Wedding pics

So one of my favorite girls got married this weekend. A few wedding pics - hopefully there will be more to come:

We survived!

There are no pictures to show for it, since I forgot my camera, but the weekend with the parents went well. They loved B. just like I knew they would. We ate lots of good Hispanic food, did some shopping (I got my dress for M. and J.'s wedding), and just hung out with the family and some of our good family friends. Good times, good times.....

Just another manic Monday....

So it's been a hot minute since I've been on here. The past few weeks have been stressful and busy. I've started working on Saturdays, doing Internal Assessments for IB. The next two Saturdays will be devoted to that, as will the 29th. This is what effective teaching requires: giving up your own life. Blah....

Other than that, S was here over the weekend. He's the ex that my parents formerly hated. I say formerly because my mom thought it'd be cool if he went with us all to dinner at this Argentine restaurant, and she ended up inviting him to go to church with us the next day. My mom.... She never ceases to amaze me. Anyway, she's now a fan since she knows nothing is going on anymore. Haha.

I'm going to PR in 12 days with BK - my bestest - and I can't wait. I really need that break. Also, we will be seeing Kanye (be still my heart!) in May. Loooooove!

Finally, today should've been alright. Yeah, it was going to be stressful since I was cheated of a weekend, but it should've been okay. Bearable.

But here's the thing: Friday, I literally ran into J. in the parking lot outside the Vietnamese place. He was leaving the barber shop, I was picking up dinner. He was all nonchalant as soon as he picked his jaw up from the asphalt. Hey, what's up. I dapped him up, whatever.... Why you following me? he asked. I rolled my eyes, "Please, I'm not following you. I'm tryin' to get some food." I walked off, still on the phone, still working my walk.
Today, at the GC meeting, he said, "I gotta holla at you." I said fine, thinking it had something to do with students, with their stories, something to do with work. So I stopped by (mistake number 1) and sat down when he asked me to (mistake number 2).
He said he had three things to tell me, but that I had to wait it out and listen to all three.
Okay....
1. I'm sorry for everything.
Okay.
2. Out of respect, so you don't hear it through the rumor mill, I'm going to be a daddy.
Okay.
3. Seriously, I didn't want things to end up this way. I really thought we were going to be together forever.
What?
I thought we were going to be together forever. I mean, I thought....
Who?
You and me, he said.
I rolled my eyes. I don't believe him. I can't. He says he still can't stop thinking about me, that he dreams of me, but I can't believe him. I've worked too hard to get over him, cried too much to let this happen again, have waited so long for some semblance of healing. This man broke my heart. Crushed it. And I won't lie - I'm not totally over him. I know he's not worth it. I know I deserve better. I know he did wrong. But that doesn't change the fact that I really hoped that it would work, and what's worse, I believed it'd work. It was the first time in five years that I'd imagined myself being with someone forever. I believed in it, and I wanted it. Really wanted it.

He had a list of 100 things we should do together. He wanted me to take it, but when I saw it, it made me tear up and made my heart break a little.
Grade papers together, wash dishes, watch the sunrise, see Kanye, go to a Redskins game, watch my little sister play sports, go to school fundraisers together....
It was those little things that got to me. I couldn't keep it. I dropped it on his desk and walked away.
I gave him too many opportunities. I know this. I won't do it again, and I told him that. He called after I walked away. I didn't want to talk.
He said something - some sob story about A. and how things weren't working out. I cut him off: "That's your story. You chose it."
"You're right."

I'm a stupid girl. I HATE that. HATE that I still feel this when I know he's wrong. It's not that I'm going to turn a blind eye to everything, but that doesn't make it hurt less. I'm not going back to him, but that doesn't mean I wasn't dangerously close to falling in love with him. Things like that aren't so easily erased.

My wounds were just beginning to heal and now this. Now this.

I talked to BK about it, though. Because she gets me, because she will listen to me cry, validate my feelings, and then remind me that I'm better than this. Too good for him. He's not what you want, she said. She's right.
Goodness, I love that girl.
Don't know where I'd be without her.

Ah, and for today:


I decided to forget and mature. I will start again, I will make it. I left you in the past, you've been forgotten. I don't want to see your picture on my dresser....

You know that feeling?

