of fun to talk to and are just so nice and friendly! It was really great to get to know them and I really hope our paths can cross again.

Water Puppet show

2009-06-12T23:00:00.005-04:00

Friday night, went out with em Hoang to see the Water Puppet Show (Golden Dragon Water Puppetry Theatre, 55B Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D1). I had seen a show in Hanoi back in 2004, but it's always a fun sight to see the myths and Vietnamese fables in action and to wonder how on earth the puppeteers are actually moving the puppets around.

The puppeteers are hiding behind the screen and move their puppets in sticks (somehow?) underneath the water. But the puppets criss cross in fighting or running action and there's just so much movement that it seems impossible to do this without the lines crossing? I don't know really how to explain it, but it's awesome. Em Hoang said that the puppeteers must train for many years before they are qualified.

Super cool!

Extra large life-sized water puppet...

Afterwards we walked around the theater and then went back to around the med school area to get some dessert. Many restaurants around this area were advertising "Che Thai Lan", which is a special dessert and I immediately found to have lots of durian in it.

Oops, "Tôi không ăn sầu riêng được", I cannot eat durian!

So I got some other che dessert and we talked for a bit about school, post graduation life, living in Vietnam. At this point, I have two weeks left in Vietnam and will be doing a lot of traveling, so we also knew that this would be a good-bye meeting. It's hard to say "Bye" when I just finished saying "Hi!".

more pics from water puppet show:

last day of school!

2009-06-12T12:30:00.000-04:00

Last day of class with co Mien.

Hooray got a 98/100 on the examination, I am an elementary Vietnamese superstar!

But now I am jealous that my classmates will continue onto the next level of classes and I wish I continue too, so I can really speak with my family. I'll just have to keep practicing at home and keep with my books and cds that I am bringing back with me.

And of course, the best part about school being out are the reunion parties! So after the examination we all went out to EunJi's family's Korean restaurant, near Le Thanh Ton street and had a feast of Korean food.

Of course, the American and the Japanese had to have special "non spicy" meals ordered while everyone else had at the kimchi. I think it was actually my first "real" Korean meal, and who better to go with then people who know what to get!

Recovery

2009-06-10T12:30:00.005-04:00

Monday night until Wednesday morning I was really sick with something and spent all that time holed up in my room. It got to the point where I thought I might have appendicitis and became one of those freaks who tries to Google every symptom and make a diagnosis (WebMD is going to be my professional enemy, I can tell, it makes everyone think they have cancer). I started to worry about a foreign hospital visit and made a list of the doctors that I could see on my travel insurance. Who can I call for help and support? What medicines do I buy? How can I get more electrolytes if they don't sell Gatorade?!

It really was the first time I truly missed home and my parents.

Well the stomach virus is gone and so today I went out and about with some expat friends who showed me the uber touristy area:

Tay Ba lo is slang for "western backpacker"

and this area is all about the foreign backpackers. Not the uber rich foreigners, no there are huge department stores and designer shops for them (more expensive than in US because retailers pay 100% import tax, WHAT?!) - this area is all about the fake dvds (13000D for one, 150000 for box set - it's incredible! That's right, the entire Sopranos series Dan bought for less than $10), cool print tshirts, artwork, and hip bars and restaurants serving all sorts of cuisine.

With Linh (She's from Chicago, lived here for 2 years) sending a message to our mutual friend

I had a chicken sandwich with a salad and potatoes for 75,000 D. The salad was small (it's okay! they advertise that they wash everything in purified bottled water and make their ice from that too!) and I got three little potato sticks - but it was a piece of Western food that I'd really missed.

And the music? Tracy Chapman to Beatles to Red Hot Chili Peppers.

It was nothing like I'd ever expect in Vietnam, yet somehow as I walked around with Linh and Dan afterwards, a part of me was fascinated and yet also disappointed.

Who really comes to Ho Chi Minh City to go to sleazy bars and eat pizza?? Right at the main intersection of this "Tay Balo" area, they are building a huge 3 story nightclub that advertises hiphop dance floor...there is a donut shop around the corner...

This is not Vietnam, this is not Ho Chi Minh City.

HCMC music scene

2009-06-08T06:41:00.008-04:00

(100th post! I'll make it a good one)
5.29.09

What a fun weekend of music!

Friday night was Ratatat at Pacharan Tapas and Bodega, right next to Caravelle Hotel and behind the Oprah House on Hai Ba Trung Street. I love this band (great study music because no lyrics!) and have not been able to see any of their small touring shows in the US - so what are the odds that they would be playing in Vietnam in the same city and date that I am there? Clearly it was a sign that I had to be there.

Super small and intimate venue, basically in a small room with a bar - it was packed so tightly that it took maybe 30 minutes to get a drink. Clearly a fire hazard and the music was BOOMING. The guys were so crazy and amazing live, but I could only stay for a bit over an hour because it was so loud and hot and sweaty inside that room. And also I had waited for the show since 9 pm and they didn't take the stage until 11 pm. hrmpf =/ Oh well, got to hear them play some new stuff and one of my favorites, so it was all good!

RATATAT playing "Lex" from their "Classics" cd!!!!! WOOOOOHOOOOOOOO. ^_^

Saturday night I met up with em Thao and 2 of her friends for dinner. They are all from the same city, Bac Lieu, about 6 hour drive from HCMC and all have graduated from medical school. Minh is an OBGYN intern year at Benh Vien Tu Du, the hospital with the children's dormitory. Her fiance, Tuan, is in his third year neurosurgery residency at Cho Ray Hospital - the largest hospital in the city.

We must have been hungry - look at all of that food!!! haha

em Thao is sitting across from them - I see her about once a week so we have become good friends. She is in her internship year as a physical therapy and rehabilitation specialist.

We had dinner at Mon Hue - restaurant specializing in Hue food - and talked a lot about medical school, working as a doctor, and international and public health. Apparently Cho Ray hospital is very popular as an elective rotation site for foriegn doctors, especially in surgery and emergency medicine - no Vietnamese language necessary. Which I found a bit odd, but Tuan explained to me that there are many international doctors that work there and so the language is not an issue. Very cool, something to keep an eye out for when I get to that point. That would be awesome!

Their stories are really fascinating - Tuan's older sister was the first and only person in their province to get a full scholarship to study medicine in Australia. Full scholarship! Medical school in another language - INCREDIBLE!

They invited me to their engagement party in Bac Lieu over the weekend. How awesome - a countryside party!!! And I get to wear my ao dai =D

After dinner we went to Sax 'n Art Jazz club (intersection of Le Loi and Pasteur Streets), home to a great house band that includes a famous saxophone player, Tran Minh Tuan, who actually studied music out in California.

I'm usually not a huge fan of jazz music, but Chu Tuan mixes classical Vietnamese songs into the jazz style and it's amazing. And all of the other players are so great at improvising - they invite anyone from the crowd to join them and are able to play along, it's great!

I met up with my friend em Na, a fellow student in my class who studied music and goes to this club every weekend. He is a regular and so usually goes on stage to play with them - tonight they asked him to join! His parents were also there so he had a big fan club

Group Shot: em Na, me, em Thao, Chi Minh, and Anh Tuan
Sax n Art Jazz Club

Drinks were about 95,000D for mixed drinks, 50000 - 75000 for beer; $3 for cover charge for the Jazz Club.
It was a really fun time, the first weekend that I stayed out late and attended an event. I know that the med students don't usually do this either, so I think it was a treat for all of us.

And I am really excited to be attending the engagement party, how cool is that!!

move over KFC...

2009-06-04T10:39:00.005-04:00

Dinner after the amusement park was in District 4, across the Saigon River. Vietnamese fried chicken with rice and vegetables. ohhhhemmmgeee, the fried chicken was not greasy but the perfect amount of crisp that actually felt maybe even healthy to eat. And the rice was flavored with tomato to balance the veggies and it was perfect. And only 15,000 D.

Hands down the best meal I've had in Vietnam so far was in Cho Lon (Chinatown) on Wednesday night with my uncle, Chu Hanh.

Mi vit = yellow noodles with duck in broth. 40,000 D
My mom wrote me an email telling me that nearby Cho Lon has a special roast duck dish and of course, I sought it out immediately. Anything with duck is high on my list, and this was the most delicious, tender, and easy to eat (!) duck I've ever had. Oh man, I almost ordered another just to take home...

Suoi Tien Amusement Park

2009-06-04T09:34:00.009-04:00

Sunday em Thao and I also visited the Suoi Tien Amusement Park, located in District 9 of HCMC. I was especially interested in the Fruit Festival that had just started (since that's the number one reason why I heart Vietnam), and walking around a huge park is a great way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon. We took a bus (3000D per person) from near the medical school, and 45 minutes later and still within city limits!, we arrived at the grand entrance of the park.

em Thao and Anna in front of the dragon

Standing in front of the toad with a coin in its mouth - a re-occurring symbol but neither of us knows what it means...probably prosperity? (Edit: YES, Thanks google for confirming this. Apparently it is a special three legged frog. Nice!)

Entrance to the park was 35,000 D but doesn't include any rides, which means that lots of families and older people can use the park as well as kids. We did ride one ride (5000D) which was like a paddle car on a single (read: very skinny and totally not safe) track about 30 feet up in the air and it was the most terrifying ride as our car shook back and forth on the track's twists and turns. We almost didn't make it and had a huge line of other cars behind us =/

The park is designed around the history and culture of Vietnam - featuring many supernatural creatures like dragons and phoenix. The park also has a pagoda, lots of waterways, many Buddha statues, and is large and beautiful. There were also large displays of things for sale: orchids and other flowers, cacti, bonsai trees, birds, rock formations, jewelry, and of course, lots and lots of food!

Walking around was fun to see the free features and areas of the park - but the fruit festival was really great. We walked through all the fruit displays and basically pigged out on fruit for 4 hours...it was amazing! And super cheap!

I love the toad! Bring on the Prosperity!!

Watermelon ranges from 6000 to 9000 D per kg!

Did you know there are 5 kinds of bananas in available in Vietnam? Mmmmm.

mango, sapodilla, cherries, and water apples, OH MY!
And the icing on the cake?

A long parade that displays the fruits of every seasons! And people dressed up like monkeys trying to steal them! I am always a sucker for synchronized dancing, even if they are in monkey suits...

It was a really wonderful and absolutely beautiful day. I definitely have a sandals tan now from my flipflops, ahaha!

Tons more pics of the park here

Visiting the Women and Children's Hospital

2009-06-02T07:26:00.008-04:00

5.24.09

On Sunday, em Thao and I arrived early in the morning at Binh Vien Tu Du (Binh Vien = hospital), a hospital for Women and Children in the downtown area of District 1. Em Thao wanted to show me the hospital and visit with some of the children living in the dormitories at the hospital, orphans with disabilities or special needs that are able to live in the hospital and get treatment, attend school, and make friends.

Earlier that week, we went again to the sieu thi (supermarket) to buy some candies and foods for the children. It's always been fun to visit the supermarket and this time I found amazement in the milk aisle:

It's as big as the US's aisle for carbonated drinks!! They really have quite a few options of sizes and flavors of milk...whereas the carbonated drinks aisle was smaller than if I spread my arms wide. Impressive! Drink your milk (sua) kiddies!

Speaking of milk, a little digression:
So I watch a lot of tv when I eat meals with the housekeeper. It's all Korean/Japanese/Chinese/Taiwanese/Vietnamese dramas that are dubbed in Vietnamese - even I think sometimes the Vietnamese shows are voiced-over because the voices are so much louder and clearer than the rest of the noises in the background, ie footsteps, doors opening and closing. It's fun to watch their emotions and try to follow the crazy drama -

AH! Speaking of great drama: There is a great show that is called "Vi Yeu" that is just like "She's the Man"! And it's the only show I really like because the "boy" is so obviously a girl and the roommate that she has a crush on now knows that the "boy" is a girl but she doesn't know that - and hilarity ensues. Comedy can be understood without actually understanding WTH is going on...

okay back to milk - So watching tv, every now and then there is a commercial break (so much better than a break every 10 minutes!). There is one commercial in particular I think is so cute in delivering it's message: VINAMILK feeds Vietnam...hooray youtube has it!

It has beautiful shots of a downtown city, a countryside with its green fields, an old pagoda or temple, and the Mekong Delta (child on the bridge) - the complete essence of life in Vietnam

OKAY back to the hospital:
It specializes in Women's Care and basically a campus of buildings for cafeteria, pharmacy, and one building that serves as a dormitory for babies and kids. Em Thao and I were able to join in with a "Red Cross" like group that was touring the rooms and handing out gifts - we also spent some time talking with the kids about school and the activities they do.

It seems to be really hard to live as a disabled child in a developing country; wheelchair ramps (let alone elevators) are rare in this city and the buildings and houses are generally tall and skinny, so being able to climb stairs is a must. I'm pretty sure my school does not have any kind of wheelchair ramp...But the hospital does a good job at maintaining a sense of normalcy for these kids and it was really neat to see the nurses taking care of the babies. I really wish I could understand their conditions and read the information that was available to us...

more pics here

Vietnam Quilts

2009-06-02T05:25:00.008-04:00

Vietnam Quilts (26/1 Le Thanh Ton, HCMC but there are stores in a few other cities) is an NGO that I have fallen in love with:

"Vietnam Quilts supports community development programs in remote villages in Cambodia and in Vietnam. Its key objective is to generate employment for women. One hundred per cent of profits from its quilt shops are returned to the villages. Vietnam Quilts focus is to provide rewarding employment, increase family incomes and improve conditions for children in these remote communities."

Beautiful hand-made, high quality (and can be custom designed!) quilts, pillows, and other home accessories. All for a good cause, but what is really striking is the quality, color, and design; it's amazing and in the past 2 weeks I have become a repeat customer!

Chu Ni carries back one of my purchases "local style" on the xe om...we did this 4 times! Yeah, don't ask how I am going to get these all back to the States, that is my next project. This is why when traveling to Vietnam, you bring an empty suitcase or prepare to buy one here, because there are just tons of amazing, beautiful things you can bring back!

I really fell in love with the "Ao Dai" pillows because the characters are just so stinking cute!!! They also have little crib quilts with these figures, as well as aprons!

Cotton pillow cases, machine washable
40 x 50 cm
$12

For myself, I bought two red ao dai pillows in the larger 50 x 50 cm size and a white cotton quilt with a flower design.

I am in LOVE with this quilt:
Crib sized baby quilt with green figures
100 x 120 cm
$40

I bought this for a family member who is expecting...and another crib quilt with the alphabet just to have and be prepared for the next addition to our friends or family network...My mom buys baby quilts as gifts and buys them at "Things Remembered" and they are a lot more expensive than $40.

Queen sized, silk and cotton quilt
$190
I purchased this for my mom and custom designed 4 pillows with the silk fabric available in the store.

Silk fabrics available at the store:

There is also cotton available, but you can also purchase your own fabrics at a market and bring it in. They have many workers and volunteers at the store that speak English and other languages that can help you design what you want. And to custom make, it's still cheap - we were charged just a few dollars for the silk fabric and $3 additional for a custom order...and it'll be done in 4 weeks! Otherwise, they can also ship by air or sea for a reasonable price...

Again, I love this store!

For more pictures of the store, products, and fabrics! Yes, I had to create a new album for this store! Haha

when it's 100 degrees F outside...

2009-05-22T05:36:00.002-04:00

there is nothing better than being in the swimming pool. I'm pretty sure of this, I've been spending the last few weeks trying to find better ways to sweat out my afternoons. Though yesterday was really cool and so I decided to walk from school to Ben Thanh Market, forgetting that cool weather = rainstorm. Oops! I found shelter under a tree in the park and ended up talking for a few minutes with a Canadian who has lived in Vietnam for 5 years. That's the cool thing about being in this area, you meet people from all over the world doing interesting things.

I've about 1 more month here, which is a bit sad. =( I want to be in Vietnam slash on vacation for just a few more weeks!!! No but definitely am glad that I made the decision to come here and just wish I would have done it after college or something so I could get more time out here. My xe om driver today told me that my Vietnamese was a lot better, haha that's what one month of forced language learning will do!

