The night market

A good place to eat for quick meals is a place that we call the night market. It is located in an alley in one of the markets near the city’s centre and the river. It is surrounded by many different eateries, which of those I have tried all serve good food. I haven’t made the trek there for quite a while, and yesterday I felt that I didn’t really want to drink any alcohol.

When arrived I didn’t feel overly adventurous so I ordered what I consider my usual there mi xao bo. It is thick noodles stir fried with beef and some vegetables. I was once told by the lady who runs the shop that one of the vegetables only grows in Cambodia.

I ordered some nuoc mia, which is the juice from crushing sugar cane and it was really refreshing, and it is dirt cheap. I was waiting for a while and started to feel that they had forgotten my order as it took so long. I couldn’t understand why it was taking so long as the restaurant was not overly crowded. Then I realised that they were making a large number of take away orders.

After what seemed like an eternity my noodles came. The wait was worth it. I forgot how good the noodles were. The beef just melted in my mouth and the vegetables had a nice crispness to them. I was enjoying them so much I started feel disappointed that I might not be able to finish them all as I was starting to feel full. Yet, I kept eating and finished the plate.

Afterwards I was returning home when a family pulled up beside me and started riding next me. This was a little irritating and I could here the mother explaining to her child that I was a foreigner. So I looked over and smiled, and I made their day. As they drove off I couldn’t help but feel blown away.

Lest we forget

Yesterday was ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) day the day in Australia which we remember the sacrifices made by the armed forces and others to make Australia great. I always thought of this holiday as an excuse for the old guys to go out and have a drink. Yet now I can reflect on it a lot more. I feel that it really stands for a great tradition. I feel that we should remember all the sacrifices from all of Australia’s citizens, especially the people who are not so visible. The plans to scrap this holiday should be ignored and the ANZAC legend should always be remembered.

Since I am far from the Great Southern Land it is hard to find Australian’s in town. Yet I was able to recruit some takers on my mission to remember ANZAC day. I felt rushed on the way as I was late to the restaurant.

It was really surprising to see Hendrik there as he usually does not come out with us that much. He is more like the guy who always comes late to the party yet with supplies. The beer fuelled interesting conversations from medals you can win for citizenry to Liverpool’s chances of repeating 2005 feat. I enjoyed myself, and heard many jokes which made me laugh. Hendrik and Tri had to go so we called it a day.

After that restaurant I met Son, a teacher in the agriculture department. We decided that it would be a good idea to get some bbqed beef and beer. Later Eric joined us as did Kien. Kien studied in Australia at the ANU in agriculture and works with Son. We continued to have lots of fun and Kien was telling us about studying in Australia. I reminded him it was ANZAC day and he started talking about visiting the memorial in Canberra. I started to feel very nostalgic as I had been there as well. Eric and I had two more ports of call for the night and we lost and gained new people until the end.

This morning though I felt that I had been ran over by a train. The news was out that Liverpool lost at Chelsea 1 - 0. Feeling absolutely gutted I went to lunch to find I had no appetite. When the rematch at Anfield comes Liverpool will play well I am sure.

Nguu Lang and Chuc Nu (Ngưu Lang and Chức Nữ)

It had been threatening to rain for over a week in the afternoons now. Everyone is feeling the tension as we all wait for relief. I experienced my hottest day here. Unlike most of the other expats here, I am used to and like the hot weather. Yet Wednesday morning was so hot that you could see birds falling from the sky with dehydration. I remember sitting at lunch wondering what would I do if my clothes start to burn, longing for the rain.

Early that morning I was teaching a student and we were reading about a famous legend – Nguu Lang and Chu Nu. It is a story of two lovers who angered the emperor of the sky who condemned them to live apart. They only meet once a year. I read this story in a newspaper last week as many VN families live in separate towns due to work commitments, and the article was highlighting the difficulties associated with that. Many of my work friends are in this situation and don’t mind.

So what happens when lovers unite? Crying, lots of crying of joy. As it turns out it is easy to spot when the lovers meet again as it marks the start of the rainy season. In Long Xuyen this is a good reason to go out and celebrate with your friends. We went one of our usual places and sat in an open air area and watched the rain cool the earth as we ate drank and told stories.