I woke up not too long ago to "Lágrimas negras" by José Feliciano, the light of my lamp, that terrible feeling of contacts sticking to my eyeballs, and the knot in my stomach that made me think I was late for work.
For a minute I was panicky, and then came the deliciousness of the realization that it was Saturday. Mmmmm.... One good thing in this scenario.
I'm sick, I'm stressed, my back hurts, but it's Saturday and I get to go back to sleep as soon as I feel like it.

Yum. Love this feeling....

Karaoke, bicycles, the beach, and songs

So I think it's been three days since the last post. I didn't want to post on Friday because I'd just finished teaching the worst class of my life. Seriously. Worse than any class I have EVER taught in any teaching situation ANYWHERE. They couldn't say "My name is...", but they were supposed to be on lesson 5, talking about the things that they liked. Go figure... And they were totally checked out because they couldn't understand me. Or they were pretending that they couldn't understand.
So I taught them "i'm a Little Teapot" with the motions and if they were on their cellphones or sleeping, or talking while we were practicing, they had to stand up and sing the song with the motions, which is absolutely mortifiying for them.

At least it's only once a week...

Other than that, my last two classes on Friday went really well. I LOVE that Listening and Conversation class so much. They're a ton of fun and they work their little butts off trying to communicate in English.
Friday morning, San left with his dad. He's not back yet, and I'm kind of heartbroken that I haven't been able to see him, especially since I wasn't able to get any pics of him. :(. I hope he'll be back before we leave.

Saturday, we ventured out on our bikes. Thanh sat on the back of Andrea's bike, while Eleisa and I got our own bikes. We went out for brunch - Bun which is kind of like pho' but with thinner noodles - and then rode off to the market where we bought fabric for dresses. I got this gorgeous green silk, and a turquoise one with this crazy print which I'm hoping to make a sundress out of (forgive my bad sentence structure). I also got a super cute pair of shoes for Cristina, which I bargained down from 160000 Dong to 80000 Dong. I can't even TELL you how proud of myself I am for that. As foreigners, we pay higher prices , but bargaining is an essential skill, and while I can hold my own in Spanish, with my limited Vietnamese, it's a little bit more intimidating. Body language is a good thing. And you should also start at at least half the starting price; if you know you're being ripped off (like the shoes), start even lower.
I also bought some passion fruit and an avocado (I'm thinking I'll make a little guac) to remind me of home. That parcha was delicious.
OH! And we found sandwiches! REAL sandwiches! HERE! In Vietnam! We've missed them so much, and Thanh had told us that they only sell them for breakfast, but those are lies. Hideous lies that kept us seperated from sandwiches for entirely too long. They were wonderful and we savored them at home while extoling the virtues of fresh pickles and the nice rolls... Ah, sandwiches...

Saturday night, we went to karaoke with some of the teachers - it was girls' night out. I somehow got roped into singing "Isla Bonita" by Madonna with Nhuong, and someone misguidedly told me I could sing. Eleisa and I also sang "Macarena" - did you know that song had words in English? - and we had a flashback to 1996 as everyone danced in the front. We also sang "Amazing Grace" and one of the teachers sang along. Turns out one of her foreign friends had taught her the song. She's really nice, and we've talked whenever she's around because she really likes to spend time with foreigners.

The Hanoi team came in around 2 am from Sat. to Sun. We were so glad to see them. Yesterday, we all hung out - we had pho' for breakfast with Ms. Yen and Mr. Quy and then went to a cafe for our favorite fruit drinks. After that, we napped and hung out while Steven played the guitar and we sang along. It was great to just sit around and sing and laugh. Then Andrea, Steven, and I decided it would be a good idea if we went out to Cua Lo beach on our bikes. It's 30 km - about 13 miles - and we were feeling adventurous, so off we went with a pair of water bottles, a map, and a cell phone. The scenery was breathtaking, the ride was easy. It was the Vietnam I'd dreamed of: shops lining a narrow dusty streets, people standing outside shouting, "Hello! Hello!", cows lazing on the side of the road. The motorbikes zipped past us and the trucks forced us off the road, but it was a really nice ride. I felt happy and alive; I was just glad for the movement... We stopped for nuoc mia once, then rode on to a different beach where we walked and saw women clamming with the strangest equipment we'd ever seen. Andrea and I left Steven and struck up a conversation with one of the women in our limited Vietnamese. We didn't learn too much about the clamming, but it was nice to talk.