Also just want to mention that it's really nice to be in a city/country where everyone is the same size as you. Or even smaller. Besides the way I dress, which is a dead give-away that I am a tourist, I fit in quite well.

video: 5.17.09 and 5.19.09

2009-05-20T12:16:00.007-04:00

Clearly cannot talk, walk, and film at the same time, as I make many mistakes in the vids! And sorry for the bumpiness, I am recording while walking...

Sunday night:

After the tour of the Palace, I met up with Chi Cindy to have dinner and play tennis. This is a video of:
- Dong Khoi street, where the Opera House is and some really nice shops and hotels
- then a clip of riding on Sunday night, around 7 pm. I tried to capture the essence of the city at night, still busy and bustling with many people out and about.
- Ky Hoa 2 Tennis and Swimming club

The club is called Ky Hoa 2 (Ky Hao Hai, not “ba” like I say in the film, which means 3…oops!) and is located a few minutes from the house in district 10. It has covered and uncovered tennis courts, swimming pool, exercise room, sauna, food bar, and sports shop. Pretty cool. Pricing is like I say on the video, about $17 per hour, which can be expensive if you’re by yourself but if you split with another friend or maybe don’t need a coach, then I think it would be okay. There are cheaper places to play around the city, but this has a great facility and so Chu Dung pays a bit more for it.

Tuesday 5.19.09
I made this video going to Ben Thanh Market on Tuesday night, before meeting Chi Linh for dinner.

Video of Chợ Bến Thành:

I recorded crossing my street Trần Hưng Đạo (named after a military hero) to take the bus to the market. Then I film some of the market - at night, many stalls go up on the 2 streets surrounding Ben Thanh, but the actual indoor market is closed. You can still buy many thing at night, but it's only a fraction of the offerings inside...

I also go into a smaller street that has more stalls with other goods, so you can see just how much is offered and how crowded and crazy it can get...

Bloopers:
Title page should read "Chợ Bến Thành" - I mixed up the accent marks on the 'o'.
I talk about buying lacquered painted plates as souvenirs:
The larger painted plates, 1 foot in diameter, were priced at 250,000 D = $13
Smaller plates, maybe about 8 in in diameter, were priced at 200,000 D = around $11

Food: 5.17 to 5.20

2009-05-20T10:53:00.021-04:00

Sunday, 5.17.05
Lunch after the tour of Reunification Place was at a restaurant around the corner, Bún Bò Huế (meaning literally Noodle Beef Hue = Beef Noodle Soup, specialty of Hue in Central Vietnam, where my dad is from)

The menu offers two kinds of soup (yes they are both soups, there are about 10 different kinds of noodles each with their own name...it's quite hard to keep track of.) You can see on the menu:
- lớn = large for 25,000 D
- nhỏ = small for 15,000 D
- bánh Huế = flour cakes from Hue, four kinds of flour cakes: again each one has large size for 25,000 D and small for 15,000 D. The bottom is a listing of the drinks.

I'd already tried the noodle soups and sometimes for me, I cannot eat soup when it is so hot outside...so I ordered 1 of each bánh...(haha yeah maybe a bit much, but hey I gotta figure out which ones are which, and no food went to waste in this experiment...)

You eat these with nước mắm - popular Vietnamese fish sauce that makes all the difference in some dishes - and they all have beef in them, but are sometimes made with shrimp or pork. When we get these in the US, many times they come wrapped in banana or lotus leaves, which is how they can be cooked and steamed, and then it's also fun to open up!

Top - bánh lọc (had this in the US, the stickiest and probably my favorite)
Bottom - bánh nậm (also had this in US). Across them is spicy pork.

Top: bánh ít (small and round, stuffed with beans). Had not had this before, kind of too bland for me. Haha, also the only one that does not have meat...coincidence?!
Bottom: bánh bèo (had this a lot in US too).

Well glad I got that all figured out...haha great food experiment! Lunch for 10 people = 250,000 D. Fo realz, that's around $1.40 a person

**

Dinner on Sunday night was out with Chi Cindy on Dong Khoi Street, a fancy street with expensive shops, hotels, and the Opera House. Walking down the street is like walking down a really nice shopping street in the US, except sometimes the windows will show the traditional Vietnamese clothes, and women in ao dai are handing out leaflets for beauty and spa salons. (Manicure or Pedicure for $4 each! I paid half that at 30,000 D...but am in search of a spa pedicure which will probably be more expensive than $4).

In front of the Opera House (Nhà hát lớn Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh = literally "house singing large, City Ho Chi Minh") - in my next post I will have a video of Dong Khoi Street...!!

Chi Cindy wanted me to try Thai food: (R) Fried and fluffed fish with mango (L) Shrimp and tofu pad thai...mmmmm delicious!!

Dessert was like Vietnamese che with jelly, coconut milk, and fruit:

**
Tuesday 5.19.09

I had lunch after school with Anh Nam, Anh Keisuke, and Chi Ah-Kimmie, three of my classmates, at a Pho 24, chain restaurant, on nearby Le Tan Ton Street - urgh, I did not want to be at a chain restaurant but all the other local places were completely swamped with diners! One bowl of pho was 38,000 D and it was just okay, I have had better pho for breakfast from the housekeeper. So no pics because it just was uneventful, but afterwards I went with Anh Keisuke to Cho Ben Thanh (Ben Thanh Market) to walk around, browse the shops, and practice Vietnamese.

We stopped at TuttiFrutti (right next to the market and Pho 2000) for dessert to cool down from walking around. I think the other place I went to earlier in my trip had better toppings, and I don't know how the prices compare, but it was still good! 113,000 D for both (25,000 for 100 grams):

Later that night I met up with Chi Linh (met through a mutual friend), her cousin Dan, and Gina, one of their friends, at Sushi Bar - a great sushi place located on (again!) Le Than Ton Street.

Next post will have video of me going from my house to Cho Ben Thanh, where I walk around the outdoor night market. Then I paid 20,000 D for xe om driver to take me from the market to the restaurant.

Linh, Dan, and Gina are American citizens (considered here to be "expats" or "tay balo" in Vietnamese slang for "Western backpacker") and are all English teachers at different levels (high school, college, and elementary school, respectively) and so it was really great to talk with them about teaching English and basically how they are able to live here. Gina has lived here for 2 years and doesn't speak much Vietnamese - a testament to how much English is spoken in certain areas (read: in District 1, more expensive than local) of the city. Dan and I also made plans to watch the NBA basketball championships together - as long as it's not at 4 am local time. Go Cavs!! (But I digress...)

It had a level that had the traditional floor seating - a first for me! Super cute, and amazing, delicious food! We had miso soup, eel rolls, salmon sashimi, fatty tuna rolls, tempura, and 2 mixed sushi plates. The whole meal for 4 was 760,000 D = $42, so about $10 per person. Probably one of the more expensive meals that I've had on the trip, but definitely worth it!!

**
Wednesday 5.20.09

Dinner with Em Phuc and his sister Em Nhung, both lab assistants/students at the nearby University of Natural Sciences. I meet with them about once a week and speak Vietnamese with Em Phuc for about an hour and then we all go out to dinner. It's been really fun to get to know them and we're making plans to go visit the countryside one weekend. Excited but 45 minute ride (one way!) on the xe máy may kill me =/ haha

I told them that I wanted to eat gỏi cuốn (summer roll; rolls made from the white rice paper and not fried but served fresh and cold) and so they took me to a local restaurant in District 10 that I recognized to be near the tennis and swimming place...

Gỏi Cuốn - 1 for 3,000 D...so we got 10!

Gỏi đu đủ (papaya salad) with dried beef = 8000 D. You can see the little glass for tea and the yellow dessert menu (kem = ice cream)...so you can read in the pic that kem ly (ice cream in a glass) = 8000D See at the bottom? Fried ice cream for 5000D...guess what we then ordered...

Kem Chiên (fried orange icecream) = 5000D (yumyumyum) and the other plate is sticky rice with beef and peanuts

Fish meat balls! Total was 88000D for 3 people!!!

Sunday 5.17.09: Reunification Palace

2009-05-20T09:22:00.016-04:00

What a fun filled day Sunday was! Em Hoang picked me up at 7:15 am and we met the students (all members of the English Club) in front of the Reunification Palace. As we waited for the rest of the group, there were probably about 5 bus-loads of people, not all foreigners - apparently it's a really popular Sunday morning field trip for both Vietnamese people and tourists....

Entrance fee = 15000 D
Guidebook (contains history written in English, Vietnamese and French) = 10000 D
Tour DVD = 20000 D

Em Khue, the organizer, had purchased tickets for the whole group through the funds of the English Club and also insisted on buying the a guidebook (great souvenir) and DVD.

The group in front of the Reunification Palace.

I already posted a lot about the history of this building for the Reunification Holiday at the end of April. So I already knew much of the history of the building, but seeing everything in person made it so real. The building, with much of the original artwork, furniture, lighting and carpeting, is like a time capsule of 1975 - really freaky and yet fascinating at the same time.

Posing with Em Binh in front of the model (there was only one real vehicle from that time period in the museum - everything else was a model) of the 390 tank that broke down the front gate of the Independence Palace, on April 30, 1975. 4 people were in each tank. There was also a tank that broke down the side gate (model on display) but this tank was the one capture in all the pictures of that iconic moment. Poor side tank, always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

Group shot in front of a model US F5E aircraft, the same one in which pilot Nguyen Thanh Trung bombed the Independence Palace on April 8, 1975. (Note that this date is still during the actual war time - may have contributed to the "Fall of Saigon" not like the tank breaking the gates.)

The building itself was more beautiful than I expected. This current palace was designed by Ngô Viết Thụ, who won the Roman Grand Prize for this building; he combined modern architecture and oriental traditional architecture, including many Chinese characters.

From my guidebook: "The overall outlay of the building is made to express CAT, a Chinese character meaning good future (seen in bird's eye view). Within the front facade of the building there are many other symbols:
KHAU = education and freedom,
TRUNG = center (for balance and peace of mind),
TAM = 3 aspects of democracy = humanity, wisdom, boldness,
VUONG = King,
CHU = sovereignty,
HUNG = prosperity...all aspects important to the future of the Vietnamese people.
(they draw it in my guidebook but the pictures of this don't turn out nice enough to see - so I will try to draw it out when there's more time because it's quite interesting)

Probably my most favorite aspect of the building, along with the beautiful views of the city from it: "The architectural beauty of the Palace is embodied in the flower stone curtain bearing shapes of bamboo joints surrounding the second floor. It not only increases the beauty of the Palace but also admits sunlight from the East." Also there were many stone carvings, displaying dragons and phoenix, under the smaller windows.

windows from the outside

windows from inside - on the 2nd floor. From this view you can see that they are actually floor to ceiling windows and so can let in all of the light from the rising Sun (symbolic: Palace is graced by the East's Rising Sun).

Beautiful view of the street! There is a street that runs across the front, parallel to the gate; and there is another street that runs actually from my school down and dead ends into the front gate (there is a park on both sides as it gets close to the Palace - this is what you see in the video at the top of this post).

Other front entrance photographs taken from different levels:

So I took way too many pictures and cannot post them all here. All pics can be accessed here and there are captions for things that I cannot write about here. Too many interesting things, too little picture space! So I am just posting the highlights...

Colors and lighting also have a great symbolic meaning within the Palace. The Cabinet Meeting room is green to create a calm, peaceful atmosphere. The Banquet Room, used for formal dinners, is yellow to depict South Vietnam's beauty and luxury. Otherwise, many of the other rooms use the strong red and yellow colors of the Vietnamese Flag, and various Chinese characters and symbols within the artwork and furniture. The lighting in each room is also unique and really goes well with the design and intended "mood" of each room - like in the First Lady's Dining Room, your eyes are drawn upwards to the lotus flower shaped lights, which somehow seem to create a more feminine, cozy atmosphere along with the furniture.

The President's International Reception Room - President's Chair is a bit more elevated than the other chairs, and has handles carved in a dragon's head. The guests' chairs have handles that are carved as phoenix. The lacquered wood behind the Presidents' chair has three stripes cut into it, to signify the South Vietnamese flag (yellow with three red stripes).

Side note: In Washington D.C.'s Little Saigon area, it is this flag that flies next to the American flag...still controversial as evidenced by Wiki:
"In the United States, at least 11 states and 113 cities have adopted resolutions recognizing the former South Vietnamese flag as the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag.[7] The Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag is permanently displayed at memorial sites at Westminster, California and Cabramatta, Australia. The Vietnamese government opposes these efforts and complained to the United States federal government on the grounds that it is a sovereign country with diplomatic relations with the United States. This flag is de facto banned in Vietnam. In contrast, the current Vietnamese flag is considered offensive by many overseas Vietnamese."

(I try very hard to not say things like "Vietnam War" or "Fall of Saigon" because I do not want to sound presumptuous and want to remain as neutral as possible. It may be overreacting a bit but really do not want to offend anyone.)

View of the helicopter pad - The helicopter is a model of the one that the President would use to do an overhead tour of the city. The two circles represent where 2 bombs impacted under release by pilot Lieutenant Nguyen Thanh Trung, at 8:30 am on Aptil 8, 1975.

Group shot at the top of the Palace!

Something really interesting to see on my Picasa page is a description of the Vietnamese History:
Explaining the history of the Norodom Palace - the Reunification Palace sits on the site of the Norodom Palace which was built by the French in 1870s.
The Civil War: It's a reminder that history is exactly that, HIS STORY, and is subjective.

Consider that by the "Vietnam War's" end in 1975, the Vietnamese had been fighting foreign involvement or occupation (by the French, Chinese, Japanese, British, and American governments), for 116 years....

3 iconic image of April 30, 1975 - the day that marks the end of the War.
On Top: One of the most famous photos taken that day, people boarding a helicopter on the CIA rooftop. The photographer, Hugh Van Es, just passed away this week.
Middle: The tank breaks through the front gate of the then Independence Palace.
Bottom: The tanks and soldiers leave their mark on the front lawn of the Palace.

And so ended our tour of the Palace - it was really incredible and I'm so glad that I was able to tour with some friends from the medical school. We had a Vietnamese tour guide that liked to run from room to room, and so it was a bit hurried but a few students were happy to play translator and explain all of the details. Surely it is a must see when in HCMC, to fully understand the history of the city and the people here.

this weekend

2009-05-17T14:04:00.005-04:00

was really fun, minus the accident!

Friday was class then out and about in the evening with Em Hoang.

Saturday morning, I had breakfast with em Thao, the girl who took me to the supermarket earlier in the week.

Restaurant near the medical school with a great view of the street traffic below: Glass noodle soup with chicken + iced tea = 20,000 D

Then we went to Ao Dong, a market near the medical school. It's cheaper than Ben Thanh, and bigger with 3 levels. I was looking for some fabrics and clothes, but there are so many stalls, it quickly got very overwhelming. I'll go back next week again with em Thao and take some pics, but it's just crazy incredible how many stalls there are and how many things they have on display. I bought a new black messenger bag (fake Prada, whaaaat!) for 386,000 D = $20; probably overpriced but I really needed a new one. Okay, I am not going shopping again without someone else, because my bargaining skills are laughable. I just get nervous and sweaty and overwhelmed by the language barrier and the amount of math I have to do in my head and then I just get tired and really want the product and so just say OK. It really must be a learned art, because I am failing at bargaining 101 that's fo sho!

Saturday afternoon, I studied some Vietnamese with Cau Giang (Chu Dung's nephew), then was able to video chat with mom, and catch up on some tv shows.

Sunday morning I went with a group of the medical students to tour the Reunification/Independence Palace. For some reason, they like to do things really early in the morning, I was picked up at 7:15 am. The group got together a bit before 8 am, but there were already at least 5 bus loads of people in the Palace grounds.

It was a beautiful Palace, and much of the furniture, artwork, displays are the original from 1975 - basically like a time capsule of the 1970s, and full of history and culture.

I took a ton of pictures and spend the last hour labeling, editing, and uploading...so too tired to write up a post, so I'll put the pics here for now and write a big thing tomorrow.

New pictures posted

back where he belongs

2009-05-17T13:47:00.002-04:00

Phelps is back in the pool!! (Thank goodness!)