The next day after lunch the rains started again, hopefully to say to us that the rainy season is here to stay for the next few months.

Thoai Son District

Saturday morning I had arranged to meet with some students and visit Thoai Son District with them. I had previously been with these students to this area and was anticipating another good trip. We all met at the gate and rode off on the motorbikes to Thoai Son. When we arrived the students had organised to meet one of their friends there and we ate breakfast. I felt really special as I had ordered the same meal as my students yet the lady who prepared the food would not let me eat any of them as she prepared a special meal for me. It was worth the wait as it tasted great.

Following breakfast we toured the town and then proceeded to move to a high school called Thoai Giang. This was when the real reason for the trip was revealed to me – introduce the students to a native English speaker. The students amazed me since with very little resources the students had studied their English lessons well. I felt that the school had achieved quite a lot given the demanding conditions. At lunch we met the principal of the school, whose daughter was in the class I had just been with.

We went for lunch at the local hospital canteen and I believe that hospital food is possibly the same around the world. I noticed that there were not too many other places to eat where we were. After lunch we returned to the school and continued what we did in the morning with a new class. This class were just beginners so we quickly launched into songs as I met them during their usual singing lesson. That was the last lesson of the day for them and as we left there was an opportunity to have a group photo.

We returned to town and wanted to visit the Thoai Son tourist area. It is more domestic tourists than international, as Thoai Son is really of the beaten track. This, I feel, gives it its charm. We were surprised that the prices had gone up more than 3 times since the last time we visited and thought we might find something else to do.

Luckily there are many restaurants to choose from and one member of our team knew exactly which one to visit – Le Quyt. Here we enjoyed Beef wrapped in vine leaves, noodles, vegetables, and rice paper. We finished the meal with juicy watermelon. To chase this delicious food down we had banana rice wine. As we sat and talked we talked a lot about my leaving of An Giang, what will I do, will I return etc., and I felt proud at how well my students had improved there English in the short time I have been with them.

We said good bye to our host and started to return to Long Xuyen. As we exited the town on the bridge I took a last look at the collapsing mountain, and was overcome with a sense of finality as I might not see it again for a long time. We made good progress on the way home and we stopped at an orphanage.

This was a strange place. It looks so empty from the outside yet when you walk in about 100m or more you start to see that the place is alive. I was moved by some of the stories of the situations that made these children orphans such as poverty and disease. However they all seemed so happy without a care in the world. Once we had finished there it was off to return home for a well deserved rest.

Chol Chnam Thmay

Friday the 13th was not an ordinary day. Despite my supersized hangover previously mentioned, it was also AGU’s Khmer New Year party. Chol Chnam Thmay, the Khmer new year, was organised by the Khmer students association. This year they organised a big party and were holding it just by my room, at the volley ball court. All morning I had heard them set it up and was starting to feel eager about what it was going to be like.

When you entered the volley ball court you went through a tunnel of people for lack of a better description. Each of the students bowed and smiled and it felt nice to see so many friendly faces. When you walked over to where the seating was all arranged you saw this stand of fruit. Its purpose beyond decoration was unknown to me. It looked really nice with bananas, pineapples and tied in sugar cane.

The welcoming party

Once the ceremony started I again realised that this could be boring. Usually in VN, a ceremony generally consists of long speeches (in VN). Yet this ceremony was different, most speeches were short, and broken up between dancing and award ceremonies. The dance is very similar to Thai dancing and was astonished by how much effort the students put into all the intricate moves. Another thing that really caught my attention was that the girls were wearing traditional Khmer clothing. I was stunned in particular by this one girl was wearing a yellow and blue outfit which just stood out from the others. The embroidery (or weaving not sure how to describe) was of flowers and looked like it would take hours to do just 1.

Traditional Khmer clothing

After all the formalities there was one thing left to do, dance. I felt horrible about the thought of dancing in front of so many people when the students asked me. Yet all the other foreigners were dancing so I felt that I would dishonour them if I didn’t dance. I felt rather awkward and wished for the song to end (it really was the never-ending story).

