Making my way to Mekong Delta

Notice the eyes, the boat can not see without them!

28 May, 2008

I went to Mekong Delta and started to take pictures as soon as I got on a boat, and my camera died! But I took maybe 10 mins of pictures! What a simple way to live there. Just fish or grow rice! You can take your pick. people sleeping in hammics!~

I made friends with a french women, she took lots of pictures of me, but she still hasnt mailed them to me!

Maybe a place to retire?

j/k

there is literally nothing there, except wonderful jungle, palm trees, tons of little islands and canals or a quite simple live.

Finding a apartment in HCMC

Hi!

I am getting at home here, and am excitied for my apartment that I found with the help of Thuy Anh. We looked at many places, all over the city. I hope it works out, It's on a very busy tiny street in district one, where my work, Head Office of Holcim Vietnam is at. District one is in the heart of the city, where most foreigners stay, and where the best english is spoken. There are tons of little places to eat there on the little street, and its a very expensive location for HCMC standards. A small family owns this "mini hotel". Its really just a tiny apartment building. I think there is one or two rooms for rent, Im not sure. But the family will take care of my clothes and everything else. THE BEST PART is that right across the hall from my room is a huge balcony by HCMC standards, maybe 20' by 20 feet big. The older women who owns the place has hundreds of plants in all kinds of pots all over the place! bonsai, orchids, all kinds! She told me for a long time, "I have no room to rent, no room! no room!" Then she invited us inside for a little talk. She said in vietnamese to Anh, "i will help you find you find a place here on this street with someone else." We went up to the balcony to so she could show us some other places by pointing, but when I started to ask questions about the plants she began to get interested. She showed me up a little star case that leads to the top of the building from the balcony, up here she had many more plants! After quite a long time, she said she would call the other couple who would be staying in that room, and them them she liked me more. She said "I will ask them to find a another place, then see what they say" "After i will call you and maybe confirm with you" but then........"its ok, I confirm now!" but I will call you tomorrow!" For some reason this made Anh laugh a lot! I'm not sure why. Its nine in the morning here. I hope she calls at noon like she said. Then Anh and her best friend Anh took me and jennifer the other intern to a pizza place. Tomorrow the Project manager, a swiss, will go with me and jennifer and the rest of the Talent project team, including some very fun coworkers I had lunch with yesterday, I ate cuddle fish and HOT HOT HOT chilli peppers with rice to go dancing at 6pm(hahha) and then after for coffee! And before in the afternoon I will have coffee with some others after helping the HR director Anh Hoa read business magazines, and to give her comments about her presentation to all HR employees on tuesday. How to make it more Western! ahah. But I have to skip bad mitten with Thuy Anh and Heru(from Indonesia, another foreigner here). Im sad about that!

I might also try to visit the Mekong Delta this sunday, but thats not much time for that.

I have seen all the art museums here in the city. They are not quite what London or Paris had, but the ancient wood carvings are really interesting. The painting is watched closely by the government so the expressions are almost always peaceful, even though its nor always the general thoughts around here.

Tonight because its friday, and jennifer teaches english here, she doesnt have to work with the same things or times as me, and even though i have to work tommow, you and i both know it will be very easy, with Anh Hoa, the HR director, so are going out tonight! The city doesnt seem to stay up very late anyways, only for coffee after a while.

Some travels into the far edges of the city, and creeping country

Wednesday, May 21st

I've been just jotting some things down while traveling in shuttle buses....these are some of my thoughts:

TWO SIDES to a VIETNAM; this ones a good one.......

WECOME TO A WORLD OF:

Sporadic design
Lotus Heaven
Smiles that grow larger than the faces they inhabit
Water----raining everyday, rivers that seem to have to much water, water to grow rice,
Freighters, and make believe/one person watercraft float side by side down slow wide rivers. How can you tell the time here? Is it by the number of fish you catch?
Laughter---from the mouths of a family together, laughter from the children in the streets
A different rhythm leaks from the city, one hard to organize into times
Trees planted by the French are large and towering over this ever rising city
Thick cut thatch roofs
An AmAziNg tangled, interwoven, geometric, above-ground tunnel work of electric cables line every street and alley.
Colorful people wearing /red/green/pink/white/red/red/red/red
Brooms are made of twigs
The human factor is very present
Moving from Ho Chi Minh City to rice fields is more than a human pressure change
What’s infrastructure? I have forgotten it here.
Where bonsai find a home under palm trees!
Where incense burn where they can burn, stuck into license plates, and shoved into places you would throw a cigarette but
Where temples are the norm, where religion is not group orientated
Where three stories is comfortable, but 60 story buildings poke up from a city map like dots on a scatter plot
Where the people may not understand why some of my friends might study art, but are a more colorful artistic people by nature.

