A weekend in Hoi An

After an exhausting week last week, I decided I needed a weekend break. DaNang is only about 30 kilometers from Hoi An, a beautiful seaside city. Hoi An is known as the "city of tailors" and I took full advantage of it. Jen, our operations manager and a good friend of mine, and I had a great time. I had shorts, a dress, a skirt and a blouse made for teaching. I had previously had the traditional "Ao Dai" (pronounced like Au Yai, made but it didn't fit very well. I had it adjusted so now it fits really well; I'll wear it to teach sometime this week. On Friday we relaxed on the beach with a cocktail and our books. I'm enjoying Eat, Pray, Love and reflecting on the role this experience is having on my concepts of my life and my role in this world.

Friday night Jen and I went to dinner with another volunteer, Annie, a former employee of the Gates Foundation who quit her job a few months ago and is traveling to Europe, Asia and volunteering in Africa before moving to Vietnam full time sometime next year. It's fun to hear all the stories of the other volunteers both to understand their reasons for volunteering and to see what drew them to Vietnam. A few of the volunteers are like Annie: their parents are from Vietnam and they came here to better understand the people and their culture.

On Saturday, Jen and I met up with Jen's friend Mai, a masseuse and spa manager in Hoi An. Mai is 37 weeks pregnant with her first child, a girl.

In the Vietnamese calendar, this year is the year of the Tiger. This does not bode well for girls born this year. Apparently parents do not want girls born in the year of the Tiger because they are strong-willed, too independent and it is supposedly very difficult to find husbands for girls born in the year of the Tiger. I'm surprised I'm not year of the Tiger because I am very independent! The government promised a cash handout to parents who keep their female babies born this year. Jen is concerned that the orphanages may see an increase in female babies this year. I really hope not. Many couples marry because the woman is pregnant. Any discussion of birth control is taboo here and condoms are considered an expensive luxury item. Sex education would be a great thing for this country.


Mai arranged amazing massages for Jen and I. Normally they would cost $28 or more for an hour but we got them for $10. Mine definitely ranked in the top 3 best massages. Mai invited us for dinner at her house that night. She is an amazing chef! We had shrimp (eaten with the shell; something I had never done before), little fish, a bigger fish, rice, and greens cooked with garlic. We ate on a mat on the floor and drank LaRue beer, toasting frequently. Mai's father and brother were both there and her father and husband joined us for dinner. The night before we went to a restaurant called Mango, which is the "shi shi" place to eat in Hoi An. My dinner was okay but the prices were closer to western prices ($8+ for entrees) and mine dish was rather bland. The dinner we enjoyed at Mai's house was definitely one of the best meals I've had in Vietnam.

Our hotel had a pool, and I went for a really wonderful swim on Saturday afternoon. I had forgotten how much I love to swim. Sunday we went to the tailor to make sure everything fit and I had a few things altered. The tailor was even able to copy my favorite pair of shorts for $10! Afterward we went to the beach and read our books while sipping delicious margaritas and mojitos. Unfortunately I didn't put on enough sunscreen and got quite the sun burn. Lots of aloe vera for me! We met up with two of Jen's friends at the beach. Liz is 25, from South Carolina and teaches at the Singapore school down the street from my house. I'm going to go visit her and start making connections. Never know what the future holds! Liz's boyfriend is from Bristol in England and works for ELI: English Language Institute near DaNang University. I'm also meeting with the director of ELI on Wednesday to learn more about what they do. I'm learning that my master's degree in education will open quite a few doors for me if I want to teach English here for a salary at some point.

Last week, I taught my most advanced group of students, Speaking 4. This class is taught by Ms. Yen (pronounced like Ien) and includes about 15, 22-year-old girls. They are currently doing presentations on controversial subjects and they have to make persuasive arguments for or against something. This group chose same-sex marriage. It was quite the showdown. There were several students who adamantly opposed and several who even more adamantly supported same sex marriage. I had to lecture the students several times about respecting each others' opinions. It almost turned into a knocked-down drag out fight. The supporters said that everyone should have the opportunity to marry and be happy. They also said that not everyone needs to have children in a marriage. The opponents said it was unnatural, that if same sex marriage was allowed then everyone would want to be gay (I didn't quite understand this argument), and that they wouldn't want their families to be gay. It seems this country is as divided as America on this topic.

I'm looking out my window at the thunder and lightening. It's 4:45 p.m. on Monday and the rain season has arrived. The rain is a welcome respite from the heat. Hope you are all doing well.