Today is my last real “vacation” day. I never thought I could be so content doing nothing, but it’s been pretty cool. Every morning I wake up on the second floor of my hotel, cursing the slats in the door that let morning sounds drift up from the ground floor. I go downstairs and Tuyet (we had been calling her Twit, but it’s really more like Doo-wit, meaning snow) makes me breakfast. I realized today that she has never had a day off. I mentioned this to her, and she said, “yes I work full time,” and then smiled at me. Poor thing rides a bicycle 7 kilometers to work every morning, and spends every afternoon at cooking school. She has gotten in the habit of calling me ‘sister’ and every day we have language lessons at my table. By the time I've finished my second cup, there are yellow post its scattered all over the table scribbled with english and vietnamese. Vietnamese sure have a hard time with the ‘shhh’ sound. Sometimes I have to remind her that she should take care of the people waiting for their first cup of coffee before we continue. Today I learned, “I love you very much,” which sends the bell boys peeling out of the room giggling with their hands over their mouths. I learned a phrase about how the vietnamese girls like to come out at night (to kiss) from the front desk girl, and after repeating it back to her, she said, “Madame I think you are very funny.” Well you’re the one who taught it to me.
Tomorrow is not only Thanksgiving, it is also moving day! Have no idea how the apartment turned out, so I’m very excited to see my new digs. I have reservations at a restaurant with my American friends. For $30 we can enjoy turkey day from far away. This is an outrageous dinner bill by vietnamese standards. I can get a delicious meal for three to four dollars, and we are talking more than one course. But a small price to pay for a taste of home.
Friday morning will be my official first day of work, though I’ve been doing a fair amount to get the clinic going. Unfortunately, opening day keeps getting pushed back. If I wasn’t enjoying myself doing nothing so much, I’d probably be a little peeved. As of right now, we have two chiropractors come opening day. The clinic will be open 7 days a week, 9am to 9pm. Looks like I’ll be making my overtime. I’ve been put in charge of recruitment of new chiropractors. This is really fun and I’m enjoying the process. If only I had someone like me to answer my questions before I came. Blind leaps. They make life more interesting. I really do need to get some people over here though, to avoid burnout. I went to meet with the boss the other day, and she had a makeshift round table going with about thirty staff members. I was as I usually am, sorta hippied out in flip flops, and I can only imagine what they were thinking. I said as best as I could in Vietnamese, "I don't speak Vietnamese." Then a little talking in English. Then the boss said in English very sternly, "who can understand her!?" Doesn't seem like anyone could. I start training them on Friday, and who knows how long it will take for my message to come across. I think I'll start out with the Harvey Lillard story, back in 1895 . . .
For not knowing who I was getting involved with, it sure has been a pleasant surprise. My boss has a picture of her and John McCain on her desk, and she has been on the cover of the vietnamese equivalent of Times magazine. Her brother is an artist who has sold his works to the Bills, (clinton and gates), as well as various royalty, etc etc. They take good care of me. I feel like there is a whole team of people designed to make my life go smooth. They pop up with dinner invites and shopping outings and I am forever grateful. There is a pretty large expat community here, and most days I am meeting up with someone new, gently putting my feelers out into this new life.
That’s the summary for now. Pictures to follow of the apartment!
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