EXPECTATIONS

Well, I guess it's time to update you all on some news that is really making a significant impact on the way I am experiencing life in Vietnam.

Before I begin, we need to first go back 4 years ago. This was when I first came to Vietnam. It was a trip with my Mum and whilst I was here I met with a few agencies. One of them was run by a great woman who is very straight down the line. She told me then that although she thought my skills and experience where great... she didn't think I would be happy in Vietnam. One of her hiring policies was to not bring single women from 1st world countries as they tended to not last. Just told me straight up that "Vietnamese men only want to date Vietnamese girls and Western Men, only want to date Vietnamese girls, and pretty much every single/divorced or even married man here... wants a Vietnamese girlfriend." Her advice to me then was that as a 26 year old single girl, Saigon was not the town for me.

This really affected me and was a big reason why I hadn't moved to Saigon earlier. I always hoped that I would meet someone and then move over as part of a couple. That didn't happen but by the time this opportunity arose again earlier this year I was pretty anti-men after a string of pretty screwed up relationships. I think my friends and family would agree that I am a bit of a loser magnet when it comes to my choice in the opposite sex. So being single and heading to Saigon this time around didn't really bother me... in fact I wanted to revel in my singledom and do this 'on my own'.

So upon arriving here almost 5 weeks ago now, I had strong expectations of what 'single life' in Saigon would be like. I'd found quite a bit of mischief to get into when I was here for my interview and came with a fully open mind... as long as it didn't involve anything too serious. After all, I wanted to do this 'on my own' and not have life complicated by man problems. The first weekend I was here I was doing a lot of thinking about the past men in my life and felt an overwhelming sense of dissapointment. I am yet to find someone who actually lives up to their promises.

2 weeks into being here, I went clubbing with a friend of mine from work. An American guy who I hang out with a bit. He's cool. We were looking for some mischief but hadn't found much so were just hanging out in the back garden of one of the clubs. Sussing the scene, perving, as you do in a nightclub. Suddenly this group of people walk out the back. Two black guys and two white girls. Good looking guys and pretty ordinary looking girls. I was feeling cheeky so decided to smile at the better looking guy and was surprised to see he smiled back. I won't go into the details... but let's just say I left with his phone number and it went from there.

So my last 3 weeks in Saigon have been anything but 'solo'. I've had the pleasure of discovering this crazy town with my own personal tour guide - who just happens to be a hot looking Nigerian soccer player. We have been renting a moto-bike on the weekends and burning around town. It's been so much fun. At first I tried to resist it all as I was determined to do this on my own, but eventually I gave in and just let life take me on this slightly different path. Now I can't imagine how boring it would be in this city all by myself. I managed to make some great friends through work but now I also have my own wonderful life outside of it. I've always hated eating alone, and now I have someone smart and funny and chatty to eat with. We discover all the restaurants and bars and cafes together. He's a great guy and most of all fun to be with so we can still be silly and do things like going bowling with friends, or mucking around in my pool or even staying home and watching cartoons. I've never grown up so it's great to have another 'kid' to hang out with (even though he is older than me). The fact that we are both besotted is kind of nice too. Saigon is so romantic, pretty lights, soft breezes, love songs... it's very easy to get wrapped up in it. Sometimes I feel a bit like I am in a UN conference... I am learning about not only Vietnam, but Cambodia, New York, San Fran, China, Manilla and now Nigeria. Being Australia suddenly seems so... simple.

He gave me my first scooter lesson on Sunday. I sucked. I can't balance it right. I really want to get my own bike to buzz around Phu My Hung. Not sure I would venture into the centre of town on it for a while but it's such an integral part of life in Vietnam I really need to embrace it. Yes... I know what you are thinking... it is dangerous... but so are taxi's... and crossing the street... and drinking the water. Right now I am just enjoying wrapping myself around my new man as he negotiates the traffic and let's me enjoy the sights and sounds of Saigon. Sigh. I'm certainly not complaining.

Ok, I'll stop raving about how great he is now. Certainly life in Saigon is now completely different to what I had planned. I rarely have a night alone and any 'fears' I have are quickly alleviated. I did get quite homesick on Saturday night after talking to my friend on a video call online, but by the end of the weekend I was feeling better. I got a new little friend to sit on my desk at work. Meet "Sydney" the Kangaroo and her joey "Yass". Check out the crazy caramel flavoured mints too... Cara Mints! Sorry.. my camera is still not well so this has been taken with my phone. I will be sure to sort that out soon so that I can update you all on some piccies.