May 15: Phelps wins two titles in first finals since Olympics

May 16:Phelps suffers first swim finals loss in a year

After a nine month hiatus, he's back and doing what he does best. Good job, Phelps, stay out of the party scene. Getting caught twice means either a) stop doing it or b) get smart and party alone. Clearly you should be doing the former because you are an ATHLETE whose lively hood depends on HEALTHY LUNGS, good eyesight, and a strong work ethic.

Piersol is gunning for his spot!!

Accident

2009-05-15T11:36:00.004-04:00

Well, maybe writing the almost accident a few days ago jinxed me. Because tonight was a full-fledged "motorbike collides with car" accident.

Tonight I went around with Em Hoang, a third year medical student. He took me around the District 1 area, we walked around a bit, and then stopped at a coffee shop for awhile. On the way to my house we got into a small accident, really very minor, but shook me up.

Video of Em Hoang - I speak "Americanized Vietnamese", and he answers in English. Haha this is probably the only footage I will take of me speaking Vietnamese because I sound like a hillbilly. =/

Em Hoang was already driving very slowly to follow the house numbers and a taxi van that was to the left to us was slowing down and turned across our path into the gas station. It was seriously in slow motion - we got caught between the van and the curb of a sidewalk - the van hit the motorbike and the we fell onto the ground, motorbike landing on its side on top. Double prayers of thanks for helmets and brakes.

I am very lucky that I did not land harder than I did. Em Hoang was driving slowly and I landed on the sidewalk, not the ground. Soft landing, and I had a helmet. (yay safety laws!) But if either of us were driving faster, it would have been really bad.

So everything is okay, just kind of shaken up, but there is no damage to anyone or anything. People came over, reviewed the accident, asked if everyone was okay, checking out the vehicles - the driver definitely did not have his turn signal on but also we were in his blind spot. I don't know what would have happened if something more major had happened - I'm pretty sure that most people do not have insurance here - but I did purchase international medical insurance the day before I left, so I would have been covered.

4 weeks already in HCMC, every day on a motorbike and only 1 minor accident...sheesh let's hope that's as bad as it gets...

Happy Hour

2009-05-14T12:34:00.007-04:00

Tonight was a nice event, though I was worried at first because I showed up alone and didn't know anyone =/ Ahh well, that's the whole point of these things right? This was a gathering of professionals and volunteers in the NGO field - something I'm interested in since my second trip to Vietnam was coordinated by 2 American-Vietnamese healthcare NGOs. I sat with a group of people and it's so interesting the work that is being done here in Vietnam. There are so many NGOs because the people here are so poor, especially in the Southern Provinces, they need everything from basic services, education, medical treatments, schools, etc.

One woman volunteers at a children's NGO, doing fund raising and translations. One guy worked basically as an "undercover" person, to help expose pimps and save women and girls from the sex slave trade. (Which is weird because, with his dreadlocks and hippie look, he looks nothing like what I would expect for someone to look like that wanted that kind of thing. But apparently his foreign looks are enough to sell it - and he probably talks well...) So I met a lot of people and got a lot of contact information.

And then! I met two girls that are getting ready to spend four months in a work-exchange program in the US...which city?? Cincinnati, Ohio!!! Actually, they will be working at King's Island, a theme park, that is about 1.5 hours from Columbus. SMALL WORLD, HAHA!!!!!! I talked to them quite a bit about that area, living in the US, and other things they may be able to do....Oh man, what a unique experience that will be...

The food at Cantina Central was not very good - bland and too spicy. Normally Vietnamese food is not spicy, you add the chili yourself, but they really took this Mexican theme seriously, I guess...So my friend Chuong and I left together and met another friend at the Ben Thanh Market - at night, there are many night stands on the street, where you can still buy clothes, accessories, and food. I was weary about eating there because last time I was here with my dad and brother (albeit in 2004, but a memory like that sticks with you forever), the results were not good. That was the first and last time we'd eaten at a street stall (good thing we saved it for the end of the trip!) - so I didn't want to repeat that...

Anyways I ate something small and shopped around. Next time, I will come back and eat here, at the corner of the Ben Thanh market, where President Bill Clinton ate in 2000: (They are very very very proud of this)

Though it's probably not the best pho, just the best location...haha!

While Chuong and Tiffany finished their meals, I walked around and did some shopping. I'm apparently not a very good bargainer, because I after I bought this bag for 90,000 D, I walked to another stall and saw the same styled bag, and the woman told me 50,000 D - first offer, no bargaining yet. Crapola!! Still cheap for me, but comooooon, I need to have more patience and learn the art of bargaining....

Super cute, hand embroidered, am thinking of using it as decoration and not really as a handbag.

**
Okay and since one of you reallyreallyreally needs some cheering up, I am posting the pics of my suits. No need to lie and say they look nice - they are made well, the designs are cute, it's just the colors that are KILLING ME. BAH! At least they will be useful for your entertainment...

So this is what happens when you cannot say no:

Don't lie. I look like a popsicle.

Collection of stories..

2009-05-14T05:43:00.009-04:00

It's about 100 degrees right now, hot and humid, and I'm pretty sure that my clothes have melted into my skin. Urgh gross. When I was on the xe om headed home from school, I touched my eyes because the light was so bright, I thought maybe the lenses had fallen off of my sunglasses...no joke, it was that bright with tinted lenses. Blinding sun.

So I'll use this lazy time in front of the fan as story time:

**
I went again to the Co-op Supermarket (cool, has a website!) to pick up some necessities:

2 razors = 6,700 D
package of 20 wet tissues = 8,000 D
- They are individually wrapped and are commonly served at restaurants in lieu of the dry napkins we are used to. Someone told me to bring wetnaps, but in the US it's hard to find individually wrapped ones, and I don't want to lug around a whole box...In this heat, they are lifesavers!

Vaseline aloe lotion, 250 ml = 41,500 D
Dove body wash, 200 g = 31,000 D
Total = 87,2000 D

- The packaging is the same as in the US. I bought the US name brand items which were probably twice as expensive as other brands, because they were completely labeled in English and I could read the description. And they were the right sizes, I didn't want to buy extra large containers. Some of the other body wash products had a partial description in English, where I could read "Moisturizer and Whitener" - having light skin is desired in VN and they have these products, as well as spa services, that claim to lighten the skin. So I stayed away from them and any product I couldn't read because I didn't want to buy something with those chemicals...
**

Last week, I was chatting with a friend from UChicago about his travels and he mentioned that he knew someone that was living in Vietnam (They had worked together for over a year in the Peace Corps) - and it turns out that she lives in Ho Chi Minh City. Yesterday I had lunch with her, and it was striking what a small world it was - Chi Linh is actually from Chicago and went to undergrad at University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, worked in the corporate world for awhile, then went to China with the Peace Corps, and then moved out to Vietnam where she worked with several organizations to teach English. It was so weird to speak to someone that didn't have an accent! She told me about the expat community here, teaching English, and a story about getting into a small xe om accident (that included a baby not wearing a helmet. Come on government of Vietnam, protect your youngest citizens!!!!). It was really a fascinating glimpse into what I was thinking about yesterday, and I realized that having a xe om driver really makes a difference, because I do not have to pay attention to anything while driving. But when on xe may, you have to be on hyperalert to make sure you don't get side-swiped by another bike or car...or bus.

Shudder. That almost happened today because Anh Ni, my driver, only looked one way while crossing a 2 lane road. And it was a construction truck. Brakes are your friend here.

**

I ate the Sweet Sop (Mãng Cầu Ta) today, one for breakfast and one for lunch. It's really easy to eat - you kind of pick the peel off of the fruit, easier than an orange but more work than a banana, since the peel is textured and each "polyp" needs to be picked. It's hard to explain, haha, but you can see the in picture that the peel comes off very small. When you bite into it, it's really sweet and has many "buds" - for lack of a better word - like biting into a bunch of grapes, you can feel each grape. I like the fruit but the kicker is that each of the small "buds" has a large seed, black and larger than watermelon seeds. They are quite big and make eating the fruit more work since there are so many "buds" contained in the fruit itself...

Sorry, my camera couldn't really focus so close, but maybe you can see what I am trying to describe...haha! It was good though but that's why I could only eat one small fruit for each meal because it was a lot of work and rather messy.
**
I also busied myself by reading Vietnamese news and found some interesting articles about public health:

Cholera, bird flu present, but VN still A/H1N1-free

More than $38 million earmarked for HIV/AIDS prevention

Number of acute diarrhea cases soars in Hanoi

Doctors point traces of air and noise pollution

Okay I'm off to Cantina Central, located in the downtown District 1 area, for an NGO Happy Hour. Yay facebook contacts and events! It'll be interesting to see what the Vietnamese version of Mexican food is like...

Shopping at the Supermarket

2009-05-12T12:20:00.012-04:00

I had dinner tonight with Em Thao, student from the medical school. She has actually already finished with the 6 years of med school and is in the first of three years for her specialization in rehabilitation/physical therapy. Yeah, an intern at age 24!

Tonight, I broke my own rule and ate a sidewalk restaurant: Bún nước lèo Sóc Trăng (noodle soup from the Soc Trang province) with fish and pork. - with an iced tea and a bottle of coke (old school glass bottle!) Dinner for two was 15,000 D for one bowl + 2000 for tea + 5000 for soda = 37,000 D. I almost cried it was so delicious and cheap. I am happy that thus far my stomach has handled the sidewalk food, which means I can eat more foods for even cheaper!

Em Thao took me to a supermarket (siêu thị) near the medical school; It's like a supersupersuper Walmart. Four floors:
1) prepared and fresh foods
2) clothes, electronics, accessories, makeup
3) food court, cafe, bookstore, children's play area

Can do some major shopping here, and it's not a whole lot more expensive than an outdoor market (to me, at least). Though it does have some "high-end" items, like canned meats, certain chocolate brands, etc that the average person may not normally buy.

Fruit display in the supermarket....up front are oranges (that are green and not the typical ones you see in the US stores) - If you enlarge the picture, you may also be able to see "orange" oranges and apples in the back (about 10,000 more than the apples and oranges from the Asian countries), and some red dragon fruit. Haha, enlarging will also show you that there is a KFC in the supermarket! People must really love it!

My purchases:
+ 12 small chocolate milk (comes with a glass! haha could not refuse because it has the cool design so that it can rest at a tilt!! =D) = 52,800 D.
Yeah that's like 25 cents for one milk...

+ coffee candy = 3600 D
+ tamarine candy = 3900 D
+ dried sweet potato = 22,700 D
+ package of prepared taffy candy made from coconut, banana, and sesame = 12700 D
(not overly sweet, just a snack to share with my classmates)

+ Custard Apple or Sweet Sop (Mãng Cầu Ta) - looks spotted green and brown = 15,047 D (36,700 D per 1 kg)

+ Waterapple (Mận) - two red pear shaped fruits = 3652 D (16,600 per 1 kg)

+ Star Apple (vú sữa - smooth green fruit (literally means "breast milk" because I guess how it looks?) = 5000 D (25,000 D per kg)

= a bit less than 120,000 D. WHOA. It is always a surprise to me how cheap everything is! I bought these fruits because I have not tried them before, so will report back.

After shopping, we went up to the cafe to relax and enjoy some drinks (which actually ended up costing 37,000 - just as much as dinner!). Then we went into the bookstore so that I could buy some children books. We're talking pictures books showing colors, common objects, etc - actually was more difficult than I thought since many books look "kiddie" to me but ended up being beyond my reading level. Haha, back to the pre-school and kindergarten section!

Em Thao and I also talked a bit about Twilight (see, I read it just to connect with people...!!), since there was a display of the series in the book store. She just finished Eclipse (book 3) last week but Breaking Dawn (book 4) is not yet released in Vietnam as they must now translate the book into Vietnamese....and it's like 700-some pages so it'll take awhile. Again, I was surprised how cheap the books are (considering they are popular American literature). Twilight was 120,000, New Moon was 100,000 D, and Eclipse 150,000. I considered buying one, but having to look up every single word would make the reading more tedious than fun. In fact, It would suck!! Though it would be interesting to see if they edit anything or have different interpretations of words or phrases? I'll see how the pre-school books go and then work my way up from there...

A few other pics from today posted on Picasa

Every day has been a little inkling, but today was the first day that I've actually thought of living in Vietnam for a longer period of time after med school. I don't know how realistic it is, trying to work as an international doctor or maybe with an NGO?, and I'd clearly have to learn more of the language...and pay off my student loans...but for right now the idea is growing on me...

Living the life

2009-05-12T06:02:00.004-04:00

I am pretty sure that right now I am living the life of a HCMC Socialite. When people ask if I am busy, I laugh and say, "Ya only 2 hours a day when I have school". Otherwise, I have a xe om driver to take me where I need to go wherever, whenever. My day is pretty much spent trying to plan one "going out" event - either lunch or dinner out, shopping, a walk to the nearest market...it's really a relaxed life. (Ahem yes that's also why I can admit to reading certain book and watching certain movies over and over again.) Lots of time to do whatever the heck I want - it's really relaxing! Haha, I will not want to be back in school this Aug...

- Yesterday Chi Cindy took me to a place that fixes bag. My trusty canvas black messenger bag had a huge hole in it, probably from lugging around all my touristy things for the past 3 weeks. The inside pockets were ripped and sagging down, basically creating another whole pocket - and it only cost 10,000 D to fix...next day service! Anh Ni, my xe om driver, delivered it to me this morning before classes!!

- I have eaten lunch at the "cantina", the school cafeteria, with some classmates. 8,000 D for a ca phe sua da (iced coffee and milk) and 5,000 D for a glass of coke (ngoc nhot - sweet water) and they also have a selection of fruit shakes (lately I have become addicted to avocado shakes because they are so ridiculously cheap and are basically mashed avocado with sugar - I had one today for only 18,000 D - DELISH and uber healthy). I don't remember the meal that I got at the cantina, but it was like sardines with a dipping sauce and bread, for 12,000 VND....(sorry no pics, I was trying to save my bag but will take some later).

update, part 2

2009-05-11T06:49:00.001-04:00

i am a huge brat =/

update

2009-05-11T06:08:00.003-04:00

Just came back from the tailor's house, where I paid 640,000 for three casual suits. Only $35, they fit well and are all hand made, so it's quite the deal. It's just a heavy fabric and in the colors of strawberry pink, orange sherbet, and lime green. I can maybe get away with wearing the jackets, but the suit combination makes me look like a Popsicle. I can't even bear to put them on a take a picture. Plus I'll sweat all over them if I put them on in this heat.

$60 to humor the housekeeper. =/

Ah well, at the shop I saw some cute shirts that they had displayed and may buy some other fabrics to make Viet-inspired tees and tanks. Maybe some good will come out of this after all?

Medical English Club

2009-05-10T10:38:00.004-04:00

First off, Chúc mửng Ngày của mẹ! Happy Mother's Day =D

My mom was really happy that I could say it in Vietnamese, haha! Also I had written a few sentences with a friend and was able to read it off to her. Yay, making lots of progress!!

Today the English club at the Medical School met, and I had been in talks with Em Tuyen to lead a discussion on Medical Ethics. I gave the case of Dax Cowart, one of the more interesting and easy to understand cases that we reviewed in Med & Soc. (Ahhh Dr. Soslau would be so proud...)

I wanted the group to be able to discuss more interesting, or medical related things. Last meeting (the first Sunday I was there), they had one-on-one discussion on the topics of "Where do you vacation?" and "What do you like to study" - pretty basic conversations. Em Tuyen said that they don't discuss medical ethics in the classroom so it would be something new for all of them. I was a bit worried about offending people, or if my ideas or leading questions would be against the general culture/law/religion of the students...and I also didn't want to introduce this case, pose these questions, and have 30 blank stares back - would people be too shy to respond? Would they all have the same idea and then the discussion ends?

But all went well: they understood my introduction and questions, and after the small group discussions, people were very eager to share their opinions, personal thoughts, and stories. There was a few mentions of "familial" thought, "Confucius" and "Buddha", but not everyone was on the same "side" of the issue and it was a good, lively discussion. (Puts our M&S large group to shame, honestly!)

Afterwards, a student made a presentation on the architecture of the Reunification Palace, and how it corresponds with some Chinese calligraphy symbols, ideas that the designers wanted to impress onto the new South Vietnamese government. It was fascinating and I began to talk with a few students nearby about touring the Palace. I think there will be a big group of us to visit it next weekend...I am really looking forward to this, as I had been planning on going on my own since my other friends have no interest in seeing it, but now with a group of people it will be more fun.

