Saigon Morning

So this morning I awoke to the sound of bikebells, motorscooter honking, a jackhammer, and one very aggrivated rooster arguing with what I can only guess was an equally disgruntled cat...but the true identity of the second animal is yet to be confirmed (it could be a small dog with a bark that is curiously similar to an asthmatic goat...oh the mysteries of the East) Another morning in Saigon.I arise and head for a nice cold shower, remembering how I feared them before but relish them now in the muggy 86 degree heat of 6am.

All of Vietnam is up and moving by 6:00 every morning and I feel lazy for having slept until 5:50. I lock the big heavy French doors of my house which open to the alley where a horseshoe of houses cluster together, tucked away from the noise and chaos of the street. I walk out to the main road and across to the park filled with people doing tai chi, jogging (with very short small steps) or playing furious games of badmitton. Man, do these people love their badmitton! Shuttlecocks fly everywhich way over head as I duck and weave my way to the market. This morning I bought 4 large stems of Lillies for $2 and I knew I paid too much as I walked away and listened to the old women chatter and giggle behind me. I don't mind, they like me anyway. Maybe next week I'll get them down to $1.30.

I walk home, it's nearing 7 am now and the sidewalks are full of people huddled on little plastic stools around card tables like the ones I used to set up lemonade stands at the end of my driveway. Everyone is eating their morning pho (pronounced "fuh") which is any combination of sprouts, cilantro, mint, squid, cabbage, rice noodles and several other ingredients yet to be identified, bobbing in a steamy beef broth. This is a standard vietnamese interpretatin of breakfast. And while they do have Kellogs on the shelves of the supermarket, I think its purely for the novelty of Tony the Tiger on the box.

My stardard breakfast comes from a little Vietnamese ba (grandmother) with a crumpled blue hat, which she wears everyday whether or not it matches the rest of her outfit. She stands every morning at the corner of the park on my way to school with her cart and grill, making these hot sweet corn and manioc root pancakes. They lack an American comparison, sort of similar to a hashbrown, but sweet. All I need to say is that they're warm and soft and if comfort and joy had a flavor this would be it.I savor my manioc cake all the rest of the way to the TEFL training center.

That was my morning this morning...it will probably closely resemble my morning tomorrow morning...and next Thursday morning...and the Tuesday after that. And I'm alright with that.

Trial Size

So my first blog- how thrilling.Thus I have chosen to use my favorite purple font!! I'm not sure how this will work yet, posting on a virtual bulletin board, but I feel it will be much better than trying to write mass-emails that just get lost in cyber space half the time on these prosaic computers who seem it have it in for MSN Hotmail. And this way I don't feel like I'm forcing my updates on everyone- you may simply check up on me and my Asian (mis)adventures at your liesure. I have much to come but this little brevity will be soley of wit and nothing of news...check in a bit for more...if this works.