Aw man, I just wrote a nice long post and apparently it didn't save...sigh...
We just got back from a weekend trip down the Mekong river. We spent the weekend on little sampan boats, visiting the different islands around My Tho (Unicorn Island, Tortoise Island) and kind of being shuttled between different tourist spots (!) but it was pretty fun. We spent the night in Can Tho, which is about 2 hours away from My Tho, and from there we took a boat out to the floating markets around there. As with all tours we got a hard sell in a lot of places, but it was still really nice to be out on the water. Our hotel in Can Tho was pretty luxurious (they actually air conditioned the lobby! But sadly not the hallways, nor the elevators.) and the spa on the 3rd floor was a bit... full-service. Some of us have been getting massages in the evenings because they're quite cheap, and they've been quite normal, but apparently at this spa there was some inappropriate touching and rubbing, and questions of "do you want massage the baby?" Prostitution seems to be quite the problem in Can Tho (and I'm sure other big cities), even our tourguide seemed to be hinting that he could make arrangements if so desired. Yuck. I've heard plenty about prostitution in Thailand, but it seems to be a problem here in Vietnam as well.
On Friday before the weekend, we had a great day. We spent half a day building (laying more bricks! My bricklaying partner, Beth, and I got a very satisfying "perfect!" from our construction supervisor.) Then we went to a local school. We had pre-arranged this visit, and so people had brought school supplies and small things that we divvied up into packages to give to the kids. We got a nice intro to the school from the principal and some community leaders, and then went into a classroom where there were about 30 kids from several grades. They were so cute! They sang a song for us, and then we sang a song (can you guess which one? Yes, the Hokey Pokey is getting quite some play on this trip) for them. Then we gave out the packages. To be honest, the kids looked a little scared! As it is rude to open gifts in front of the gift giver in many asian cultures, the teachers had told them not to open them. Of course, when we left, they were tearing into them and showing each other. So cute! That was nice, and the teachers seemed to appreciate us coming.
That night (Friday) we celebrated the 50th birthday of one of our teammates. Our fixer, Xuan, arranged for us to have a dance party upstairs in a building that looks like a boat. Or it might have been a real boat, not really sure). I think it must be used for weddings, because we had a DJ, gobo lights, and even a stage. It was pretty awesome.
Tomorrow we are back at the build sites. We build for 3 full days Monday-Wednesday, and then on Thursday we have a house dedication ceremony, where we hand over the keys to the family. One of our houses should be finished, but the other was a bigger project and will probably be finished by the next Habitat team. How satisfying will it be to hand over the keys! It will be really nice to know that I had a hand in providing a family with a better place to live.
If you're interested in a health update, here goes: things have been generally fine except I've had a nasty case of heat rash, ugh. I think I just have to be really careful about the kind of sunscreen I use, and staying out of the sun of course. Stomach stuff has been ok except for recently, so I started taking some cipro (the antibiotic recommended for such issues). Everyone on the trip has been having troubles on and off (we're careful about water, but you never know) so it's funny how open we are about it all. Funny, and gross. Otherwise, I'm a-ok!
Missing home a bit, and of course my husband, but having a really fulfilling, fun time out here. After this week it's on to the next leg of my trip up to Northern Vietnam - more on that to come!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
We have been on our build for 3 days, and it's been amazing. Really hard work, but so satisfying and fun. I am on a team of 14 people, mostly from the US but also France, Korea, and Poland. We are working on two separate houses, about 5km away from each other. The two families that we are building the houses for are very poor, and are basically living on the land without much shelter, functional space, etc. It's really eye opening to think about how much we have, how much I take for granted. Even here, we spend all day on the build site, but we come back to our air-conditioned rooms and running water.
In the past couple of days I have done many things that I've never done before-mixing mortar with a shovel on the ground, laying bricks, tying rebar. It is about 39 degrees celcius, and the humidity is at about 70%. We try not to work in the sun for too long, and take tons of water breaks. At some points, we are sweating so much that it is just running down our necks/backs/legs, like someone is pouring water on us from above.
