14/07/2011 Bikes, Wild Nights and Rice

I spent quite alot of time on Tuesday at the jazz cafe, writing and reading. Then in the evening Mr. Lin came by  the guesthouse to take me to buy a bicycle. I bought a nice used one that is a pinkish colour. It took a few wobbly minutes and a push from Mr. Lin but soon I was riding a bicycle again. I haven't been on one (except indoor stationary bikes) since I was little and was convinced I forgot how to ride one. It was scary though. He rode along side me on his motor bike and we wouild both on the highway. In Vietnam it is normal for regular bicycles to be on the road, the middle of the rode, with the motorbikes. You have to have a thick skin and not freak out at the constant usual beeping horns or the motorbikes that zip past and around you. Soon we were at the night markets where Nick and the other volunteers were at. We ate dinner and then went to the jazz bar to play cards. Nick rode my bike home and I was the passenger on the back of it.

The next morning I decided to set off on an adventure on my bike. I rode past the pogada and said hello to the giant Budda. I continued on and went down numerous side streets. At one point I had created my own parade. A bunch of children on their bikes began to follow me. When I got back into My Tho, I was a bit lost and rode around for a while. It turned out that I rode past the guesthouse several times. I can't recognise it without the Pha ladies.

Yes, tragic news! The Pha ladies, or the noodle cart ladies, that are always outside of our guesthouse and have 40 cent soup..and rescued us from being locked in our house last week, are gone! They haven't been in front of our house for several days now! We are quite worried about them.

I was so hot when I got back from my bike ride. The rest of the day was spent on the internet planning the next weekend trip and inside the aircon watching sex and the city with the girls.

Everyone went to get pork and rice for dinner but I went to get vegetarian soup. It was so nice. The ladies put the fan right in front of my face and I just smiled and thought about how nice it is to do things on your own sometimes. If I followed everyone else all of the time then I would never get to have the amazing experiences that I have. If i ate with the others I would just be eating rice and the can of tuna that I brought along instead of the delicious soup I was eating. I think about it sometimes and see how easy it is for others to just wait around or just follow other people. How is that living though. In life, if we step out of our comfort zone and take the reigns, amazing things are bond to happen. I am so happy that I am independent and force myself to do things on my own, especially this trip. Don't get me wrong it's nice to be with people as well but again, there needs to be balance.

I was quite overheated that night as I taught. It was a combination of heat exhaustion and unexpected sunburn. Nevertheless, it was another great class. I had an older class. Somehow we got on the subject of talents and one of the boys sang "I'm Yours-Jason Mraz" and it sent chills down my spine he was that good. He named so many instruments he could play as well. Yet, he doesn't want to pursue that talent.

That night, we all decided to go out the Galaxy. It was the French boys last night and it suddenly turned into a rage fest. We went to the supermarket and stocked up on pre drinks. A bottle of vodka and two bottles of gin, and two bottles of pepsi and two bottles of orange juice = $15 total. An amount that I accidently spent on a phone number when I was trying to buy a phone card that should have costed me $2.50. It's hard when everyone only speaks Vietnamese sometimes! I have a very expensive phone number.

We went back the guesthouse and played card games. All of us volunteers were there, Nick, Mr. Lin, a new teacher who is Vietnamese but grew up in California, Bob the builder and Jeremy. Oh it was a ridiculous night. Considering we all haven't drank in ages we all got quite tipsy quite quickly. Bob the builder was running around laughing and being his smiley self. Mr. Lin was riding his motorbike around in the house. Will was dancing on the table wearing an apron. Then we went out the a club called Galaxy. For a Tuesday night it was quite crowded. We all got on the stage and started dancing. The bouncers were ridiculously friendly and were trying to dance with the girls and were asking us for kisses which we politely ignored. They eventually danced with us too. Someone ordered shots of whiskey. Bad idea. The pretty French boys got the idea that it was the last night so they were going to pursue us. Alex, tried very hard with me and I said no numerous times. I wasn't stupid. Will became MC Will and took over the microphone and was screaming "all the europeans raise your hands" "the Aussies raise your hands" "All the the americans with confused nationalities aka Lindsay and Leigh raise your hands" ( Leigh is American but lives in London and I am American and live in Australia) and he just went crazy screaming into that thing. It was hilarious. Jeremy was at a table surrounded by Vietnamese women, exchanging numbers. Hmmm. Nick's shirt was covered in drinks. When we got back to the house, the French boys were still trying very hard to pursue Leigh and I. Unfortunately for them, they didn't win. I passed out asleep, as Alex was running around naked through the house. Glad I missed that but the poor Aussie boys didn't.

The next day was a rough one. I remembered why I don't drink anymore as I was stuck in bed dieing. The boys didn't go to building. The girls didn't teach. It rained alot. I was glad for that because I felt bad missing a day in My Tho. However, the night before was so epic that it was worth feeling like death all day.

This morning I felt heaps better and went on another bike ride. I went past the pogada and keep going straight for a long time. Eventually i was riding through little villages and really green and pretty scenery. I thought to myself how amazing it would be if I saw a rice paddy. Two minutes later I rode past one. It was amazing. The green field was shimmering in the sun as women with rice hats were going about their daily picking. I kept riding on with the biggest smile on my face as I heard "Hello! Hello!" in the background.