Em Tuyen also presented to me a Vietnamese "pop" cd of Quang Dung, a famous singer and husband of Jennifer Pham - Miss Asia USA 2006, that includes lyrics so that I can learn and sing along! I am listening to it now, and really appreciate the gesture...

After the meeting, 3 students took me to the medical school's dormitory so that I could see a room and then go to dinner. The dorms were a series of 5 buildings, open area for sports, and 2 cafe areas. The security was really tight, they really do not let non-students into the area, and there is a huge waiting area that "outsiders" can sit and wait for their student friends.

The students study in the hallways of the dorm. The rooms are small (and only 100,000 VND a month = less than $6) and thus only for sleeping and use of the bathroom. It is not allowed to have hot pot or cooking supplies in the room, so all students use the cafe or eat out.

From L to R:
Em Hoang, Em Doan, me (you can tell the sweaty American), Em Duy (yellow shirt) and the rest of the guys are his roommates. 6 boys to the room, basically just three bunk beds with three small tables and a bathroom. They don't have many possessions but they study a lot and have examinations on the weekends (!!). And even though they are all in the 3rd year, they are younger than me because in Vietnam you attend medical school right after high school. So the timing is different, and I am an old fart.

So the four of us - Hoang, Doan, Duy, and myself - went to dinner nearby and it was really nice to talk with them about their studies, where they are from, and life in the US. Everyone is eager to speak English with a native speaker, but they are also all so generous and kind - I am glad to have met them.

my new favorites:

2009-05-08T05:32:00.003-04:00

nước mía (sugarcane juice) and thanh long (dragonfruit)

The sugarcane juice is not overly sweet, like I expected it to be, and very nice. Has more flavor than coconut juice and I like watching the machine squish the juice out of the long sugarcane. At the restaurant, one glass of sugar cane juice = 7000 D

The inside of the dragonfruit is white with many tiny black seeds - very cartoony looking considering the outside is red with many green extension leaves. The inside does not look at all like one would expect from the outside, but it has a very subtle taste. Like melon, very watery, and the seeds you barely notice...

yumyumyum, like I posted before, the fruit here is amazing and plentiful! I bought this dragonfruit for ~12,000 D which the housekeeper thought was expensive.

**
Things that I do not like: durian (the large spikey fruit that is in the fruit stand picture of Ben Thanh market)

sầu riêng (durian) ice cream - I don't know how familiar people are with durian, but it is the weirdest, smelliest (!!! NO JOKE !!!) fruit i've ever seen. My parents love it and Vietnamese people eat a lot of it, you just get used to the smell I guess. So you know it smells bad when you have to "get used to the smell" in order to eat it....haha

so Chu Dung told me first to try ice cream because maybe the smell is not as strong. Yea right, I almost gagged while eating it, and could only take a few bites. Never again, but gotta try (almost) everything once!

Funny because on this year's UChicago Scav hunt list:

"227. This is America, god dammit! Celebrate your freedom by bringing a ripe durian on the subway. [4 points]"

Omg that is DISGUSTING!!!! Haha and hilarious, I wish I could be there for that one...

more pictures on Picasa

Viet Classes

2009-05-08T04:46:00.004-04:00

Today we learned different occupations, common places, how to use possessive grammar, and make questions about these things. So finally we can have longer conversations in class beyond "How are you?" and "What nationality are you?" - which is only so interesting.

Q: Chị làm nghế gì? (What do you do?, with "you" = slightly older girl)
A: Tôi là sinh viên y khoa....(I am a medical student)

The grammar is surprisingly easy, it's the pronunciation that is difficult. Sometimes I feel my tongue is too heavy or slow to make the right sounds...

An easy part of Vietnamese is that you do not have to conjugate verbs according to person or time. In English you conjugate a few verbs, in Spanish all verbs are conjugated according to who is doing the action (1st, 2nd, 3rd person).

In Vietnamese, "đi" (pronounced "dee"in English") means "to go".

Tôi đi làm = I go to work
Chị đi làm = you (female) go to work
Chị ấy đi làm = She goes to work
Các chị ấy đi làm = They (plural female) go to work

Add "đã" in front of the verb to indicate past tense:
Tôi đã đi làm = I went to work

Add "sẽ" in front of the verb to indicate present tense:
Chị ấy sẽ đi làm = She will go to work

Easy! And then my friend explaining the verbs started talking about "perfect present" tense, which I really had no idea what that was about. The amount of English grammar that I do not remember/know is a bit unnerving. Speaking in Vietnamese takes me a lot of brain power because I have to think of what I want to say in English, recall the Vietnamese vocabulary, get the right pronunciation (don't want to say "ghost" or "rice seedling" when I want to say "mother"), make sure it's in the right order, and then SAY it. After just two hours of practicing with friends, my throat is dry and my brain hurts. So easy but difficult.

Like the saying you hear a lot when at the touristy shops: "same same, but different!"

Market shopping

2009-05-08T03:33:00.011-04:00

Shopping in Vietnam is different than shopping in any other country - the availability of products, the sights and sounds...it's so fascinating to me, I can't help but be a perpetual tourist and take pictures of it all.

During my holiday, I went with Cô Chi (whoa, I am learning how to use the Vietnamese keyboard on the mac, AWESOME!!! but takes a bit longer so this is going to be difficult) to the nearby outdoor market at 6 am. Cô Chi is the housekeeper and does the shopping for the day early in the morning to 1) get the best products and 2) be back in time to make breakfast for Chú Dung (the Vietnamese Đ with a line through it is pronounced like the English "d", whereas Vietnamese "D" with no line is pronounced "Y" - so this name is pronounced like "YUNG" not "DUNG", whereas Vietnamese "đi" is prouncounced like English "di". Makes sense?)

Back to the story: shopping at 6 am at the outdoor market. This is why at first visit, one wants to stay away from fresh vegetables, salads, and ice:

Carrying vegetables by xe máy

Selling vegetables outdoors.

((Now I am an open minded person, I love being here in Vietnam, and clearly am interested in life here as I decided on my own to live here for a few weeks. So I don't want to insult their way of life, but it is a different standard of living in some respects, as compared to the US. As seen from the pictures of my room and house, I live very well in Vietnam and have access to many luxuries that many Vietnamese do not have. Even though it is my third visit, I still stay away from fresh vegetables and salads, things that have not been cooked, because many of these things are purchased in a open market (very very cheap) and I would get sick - unless you're at a really nice restaurant then maybe it's okay....I have not kept away from ice though, because nowadays many restaurants buy ice from the same companies as bottled water so it's safe. (My first visit in 2004, we all stayed away from ice, ice cream, and water not in bottles) I just stay away from fresh veggies, fruits that do not have a peel, and ice/water if we are in a local or street stand restaurant.))

We went to the outdoor market that is one block away from the house. The outdoor markets are amazing - they sell all sorts of fruits, vegetables, fish, and meats on the streets and it's incredibly cheap. Not a sight for someone with a light stomach, because the smell and sight of raw meats on a sidewalk can be disturbing.

Cô Chi had been told that I was shopping for an áo dài, the long traditional Vietnamese formal dress. For some reason, she got really excited about this and wanted to show me materials inside the marketplace:

Clothes for sale inside the market. That is Cô Chi in the Vietnamese cone hat, you can see that for clothes, the offerings are so much that you can get swallowed inside. It's amazing!

She took me to a stall that sold materials and started poking around. I kept telling her, "có rồi" (I have already) - because I had already shopped for materials and designs with another friend, and did not want to buy anything. She kept looking, holding up fabrics, picking colors, talking to the owners - so I figured that she was picking things out for herself. They started cutting fabrics and talking numbers but I was not really paying attention, just looking at other things and trying to just take in everything - when finally she turned to me and said "Tiền!"

I have limited vocabulary, but I know that tiền = money. I shelled out 418,000 VND ($23) and suddenly had in my hands many yards pink, orange, and green fabric. No clue what is going on. I have limited interactions with Cô Chi because I cannot say much to her that is applicable (in school right now, we learn things like "Where are you from?" "Where do you work?") - so I end up saying "cảm ơn" (thanks) like 10 times a day...to the point where Chú Dung's wife wrote me that the housekeeper cannot believe an American girl would say "thank you" so many times a day. So she likes me and is trying to be really helpful, but the colors are weird, the fabric heavy, and I have no idea what I could make out of this. A blanket? Clothes? Draperies?

Later that afternoon, Cô Chi gets really excited and starts talking. I think she has a different accent than Southern because I sometimes do not have any inkling of what she is saying...so she motions me to follow with the fabric, and we make our way through the maze of houses to what looks like a tailor shop. I get measured, and the women start to point at pictures in a book. I think I am getting jackets and pants made?? I don't know how much they are going to cost either, because the numbers do not make sense when she says them. She keeps saying "ha ba ha" which means "two three two" but when I ask if it is "232,000", she says some other things and then I get more confused. So will post pictures whenever these things are finished, we shall find out together - the adventures in Vietnam continue!!

**
Cho Ben Thanh is a very popular, touristy market that is in the downtown area. It is located near the "tourist" area, so the prices are actually more expensive than a normal market because the sellers know they can get more money. And most people can speak English in the market, which you know means the prices will be a bit higher than normal. (Higher is a relative term: a t-shirt here maybe goes for $10 whereas on the street or other market could be $2 - both cheap to American standards but it's a lot of money in Vietnamese standards).

All of these markets have sections that sell the same thing: stalls for clothing, prepared food, raw food ingredients, toiletries, materials, etc.

Food display at Ben Thanh is a bit fancier, to catch the attention of the backpackers. One of the highlights of living in Vietnam is the the immense quantity and availability of fruit. Can you identify what is in the picture - they are all fruits! And delicious...except for the durian...haha!

pictures:

2009-05-07T08:52:00.003-04:00

okay sorry, so I finally posted all my pictures on Picasa

Here is a direct link to the slideshow starting at the newest photo - Pizza Hut!

Blog posts to come; I've just been busy with classes, meeting with people to keep practicing, and tired from the heat. My days are starting earlier now since I've decided to take the bus to school and do more walking...Kind of a lamo excuse, but by the end of the day, I want to watch TV or read and just not THINK about language anymore...

Vung Tau, part 2

2009-05-02T11:00:00.012-04:00

#5, our beach house

When we walked back to the beach house on Wednesday night, the roads were clear and the parking lot empty. Thursday morning only 8 am, and the parking lot was full with extended vans, and the beach was crowded. It was a great day for being outside, not overly hot and sunny, just perfect. Vung Tau (about 128 km SE from HCMC)is not the best beach around here, there is some trash and the water is a muddy brown due to pollution from oil drilling (thanks Lonely Planet!), but it's comfortable, has a large town to support it, and is the closest one to HCMC - most people in for the holiday were locals getting out of the city, not foreigners.

The peninsula that juts out into the South China Sea is punctuated by Small Mountain and Big Mountain. Atop Small Mountain is a humongous statue of Jesus (30 m high) with arms outstretch, open towards the ocean. Chi Linh and I were heading up there that morning.

I have no idea how high up the climb was (and apparently google doesn't either?) and yes it was relatively easy walk up the rather steep staircase. The climbing was fine and it wasn't very sunny, just humid; but for some reason I was the sweaty American and everyone else, including Chi Linh, looked FINE. hrmpf.

On the way up to the top, there are many places to stop and enjoy the view, sit on a bench, have a picnic, and rest your legs. Breathtaking. Many of these "resting areas" had religious statues or tablets with stories. And they all had small white benches that were inscribed with a donors' name and location - many donors were from the US, with a large amount from Philadelphia, PA! Whoa, didn't realize there was a large Vietnamese population in Philly? Maybe it is associated with a Catholic church, but it was really neat to read the locations of the many benches.

Within 30 minutes, we made it up to the top. There was a large sitting area, and people where everywhere - sleeping, eating, resting, talking...it was a great view and you work so hard to come up here, why not spend a few hours?? The statue was sitting on a base that you could climb up...and even climb up a smaller staircase within the statue to reach the top of the arms. But there were many people waiting and so we stayed at the base, still an incredible sight to see!

The climb down was much easier and then we headed back to the hotel to clean up and check out - I also walked on a beach a bit and watched people swim, eat ice cream, and play in the water. The water was warm and it was really great day to be out and about. There were so many people, but the beach was large enough that it didn't feel suffocating. It was interesting to note that most people did not wear bathing suits but just cotton shorts and t shirts - why spend money on something when you can just wear other clothes?

We went to another popular place in town for lunch, more seafood! Fried oysters, another sweet and sour soup, fish and chicken in clay pots, and rau muong (one of my favorite asian veggies, like a spinach), all at around $35.

We had to go through town in order to get back onto the highway to HCMC and the traffic was so bad because of so many people on the streets - walking, motorbike, stuffed into vans...parking lots were so full, I really didn't expect so many people to be there! I slept the whole way back and woke up in the city - where there were still people out and about - but with most shops closed and less people on the streets, it felt almost empty. And so ended our trip to the beach!

Vung Tau

2009-05-02T09:24:00.012-04:00

WARNING: if you have seafood allergies, read at your own risk...huge intake of seafood ahead..

We left for Vung Tau on Wednesday afternoon with Anh Thang (Chu Dung's driver), Chu Dung, myself, Chi Cindy, and Chi Linh. It was barely even the holiday yet and still traffic was slow leaving HCMC and it was at minimum at 2 hour drive anyways...On the main roads in the city and highways, autos are only allowed in the left lane (or center and left if there are three lanes), while motorikes can zoom by in all lanes. Hence the cause for traffic because we were in essentially one lane for maybe an hour.

En route, we talked about many things but Chi Cindy and Chi Linh were specifically interested in medical school and they balked about the student loan process. In Vietnam, the government does not hand out loans to students and banks generally do not want to give so much money, especially to someone not working...I am eternally grateful that the US government will support me and my $300,000+ debt so that I can follow my dream (screw you Ron Paul!). Though Chu Dung and his wife Co Hao were able to go to university and graduate school for free, now the new generation has to pay a little bit of money for their education. I imagine it's much like the German education system? (Not sure 100%...)

Anyways we got into Vung Tau around 6 pm and headed to our hotel. Chu Dung rented a private beach house (2 bedroom, 3.5 bath, sleeps 4) for $110. You can see the beach from our back door...Just a short walk to the beach and also includes breakfast buffet and chair rentals - though the price tripled the next night due to holiday! We changed, rested up, and then got ready for dinner.

We drove into town and went to a popular seafood restaurant. Across the street, you can buy fresh food and then have it cooked in the restaurant. Picking out the live lobster and crabs to eat was oddly depressing for me. Pick out chicken breast? No problem. But pointing and saying "I want THAT lobster to fry RIGHT NOW" was weird, also because they looked so freaky weird and unappetizing...I almost threw up looking at the large shrimp moving around because they looked like large disgusting centipedes....everything tasted great though, ha!

a selection of live sea creatures awaits...lobster, crabs, shrimp, and snail, oh my!

my lobster...about $9

BEFORE...(enlarge the pic and you'll see what I mean by "unappealing"...)

and AFTER...

The meal can only be described as complete seafood gluttony. I got jokingly chided when I asked for rice, because I still had my lobster and crab to eat. I have little cuts on my thumbs from where they put up a fight, but it was worth the deliciousness. We also had sweet and sour fish soup (with pineapples and tomatoes, we have this often in the US but with the fresh fish it's just too good), snails (not a fan), small oysters (hard for me to open with my clumsy American fingers), oh and steamed okra (<3).

I'm sitting with Chi Cindy. Chu Dung and Chi Linh are across.

Total = around $40.

Afterwards, we burned some calories by walking around the boardwalk near a large hotel, the Imperial, which reminded of the themed hotels in Las Vegas (though not nearly as big or grand). A good day in Vietnam ends with coffee (or also fruit, but never fortune cookies), and so we enjoyed some drinks and rested for the long Thursday.

Enjoying drinks with Chu Dung at the Imperial Hotel.

high end dining (also the unhealthiest meal of the trip)

2009-05-02T08:48:00.007-04:00

WHO KNEW?!?!