SMALL THINGS

Well, It's now 4 weeks into my new life in Viet Nam. Boy - that went fast! So far I am really enjoying it. It's not easy, make no mistake. However, overall it's all good and certainly a good challenge.

It's the little things that both make my day and make me wonder what the hell I am doing. I thought I would share with you some of the little moments that have made me either feel full of joy and so very lucky to be living in this amazing country... and also some of the little moments that have made me want to click my heels 3 times and be magically transported back to Newtown.

Let's start with the hard stuff. In a word... shopping. I hate shopping here. I've never been a bigger shopped but the thought of it makes me feel ill now. It's ironic because most tourists spend their whole time shopping here, but when you actually NEED something it's different. I never know whether I am meant to bargain or not. I feel like a complete bitch if I bargain too hard and feel like a sucker if I don't. I try to shop at department stores when I can, just so I don't have to worry about it. Even that is stressful as you 'buy' your products at a store, but then have to go to a completely different counter to pay for it.

I am getting better at converting Dong to US dollars to Aussie dollars so I actually know how much something is. I find that I am buying little luxuries rather than what I really need. Things like a new bracelet (albeit a PLAYBOY bracelet! So hot!) or an ipod dock. I finally went and bought a metal tray thing for my bathroom, but only because I went with someone else who could negotiate on my behalf. Things like that are sold in 'metal stuff' shops. That's another weird thing. There will be a row of 4 or 5 little hole in the wall shops that just sell metal racks and trays and things. Then down the street there will be a bunch of 'plastic shit' shops and then a bunch of 'paper art supply shops' and then a bunch of 'fabric shops'. It means they all fight for you to buy with them and it just stresses me out to the max. I hate it.

Don't even get me started on buying a sofa bed. OMG. I need to try and sort that out this weekend. I would kill for an Ikea store right now. Hopefully I will 'rent-a-friend' this weekend and get is sorted. It's not fun.

Supermarket shopping is getting easier but still frustrating. My apartment has no food in it because I just don't find it fun to buy it. Let alone cook it just for myself. All I want is basics, like skim milk! I will again attempt this next weekend but I find that I try and then get stressed and give up. Hardly any packaging is in English so I am just constantly guessing and more often than not getting it wrong. I just eat out instead. Menu's are much easier to buy from and one thing I know how to do well is tip!

So.... other than shopping... there aren't THAT many things that are bad. Taxi's are a frickin nightmare and I have had more bad experiences than good. I'm investigating renting a scooter this weekend with my friend so that he can teach me to ride it and I can decide if I should rent one for myself. My logic is that given the taxi situation, I am going to die anyway, so I might as well have more fun doing it! :)

Ahhh... but it's not all bad. There are moments where I feel like I am in heaven - like all my dreams have come true. They are usually just the smallest things and yet they can lift me up and get me through the rest of the day. A beautiful, heavily pregnant, vietnamese girl, sitting side saddle on a motorbike, dressed in a pink flowing dress, her hair blowing as she zooms past me. An old lady cooking waffles in the street, the smell tempting me with it's sweet simplicity. The mixed crowd at Mass on a Sunday - I sit there wondering where on earth all these different coloured people hail from. A girl in an Ao Dai riding past on an old style bicycle. A group of men sitting in the street drinking Ca Phe Da (iced coffee) laughing and slapping each other on the back. Toothless smiles grinning under conical hats. The satisfaction of the first slurp of really good Pho soup. The soft evening breeze that comes to cool down the city every night. Lovers in the park, cuddling and nuzzling on the back of their vespa scooters, so innocent and romantic. Tiny colourful balloons that are sold in the street at night - for the cuddling couples I am guessing. Love song ballads that play in every restaurant, cafe, bar, office, taxi - I love them now, but man it would suck to be heart broken in this town. Hot looking buff security guards in my building who race out to get me a cab and open my door. The shy smiles as I walk down the street with my new Nigerian friend - their fascination obvious on their faces. Local dogs, fast asleep, flat out on the pavement in front of their owner's shops. Farmers coming in from the provinces with motorbikes full of produce, bananas, coconuts, sugarcane - ready to sell that day.

Sigh. I really need a good camera so I can start capturing all these moments and share them with you. But that requires shopping....