Apartment hunting

Dear internet,

I've been wanting to write about this for so long, and there just hasn't been time.  But now, friends and family, I will tell you the story of the apartment hunt.

Actually, I will tell you specifically about one apartment I saw during my apartment hunt.  And then I’ll tell you about my new place and how I’m kinda strugglin but I think it’ll all work out.  So.  My first day here, I cabbed down to district 7 (HCMC is split into named and numbered districts; d7 is south of the city center) to see some places.  Most of them were only ok, but one was incredibly memorable, and not for a good reason. 

The space itself was kind of extraordinary – there were two levels, but the living room ceiling went all the way up to the top of the second level.  I don’t know if I’m explaining this well, but basically the apartment felt really nice and spacious.  But there were just a few key issues that were completely baffling.  First of all, the man living there was existing in complete squalor.  I felt as though I’d walked into an episode of hoarders.  And then… every spare inch of surface space was covered with Vietnam War-era model planes, ships and tanks.  Actually, here in Vietnam, I should say American War-era.  There must have been hundreds of them.  Potentially thousands.  And they covered everything.  And then there were the boxes.  The boxes that each model came in were stacked against the wall with the tops facing out, so it was like some kind of bizarre wallpaper. They covered every bit of wall space.  And then there were more boxes and models stacked in all of the closets and cabinets.  They were everywhere. 

But I was still like, well, you know, the space is super huge and obviously he’ll move all this stuff out, so it’s not so bad, right?  And then I saw the bathroom.  Y’all, I get a little lazy about cleaning the bathroom sometimes, I’ll admit it.  But the level of filth that had accumulated in this bathroom meant that it hadn't been cleaned in at least 5-10 years.  There’s no possible way a single person could have made a bathroom that filthy by themselves in a short period of time.  It was truly horrifying.  The real estate broker said, “Oh don’t worry, we’ll clean it before you move in” and I was like, “That bathroom basically needs to be gutted at this point.  No amount of bleach will get through that centuries-old grime.”  I wish I’d taken a picture, but the guy was standing right there and I didn't want to be awkward (I was already awkward enough about all of the planes).  And then, as we walked out of the apartment, the broker turns to me and says, “It’s like that because he lives by himself with no woman.”  Ah, gender roles (as I roll my eyes so hard I give myself a headache).  For real dude, you can get someone to clean your whole place for less than USD 10.  There is no excuse.

I ended up finding a place very close to that one.  It’s ok – two bedrooms, nice open living room area.  But there was definitely a mold situation in the bathroom that no amount of arguing with the broker about owner responsibility has solved.  Luckily, I now have a lovely cleaning lady named Ms. Song who comes on Thursdays.  I feel obscenely spoiled and enormously grateful.  She actually comes from a pretty cool organization – it’s called Dependable Progress, and one of the guys at school told me about it.  They work with women between the ages of 18-34 (Or 35? I can’t remember.) who have a 12^th grade education or less and who are making less than VND 1 million per month (that’s basically USD 50 – think about it).  The women go through training to become nannies or housekeepers, and then the organization screens clients to make sure the women will be in a legit working environment.  It's a pretty cool set up.  Here's a pic of the front entrance area at my new place:

Yes, there were still Christmas decorations up well into January.  Yes, some places actually still have them up now.  I particularly like all of the snowflake window decals.  It's the warmest winter wonderland ever.

In other news (and I promise I’m almost finished!), I was cast in a play!!! Hooray!  Two guys at school are in an acting group here called the Saigon Players, and they had a workshop and auditions last weekend for Lysistrata (only the most HILARIOUS Greek comedy that ever was).  I found out Wednesday that I was cast as Myrrhina.  Rehearsals start this weekend.  Super excited! :)

Now I’m off to a beer tasting at the Pasteur Street Brewing Company, Saigon’s new, trendy microbrewery (and one of the only places in the city where you can get an IPA)!  Hope y’all are well.

Love,
Elizabeth

A Saigon "lune de miel"

Dear internet,

Well, I’ve officially been here for two weeks and am fully in the honeymoon phase of my relationship with Saigon. Here’s the recap:

My head of school and another high school teacher met me at the airport with huge smiles and a bag of snacks. I checked into a tiny hotel in district 1 called the Lan Lan 2. Pros: clean, free wifi, free breakfast, housekeeping staff were super nice, very central location, USD 35/night. Cons: a little noisy, my room had no windows (seriously), the front desk staff were rude to my friend when she came to the hotel to meet me. I stayed there for a week and then moved to the beautiful Renaissance Riverside (HUGE thanks to Katie for this), also in district 1, for the second week.