Pizza Hut is not $$$$ high end dining, but it's probably on the higher end of places that I have eaten here. Weird, right? There's menu is a lot bigger, the pizzas and portions are smaller (cough*thiswhyUSisfat*cough), and it's just a really bizarre experience.

inside the dining room

I ordered the most "American" pizza on the list: Supreme!
Medium pizza! 120,000 Dong and probably the size of a "personal pan" in the US - they did have a "personal size", which my dinner date Chi Cindy says was about 2 small pieces. We also ordered a small house salad, shrimp pasta, and drinks and I think the bill came out to around 300,000 D (~$30). Sheesh pizza is a luxury here folks! But honestly I would never eat there again because the food was not 1/2 as good as the local food.

American fast food joints are not a common sight here, and there are no Starbucks to be found anywhere. The only fast food place besides Pizza Hut that is in HCMC is KFC, which also seems to be more expensive than Viet food (yes, I intend to visit it eventually)...and I've enjoyed eating fresh vegetables and exotic fruits. The pizza tasted the same, but I haven't been in Pizza Hut since probably middle school, and being in one in HCMC was a really bizarre experience...

Early that night, Chi Cindy took me out and about to shop for an ao dai, the traditional Vietnamese dress. I may not have many occasions to wear one in the US, but I am always envious of those that wear them at our family weddings and big Vietnamese parties. They are beautiful dresses, covering up much of the body, yet also very light and sensuous. And there are many styles, from traditional to modern, high collar to boatneck, long sleeves to sleeveless, one block of color to a rainbow of colors...

I visited a few material stores but was overwhelmed by the choices I had to make: what style, color, different swatches for different parts of the dress, and I hardly had any idea what I wanted. We visited some tailors that specialized in ao dai and the prices range from $40 (simple and sleeveless) to $120 (silk, hand embroidered sequins over the whole body and arms). I didn't buy anything but I was more knowledgeable about fabrics, styles, and what I wanted. Success!

Chi Cindy also took me to a pharmacy so that I could buy some things that I'd forgotten to bring: anti-itch cream, sun screan...and multi-vitamins. The multivitamins were actually quite pricey (10 for 60,000 D = $3.30) and now I understand why my parents and relatives were always packing vitamins and medicine when traveling to Vietnam. I mean, can't you get like 300 pills for like $10 at Costco??

Urgh, I didn't pack well at all, bringing some things that I'm never going to wear here (jeans? way to hot...3 cotton cardigans? yeah right), and forgetting some of the essentials. Ah well, it's these small things that you often forget...

catching up

2009-05-02T07:53:00.005-04:00

Okay so I have thoroughly enjoyed my holiday and now have lots of pictures to go through and postings to write. I missed any holiday festivities because my host Chu Dung took me and 2 friends out to Vung Tau, a beach town about 3 hours southeast of HCMC. Remember the post about the "Ban xeo" restaurant with the big rice papers filled with shrimp? That restaurant in HCMC features food of Vung Tau. Anyways so there's a post about that 2 day trip coming as well as some other things.

CONFESSION: I also busied myself with what the heck was happening with Bella and Edward ("Twilight" series for you people living under a rock). Kind of embarrassing to admit....But no use denying that I love it, maybe even more than HSM and HP because it's so emotional and dark. Yes annoying and ridiculous at times, but also fun, magical, and so real about raw emotion and friendships. Oh yeah, and it's written in first person with a main female character, so it's really really easy to get sucked in. That is my technical diagnosis for this craze.

And yeah, I'm listening to the movie soundtrack right now. ZOMG i <3 it like a 13 year old girl!! haha. no judgment please. =P

(jchoi can we still be friends? teehee)
**
Also I need to clear something up:

xe om = motorbike taxi
xe may = motorbike

And I may not have mentioned this before, but in case there is any confusion, there are several "prefixes" that you use in Vietnamese when talking about people to show respect. Much like "Miss" and "Mister", except Vietnam has a more highly structured system.

Em = someone younger than you, whether toddler or university student
Chi = literally, "older sister"; woman that is slightly older than you
Anh = literally, "older brother"; man that is slightly older than you
Co = woman about halfway to your parents age
Chu = man about halway to your parents age
Ba = Older woman/around your parents age
Bac/Ong = older man/around your parents age

You would Also you'd use "Ba/Ong" for people of high stature. Like in class, we identify "Ong Obama". And interestingly enough, you call everyone by their first name, no family name usage here - it would just be a bunch of Nguyens, Trans, and Vos, anyways...

So that is why I write about Chu Dung, Chu Choung, Chi Cindy, Chi Linh, they don't have the same "first" name...that is their prefix according to my relationship with them. And this is for strangers, friends, and family members.

Here's a technicality:
But my dad is the middle child, with an older sister and a younger brother. Aunt Doan has two sons, and I call them both Anh because well they are both older than me but also their mom is the eldest of the family. But my Uncle Hoa has a daughter that is older than me, but she should still call me Chi Anna, because my father is older than her dad. Even though I am younger than her. But I think it only works with maybe immediate family because that would get way too crazy.

Anyways, an example of the hierarchical society at work - fascinating, no?
I love learning more about it, and I love being here.

Thursday April 30 2009

2009-04-29T13:42:00.004-04:00

marks the Vietnamese "Reunification Day", or "Liberation Day" (or also "The Fall of Saigon" - depending on which country you're in....as you can tell by the differences in length of wiki articles...) - it's a national holiday that marks the day when the National Liberation Front and the North Vietnamese Army captured (what was then) Saigon in 1975. It signaled the end of the Vietnam War (or "The Resistance War Against America", again depending on where you live)...and at the nearby American consulate, the last helicopters departed from the rooftop with the last US soldiers and citizens, and many people tried to get on the helicopters or send their babies onto them.

It's been 34 years.

A tank crashed through the gates of the (now called) Reunification Palace, where the barely 44 hour-old new President of South Vietnam gave up his power to the North Vietnamese Army. The story has been told that after the President said he was ready to give up power, a officer replied, "There is no question of turning over power - you cannot give up when you do not already have"...

The original tank that brought down the gates sits on the lawn of the Reunification Palace, as a reminder of the past. I can see it from the street but there is not a good camera view with all of the trees. I hope to tour the Palace in a few days and will report back, apparently much of the it is left as it was in 1975...

This was the start of the transition period toward unification of North and South Vietnam, which occurred July 2, 1976.

In HCMC, you can tell that something is definitely in the air. The streets were more frequently cleaned this week, and the road in front of the Reunification Palace was power washed with water. The national flag and the corresponding "hammer and sickle" flag (both in vibrant red and yellow colors) have also popped up on most major streets, stores, and even some cars.

There is a parade sometime this weekend, and I hope to attend. I think it will be an extraordinary display of military, power, and reflection. Although because I am in south Vietnam, many people here were originally not supportive of the communist government, maybe the celebrations will more subdued and related only to the parade and other public events...where as in the north, I'm sure the celebrations will be more intense and frequent.

In the US however, the celebrations are a bit different for the Vietnamese community, where my mom tells me they call it "Black Day"....

Okay that ends the history lesson! We have no school tomorrow because of the holiday and also Friday (International Labor Day), so it's going to be a fun extended weekend!

Historical Tour - Monday (thứ hai)

2009-04-27T06:43:00.003-04:00

Today after school, I asked my xe om driver Anh Ni to take me around to the center city area so I could see some of the sites (descriptions taken and edit from the HCMC Department of Tourism):

- Building started in 1886 and was completed in 1891 under architect Villedieu's design, this magnificent building was located on a high hill by the side of the Notre Dame cathedral with Hai Ba Trung avenue in the back. The building's front side is adorned with rectangle squares inscribed with the names of telegraphic and electric inventors together with figures of famous men and women wearing laurel wreaths. A big clock hangs over the dome of the building . Inside the building, visitors can see two historical maps, one is "Saigon and its environments" created in 1892 and "Telegraphic network in South Vietnam and Cambodia" created in 1936.

Post office = buu dien
Address: 2 Cong Xa Paris

Looks like a European railway station no? It was surprisingly beautiful inside...and Uncle Ho as always watches over us.

Inaugurated in 1880, Notre Dame Cathedral is one of the oldest and biggest Catholic churches in Vietnam. This neo-Romanesque architecture, built with bricks and tiles imported from France, is remiscient of the cathedrals in Paris, Chartres or Reim. Visitors can attend mass held three times on weekdays and six times on Sundays.

Address: Cong xa Paris Square, Dong Khoi & Han Thuyen Streets, District 1, HCMC
Open: Daily, Sunday Mass 9:30am

And finally, I also visited the Reunification Palace:

The Unification Hall, laid out on wind-water geometric principles, is the most beautiful building of Vietnamese architecture of the 1960’s. The building is preserved almost as it was (previously the South Vietnam presidential palace) under the old Saigon regime with the interior decorated with fine Vietnamese art and crafts. Among its 100 rooms and chambers are president's reception room, credentials presentation room and banquet room.

Address: 106 Nguyen Du Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Open daily: from 8am to 11am and 1pm to 4pm.
Entry: VND15,000

There is a lot of history here with this building, and the upcoming April 30th holiday, "Liberation Day"...so I am going to save that for another post. Again, more photos on Picasa.

Sunday (chủ nhật)

2009-04-27T05:45:00.008-04:00

Sunday was a relaxing, fun day. I met Chuong and we went out to another little cafe, one right next to Khuc Ban Chieu/Serenata Cafe, called Cafe Soi Da. It looks very similar, even with the same set up, but I like Cafe Soi Da more because it is more open and you can get a better breeze on the second floor. Both cafes are kept cool by huge trees, fans, and large breezeways, and both offer live music and a variety of drinks and food.

And both have super cute steps and sitting areas:

Then the rain clouds started to come in, and we didn't want to get stuck without raincoats, so we left.

After dinner, I went out with Chu Dung and his friend Cindy to Casbah, a Moroccan themed Cafe and Lounge. We parked near the Opera House and walked along the streets, this area is very fancy and has many high end stores and hotels. (Picassa photos - find the one with the Louis Vuitton store!)

Then down a little alley...through a doorway...up the stairs...and there we are! Casbah! Complete with Arabic writing on the walls, Moroccan music, rooftop garden, hookahs, and belly dancers! Though this didn't stop Chu Dung from ordering french fries and chicken wings ^_^

We left at midnight but there were still people in the lounge, and even more people outside eating at the sidewalk restaurant (apparently one of the best, and only about $2 a meal, but we'd just eaten so that'll be another day). And I saw more and more people on the roads and sidewalks as we drove back to the house, prompting my post about the nightlife in Saigon. Even on a Sunday night, people are still eating, talking, and getting together - what a vibrant, active city!

(Picassa photos updated)

high alert: pig flu

2009-04-27T04:59:00.003-04:00

In my class of 12, I was the only one who also spoke some Spanish. So let's hope that the Vietnamese population (or maybe Asians in general?) doesn't do a lot of traveling to Mexico...

Vietnam was hit by the avian flu in 2003, but had less than 100 deaths. Not like China...but with the sheer number of people in HCMC and the amount of contact that you have with people every day, it's scary to think about.

Good to hear that the country is taking precautions to protect against an outbreak. I didn't bring tamiflu with me, but I do have medical insurance. And maybe I'm going to start wearing those high-end infectious disease masks now...

yay Philly

2009-04-26T22:14:00.003-04:00

Next Day Air, release on May 8, takes place in Philly!

Screen shot:

Wissahickon Ave is in Manayunk, where Drexel Med is!

Yaaaaaay what a great example for the City of Brotherly Love.

Saigon at midnight

2009-04-26T13:13:00.003-04:00

is very impressive. It's a Sunday night and still some restaurants are very full and there are many people still on the street. It's incredible! I suppose 6 million people here in the city allows for restaurants and bars to be open pretty much around the clock!

Having lived in Chicago and visited NYC, Ho Chi Minh City is truly the city that never sleeps! Simply amazing.

yeaaaaaah football season has started!

2009-04-26T03:34:00.004-04:00

sorry, not Vietnam related, but hey, this really makes me happy =D I was there for the spring game 2 years ago when Pryor was not officially even on the team yet. And the roar of the crowd when he came on the field was awesome!! (Unless of course you were Todd Boeckman and knew your job was in danger) And of course, we go to see the marching band too...ya, big OSU dork here.

Pryor puts on show for record crowd

A record crowd of 95,722 turned out at Ohio Stadium to watch the Gray defeat the Scarlet 23-3 in the Buckeyes' annual spring game.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A national spring game record crowd of 95,722 came out to enjoy the high temperatures and watch Terrelle Pryor throw two long touchdown passes in 30 seconds, leading the Gray over the Scarlet 23-3 on Saturday at sun-drenched Ohio Stadium.

The 80-degree weather played a big role in the attendance, which topped the 92,138 Alabama drew for Nick Saban's coaching debut in 2007.

Ohio fans paid $5 per ticket, with the bulk of the money going to local charities. Many showed up in tank tops and shorts to soak up the sun on the warmest day of the year while watching Pryor strut his stuff.

Pryor broke open a close scrimmage with touchdown passes of 44 yards to Taurian Washington and 42 yards to Ray Small late in the second half. Pryor started as a freshman for last year's 10-3 Buckeyes team.

more food pics!

2009-04-25T06:33:00.008-04:00

It's raining again, so perfect excuse to post some more food pics and do some internet searches on swimming pools...

Finally on Wednesday was able to try something I've been wanting since my arrival: fresh coconut juice!

10,000 D during our banh xeo meal #2. It's very watery and plain tasting, but refreshingly cool. And very fun to scoop out some tasty coconut bits!

For dessert?? Frozen yogurt! Yes, the craze has hit HCMC and there are many froyo places in the area. Still very cheap! Sorry, no pics of the actual dessert because we all finished them before I remembered to take a picture...guess I'll just have to make another trip!

And today?? Crab! I was doing some research online about good places to eat in HCMC (probably when I was supposed to be studying physiology, oops!) and ran into this website: http://gastronomyblog.com/saigon-top-10/

Top on the list? Soft shell crab, yay my fav!!! So of course I asked to go there for lunch and ohhh my goodness, it was amazing

mmmm I'm going to eeeat you!!

Located just down the road from my school and the business district, Quan 94 looks like any other restaurant in the city: Large opening with the makeshift kitchen up front, small tables and chairs, fans running and spinning...They specialize in crab, and some of the dishes are more expensive as they are very popular, but everything is chock full of crab and it's delicious!!!

The crab-stuffed egg rolls (cha gio cua) were served with vermicelli rice noodles, herbs, and lettuce.

But my favorite? Soft-shell crabs with tamarine (cua lot xao me - 120,000 D) - soft crab with a sweet and sour sauce made from the popular tamarine fruit. We also had crab and shrimp soup, with the large white noodles and crab pieces seriously the size of my thumb!!

Just a few more pics posted on Picassa today, but the special ones I posted already.

Xin chao cac anh chi!

also, it's a small world

2009-04-24T05:35:00.004-04:00

Okay so this is for all you people that
a) laugh that I talk so much about Ohio, and
b) think it's crazy that I have so much pride in my home state, in the middle of nowhere.

Okay so there are 12 people in my Vietnamese Class and today I was talking with two women before class started. One woman, Jane, is Korean but lived in San Francisco for some time and has two sons, one of whom went to Ohio Sate University for Business.

Today we were talking with another woman, Emma, a Chinese woman who is married to a German who works for Siemens, a global company, and so she moves around a lot. And where is the only place they lived in the US??

COLUMBUS, OHIO!!! (Well, more like Dublin, Ohio, just a suburb of Columbus, but you get my point...)

Hollaaaaaaaaa, I almost started laughing. And Emma said, "Yes well usually I say, 'Oh the middle of nowhere, a place Ohio', and no one recognizes it"...and there we were, there random people from across the world who had heard of Columbus, Ohio.

Apparently there is a big Siemens group in Bellefontaine, OH - about 30 minutes away in the countryside...

Whawhaaaaaaat!!!!! Moral of the story: it's a small world out there, and Ohio ROCKS!

and on the 7th day...

2009-04-24T05:20:00.002-04:00

it was a Day of Beauty!!!!