Last night the local community (we are in a town called My Tho) organized a "cultural exchange" for us. We didn't know what to expect, and it was pretty crazy. There were at least 100 people there, youth and adults, and we sat among them and talked about how we liked their country, etc. There were some speeches and then it basically turned into a karaoke night. We sang the Hokey Pokey to them and they sang all sorts of songs, including a pretty darn good rendition of a Backstreet Boys song.
We have been eating well because our local fixers are making arrangements for us. For lunch we get a box lunch on the build site (e.g. rice, chicken, vegetables) and for dinner we go out. Last night we had really good pho, or beef noodle soup. Delicious!
I need to get going but I will try to write more. I hope everyone is doing well (and keeping cooler than I!)
In the past couple of days I have done many things that I've never done before-mixing mortar with a shovel on the ground, laying bricks, tying rebar. It is about 39 degrees celcius, and the humidity is at about 70%. We try not to work in the sun for too long, and take tons of water breaks. At some points, we are sweating so much that it is just running down our necks/backs/legs, like someone is pouring water on us from above.
Last night the local community (we are in a town called My Tho) organized a "cultural exchange" for us. We didn't know what to expect, and it was pretty crazy. There were at least 100 people there, youth and adults, and we sat among them and talked about how we liked their country, etc. There were some speeches and then it basically turned into a karaoke night. We sang the Hokey Pokey to them and they sang all sorts of songs, including a pretty darn good rendition of a Backstreet Boys song.
We have been eating well because our local fixers are making arrangements for us. For lunch we get a box lunch on the build site (e.g. rice, chicken, vegetables) and for dinner we go out. Last night we had really good pho, or beef noodle soup. Delicious!
I need to get going but I will try to write more. I hope everyone is doing well (and keeping cooler than I!)
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Sunday in Saigon
This is my last day in Saigon (for now, will be flying out of here to Hong Kong so I'll probably spend another day in the city). Most of the Habitat team is here so we all went out today and had some tasty food (sadly, we tried to catch the "lunch lady" of Anthony Bourdain - No Reservations Fame but she wasn't cooking today. We did meet her though!)
It's still very hot but I think I'm acclimating, and just learning that you do not walk anywhere more than a couple of meters! Just grab a taxi, it's super cheap. Unless they scam you and take you out of the way (yes, happened to us, sigh).
Sorry for pictureless updates! I have been taking a few pictures but not as many as other people in the group, and I think we will just have a huge Picasa exchange site later on. There should be some great stuff. Some notables:
- SO MANY motorbikes on the street, and the complete anarchy that is traffic here. No accidents observed yet, though! And some pretty adorable kids riding in their parents laps.
- Fully exposed, probably incredibly dangerous electrical wiring on the streets. My roommate is an electrician and she is just incredulous at it all.
- Good food, so cheap. You can really eat well for next to nothing, it's amazing. I am very sad to be avoiding iced drinks, though, as they look delicious and would provide some much-needed refreshment!
- The Americans bombed the heck out of this country (not that I didn't know that before, but a visit to the War Remnants Museum yesterday sure emphasized it)
- Lots of pretty French colonial architecture
- No bahn mi (vietnamese sandwiches) yet, can you believe it? Soon, soon. It's actually *almost* too hot to be hungry. WHAT?? Yes, it's true. I don't have much of an appetite because of the heat. Sigh again.
I'm off to buy a plane ticket to Hanoi for after the build!
It's still very hot but I think I'm acclimating, and just learning that you do not walk anywhere more than a couple of meters! Just grab a taxi, it's super cheap. Unless they scam you and take you out of the way (yes, happened to us, sigh).
Sorry for pictureless updates! I have been taking a few pictures but not as many as other people in the group, and I think we will just have a huge Picasa exchange site later on. There should be some great stuff. Some notables:
- SO MANY motorbikes on the street, and the complete anarchy that is traffic here. No accidents observed yet, though! And some pretty adorable kids riding in their parents laps.
