Saigon Living
I feel like I’ve killed this phrase, but time is flying. I’ve spent the last two weeks just enjoying Saigon and going to class and getting into my everyday routine which I have been craving. It’s no secret to people that I had a bit of a rough time adjusting to life abroad which (surprise surprise) is 100% okay. Everyone is secretly having their own struggles, and I’ve been trying my best to be transparent now a days. I feel a lot more okay with saying “I think I’m going to take a nap, but thanks!” to people.
My service learning placement has been amazing. For the program here, you do have to have to complete some hours at a service learning site (or take the internship class) but, honestly it’s something I’ve been craving since I came here. I officially started right after the Tet holiday in late February, and wow it has already improved my time here a million times over. Having something I go to weekly now keeps me sane. I get to get out of the dorm so I don’t keep taking boredom naps, but I also know I’m spending my time here productively within the community. A few of us go to the Green Bamboo Shelter that house boys in Saigon and we teach English. Obviously none of us are qualified teachers, but we are native English speakers which is super helpful for people learning English especially with pronunciation. We have been working on a curriculum to help us guide out study session a little better and to have for Loyola students who follow after our semester, but these sessions are exactly what I needed. We get to talk to these boys who are the cutest, cheekiest, and hilarious kids ever. Its fun to just spend time with them, but also we know we are helping in the ways we can with their English skills. The weekends we have thrown in with a pool day and board games also helps us sneak a few days in just to hang out with the Green Bamboo boys.
Our Bach Khoa partners took us out for dinner the other night and we had quite the meal. First, we had the fluffiest yet crispiest bread I’ve had in Saigon. I know I know Emily shut up about the bread BUT Saigon has the best baguettes (from the long history of awful French occupation). For our actual food we had quail. Yes, the cute lil bird. And it was delicious. In Vietnam they do eat almost everything so after a long deep breath, I ate a quail head. It was an experience. I thought that qualified me as ~fully immersed~ but, no I had another snack to complete my immersive experience in Vietnam. Does everyone know what balut is? If not open a new tab and google it and prepare yourself. So I ate what is the equivalent of quail balut. It took a lot of baguette to wash it down with but, honestly it wasn’t half bad. You’d expect something like that to be disgusting but it was pretty okay with salt and kumquat juice. The only thing I have left to eat is fresh durian to consider myself pretty well versed in the food. I’ve tasted it in a few snacks that have been in grocery stores with less than satisfactory responses, so maybe the fresh fruit will bring me around to it.
Well, next week we head off on our final excursion to northern and central Vietnam. It’s wild how that excursion seemed so far away but, its creeping up on us like our final papers are. I’ve gotten pretty skilled at sleeping on buses and on planes so I say bring it on! I’ll end this entry with the classic food pictures and some food for thought. I think I’ve changed a lot by travelling to Southeast Asia and specifically Vietnam but, for the positive. I’m excited to see my loved ones, but this city has become a lot more than a temporary home for me. So I’m just going to keep making memories and living it to the most of the month and a half I have left.
