3 Weeks and Not Counting!

I promised to write a blog to keep track of my sabbatical year in Vietnam and to keep my friends and family informed. Now that we are “settled” in our first-floor apartment on the Saigon River, and I have a work schedule set for the next week, I am ready to blog.

The first weekend in HCMC we stayed in a lovely little District 1 hotel– The Saigon River Boutique. Our friend, Helena Spector (who lives here each year for four months), met us at the airport and spent the weekend showing us around this energetic city. We had lovely breakfasts at the rooftop of the hotel, and were treated to the AO cirque performance at Saigon’s opera house.

We moved to the Aurora Hotel in District 2 so that we could be close to Scout’s international school (ISHCMC). Again, daily wonderful breakfasts and this place has a rooftop pool!

Scout has been adjusting to both a middle school, an IB program, and Vietnam (and new home). That’s a lot for anyone. She misses her friends more than anything else. Already she has 4+ new friends (from Malaysia, Saigon, Belgium…).

The food is truly amazing. And cheap by American standards. There is so much to say about it that I will not attempt it at this moment. Until we moved into our apartment this past weekend, we ate out. As lovely as the food is–and cheap–we appreciate feeding ourselves again while sitting around our table watching boats pass by on the Saigon River.

My work at SEAMEO RETRAC is progressing well. I am learning about a well-run English language program that invests in professional development for its teachers. More on that later, too.

I will add to this blog later this weekend. We need to head to D1 so that I can observe an upper-intermediate language class for teens while Scout shops for bedroom decor!

My favorite dish:

fried silken tofu with “green herb” (mint?) dip!