I figure everyone knows what Amazing Race is. There is also a show on the AXN channel here in Asia called the Amazing Race Asia. They are accepting applications for the newest show right now.
Diep told me I should apply for us to play... I have an emphatic two word answer to that: NO WAY!
Diep used to trust me in all of our travels. Now she sits back and waits for me to make a mistake so she can take shots at me. Of course, hindsight is 20/20. If she were making the decisions, we would be worse off... I know this firsthand. As far as my mistakes go, my favorites are when we get off an airplane in an unknown part of an airport terminal. You have two choices in general: turn right, or turn left. There is a 50 per cent chance that I will head in the right direction, but I always look for a screen to tell me which gate and terminal my next flight boards at, so even if I go the wrong way, it isn't more than 50 meters. She will give me hell on those mistakes (if you even consider them mistakes), even though I appreciate stretching my legs after a long flight. There is no way I would let her berate me on TV like that. The list goes on and on why I wouldn't go on that show with Diep. I saw an American and his Philippino wife on that show one year... the guy was in tears before it was over. I would have been in some Singaporean jail if it had been me suffering the abuses he had gone through.
Today is Monday. One day of work and then I am off again. This time, taking a two day walk to a field site and then to Saigon for a day before heading back to Hanoi on Saturday. Could be an interesting week.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Megan Has a Good Day
I imagine Megan has some pretty crummy days in Hanoi. As an only child with a very protective mother, she doesn't get to get out very much. As she gets older, we are trying to give her the chance to get out and enjoy some of the events that are appropriate for her age.
So, yesterday she had a school friend over from the night before (this girl has an Ethiopian mother and English father) and they took the bicycles out around the lake to a cafe. Megan enjoys the freedom she has on a bike, but I can;t help but to worry about the traffic when she is out alone.
Later that day, she went with a Korean and Belgian friend to the MTV-sponsored concert I mentioned in the previous post. She said she enjoyed that more than she expected. It was a little tough on us, though, because we had to take off at nearly 11:00pm from our house on the motorbike, find her in a crowd of around 30,000 young people and then hunt down a taxi to take them home. We had to actually hunt the taxi from the motorbike, get Diep in the taxi and drive back to the stadium that the concert was held. When the taxi stopped to pick up the girls, the taxi was surrounded by kids thinking it was available to take them home. It was mass craziness!
The stadium is a good ride from the house and the pollution and traffic was pretty bad. It was all worth it, though, if Megan had a good time.
So, yesterday she had a school friend over from the night before (this girl has an Ethiopian mother and English father) and they took the bicycles out around the lake to a cafe. Megan enjoys the freedom she has on a bike, but I can;t help but to worry about the traffic when she is out alone.
Later that day, she went with a Korean and Belgian friend to the MTV-sponsored concert I mentioned in the previous post. She said she enjoyed that more than she expected. It was a little tough on us, though, because we had to take off at nearly 11:00pm from our house on the motorbike, find her in a crowd of around 30,000 young people and then hunt down a taxi to take them home. We had to actually hunt the taxi from the motorbike, get Diep in the taxi and drive back to the stadium that the concert was held. When the taxi stopped to pick up the girls, the taxi was surrounded by kids thinking it was available to take them home. It was mass craziness!
The stadium is a good ride from the house and the pollution and traffic was pretty bad. It was all worth it, though, if Megan had a good time.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
MTV Exit Concert in Hanoi
I went to the country team meeting at the US Embassy today because nobody more important than I was at the office today... that is to say it was just Daniel and I (not to say Daniel is less important, just to say he would chew off his arm to stay out of a meeting like this). Anyway, the upside of the meeting was the announcement that MTV is the orgnanizer for a concert at the My Dinh Stadium this Saturday and the embassy was giving away free tickets to embassy personnel. The email went out to everyone except those at JPAC, so I would not have known about it had I not gone to the meeting.
Anyhow, I don't want people to think I am a big MTV fan, because I can only watch Lady Gaga and Jason Beaver, or whatever his name is, so many times in a row before I start pulling my hair out. I scored two tickets that I plan on giving to Megan and letting her enjoy the concert. Actually, the concert is a boy band from Korea and some Australian pop artist... not my idea of a great time. But, I think she will like it. I managed to deceive my way into an extra ticket because I mentioned Daniel may want a ticket - knowing full well he would give up his ticket to another friend of Megan.