- Fully exposed, probably incredibly dangerous electrical wiring on the streets. My roommate is an electrician and she is just incredulous at it all.
- Good food, so cheap. You can really eat well for next to nothing, it's amazing. I am very sad to be avoiding iced drinks, though, as they look delicious and would provide some much-needed refreshment!
- The Americans bombed the heck out of this country (not that I didn't know that before, but a visit to the War Remnants Museum yesterday sure emphasized it)
- Lots of pretty French colonial architecture
- No bahn mi (vietnamese sandwiches) yet, can you believe it? Soon, soon. It's actually *almost* too hot to be hungry. WHAT?? Yes, it's true. I don't have much of an appetite because of the heat. Sigh again.
I'm off to buy a plane ticket to Hanoi for after the build!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Safe and sound in Saigon
Hi everyone,
Made it to Saigon late last night after a 15hr flight to Hong Kong and another flight from HK to here. It's reallyreallyhot but luckily cool (not cold) drinks are pretty cheap!
Not much time to write but I wanted to let you know I'm fully alive!
Michelle
Made it to Saigon late last night after a 15hr flight to Hong Kong and another flight from HK to here. It's reallyreallyhot but luckily cool (not cold) drinks are pretty cheap!
Not much time to write but I wanted to let you know I'm fully alive!
Michelle
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Update and upcoming...
I know I need to finish Japan bjourning (and yes, I will...) but I wanted to write a bit about what's happening over the next little while, because I'm pretty excited about it all. Here are some important points to touch on:
1) We moved apartments (duh!)
We really liked so many things about our old place, but we needed more space and moving northward, closer to Brian's work at Northwestern made a lot of sense given point no. 2, below. We are pretty much settled into the new place, and it's pretty great so far. 2bed/2bath, with garage parking, a balcony, and 2 lovely, ginormous walk-in closets. We'll post photos when things are a bit more set up, like last time. Excitingly, we have room for a dining area in the new place, so it has been nice to "eat like adults" once in a while, though I probably will still prefer sitting on the ground at the coffee table anyway. As my parents always said, I "eat like a beggar" and I am unapologetic about it! Very excited about the balcony too, as I have wanted a grill forever.
2) I got a new job, and even though I accepted the offer before Christmas, I don't start until the fall.
I'll be a management consultant, which is daunting and thrilling at the same time. I'm sure I'll write more about this later, maybe when it becomes "more real," but the process of deciding to leave academia and applying for/getting this job has been a small ordeal. In short, sometime over the last couple of years, I became less and less hopeful and motivated about continuing on the path I was on (toward becoming a professor), and eventually I decided to think about alternatives. I knew of consulting because a few of our friends and family are in the field (via academia, as well as more traditional routes) though I would say not many people in Psychology are very familiar with it. Well, more on that later, but for now let's just say I took a leap and somehow, thankfully, landed on solid ground. I feel really, really lucky. And I have to say that I couldn't have done it without a ton of support - from Brian first and foremost, but also from my advisor, family, friends, etc. Everyone has been so encouraging and helpful, whether it was just listening to me stress about it, or answering my MANY questions about consulting, helping me prep for interviews, or just being excited for me. I am so grateful.
3) I have finished up my postdoc, as of the end of April.
I'd been at UChicago for just over 2.5 years, which seems crazy when I think about it. The actual end of my job wasn't a huge deal, probably because there was such a long lag between my accepting the new job offer in December and leaving last month. My coworkers threw a nice little party, though, and I'll miss them! People keep asking me if I've started the new job yet, and I just laugh and say "no no, not until the fall." A coworker left a couple of weeks before me on a Friday to start a new job the next Monday, so waiting 8 months before starting is pretty strange.
4) I have about 4.5 months off, with lots of craziness planned.
