last weeks in Vietnam

Right now I'm comfortably sitting at my mom's computer desk in Puerto Rico, enjoying time with her and just getting some Spanish practice in after a year of seldomly using it.

What happened during the last couple of weeks that I was in Vietnam? Here's a brief summary:

1. Teaching. I taught until the 28th of May at VMG (the school I've been working at). After that, I did some private teaching, but not a whole lot.

2. Moving. Because the contract with my school was only until the 30th of May, and because the school was paying for the house I stayed at for the year, it meant that I had to move out on the 30th. Duy's family kindly offered for me to stay at Duy's grandparents' house, but due to some complications (unrelated to Duy or his family) I wasn't able to stay there. So, I had to stay in a hotel for a couple of days (rooms were 250,000 VND a night, or roughly $12.50). Because I was lacking in resources (i.e. money) I had to find a place to stay that was cheaper than that. I ended up renting a room at an older Vietnamese couple's house for $8 a day. It was a pretty good deal, minus the 10 o'clock curfew. Because someone else was renting the room on the 17th of June, but I wasn't leaving Vietnam until the 18th, I had to find a place to stay for one night. Lance and Kristen graciously let me stay at their house for that night, and so I did. Needless to say, it was a pretty hectic time moving my things from place to place and not knowing (at times) where I'd be staying. I'm thankful that G.d worked it all out.

3. Meeting up with people. Because I was going to leave Vietnam for two months, I wanted to spend time with friends and old students before I left. This meant coffee shops, meals and even bowling in one instance. Good times.

4. Moving. Yep. As I told you in a previous post, Audrey and I are getting married this summer, and we plan to return to Vietnam in August. The house we're moving into is where Lance and Kristen are living now (they are returning to the States in July). Being the awesome people they are, they let us put our belongings in their house so that we will have them when we return from the States. So, we had to take taxis to move our things to their house. Some things were more "complicated" to move, such as our motorbikes and bicycles. But, after all the hard work, at least things will already be there when we go back!

5. In general, getting ready to return. I felt some stress making sure I didn't forget to do something before leaving. Now that I'm in Puerto Rico, I feel very relaxed. I'm now looking forward to going back!


In an unrelated note, in case you ever fly to Asia with Asiana airlines (I'm sure other airlines offer something similar) be sure to take the free tour in South Korea on your way back! I had a 9-hour layover in Korea, so I went for it. It was a lot of fun, and you can't beat free! Here's a picture of me in a museum we visited:




Like a boss.


To look at more pictures, please visit my picture site.