In other news, I just got back from my second 10-day TDY tour. I posted the pictures on my Facebook even though I can't get on Facebook at this time. No doubt, Vietnam is clamping down on Facebook and it may be gone forever from this communist nowhere land in a matter of weeks. If that happens, I figure I will be turning to Blogspot to put out my missives, photos, and just plain blabbering.
Some poor lady got run over - and killed - by a cement truck just a hundred yards or so from our office two days ago. She must have been on the road for at least 45 minutes before they carted her away... isn't it ironic that animals get cleaned off the streets immediately and people are left to the gawkers for hours... of course, there is a reason the animals disappear so quickly - two words: Fresh meat.
My newness still hasn't worn off of Diep yet... give her a few days. She is still hugging and kissing me. She keeps checking next to her in bed to make sure I haven't left again. I figure I am a couple dozen farts and other infractions away fromm getting on her nerves again.
For the time being, it is good to be home!
Anyhow, I don't want people to think I am a big MTV fan, because I can only watch Lady Gaga and Jason Beaver, or whatever his name is, so many times in a row before I start pulling my hair out. I scored two tickets that I plan on giving to Megan and letting her enjoy the concert. Actually, the concert is a boy band from Korea and some Australian pop artist... not my idea of a great time. But, I think she will like it. I managed to deceive my way into an extra ticket because I mentioned Daniel may want a ticket - knowing full well he would give up his ticket to another friend of Megan.
In other news, I just got back from my second 10-day TDY tour. I posted the pictures on my Facebook even though I can't get on Facebook at this time. No doubt, Vietnam is clamping down on Facebook and it may be gone forever from this communist nowhere land in a matter of weeks. If that happens, I figure I will be turning to Blogspot to put out my missives, photos, and just plain blabbering.
Some poor lady got run over - and killed - by a cement truck just a hundred yards or so from our office two days ago. She must have been on the road for at least 45 minutes before they carted her away... isn't it ironic that animals get cleaned off the streets immediately and people are left to the gawkers for hours... of course, there is a reason the animals disappear so quickly - two words: Fresh meat.
My newness still hasn't worn off of Diep yet... give her a few days. She is still hugging and kissing me. She keeps checking next to her in bed to make sure I haven't left again. I figure I am a couple dozen farts and other infractions away fromm getting on her nerves again.
For the time being, it is good to be home!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
On the road again...
I have been on the road significantly for the past couple of weeks and, after a brief time in Hanoi, I will be heading out again tomorrow. I missed the last two weekends to work and it looks like I will miss the next one as well. The upside is that traveling is easier than working because it is mostly sitting down and waiting for the next form of transportation to pick you up, move you, or drop you off. My time in the office is a little more hectic because I find myself trying to catch up on all the things that have gone by the wayside while I was gone. Getting it done isn't so much the problem as prioritizing and remembering what needs to be done.
I just got back from Danang two days ago. Diep had stopped by and stayed with me for the night at the Furama Resort on her way down to Saigon. Megan, too, was not in Hanoi because her class took a road trip to Hoi An and Hue from 8 - 12 March. She was very excited about taking this trip with her class, and I imagine she suffered a little anxiety when her mother boarded the same airplane she was on going to Danang... unannounced. Diep didn't plan it that way, but they managed to get on the same flight. Too funny!
So today and tomorrow will be pretty busy getting ready for the trip and then getting on the road for the next ten days. In a way, I am looking forward to it, but the other part of me dreads not being able to follow everything that is going on.
I just got back from Danang two days ago. Diep had stopped by and stayed with me for the night at the Furama Resort on her way down to Saigon. Megan, too, was not in Hanoi because her class took a road trip to Hoi An and Hue from 8 - 12 March. She was very excited about taking this trip with her class, and I imagine she suffered a little anxiety when her mother boarded the same airplane she was on going to Danang... unannounced. Diep didn't plan it that way, but they managed to get on the same flight. Too funny!
So today and tomorrow will be pretty busy getting ready for the trip and then getting on the road for the next ten days. In a way, I am looking forward to it, but the other part of me dreads not being able to follow everything that is going on.
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