After that, we rode the remaining 6 km to Cua Lo and stopped for nuoc mia again before parking our bikes and joining Thanh, Eleisa, and Anna. They'd come by taxi. It was good to be on the beach with a group of foreigners. Andrea and I got drawn into a beach soccer game and played a bit before heading back to where Eleisa and Anna were lounging. We actually got to swim in our suits, and not suits covered up by an extra layer of clothing. It was nice, so nice... I got a sweet tan, and a bit of burn on my shoulders, but it was totally worth it. (I promised I covered myself with sunscreen before heading out... SPF 45!)
We thought it'd be a good idea for us to all ride back Vietnamese style: two people per bike, but one bike didn't have an extra seat, so Andrea went off on a xe om (motorbike taxi), and the rest of us set off. Eleisa rode with me on the back seat nursing a nasty bruise on my right knee. She made it a few kilometers before she switched for a seat behind Steven. I got a bike that was much too high for me, and we rode about 5 km before we stopped for a flat tire on Steven's bike. Then Eleisa got my bike, and I sat behind Steven. Again, another 5 km, and a flat tire.... By now, we'd run into one of Thanh's students who was riding with a friend. The friend said she knew of a place where we could get the bike fixed and we tried to find a xe om for Thanh and I. No luck with the xe om, so the girl's mother came. The girls let Steven borrow their bike (which was very pink and had a pink bell) and took our bike to get it fixed. The mother took Thanh and I back to the hotel. There are no coincidences, right? How amazing is that that just when the tire gave out, we ran into someone we knew?! That's the kind of thing that amazes me while I'm here. I've never been good at faith, but it's been so clear to me lately that if we just take our own hands off the situation, God steps in and provides just what we need.

We went out for dinner and dessert (more fruit juice, fried bananas, and some spicy green papaya salad that was what I actually wanted for dinner) and then came back to the hotel for some worship.

It was kind of surreal to be in that room, our voices filling the room, Steven's guitar leading, some lovely harmonies, and the other four people there with the same passion. Man, that room felt good. It was nothing deep: no long winded prayers, no one speaking, just some songs, most of which came out in jumbled pieces before they were fluid and lovely, but that room felt GOOD. God is faithful. He is good and just and FAITHFUL... I am so thankful for the grace He's poured out on us, for protection and provision, for family when I'm so far from mine...

And now another week. We're halfway through this adventure; more than halfway... Time flies, right? Maybe? LOL There have been days when it's dragged, but looking back, I can't believe it's almost over. But so much can happen in two weeks. So much...

Lazy Sunday...

We have been beyond lazy today. It is hot, ridiculously hot, possibly hotter than it was yesterday, and I have not been too eager to head outside.

Last night we went out with Ms. Yen and Mr. Quy. It wasn't quite what we expected, but it ended up being a good time. Ms. Yen is a lot of fun, and I really like spending time with her. I think she had a good time with us. Oh, we met a Ghanaian soccer player last night, too. He plays for the team here in Vinh City, and he has a bit of a crush on me, which made me feel a little uncomfortable. Mr. Quy was teasing me about that this morning.... I guess this is my brush with celebrity while I'm here in Vietnam. The guy is pretty famous here in Vinh.

Yesterday we went shoe shopping and to the market nearby. We are usually teaching in the evenings and were quite surprised to see that the city comes alive at around 5:30. There were people walking in the square, the markets are bustling, and everyone is out. I bought a pommelo at the market, and it's sitting on my desk, waiting for me to eat it. The best thing is that it was a quarter of the price that I pay for it back home. :) Don't worry, Maggie, I'll think of you as I eat it. Andrea and I also bought a soccer ball so we can take the boys to the park and play (or set up a game in the school lobby). So far, Thanh's nephew has had a ball with it in the hotel lobby. He's quite a handful, and a real cutie. He has been wandering in and out of our rooms looking for things to play with, and so far, he likes the ball most.

We're getting to be regulars on the motorbike front, and it's actually not as nervewracking when you're on the bike as when you're walking and watching them dodge in and out of traffic. They're quite practical here, I think. The wide sidewalks are a perfect parking lot for bikes, and they stir up a nice breeze in the humid Vietnamese summers. I would love to get one back home and use my car only in the winter or on rainy days. How sweet would I look on a Vespa? ;) Not to mention the gas I'd be saving.... How much IS gas these days, anyway?

Well, we've got a karaoke appointment at five, and it's just about time, so I'll be off. I'll have to share my stories of Ho Chi Minh's homeland tomorrow. I'm sure you're all dying to know. ;)