A little catch up

It's been ages since I've updated.  Just a little recap.

I spent my summer back home in America.  Most of the time was in Nevada with the folks and my sister Janette.  Then I got to have a little trip down to Arizona to see most of my friends and family.  It was wonderful and I felt like I got the recharge that was sorely needed.  Then fast forward through the summer, and here I am back in Vietnam.  Shocker!

I truly never thought I'd be here for this long.  Now I'm embarking on my third year, in a country that I thought I wouldn't last 9 months.  But after a while, I suppose it grew on me.  Now, don't get me wrong, there are still daily frustrations.  Well at least when I decide to step out of my front door.  At least once per week I have, as Jon has titled it, an "I hate Vietnam day".  On those days I hibernate inside my princess palace (the corner nook on the sofa where everything I need is within reach).  If I have to step outside my door, it's only to set the trash by the elevator for the maid or service person to take out for me.  Hey don't judge, it's what they've told us to do and we pay plenty of money to live in a serviced apartment building!!!  ...See, luxuries like these are the kinds of things about living in Vietnam that have grown on me. :-)

Oh speaking of, or well, writing of, we've moved back into our old apartment building.  We had every intention of finding something closer to the city center so we'd be closer to Jon's work and a bit more nightlife.  The problem was, that our apartment building is fantastic and nothing else we looked at could compare.  Not for the money and the convenience.  It's important to us to have things like, staff that speak English, and maids that do a great job and won't steal from you.  Or 24/7 security, and a gym.   Management that will actually register you with the government, so that when you need a police clearance or paperwork, you can actually get it.  They pay a foreigner tax to rent to us  of course that gets passed on to us.  But some landlords charge the foreigner the extra money and then just pocket it.  Leaving the foreigner in a tight spot when they go to leave the country after a year, and have no evidence of where they have lived.  The government will back charge you about $50 per month and won't let you leave until you pay it.  Then the landlord will conveniently pretend they have never met you.  It's your word against theirs.  The only thing you can do to prevent this is get a residence card, which you can't get unless you have a landlord that has registered you.  See the vicious circle?

So, additional bonus of going back to our old place.  We have our favorite supermarket nearby.  Yes, of course there are plenty of supermarkets in HCMC but there are only 3 Big C's.  The other 2 are in areas that we wouldn't live, and if you've ever had to shop at CO-OP mart, you would understand.  Shopping is a very frustrating thing in Vietnam.  The parking, the lines, and the general clusterf**ck that is a Vietnamese supermarket.  The have to stock shelves all day long.  I've never seen less than 200 shoppers at a given time and if you go at peak hours there are likely 500 - 700 in the store.  Everyone pushing and grabbing, with every line 10 people deep.  It's like the day before Thanksgiving but everyday.

Being at home this past summer, and going shopping was such a surreal experience.  First of all, the amount of selection was almost overwhelming.  I had gotten used to only having 1 maybe 2 items to choose from.  See, in Vietnam it's either the Vietnamese brands, Korean, Chinese or a randoms.  Like French or Australian.  Of these choices through trial and error we've figured out the ones that we like, can afford or simply can tolerate.  So shopping doesn't have much variety, except in the import shops, where Philly cream cheese is $6 for a rectangle.

Then I was suddenly home.  Home!  There were so many things to choose from.  After 2 years of making everything from scratch, it was laughable to see 20 different bottle of ranch.  Or things like seasoned cream cheese to add to your meal.  Um hello, don't we all have some mixed Italian herbs in the cupboard somewhere?  The problems were the prices.  One shopping trip:  2 bags $50!  $50 is a 10 day shop for me in Vietnam.  Seriously, about 10 days.  That's meat, produce, dry goods, drinks, dairy, and random extras.  Then Jon and I split that bill.  So being home, yes loved the choices, too bad I couldn't bear to part with that much money.

I thought I would come back here with a suitcase full of things that I would want for the next year.  Instead I bought clothes, delicates (impossible to replace over here),  skin care products, make up (cheaper in the States),  hot sauce and Necco wafers (my favorite candy).  I figured if I really needed more, I could get it here or make it from scratch.  And so far so good, it seems.

So one month down, only 11 more to go!  Seriously though, this is the last year!  After this perhaps Japan, or England or America.  We haven't got it planned that far, but that ok, life's about now, for now.


Love ya,
Linda