It's been one week in Vietnam! After a long week of school, I walked around the area and treated myself to some spa services right on the same block as the house. Ahhhh!!

Full body massage plus hot stones, 1 hour = $20 + 100,000 D tip
- At Kim Spa: the table is large so that the women can hop on and really work the back and shoulders. The lotion/oils were nice and the stones hot; there were actually two women working at the same time, so it was like my whole body was humming. Wow, very nice - Better than the one I had 3 years ago where the woman cracked every bone in my body and also walked on my back. And a good scalp massage is heaven on earth.

Pedicure - 30,000 D + 20,000 D tip
- At KON: not a spa pedicure because I'd already had treatment on my feet from the massage, so this was very simple and cheap. Ummm this was in total less than $3, I'm going to do it every few weeks, cause even in Philly I went often and it was $25! Or in DC, it's $40!

Haircut - 60,000 D + 40,000 D tip
- At KON: went to Hai, who was recommended by my host's wife. Just a haircut, layered and styled and got to practice some Vietnamese. Hai speaks English though so it was kind of cheating but I need to know that I'm pronouncing everything okay! Wow, so I'll go back here before I leave...

Hen gap lai....see you again!

2009-04-22T07:31:00.006-04:00

It's 6:35 pm and raining heavily - a very welcome break from the exhaustive heat. Every day around 3 to 5 pm, it gets cloudy and cool. Sometimes it rains, depending on what district you're in, but not for very long. Yesterday it rained for less than 20 minutes, but on Monday it rained for about an hour. The rain, however, does not stop the traffic, as everyone busts out rain ponchos that cover basically the entire motorbike except for the wheels.

Classes have been really nice, I'm learning slowly and the tones of the words hard for me to catch onto. It's a diverse group of people, there's 12 of us: I'm the only American, there are a handful of Koreans and Japanese, and one Frenchman. Young and old, some students and some who've moved to HCMC because of their husband's job. But we're having fun right now and laughing at our mistakes. I like it, but also wish that I had more than 80 hours of class time.

Yesterday I made some friends, a slow moving process since I don't really know anyone here on my own. Anh Phuc is a graduate student who is studying molecular biology at the University of Natural Sciences, and my host's wife Co Hao introduced us via email (as she and her son live in Columbus, Ohio, which is how my family knows them). Anyways so Anh Phuc showed me around his school and laboratory, which involved full covering and sterilization because of the cells that they are working with.

More pics on the picassa web album

And then three of us went to dinner:

banh xeo (big rice cake - like Indian dosa) tom thit (with pork and shrimp)
and banh khot (little rice cakes) with shrimp
plus three che (Vietnamese sweet drink with coconut, jelly, sweet beans)
-- click on the picassa link for pics of the che
whole meal with three drinks was 129,000 D is about $7

So that was really nice to talk with students and people my age, and we are going to meet every week. He wants help with English, and I want to practice Vietnamese. But being friends with someone that doesn't have a work schedule and that is able to spend time shopping, showing me around etc, will be really nice. Anh Phuc already helped me buy my own mask for the road! Hooray!

Video!: my route from school to the house

2009-04-20T03:26:00.009-04:00

So after a weekend of getting used to riding the xe om, I was confident enough to record during my ride from the school back to the house. It's a bit long at 10 minutes, but I didn't want to cut a whole lot because you can really get a sense of everything that I see in this video, especially the traffic patterns and the crazy things that people are carrying.

Hint: someone has a mini-fridge! Which is honestly probably the best thing I've seen being carried by motorbike...I've also seen a family of four, those huge water jugs, even blocks of ice! But I think mini-fridge has been the best so far.

What you will see:
- My school is near the downtown Ho Chi Minh City area, and very close to department stores and high-end hotels. You may be able to see some familiar names in the store windows...
- Then we go around a traffic circle where my driver, Chu Ni, points out the Ben Thanh Market. It's a very big and popular marketplace in HCMC, and at night there are more food stands for a cheap dinner on the streets. I've actually been there many times and in 2004 our hotel was right next to it, but Chi Ni wanted to point it out since I just bought postcards that have a picture of the market.
- Eventually we make our way down to Trần Hưng Đạo Str and then just head down until we reach my block, and then into the little side street for the house entrance.

(click to enlarge)

- Upper, far right: Vietnamese classes at University of Social Sciences, District 1
- Middle: Ben Thanh Market, District 1
- Bottom, far left: Home at 844/3 Tran Hung Dao Street, District 5

FOOD!!!

2009-04-19T10:16:00.006-04:00

BREAKFAST!

Banh bao (steamed bun) with pork and egg = 15000D = less than $1 (using 18000D = $1)
strawberry and orange shake = 17000 = less than $1
At Nhu Lan, a popular place with the locals.
- Also, tip is not necessary.
- Chuong's coffee with milk (ca fe sua da = coffee milk ice) in the background? 10,000 D

LUNCH!

At the very popular Quan An Ngon. It's in the Lonely Planet Guidebook and also across the street from the famous site of the rooftop helicopter, last one to leave a falling Saigon...It's more of a tourist attraction than these other places that I've eaten at, but still relatively cheap and good, but there are cheaper and better places.

Bun Thit - Vermicelli Rice Noodles with Pork and egg rolls
Bottled Water
Coconut ice cream
Wet Napkin (around 1000 D at most restaurants)
= around 70,000 = less than $3

DINNER!

At Saigon Cafe, right across from the house where I live.
Strawberry shake (34000) + Pasta with beef (37000) = 71000 = $4
(more expensive than these other places because it does not have as many customers).

**

Non food stuff pricing that I found out today:

woman's hair cut = 100,000 D
manicure = 25,000 D
notebook = 20,000 D
Flight to Australia (sign didn't say city) = $154
Flight to Hanoi = $45 (both through Vietnam Airlines) - it's cheaper to buy flights in Vietnam through an agency than to book online in the US due to taxes, etc
driver on motorbike rental for one week = 300,000 D = about $17
I was a guest speaker at the Medical School's English Club and they gave me 200,000

Food and services are very very cheap. Things like electronics, name brand clothes/accessories though are going to be around the same price as in the US. Still, you can get off-brand items for cheap, though the quality varies. I got one of those huge camping backpacks for $15 when I was in Hanoi in 2005. Not for camping (clearly) but to fit all the other things I bought...and it's still good!

Moral of the story: Asia is the place to travel and get your money's worth!!

Good Morning sunshine!

2009-04-18T20:03:00.003-04:00

It's 7:04 am but I've been awake off and on for the past hour or so. I can already hear sounds on the road even though it's a Sunday morning. And it is still very hot...already feels like 91F according to weather.com

Okay time to wash up and go get some coffee!

Sat Apr 18: pics

2009-04-18T07:07:00.012-04:00

Ready to ride, not forgetting the helmet of course! Did a lot of riding around today with Chuong, as he delivered things to friends. I bought some deodorant, 60000 D = about $3, when I am more comfortable I will bargain down, I'm sure I paid too much for this...because Chuong got an oil change for his xe om that a) cost only 65000 D and b) took less than 10 minutes. (exchange rate varies, but about 18,000 D = $1 USA)

Posted my pictures onto Picassa

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

[click to enter album]

here are some highlights:

Lunch at Khuc Ban Chieu: Chuong ordered steak and fries, I ordered Bread (banh mi) with pate, pork, egg. About 30,000 Dong each = less than $2.

"French-style bathroom" - sink (hiding in corner) with large mirror, toilet, and shower. No different compartment for the shower, so all of the water just runs into a drain that is right in front of it.

This is almost a luxury bathroom because it's large enough that other things stay dry (the towels, toilet paper, etc) because the water just flows down not out. Chuong's bathroom is very small and so when he showers, everything gets wet. Makes a difference!

So it's weird in US standards but it is actually very comfortable and nicer than the other private homes that I have seen and stayed at.

I can't believe I'm here...

2009-04-18T01:50:00.006-04:00

After a full day of sitting on airplanes, I have made it to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam!!! Things have really changed here and it's incredible! I don't have pictures to load right now as I don't have the cable on me, but will load some up asap...as well as a video of the road traffic!

My first flight, United from Baltimore to San Fran, was horrible. One hour sitting on the plane at the gate to wait for papers, a maintenance man, and then a food cart (WTH?)...then a really bumpy ride...then sitting on the runway after landing to wait for another plane to leave our gate. People are freaking out because they have connections to make and start yelling, I'm sweating bullets because I have an international flight to check-in = craziness all around. Well I've just gotten an email that I will get $150 credit for my next ticket, nice!

I check into my international Asiana flight (San Fran - Seoul - Saigon) and the lady tell me that my carry-on luggage that I took on the domestic flight is too big for the flight. And checking in the bag means that it's my third bag (46 lbs, 42 lbs, and now 22 lbs) which would cost $110. Oh craaaaap. I tell her that I checked the online website for checked-in luggage restrictions but there were no carry-on restrictions, and that I just had this bag on a domestic flight. Well I think she saw the sweat from me running across the airport plus my utter anxiety and let me check my bag for free. Sweeeeeet!

So it was just me and my 26 lb backpack...the 2 international flights are fine. I watched a lot lot of movies (Yes Man, HSM3, Twilight (x2), 4 Christmases, Bedtime Stories), got a good "night's" worth of sleep, and had 3 square meals. And the international flight was 20 minutes early!

The international wing of the HCMC airport is very new and big, and so there are more lanes and less waiting. And people are wearing helmets now on the motorbikes! (Though not the kids, ironically, and generally no kids will be wearing them unless a law is passed). Cafes have internet, homes have wireless, there are internet phones that can call make international calls for very cheap - it's all very incredible. So it feels very different than my last visit 4 years ago.

I am living with a close family friend (we have no immediate family members in Vietnam) and it is a very nice, comfortable house. Chu Dung, my host, has a driver for his car (mainly to park the car) and a housekeeper, and he has also hired me a xe om (motorbike) driver to take me to and from school every day. Nice set up, indeed!! I have a room, my own bathroom, and wireless internet set up. I will post pictures later tonight...

Meanwhile I am sitting in a cafe now drinking cold tea and an orange juice. It's about 95F here, very very hot and I think I have already tanned from riding around all morning. I already have a mask that covers my nose and mouth to protect from the dust, and I will probably be buying some long gloves to protect my arms from the sun. 2.5 months of riding, I'll have plenty of time to tan and don't want to get too dark too fast!

So life here will be comfortable for the next few weeks, I just have to get used to the area and get to learning some Vietnamese!

Williaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam!!!

2009-04-16T00:02:00.005-04:00

We went to Target today for last minute items and passing the checkout lanes, I saw "A Knight's Tale" for just 5 bucks. 5 bucks!!! I stood there and took it all in. I remember seeing in the theaters twice, buying it at first release, and then months later realizing that someone never returned it, and the loss that I felt. Standing in the store, I felt compelled to just buy them all there and then - start a "Knight's Tale" mad rush.

What a great movie. Totally worth more than $5 for that scene alone!!!

once a week...

2009-04-15T23:36:00.004-04:00

in vietnam, i will eat pho and go to the spa! because i can and it will be wonderful!!

last US post?

2009-04-15T23:00:00.003-04:00

11 pm EST (US) = 10 AM HCMC, Vietnam time

apparently it is mostly cloudy and feels like 101.
don't be too jealous though, the 10 day forecast reads like this:
"scattered thunderstorms"...times 10! =(

riding on a motorbike (xe om, see learning!) is no fun in the rain!!!!

flight leaves at 7 am!!! aiaiaiiiiii
but i am in San Francisco until 1pm so can still do some last minute things on the West Coast before Seoul--> Ho Chi Minh City!!!

rivals the phelps ad

2009-04-15T15:26:00.002-04:00

awwww they are so cute! haha

Features NCAA Coaches Bobby Knight, Roy Williams, Rick Pitino and Mike Krzyzewski. And also Metallica...

3 days away!

2009-04-13T16:46:00.004-04:00

So I leave for Vietnam on Thursday morning (yay!!) and have lots to do before then...packing, getting things settled on the US end (insurance, payments, etc), and making sure that I have things ready to go when I am away (Mother's Day cards, etc). Wow, lots of "thinking ahead"....I have yet to pack though, just did a ton of errands today to get READY for the packing.

First on my To Do List: return a pair of jeans at Nordstroms, which has a famously relaxed and generous return policy. I bought some jeans at Nordstroms about two years ago and also had them altered at the store. Nice & expensive. And Yes, a bit over two years ago. And then like all my other jeans, one of them got holes in the leg. But there is no Nordstroms in Philly so I waited awhile to take them back - and VOILA! They took them back, and I had a receipt to make the transaction super easy. Wow, it's my new favorite store.

So do I buy cheapo jeans that will wear out in a year? Or buy really nice jeans, wear them out, and then get a refund? WHOA. Now I've worked in retail and we'd always fight with people who were trying to return worn items. That's not the case here, I don't feel as if I'm cheating the system or stealing money because 1) that is their policy and 2) I'm buying all my jeans from there from now on.

They keep this policy because they somehow don't lose money off of it. Otherwise they'd have changed it long, long ago. AWESOME.

But then all that money I got back, I had to spend again (and then some!) on three months worth of medication at CVS. Sheeeeesh!!

Second on to do list: go through all the clothes that I brought from Philly and decide if I take to Vietnam or give away. It's going to be hot there but I want to dress a little more conservative over there, so am not going to be loading my suitcase with tank tops and such.

It's going to be 92 degrees when I get there!!! YAYAYAY!!!! =D

Okay off to create a hurricane mess on the whole lower level!!!

weekend in detroit

2009-04-08T19:10:00.004-04:00

Visiting jdp's family is like going to my second home. No big plans have to be made, we just all hang out, have fun, and share each others company. It's always a fun time and I'm always sad to leave and eager to always plan the next get-together.

On this weekend's schedule was quizzo (first place, aiai!!), egg decorating, seeing JDP's friends, and catching up on movies and fun things.

Cooking with Jordaniel.

Jordan also drove me out to Ann Arbor, where we visited another friend at my rival school:

SCHOOL PRIDE!

hahaha! It was a great time, catching up and just hanging out!!

the hardest working woman in music

2009-04-08T18:44:00.002-04:00

everything she does it amazing

whoa

2009-04-04T18:14:00.003-04:00

I just realized that in the last three weeks I have been to the following states:

Pennsylvania
Nevada
Maryland
Virginia
DC (not a state as defined by the Constitution, but hopefully will have a vote soon!)
Michigan

I may have tried to cram too much into my schedule but I've lots of things to do and people to see!!

And I leave for Vietnam in less than 2 weeks!!

The Greatest Living American

2009-04-04T17:58:00.003-04:00

is Stephen Colbert!!

Made an overnight trip up to NYC to see the March 30th episode of "The Colbert Report" with some friends.

Bus ticket to NYC: $35
Subway pass: $7
Coffee and snack while waiting in line: $4
Front row seats to Colbert Report: PRICELESS

No Joke. Divya and I got there a bit before 3 pm. Sydney and Brian got off work, rushed to the studio, near Columbus Circle, and we were let into the waiting room by 5:30. Security check included a bag search and metal detector. There were some pep talks, reminders, and then we were led into the studio - smaller than expected and therefore more intimate! Only 107 seats total!!

An opening comedian warmed us up with a few jokes, and then Stephen came out to do a rare thing in front of the audience: A live taped toss with Jon Stewart!!!! Then the comedian came back while apparently SC and Co finished the edits for the show...then SC came back out to answer questions "au naturale" and then on to the taping!! It was an intense 22 minutes of laughing, clapping, and trying to internalize and remember everything that was happening.

At the end of the taping, Stephen came by and shook the hands of the people in the front row. Yes, I shook the (incredibly soft) hands of Stephen Colbert; he said "Thank you so much for coming" and I replied, "Thank you!"...and then it was over..

Amazing!!!!!

Sydney is wearing a dress and she is right next to the staircase, Bryan sitting next to her. Across the staircase from her is Divya, and I am sitting next to her, with a woman crossing her legs next to me.

Yes we waited in line for a very long time but it was totally worth it to have the amazing seats of the taping and the handshake!!!!

March Madness!