While in the Lan Lan, I met a lovely group of Brits who were on holiday. This was great because I really hit it off with one of the guys in the group, and we went sight-seeing together one morning.  It meant I had people to spend New Years Eve with. They were really interesting – three of the guys had traveled overground from the UK to Saigon, which basically means they road-tripped/took trains and buses through Eastern Europe and central Asia all the way over to Beijing, then south from there all the way to HCMC. They had been traveling for six months when I met them. Very interesting stories to tell :)

Here's the fabulous NYE concert we went to near the fabulously over-the-top Bitexco financial tower:

It was pretty flippin spectacular.  Among other things, there was a Western guy singing very heart-felt songs in Vietnamese.  I don't know what the happy family background footage was about.  I'll try to find a video if I can.

I also had the enormous pleasure of meeting a woman my first week here who is a cousin of my dad and Katie’s neighbor in Atlanta. She’s a complete delight. She helped me out getting a phone when I first got here, and took me to dinner at her brother’s house where we had one of the most satisfying meals I have ever eaten (more on that below). I’m so excited to know her and to feel like I have a friend here already.

Speaking of friends, some of the teachers from my school have been absolutely fantastic. Everyone has been incredibly welcoming, but there are several whom I feel I could connect with very easily. It’s so different from moving to Paris. Obviously creating meaningful friendships takes time and effort, but in Paris I felt like I hardly even had the opportunity to meet people, especially early on. If I hadn’t met Taryn and Kay (if y’all are reading this, love you!) I might not have made it through the year.

So… onto the thing y’all know I most love to write about: Food! With a few exceptions, I’ve subsisted almost entirely on street food since I got here, and I’m super happy about it. Here are some things I’ve had that are completely flipping delicious:

• Bún bò Huế - a spicy soup with beef (and other meat, usually pork-related), noodles, lemongrass (and other herbs). It’s super fragrant with a really nice kick that kind of clears your head and makes you crave more. This what I had at my friend’s brother’s house. I was pretty awkward and got broth all over the table, but they were really nice and told me I was good with chopsticks, anyway.
• Phở bò – another beef noodle soup, super popular both in and outside of Vietnam. It’s super comforting and easy to eat, almost like a Vietnamese version of chicken noodle, except tastier.
• Bánh mì – sandwich on a small baguette, usually with some kind of meat (often pâté) and pickled vegetables. A lady outside of school makes hers with a fried egg instead of meat – best breakfast ever, and only 10,000 VND, which is about 50 cents.  
• Some kind of dish with skinny noodles and squid and pork rinds and dumplings in spicy broth. Don’t know what the name is, but it’s glorious.
• Clams and snails steamed in broth that’s flavored with lemongrass (YUM)
• All kinds of fresh juices and smoothies. I had a really nice cucumber juice last night, and a smoothie with mango and about 5 other fruits I’ve never seen this morning.  
• Fruit in general.  There's a fruit street vendor near school.  You go up and point to what you want and she cuts it up right there and puts it in a bag for you.  It also comes with this spicy salt stuff on the side that is pretty fantastic.  Sometimes I eat like a pound of fruit for lunch.  Here's a picture of some lovely fresh mango and pineapple

• Cà phê đá - sweetened iced coffee that is STRONG and earthy and delicious. A lot of people drink cà phê sữa đá, which is the same thing but with condensed milk, but it’s perfectly delicious sans dairy. Right outside of school, I can get this for 7,000 VND, which means that I’m getting a full breakfast of cà phê and bánh mì for less than a dollar. Here's a yummy pic:

I’ve also had some great Thai and Indian food, but we’re focusing on Vietnamese dishes because, you know, I’m in Vietnam. There are also a ton of pastry shops with things like croissants and macarons, which means I’m in serious trouble and probably need to find a running group to join immediately.

Jeez louise this is getting long… I want to write about joutfits and about my apartment search (I have some GREAT stories, y’all) but those may have to wait till next time.

I just want to close with a little shout-out to some of my DC friends – Amanda gave me a mission when I moved here, and that mission was to get someplace in Saigon to do midnight showings of The Room (a.k.a. the worst movie ever made, and the only DVD I brought with me to Vietnam). I am happy to report that, not only have I found another teacher who knows and loves The Room, I have also convinced several other teachers that we need to have a full-participation Room screening at my new apartment. And I heard from someone at school that there’s a chance I might actually be able to get a bar here to screen it at some point. Just saying.

Miss you guys lots and wish you were here to eat your way through Saigon with me :)

Love,
Elizabeth