For example, in about 6 hours I board a plane for Vietnam. I love travel, and especially "big trips." When I was applying for jobs, I said to myself (and anyone who would listen, poor Brian) that if I got a job, the first thing I would do was tell my postdoc advisor that I was leaving in April, so that I could have a lot of time off. I didn't really know what I would do with that time, but now it's pretty filled up and I'm excited for it all. Here's a quick rundown:
May to early June: 3 weeks in Vietnam including a Habitat for Humanity build and some solo travelling, then I fly to Hong Kong for 10 days. No, Brian isn't coming with me. I'll miss him of course, and it's too bad I won't get to share the experience with him (especially HK, since I'll be visiting with family over there that we haven't seen in a long time). He deserves a nice long vacation too, but it'll have to wait until later in the summer... Lucky for him, several of our friends are coming into town in May and he'll get to hang out with them!
June: I return from HK on a Wednesday, and on that Friday I fly to New York (where Brian will join me, he'll be at a conference when I get back from Asia) for our friends' marriage celebration. (And what a celebration that'll be, A&J!) The next weekend, I have a "retreat" with the women's organization of the consulting firm I will be joining. Then, finally some time at home until...
July: Early in the month I will head to Prague to visit my friends (who are moving there for a few years, how great is that?!) for about a week, and then join up with my in-laws, Donald and Brian for an Eastern European river cruise that takes us from Budapest through Turkey (our last stop is in Istanbul). Donald and I are hoping to stay in Turkey for a few more days afterward, which would take me into the first week of August. At some point in there I have to do some "pre-work" for my job, which they say is about 100 hours (eeps!) so I'll be lugging a couple of textbooks with me on the cruise. Seriously, they sent me 3 textbooks, on accounting, economics, and finance. Welcome to my new world!
August/September/October: I have a one day orientation for the new firm, and then a break until mid-September when I start a 3-week "mini MBA" course in, I think, Connecticut. After that, I have another break until mid-October when I have another one-week training, and then, presumably, I will actually start working.
Well, those are the brief details (is that an oxymoron?). But as I said, I am getting on a plane for a 15-hour ride in about 6 hours, so I should go and finish packing! I'll try to post a bit from Asia, but I'm not sure what my access will be like, especially for the first 2 weeks while I'm on the Habitat build. Would love to hear from you when I'm away, feel free to comment here or email me!
1) We moved apartments (duh!)
We really liked so many things about our old place, but we needed more space and moving northward, closer to Brian's work at Northwestern made a lot of sense given point no. 2, below. We are pretty much settled into the new place, and it's pretty great so far. 2bed/2bath, with garage parking, a balcony, and 2 lovely, ginormous walk-in closets. We'll post photos when things are a bit more set up, like last time. Excitingly, we have room for a dining area in the new place, so it has been nice to "eat like adults" once in a while, though I probably will still prefer sitting on the ground at the coffee table anyway. As my parents always said, I "eat like a beggar" and I am unapologetic about it! Very excited about the balcony too, as I have wanted a grill forever.
2) I got a new job, and even though I accepted the offer before Christmas, I don't start until the fall.
I'll be a management consultant, which is daunting and thrilling at the same time. I'm sure I'll write more about this later, maybe when it becomes "more real," but the process of deciding to leave academia and applying for/getting this job has been a small ordeal. In short, sometime over the last couple of years, I became less and less hopeful and motivated about continuing on the path I was on (toward becoming a professor), and eventually I decided to think about alternatives. I knew of consulting because a few of our friends and family are in the field (via academia, as well as more traditional routes) though I would say not many people in Psychology are very familiar with it. Well, more on that later, but for now let's just say I took a leap and somehow, thankfully, landed on solid ground. I feel really, really lucky. And I have to say that I couldn't have done it without a ton of support - from Brian first and foremost, but also from my advisor, family, friends, etc. Everyone has been so encouraging and helpful, whether it was just listening to me stress about it, or answering my MANY questions about consulting, helping me prep for interviews, or just being excited for me. I am so grateful.