With ending of the dance we all moved to the eating area. I was anticipating eating Khmer food as I haven’t tried any yet. I was disappointed with two things first Van said it was a non alcohol table and second the food was not Khmer. The first course was chicken salad which was lush.

Next was Bo Kho, a type of stew possibly inspired by French cooking. It was also delish. As we were enjoying it to my relief came some alcohol, traditional Khmer liquor. That relief was short lived once I got a whiff of the aroma. It really was indescribable. I recall one person said it smelt like fermentation yet all agreed it was unlike anything they had smelt before. The way to drink it I found was don’t smell it. The taste was not as bad as the smell would suggest, it was like sugar and bitter lemon juice.

Lastly we had fish soup. The fish was huge. The cooks had cut it up into 3 pieces and each piece was bigger than my fist. When I was eating I came across some bones and was floored by how big the bones where. I pulled out a part of the bone from the piece of fish that I had and it was the size of a hairclip – 5 cm long. I thought I should polish them up and use them as a gift.

After eating and drinking, I was still tired from the previous night and made my escape while the students, many who just came to see, had started Khmer dancing until late at night.

Students dancing to Khmer music.

The mission

Thursday lunch I received the news that Eric wanted to have a small party with one goal in mind. From then on the afternoon seemed to drag as I was eagerly awaiting this party. I had just gotten home exhausted from teaching when I got the message go to TB immediately. As I arrived I saw that Tyler and Eric were having a good time. Just after me Nam arrived, and informed us some other friends where at another restaurant. We made the arrangements to meet them later.

The next place was called Truyen’s and the owner is a wonderful guy. When he saw us arrive he went all out to find accommodate us in the restaurant. It was packed; filled with laughter, loud voices and the aromas of food. We got ourselves a table and the others arrived. The beer started flowing fast and furiously and along came the food. Not long after Hendrik arrived with a surprise; a black bag.

Enough beer had been consumed and customers leaving the restaurant that the owner Truyen pulled out the guitar stashed out the back somewhere and asked Eric to play a ditty or two. The air was now filled with the sounds of drunken singers singing loudly to Beatle and Stone songs. Everyone was having a blast, and the excitement proved to be too much for the black bag and Hendrik’s surprise was revealed; a bottle of JW whiskey.

At Truyen's restaurant

At 11 we felt we needed to get home so that the guards wouldn’t be too upset with us yet we felt compelled to stop at the shop to get some more whiskey. In the room Eric and Truyen continued to play music.

Eric playing the violin

We all occasionally stopped for drinks.

Truyen and I

Teddy and I were sharing the feeling. I realised it would be the last time I see him, as he was off to Sweden next week to complete his PhD, and will return after I have left. Carrying on the feeling when it was time to go we stopped by my room and took some photos. In our state we must have thought it was artistic to sit in front of each other’s flag.

Teddy and I

And after 9.5 hours we completed Eric’s mission for the night, completely shoused.

Friday the 13th

I am not really into superstitions in general so today being Friday the 13th really had no meaning to me. Reflecting on events so far though makes me feel that I should take it a bit more serious.

The hangover I (still) have today is big and the headache is just starting to subside now, yet still feel a bit lifeless (it was supersized). Went and had some beef with Tyler and Hendrik and it really hit the spot and gave me the energy to go out and teach in the afternoon. However I got a call around 1 asking about when I was going to pick up the teaching materials. Feeling rushed, I went and got them. Got to the room and started to setup my computer and it didn’t work. I was flabbergasted. If it didn’t work I would not know what to do as all the work I have done in the last 2 years is on it.

I was trying to get the computer started chatting and joking with the students and thought well it is 13/4 – two bad luck numbers. I was wondering, as it appears to me Vietnamese people are very suppositious in regards to most of life’s activities, that being in country that I now start to become superstitious as well.

Nahh!!!!!!!!!!!!

To my relief the computer is working again and those thoughts are out of here.