2009-04-04T11:39:00.005-04:00

While it's been a crazy tournament for men's and women's basketball, March is mad for each of us as well. I had a batch of finals, moved back to DC, and also traveled to Las Vegas and NYC.

Las Vegas is incredible. The first night in Las Vegas always overwhelms me, the extravagance of it all: money, sex, alcohol, food. They water everything multiple times a day to have the lush green lawns and plants. Ads for Chippendals or "Women Direct 2 U" mix in with the Sponge Bob Square Pants ride or a preview of a Magic Show.

My third time there, but I am in awe everything I step onto the Strip, walk into the Venetian or Bellagio, or witness scenery of the lights, mountains, and vast space that surrounds Las Vegas. Mom and I visited a few apartments and condos and I think I found a place to live next year, roommate TBD.

Just off the Strip, the area is close of the most beautiful natural scenery that I've ever seen. Lake Mead, Valley of Fire...and this time we made a trip out to Red Rock Canyon, home to impressive, snow-peaked mountains, hiking trails, and even pictographs and petroglyphs made by Native Americans.

It seems like this Las Vegas is full of surprises, and I look forward to exploring the city and the area for the next four years!

today

2009-03-31T23:12:00.002-04:00

today i cried when i told a good friend from high school that i couldn't be a bridesmaid in her wedding, that is week #2 of med school, in columbus ohio. i know that it's only week #2 but i need all the time i can get for that first set of block exams. i really wish i was able to be a part of this big day in her life but i have been working for 6 years on this, and now the sacrifices have to be made.

but i hope i did not sacrifice a good friendship.

ummm

2009-03-20T15:08:00.002-04:00

okay so i may have too much time on my hands now:

teeeeehehehe.

to do list:
1. move all boxes either into room or into garage
2. get new glasses
3. go through clothes, give away old things
4. spend lots of time with mom and dad. easy now with march madness...and now we switched from comcast to verizon and our cable plan is hooooked up with all these movie and sports channels. i am kind of sad that i won't be closer to take advantage of the big ten network (you usually need like dish network to get it!!) but my parents have been upgrading the house since my brother and i have moved out. haha!

back in DC

2009-03-19T19:56:00.005-04:00

Moving is always interesting because I can fully see all of the stuff I've been saving, storing, buying too much of. Canned foods, instant coffee, shoes, cardboard boxes, pens...and lots of dust. I'm mostly moved out of the studio but have to go back on Saturday to get the rest of my things and clean the apartment.

With my life in boxes in DC, I don't know whether to unpack or just keep it in boxes since I'll be moving again in July. I can't take everything to Nevada so I should unpack it...but then my parents already have a ton of things so where am I to put my stuff?

When I entered the house last night, I was reminded that it was no longer "my house" but really "my parents' house". A new rug, new painting, and no more Buddy - these minor changes are foreign to me but have been that way for my parents for weeks now. My dad also told me not to spread out my stuff too much because they were expecting four guests at the end of the month. It's a weird feeling to be a house guest in a home that is yours, but not really.

I've moved quite a few times and lived in many cities - Columbus, Chicago, DC, Philadelphia, and now Henderson. So when people ask me "How do you like living in Philadelphia", I have a lot to compare it to and honestly I did not really appreciate Philly until just this year when I began to really take advantage of the city life and living so close to everything.

I loved that I could cross the street and be at one of many things: Chinese buns and bakery (and bubbletea!), Chinatown market or Reading Terminal market (between those two I had almost everything I could ever eat), Wawa (for milk products), great dining around every corner, Chinatown bus terminal, Greyhound terminal, Subway stop...the list is endless. And Philly is a truly walkable city - in a couple minutes you could walk to Old City, Rittenhouse, South Street, or the Art Museum and Boat row - depending on what direction you headed. City living allowed me to have a smaller carbon footprint and me more conscious about my consumption.

Yes there are downsides. It can be a dangerous city and you're constantly exposed to the "ugly side" of urban living. Philly could do more with it's greenery and water ways - Chicago is awesome because of its beautification projects, beaches, and parks. Philly is older, has older roadways and an older infrastructure...driving in Philadelphia really is not fun as the roads are small, rarely have lane lines, and pedestrians are a bit too obnoxious.

Case in point: After getting very yummy cheese steaks from Jim's on South Street I made my way north on a one-way street to my apartment and almost hit a woman as she stepped off the curb to go around a slow-poke group of people in front of her. She didn't hear my screams or cursing because she had headphones in. I swear I grazed her with my front bumper or mirror but she was not really paying attention and that is essentially how crazy Philadelphia is...

Philly has great food. I'll miss it as well as our Quizzo nights. I'll miss being in a walkable city. But I will really miss my friends and the memories that we made out in the town and at NCB.

i'm goooooone.

2009-03-16T14:53:00.003-04:00

stinkin' love her, this song, and the music video. she is amazing.

there is some much needed dolly relaxation time in my life right now because i am becoming a little stressed/overwhelmed with moving, saying goodbye to different groupds of people, making connections with people who are buying my furniture, getting my immunizations, canceling utilities, packing, cleaning, returning things, and the rest of my "to do" list.

yes i should be relaxed and happy that i'm no longer taking classes and that i can get 8 hours of sleep a night a do whatever i want. but trying to co-ordinate so many things in about 3 days is really stressing me out...and sometimes i don't react well to stress so i just need to chill.

packing, cleaning, moving

2009-03-14T22:16:00.007-04:00

I only have a studio apartment so there's really not much to pack, especially since I decided to not take any furniture with me to Nevada. I am taking a dresser back to my parents house in DC, but only having to pack clothes, kitchen/bath stuff, and "life accessories" really cut down on my work. Though it's time like these that really make me think of just exactly how much stuff I really have and what things are really worth keeping.

Most of the stuff that went to DC with my brother was clothes: heavy jackets and coats, pants and jeans, sweaters, shirts and tank tops...and a box of purses. Then I in DC I will go through and get rid of some stuff and then decide what to take to Nevada. It's going to be hard, haha!

The space above around my desk was the hardest to clean up and take down. Pictures, postcards, memories from fun moments - I want to be able to remember them for longer but don't know if I'll be able to take all this "stuff" with me. And I'll be creating new ones in Nevada too so don't want to be too cluttered.

(Looking at the picture now, I see that this is pre-acceptance to Touro as I still have my "Positive Affirmation I'm getting into Medical School pleeeeeeeease" paper on there. Also no Chuck Bass picture)

I've posted my furniture on craigslist and have gotten a few responses. I just hope that they will write back to me and follow through - I had a really hard time getting a hold of people when I was giving all my books away. So hopefully people will show up tomorrow to haul away my stuff - someone even responded to see if I was selling my framed pictures of Michael Phelps! haha It really made me feel special because they are unique and MINE!!

I don't think I planned it well though because now I have people coming to pick up the bed and futon tomorrow. Oops. I guess I'll just go back to DC a bit earlier than expected or crash on someone's couch for a night or two...

procrastination station.

2009-03-11T02:14:00.003-04:00

My dorm room during the first year of undergrad was called "The Procrastination Station" because my roomie and I were always up for chatting, debating, hanging out, etc. Clearly I didn't do so well my first quarter there, but oh was it a good time.

I am procrastinating a bit before getting back to work on micro slides. I checked the scores of Monday's physiology exam and am just happy/relieved to have passed the class. It was a hard class but it'll help out next year and now I'm glad to understand everything about the menstrual cycle. Hooray for the LH surge!

Facebook, for all the craziness it's caused, has become a great way for me to meet my future classmates - it's so crazy that these are going to be my friends for the next four years and we're just strangers now...

Okay back to work - I'll be completely done in about 10 hours!! WAAAHOOOOO!!!!

exams are a'comin!

2009-03-06T17:37:00.003-05:00

Today was all day "review" classes on urinary and reproductive physio, reproductive histology, and case conferences. Whew, a lot of work to do still for my Monday and Wednesday exams but I am not worried right now. I know the things I have to get down and I really think it'll be okay. Haha let's see what happens on Sunday night...

I was on Shape.com and found some nice workout articles for the treadmill and strength training. I think my routine is getting a bit boring, so I've tried their technique of 2 minutes fast run, 4 minutes walk - and right now it's putting me at a faster mile than before. I'm just taking it easy now because of exams though I'm not worried about the actual 5k part (let's be clear here!), I just want to reach a certain time goal.

OMG Dolly Parton just came onto my ipod, her cover of "Shine". Oh, she is amazing! Maybe I can work in a trip to Dollywood this summer en route to Nevada....

$hit.

2009-03-03T16:02:00.003-05:00

Sometimes things hit you in waves, no? That's why there's that saying "When it rains, it pours". We know that's not entirely true as there as misty days, light rain days, rainy days, and "holy shit did I miss the news about a hurricane?!?" days. But there still so much truth to that statement.

It's not really one of those times, but I can feel a wave coming. Dark clouds are approaching but I hope some warm/cold front comes in to scare those storm clouds away.

In this past hour, I've come to the realization that I haven't been as smart about money as I should have. Yes, JUST NOW. Oops. Well I did just pay off all my credit card debt, but knowing that I have some 40K out there in loans is sick. And now I've just realized that I only had 15 cents in my internet banking savings account for the last year - and 85 cents more would have been enough to collect interest. Instead my 15 cents is still only 15 cents...but at least now it's got some more friends to play with. And make babies with. AKA grow in compound interest...

Ah shit, I should have known this and put more money in there to grow interest.
"But A, why is there only 15 cents in there to begin with?", you ask.

Because I took it out to put into my Roth IRA and then forgot about it. The entire thing is online, there's no real paperwork or cards that define the account, so it's almost not real. I almost forgot where the account even was (HSBC? ING? who knows?!) and had to search my emails...ah well, lesson learned.

I'm only on this kick because I found poormd.com which scared the $hit out of me. Helpful, but scary.

As HDuff so eloquently sang, "Let the rain fall..."

Happy March!

2009-03-02T16:07:00.003-05:00

Only a few days left of classes here at Drexel and I'm really excited to be done. I know I will miss the city a bit (surprisingly, I've grown to almost love it) and definitely will miss my friends. But the recent snowfall here makes me think of the warm Las Vegas air.

I'm trying my best to use up all the food I have in my apartment. The last thing I want to do is haul canned corn and soup across state lines. It's made for some interesting meals but one thing that has bothered me for the last couple days is that all of the bread I've been looking at contains High Fructose Corn Syrup. WTF?! It's marketed as whole grain wheat bread, but secretly it's a ploy to make you think you're eating healthy so you'll buy it but it's really not. I finally got a good loaf at the Metro Bakery in Reading Terminal - even the Dutch bread store had some of the HFCS grossness. It's criminal, I say!!

Also I've recently gotten invited to two weddings, both of close high school friends. I'm so excited for C, B, and their respective fiances and the lives they are building together, but a part of me doesn't really connect with them. It just feels weird to know that this is the norm for my "peer" group now - and I suppose I should be bracing for even more wedding and baby news from other people down the road.

It's 2009, I'm 25 years old, looking at 4 years of schooling plus 4 more for residency. Dating and marriage hasn't really ever been part of the plan. And it's interesting because most of my friends that are doing professional school/doctor/PhD route are not married, not in serious relationships at all. It may be a fact of our goals and ambitions, but I can't help but think sometimes that I am missing out on something that's bigger than you, me, us.

Anyways don't want this to be a downer, just something I've been thinking about recently. But I am very very excited for the next few months - here is the schedule:

March 11: last exam at Drexel!!
March 24 - 27: Las Vegas with mom for apt hunting
March 30: Viewing of Colbert Report in NYC =D
April 2 - 6: Detroit, Michigan!
April 16 - June 29: Saigon, VIETNAM!!!! Classes end on the 16th of June so I'll have some time to travel
June 30ish - July 11ish: road trip with Tracy from DC to Las Vegas! haha it's going to be crazy fun
Aug 3: Orientation for Touro-NV Class of 2013 begins!

live blog: HSM3

2009-02-27T21:48:00.022-05:00

FINALLY, i am able to see HSM3!!! HOORAY! so excited, i wanted to do a live blog to capture the entire film.

open scene: troy bolton, sweating and breathing hard. way to capture the attention of all the girls...it's still PG right??

pep talk in the locker room. that's all you're going to say "16 minutes"?? COMON troy you can do better than that!!!!

TROOOOOY! gaby's entrance is a BIT MUCH, don't you think?? i had to stop here and take a laughing break because really...i can't help but laugh at it all.

umm this has to be the COOLEST high school party ever. meaning it's so not real but way to make all the little kiddies aim high.

college coach doing a house party visit? smells like ncaa violations...

"right here" - i really hope they don't make gabi give up stanford for troy. maybe he can get a stanford scholarship? palo alto is just too pretty and awesome!!

troy's in! HAHAHA TOTALLY WHIPPED.

omg julliard?? ooo they put sharpay versus her brother versus kelsi versus troy?? NICE. let's duke it out people.

"i want it all" FINALLY a big number. and back at the place where it all began - the lunchroom!!! YAY! FANTASTIC NUMBER! haha so over the top but PERFECT.

what is up with dressing monique coleman in ties? nerdy HS girls wear ties??

BEAUTIFUL scene!!! "can i have this dance" umm love the choreography and song but the dress is too short for the twirls and lifts. but oh really that was beautiful! i love the rooftop garden!! i watched it three times =)

"oh honey, if that's what you call an invitation, you'll be dancing with yourself".
yes thank you disney! empowering girls!!!

super cute "night to rememeber" dance scenes! with the girls and boys alone at first then together. sharpay and ryan's scenes...then the entire scene with the "parents"...omg these disney people are geniuses!!!!

44:27 i have to pause. "prom dance scene" on the stage "gonna be the nights of nights"...the boys look SO cute in their tuxes and have a super cute dance that i just had to mention..and pause and take pictures! teehee!!

15 seconds of ryan, troy, chad doing "saturday night fever"-esque dancing is CLASSIC!

the plot thickens. gaby has gotten into the prestigious summer honors program.
her description:

"Graduating from East High School State, New Mexico. Achievements - Valedictorian, Academic Decathlon Team Member. Always top of her class at mix of 4 different high schools. Likes animals" - that last line, com'on could you make gabrielle any more lame?!?!?!??????

"take a breather, lebron!" umm how many of the disney kids caught that reference? haha. love how troy and chad are potential basketball scholarship athletes at a D1 school and they are driving around in the unsafest truck on this planet. it for sure has no safety features, save for the almost deadbeat engine. and digging around with your barehands at a junkyard is a sure-fire way to get tetnus.

"the boys are back..."
omg yay zac and corbin sing together!
haha this is why i love the series - awesome long dance numbers!! i am laughing out loud at some of the moves they had to do, but really they work hard. not a fan of the song as much as others, but the dancing was off the hook!!

i love how fabulously evil they make sharpay. but wth is up with this bag?? me no likely.

OMG NO BITCH DO NOT PUT OFF STANFORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YEAH you make your own decisions TROY! GO TROY GO!

so soulful. <3

haha sorry just couldn't help myself!! HAHA

seeeeee look how beautiful palo alto is!

omg gabriella is not coming back?!?!?! WHAT?! DRAMA!!! no more goodbyeeeees! but that is a shit thing to do over the phone =( poor troy.

"everybody knows you don't bring the girl with you from high school"?!?!? SHUT UP COREY OR CHAD OR WHATEVER THE HELL YOUR NAME IS!!!!!!!!

dood. troy drives FAAAAST.

ooooooooooooo love the play! sharpay goes nuts! standin drama! YAYAYAYAY

"sharpay evans? i believe you're in the wrong costume.." yesssss sharpay RISES AGAIN!

YAY KELSI!!!! YAYAYAY omg and ryan too!!! wooooohoooooooooo

OMG UC berkley!!!!! HOOOOORAY

umm shouldn't vanessa be giving the speech, as she is valedictorian? ha who are we kidding, troy rulez the skool!!

i'm serious. they are geniuses! remember taking the Class Picture at UChicago and trying to stand within the big spray painted numbers that represented our year? and how long it took?? this is incredible, and without lines?? disney is magic!!

the graduation dance scene is fun. and it brings me flashbacks of the final scene of "Grease".

"high school musical. who says we have to let it go?"
exactly. i will never let you go!!!