3) I have finished up my postdoc, as of the end of April.
I'd been at UChicago for just over 2.5 years, which seems crazy when I think about it. The actual end of my job wasn't a huge deal, probably because there was such a long lag between my accepting the new job offer in December and leaving last month. My coworkers threw a nice little party, though, and I'll miss them! People keep asking me if I've started the new job yet, and I just laugh and say "no no, not until the fall." A coworker left a couple of weeks before me on a Friday to start a new job the next Monday, so waiting 8 months before starting is pretty strange.
4) I have about 4.5 months off, with lots of craziness planned.
For example, in about 6 hours I board a plane for Vietnam. I love travel, and especially "big trips." When I was applying for jobs, I said to myself (and anyone who would listen, poor Brian) that if I got a job, the first thing I would do was tell my postdoc advisor that I was leaving in April, so that I could have a lot of time off. I didn't really know what I would do with that time, but now it's pretty filled up and I'm excited for it all. Here's a quick rundown:
May to early June: 3 weeks in Vietnam including a Habitat for Humanity build and some solo travelling, then I fly to Hong Kong for 10 days. No, Brian isn't coming with me. I'll miss him of course, and it's too bad I won't get to share the experience with him (especially HK, since I'll be visiting with family over there that we haven't seen in a long time). He deserves a nice long vacation too, but it'll have to wait until later in the summer... Lucky for him, several of our friends are coming into town in May and he'll get to hang out with them!
June: I return from HK on a Wednesday, and on that Friday I fly to New York (where Brian will join me, he'll be at a conference when I get back from Asia) for our friends' marriage celebration. (And what a celebration that'll be, A&J!) The next weekend, I have a "retreat" with the women's organization of the consulting firm I will be joining. Then, finally some time at home until...
July: Early in the month I will head to Prague to visit my friends (who are moving there for a few years, how great is that?!) for about a week, and then join up with my in-laws, Donald and Brian for an Eastern European river cruise that takes us from Budapest through Turkey (our last stop is in Istanbul). Donald and I are hoping to stay in Turkey for a few more days afterward, which would take me into the first week of August. At some point in there I have to do some "pre-work" for my job, which they say is about 100 hours (eeps!) so I'll be lugging a couple of textbooks with me on the cruise. Seriously, they sent me 3 textbooks, on accounting, economics, and finance. Welcome to my new world!
August/September/October: I have a one day orientation for the new firm, and then a break until mid-September when I start a 3-week "mini MBA" course in, I think, Connecticut. After that, I have another break until mid-October when I have another one-week training, and then, presumably, I will actually start working.
Well, those are the brief details (is that an oxymoron?). But as I said, I am getting on a plane for a 15-hour ride in about 6 hours, so I should go and finish packing! I'll try to post a bit from Asia, but I'm not sure what my access will be like, especially for the first 2 weeks while I'm on the Habitat build. Would love to hear from you when I'm away, feel free to comment here or email me!
Happy 23rd Monthaversary!
Sorry for the boring post title, but the day is past and let's face it, I'm out of fun ideas for now :)
Just wanted to make sure everyone knew we are alive. We've been quite busy in fact, moving apartments (from Lakeview to Evanston, if anyone cares or knows their Chicagoland geography) and so on. Follow me to the next post and I'll elaborate...
Just wanted to make sure everyone knew we are alive. We've been quite busy in fact, moving apartments (from Lakeview to Evanston, if anyone cares or knows their Chicagoland geography) and so on. Follow me to the next post and I'll elaborate...
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang
Get it? Happy 22nd 17th!
Fitting, because I am in Ottawa right now visiting my awesome friends the Edwardses, and today I went to the very well done Canadian Museum of Civilization , where there was an exhibit on influential Canadian authors. (Mordecai Richler wrote a kids' book trilogy about Jacob, a boy who had to say everything twice because no one heard him the first time, in case you didn't know.)
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