Free day, and day of rest before the start of the week!

Sunday, May 11th.

Today I took the day off completely. Actually I got a hair cut. Not to good. Its kind of hard to know where to go. hahaha. but it is sweltering hot here, so shorter hair is not a bad thing. I walked around the streets today. In this area of town, the very center of the city, is where the "foriegners" stay in the nice hotels not to far from anything. The center square of the city is right out in front of my hotel. Its really funny, the park is full of really old people in the morning swinging their arms and stretching in all wierd directions! They get there at five in the morning before the traffic, and some were still there when I had my breakfast this morning. The old people also swing their legs one by one over the railing around the lake to stretch. Its really hilarious! This city must feel odd to them, as it has changed so much in their life time. To think these older people learned french because it was a colony, then they had to learn english starting in the 60's. The older people are so much different then the rest of the people in the city. They have a certain calmness that leaks through every bone in their body. When they smile, the wrinkles pile up on eachother like I've never seen. They have a long story, even a new person to the city can tell. I crossed the street, today, because I had no friends with a motor bike, and no one to take me anywhere! It was scary, so I called a man begging me to buy something and went with him across the street. WOW! The first time was crazy, motor bikes flying by only inches away, honking their horns every time. People honk as they cross intersections, you dont look anywhere but infront of you, and honk so nobody hits you! The food is overwelmingly great! its odd and tasty all in the same bite. They use a special fish sauce in almost everything, at first its all you can taste, but then after a couple times, the numerious other flavors make it so good! Some restaurants are so crowded you literally jump onto little plastic seats trying to find spots. Its like eating at the "kids table" times ten! hahha. This city has more people than I could have ever dreamt of! Walking in the street, I saw a woman sleeping in a hammic just inches away from fast traffic, she was sleeping, but when I walked by, one eye opened as she noticed i was looking at her! These people have a sixth sense living in this scramble! But over all I'm living it up in the hotel because i know this will end soon, and I'll be in for a shock! A real shock, about what life is like here, with nothing! The garbage is put in hand woven wicker baskets on the side of the streets, and the garbage men are literally covered in mud because they carry the baskets on their sholders to the dumpster. It rains here, in down pouring sheets, but the biggest question is how do the people stay so nice and polite in this city?

First day at work (HolcimVN)

Saturday, May 10th,



My boss and "buddy", Tran Thi My Hanh, or Hanh, from work came to pick me up from the hotel for my first day of work. She is so funny! She looks around really fast and is a friendly young, little lady! She told me "ok, hi" "are you Ki"? We quickly looked at a map of the roads in the city as she wanted to find her way to work. It was 8:30 so rush hour traffic was over. BELIEVE me, motor bike wheel to motor bike wheel over here! She handed me a helmet and we where on the street in no time! She is so nice, asking me questions as we weeved through all the traffic, darting in and out and sometimes slamming on the breaks! She seemed like such a lo-key women. Hahaha. I guess not! I was introduced to all human resources employees, the director, the leadleaders, and all the other specialists! Very attentive and wonderful people. They took me around, but then decided that today was not a good day for me. I was tired and they would finish on monday. I will be traveling with my team on monday to one of the cement plants in the country. They informed me they would take me too all the plants (4) in the country soon enough. The whole office at one point will move to another location they are building right now! Also, the office is wonderful! I am not qualified for this, but im here! The breakfast on top of the hotel was also delicious! Hanh picked me up with her boyfriend at seven after I slept for a couple hours. We had dinner somewhere. It was behind a building, you can't see it from the road, but hundreds of people were there. The food was awesome! Then we exchanged money, got some coffee, and later bought a alarm clock. But I can't figure it out! I think it;s a dud. The power in the store went out while we were paying for it, no one was surprised but me!

First Arrival

Friday, May 9th:

My flights were enjoyable. I slept from Seattle to Tokyo, and chatted with a nice women who fled on a boat from Ho Chi Minh City(HCMC) in 1975 when things turned ugly here. She gave me her number if I had any questions. Her name was Ahn. A nice man picked me up from the airport when I arrived and took me to my hotel. The ride was interesting. This city is overcrowded and a mess! But somehow its not appaling or shocking. They make it feel welcoming and every street is something new. I can already tell, there are no rules! My team leader(boss) will be picking me up tomorrow to take me to the companies "induction". Im excitied. for now sleep..........Ohh my room is way over the top at the liberty 4 hotel. HolcimVN did not have to do this.

http://www.libertyhotels.com.vn/content.php?type=0&member_id=4