FANTASTIC!

wait, it's over? gabi really missed the prom?? there is no real prom scene?!?!?! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. i wish there was a college reunion movie in the works =/iv

12 days left!

2009-02-27T19:09:00.005-05:00

Less than 2 weeks at Drexel and there's lots to do. I started making plans to do some of the fun, foodie things in Philly. I've slowly been making arrangements for people to pick up my books, and going through my papers to decide what to take and what to recycle. I need to start packing, get rid of furniture...oh and study for my exams =D

I've tried to pack in the fun with my friends here and probably spending more money than I should. PABC, Shecky's Girls Night Out, quizzo, dinners...it's crazy to think that after this short stint here at Drexel, we're all going to go our separate ways. I know I'll keep in touch with most of them and I'm so freaking excited for our futures!!!

HOORAY! Just DU it gets 3rd place at Bards during ChrisJeu's goodbye evening

Now I'm off to Sang Kee dinner - the best Peking Duck in Philly!!

a question

2009-02-22T02:17:00.003-05:00

"Are you the leader?", the taxi driver asks me after my friends have left his car.

"No...I guess I am just more vocal...", I respond.

yay first flip video!!!

2009-02-22T02:13:00.004-05:00

this was super easy to make, though I don't know why it's not readily coming up as HD...now I have to make inauguration videos and compile my shots from tonight's PABC performances! Great way to procrastinate, haha!!

Starring Tracy and Brenden, shot inside the Stiles Hall Office.

been watching a lot of espn

2009-02-20T22:06:00.004-05:00

3.1 miles in 47:20
ran 1.3
average speed was 3.9

next goal is to be under 45 minutes
i had to walk a lot slower this time because my right ankle/shin area was bothering me =(

Happy Days

2009-02-20T19:46:00.005-05:00

Earlier this week, L sent out an email asking about our "happiest day" and I've been doing some thinking about it. Well, first off, let me just say how much more incredible personal and thoughtful something like is, versus the stupid and annoying "25 things" chain-mail randomness that has attacked Facebook.

L wrote about her wedding weekend..that makes sense and she has all these memories about the weekend that are incredibly detailed. I have a few ideas of some happy "moments" that happened - but can't really decide on the #1 time when I was happiest. Also, I can't really remember anything else about my "happy days" except for the moment that made it incredible or happy.

For example, I was really happy when I got into UChicago, Drexel MSP, and Med school (though not really in that order). I was also really really happy (like so excited I might throw up happy - don't laugh, it's happened before) during the Dolly Parton weekend with JDP in Atlantic City. Valentine's day in 2005 was a really happy moment for me, even though the relationship didn't end well, I can still read the card and remember exactly what I was feeling that day.

But other than those "moments"...I can't remember anything else about those days. Nothing specific. Maybe the answer is that I am generally living happy days. And that is fine by me!

Run like the wind blows...on a not windy day.

2009-02-17T15:07:00.003-05:00

So this weekend I purchased tickets to Detroit for the weekend of April 3rd. S won't be there (skank ho!) but jdp will! wooooot super excited!

This also means that I have 1/2 there for the 5k, now I just have to sign up for the event. I am just a bit worried that I won't actually be able to do it so have been trying to test it out on the treadmill before I do something crazy.

Sunday: 60 minutes on the treadmill, only 1.2 running
Monday: ~ 30 minutes, 1.2 running but I wanted to at least do 3.1
Today: hope to repeat Monday with a bit more running.

And the new ipod is really great - nice to be able to run and not worry about it falling off or skipping. hooray for new toys!

resolved

2009-02-15T00:51:00.002-05:00

well after a few hours, at least i was successful in getting my computer looked at. i think the guy at the genius bar just felt guilty that i had waited another hour to see someone again, that he gave me a new battery (sans tests) for free. whateva, i'll take it!

oh and i'll also take that product red 2gb ipod shuffle! so cute - thanks!!

one of those days...

2009-02-13T14:26:00.004-05:00

where people piss me off, so really i shouldn't meet up with anyone today...

i have just returned from an unproductive errand run where i attempted to do the following:

1. recycle my cans and cardboard at reading terminal. just trying to do my part as a conscious citizen but philadelphia does not make it easy to recycle. sometimes people in my building leave things out on the sidewalk for pick up on thursday morning - like we were instructed to do with recyclables - and they sit there for like 3 days...clearly it's not being picked up. and so i tried to save my stuff and drop it off today and apparently reading terminal no longer recycles these things, only newspapers and bottles. a little part of me died as i had to throw my stuff into a regular trash can.

2. check on my prescription at rite-aid. sometimes philadelphia scares me because it seems like all the workers i run into (gap, banana republic, post office, etc) are so incompetent and unprofessional. seriously, no joke, it's horrible!! i waited in the "consultation" line for awhile before someone noticed me not because they heard me, but because they were going to get their wallet for lunch. yes, i heard all of this, and yet they did not hear me asking for help. the woman checked my account, and asked if i'd ever been to rite-aid before. umm yes, i've gotten my prescription filled here for the last 11 months?!? okay she finds my file but there is no new prescription under my name. shit balls, the office manager has either not gotten my message, not done the refill, or it's been denied, but thanks for not telling me?!?!

3. H&R block for taxes. i need help with my federal taxes because i have a 1099-c form due to some forgiven student loans. thanks for the forgiving, but now i have to claim this saved money as income and turbo tax online refuses to do it because the situation is apparently too complicated. so i have accepted the fact that i will probably have to pay $40 to H&R and then additional taxes to the gov. okay fine, so i get to H&R and wait 10 minutes at the front desk before someone comes out to talk to me. 10 minutes! at the front desk that was unmanned! 1 person came and left during that time, another came in later and stood around with me but he had an appointment.

i am LIVID - how can you run a business like this?!?1 PHILADELPHIA YOU ARE KILLING ME!!! the woman that finally came up was really nice though, i think she saw the frustration in my face, and took my information and said to come back in one hour.

oh yeah #4.
i placed my apartment on craiglist a few weeks ago and got 3 responses to look at it. i emailed them all in a group email (bcc) saying that i would have an open house on sunday - no responses. so yesterday i emailed each one individually to ask if they were still interested and one girl wrote back today "no, but thanks for following up". well i'm glad she at least responses but really, THANK YOU for your time since you're too busy to follow up with me.

sheeeesh i need to calm down, take a breath, and go watch some movies.

it's friday the 13th and people better watch out or i'm going to freaking lose it on them.

training

2009-02-12T15:52:00.003-05:00

So more on the 5k front: I haven't signed up yet because I want to be sure I can actually do 3.1 miles without passing out. But I should sign up soon and buy tickets to go out to Detroit because it'll be more expensive the longer I wait. And also nothing ever gets done until you actually pay the money!

Last week I did 2 days of 1 mile running (at setting 4), 1 mile walking. Yesterday I did less than 1 mile on 4.8 setting, blame it on the lack of sleep.

Today I did 1.2 mi (at 4.8) and 1 mi fast walk. Stairs are not my friends at the moment.

02/09/09

2009-02-09T22:27:00.003-05:00

Buddy sleeps on my dad's luggage

Rest in Peace, Buddy! What a life you had - and the love you gave us was life-changing.

NEW New Year's Resolution

2009-02-08T01:11:00.004-05:00

2009: live life to its fullest potential. say yes. smile, laugh, give, love. eat well. enjoy the present. because i am giving a day of my life for it...also because the next 7 years of my life are going to suuuuuck.

I went to DC for the Inaugural events, stood/crouched outside in the cold for hours with millions of people to watch live events happen on a huge tv screen. The past few weeks, I've had really amazing (expensive) food at some of the greatest restaurants in Philadelphia.

Last week I bought my tickets to Vietnam (April 16 - June 29!!!!) and am officially enrolled in Vietnamese language classes at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City. I have made lots of new facebook "friends" in my quest to start a Viet/English speaking circle.

And today I had this urge/daydream/hallucination about signing up for a marathon. Okay, not really a marathon, more like a 5K run, but com'on - I don't run! I joined the swim team in high school so that I didn't have to run! Why this crazy urge to do something I've never thought about before???

Maybe I'm having a quarter life crisis, and instead of going out and buying a Porsche, I sign up for 5k, skydiving, and plane tickets.

But really, I think it is the impending medical school that has me thinking about how I want to live the next few months of my life. My new Touro-NV facebook "friend" is Class of 2009 and wrote a note about the 101 things that he wished he knew before he started medical school:

91. The best time of your entire medical school career is between the times when you first get your acceptance letter and when you start school.

...well now I know! And 2009 is going to be my YES YEAR!

Respiratory Physiology sucks and blows...

2009-02-04T23:23:00.003-05:00

Oh the witty physio puns!

My eyeballs hurt from staring at the computer and my books. They are tired and strained, but I am physically not tired. And I've not had this feeling before and I'm also pretty sure that I haven't studied enough for Friday's upcoming exam.

Boo to school and studying. I want to drop out right now and create a fun reality tv show, like Tila Tequila, except with style and quality. Is that an oxymoron?!?

Blurg. Back to the books.

stuffed with filet mignon

2009-02-04T00:25:00.009-05:00

(1) Meat from Chima, all-you-can-eat sides, salads, and Brazilian barbecue meats!

I am sad that the end of restaurant week is over. I have become a fan of fine dining, and Le Bec Fin, Roy's Hawaiian Fusion Restaurant, and Chima have not let me down. Fantastic, delicious, heavenly food. Especially tonight at Chima, meat will never be the same again.

We have spent a lot of money though lately, on these excursions. What's up for the rest of February? Post exam happy hour, PABC Charity event, Valentine's Day Girl's Fun Night, Oscar Party, Shecky's Girls Night Out....ohhhhh it's a short but jam-packed month!

(2) amaaaazing desert: Roy’s Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflé. Imagine chocolately heaven melting in your mouth...then add raspberry sauce and ice cream!

URGH

2009-01-28T00:22:00.003-05:00

The neighbors across from me must have burned some plastic or something gross because my apartment - and the whole floor - smells disgusting. Like "this is going to for sure give you cancer" disgusting.

Thanks 402. You finally moved your shoes from the hallway only to replace them with a smell.

..joining the masses..

2009-01-25T11:48:00.003-05:00

I have a youtube channel now! Crazy!!! Feel weirdly connected and "hip"!!

Right now I am posting videos from the Inauguration Weekend...as I watch, edit, and upload them...therefore it's going to take awhile.

http://www.youtube.com/user/avantoai

the "fat" list...

2009-01-25T10:50:00.004-05:00

well i can only claim one city on the healthy fit list (washington dc)... there are more of my cities on the fat list- boooooooo

Top Fattest Cities

1. Miami, FL
2. Oklahoma City, OK
3. San Antonio, TX
4. Las Vegas, NV
5. New York, NY
6. Houston, TX
7. El Paso, TX
8. Jacksonville, FL
9. Charlotte, NC
10. Louisville-Jefferson, KY
11. Memphis, TN
12. Detroit, MI
13. Chicago, IL
14. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
15. San Jose, CA
16. Tulsa, OK
17. Baltimore, MD
18. Columbus, OH
19. Raleigh, NC
20. Philadelphia, PA
21. L.A.-Long Beach, CA
22. Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
23. Indianapolis, IN
24. San Diego, CA
25. Kansas City, MO

to be fair, these cities all have great unhealthy food options. last night, for example, we gorged on diner food in the wee hours of the morning. good luck trying to find a 24hour diner in washington dc!!

"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute...."

2009-01-21T19:46:00.008-05:00

I have spent 2 days waking up in the darkness, bundling up to travel downtown and stand outside in 20 degree weather for hours. The cold weather was doable, dust from the ground we could handle, it was the standing around that makes every bone and muscle in your body ache...

But it was a fantastic event and I am so glad and so grateful that I was able to witness these inaugural events with my friends, family, and people from all over this great country. Truly an incredible moment in my life! I have lots more video and photos to go though, so for now, just this one shot of the inaugural speech by our 44th President of the United States of America, BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA!!!!!!!!!

OBAMANIA!!!!

2009-01-18T06:57:00.002-05:00

Just a few minutes before 7 am and we are ready to head downtown for the Sunday Inaugural Kickoff!! Right now it's only 30 degrees, feels like 22, so not too bad - we've layered up, packed some hand warmers, food, and two decks of cards...Hooray for Inauguration Weekend!!!

a quarter century

2009-01-13T00:13:00.003-05:00

I suppose now I am a year older, a bit wiser. I don't feel that much different that last year - physically I am in the same school, same apartment; mentally and emotionally, I'm probably a bit more drained.

But I guess looking back, I have learned a few things...that great friends are everywhere even when you cannot see them all of the time..I've learned not to settle, to make excuses for people, to respect myself and my opinions....I've learned some biochem, microanatomy, and a smidge of physiology...it's been a fun year but now I am really looking forward to 2009!!

a present to myself

2009-01-07T18:20:00.003-05:00

I have scheduled a payment for my American Express card for this Friday. So on my birthday, #25, I will have no debt! And it was quite a chunk of change because of all those secondaries and expenses for medical school (okay okay and a few bar nights too), but now I am free of it! No debt for the New Year, Hurrah!

I have also received two gift cards for my birthday: Macy's and Lord and Taylor.
Either they know I love to shop or they think I need new clothes...

resolutions

2009-01-03T11:36:00.002-05:00

I spent NYE in NYC, which was awesome/crazy but not completely terrifying and yes, I would do it again. Didn't see the ball drop but saw fireworks in Central Park and rang in the new year with a couple thousand other people on the streets. But it was only doable because I was with someone who completely knew how to get around, what subways and busses the take - that's the key to a successful NYE in NYC!

That night, though, I drank too much and ran around like crazy. Which means getting sick in the morning (x2), and feeling like crap and having body aches all day. Yesterday I had stomach pains all day and I think it has to do with stress. It was the first time I seriously started thinking about the library/classes/New College Building. Boo, I have to find a better way to deal with stress.

Resolutions for 2009:
1. Be productive, not reproductive (thanks jchoi): focus on schoolwork, priorities
2. Make healthy decision: gym, food, alcohol intake
3. Destress. Get out of NCB.
4. Med school: work hard, play hard....resolution #1

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T13:53:00.002-05:00

No set resolutions right now - I'm a procrastinator! - but have a few things in mind that I should work on for the new year. School work, keeping in touch with people, prioritizing, managing money, healthy lifestyle - all those fun things. Just want to be happy, healthy, and ready to take advantage of all the things happening to me in 2009!

Though I feel a quarter-life crises looming.....haha!

a follow up

2008-12-27T23:27:00.002-05:00

re: the holidays...

probably we are, or at least I am, thinking about relationships because I have been asked about it several times over the course of parties and get-togethers during the holiday. Like today, the woman cutting my hair asked if I had a boyfriend.

No wonder we're all crazy at the end of the year!

The Holidays

2008-12-26T22:16:00.003-05:00

I don't know what it is but lately most of my conversations with friends have revolved around relationships, youth/aging, and the ultimate fear of dying alone. Which is probably a fear shared with all of humanity, so why now - the holidays?? Being reminded of everything that we have, what we see around us, and what we ultimately yearn for? I do not watch many commercials at my apt in Philadelphia but since being home I have been inundated with ads reminding me that "There are only two things that stand the test of time - Love and Diamonds".

So blame it on the holiday ads? Or maybe it is the beginning of the new year and reflecting on a year past, one year older....and wondering how different are we really from our 2007-selves??

Something that I wrote to a dear friend regarding relationships - is it really true that a love lost is better than a love never found?

"You have to LIVE LIFE to its fullest and part of that, to me, means trusting in yourself and in LOVE. you can't be afraid to fall in love or fall head over heels because then it won't happen. and so many songs, poems, stories have been written about love so clearly it is a human experience, to lose and to gain. because like many things in life, you cannot protect yourself from everything and that includes matters of the heart. but still you drive cars and fly in planes and cross the street, and so you must venture into these relationships and be a bit fearful, a bit aware, a bit honest, a bit curious and it's ALL WORTH IT. I KNOW IT WILL BE."

Soon I will turn 25. The quarter-life crisis will hit and hopefully I will remember that as many friends in my past gets engaged and has babies, my future is free to be determined by me.

And so I look forward to 2009!