February 1st Guesthouse and Youth Center

oh, i got my cell working. you can call me anytime. 84-0978564802 calling from the internet or you can go to argyle and get a phone card or something. but i think calling from the internet is cheapest. i believe i can call from the internet place across the street from the guesthouse where i am staying at, using their internet calling phone thing for practically nothing, nothing at all. an hour of calling equals an hour of internet which equals about 4.000 dong, which equals to about 25cents. it's pretty awesome.

the guesthouse is a function of the Foreign Affairs office. So it's pretty safe and sweet living here. Though they do not have the wireless internet which they had previously advertised. I will only be staying here a few days, to a couple of weeks at a time, since every two weeks, we are traveling to a different part of the country for two weeks. crazy how our schedule is.

across the street from the guesthouse is the Youth Center, always filled with activities. Especially during this time of the year, Tet. I recently discovered that there is wireless at the youth center, so i will now bring my computer over there more often. There is a festival and loud music pretty everyday for like 10 days straight there. there are guys sitting out front on the sidewalk, with their wares, writing vietnamese calligraphy, called "thu-phap". They are mostly young guys, with a few professional artists as well. There was no girl sitting out front. There were girls helping, but none, maybe one, was sitting with her own stall, to represent and show off her talents. Maybe girls aren't supposed to sit out in public like that? I don't know. I'm sure there are plenty of talented young women out there, I just have not met them yet. I made a couple of artists friends and they are awesome and amazingly nice, talented people. it;s nice to past my friends when i go by to go the internet. i think i made an acquaintance, and i am glad for it. :O)

i'm finally getting adjusted here. i can walk the streets, figure out where i'm going, figure out where some of the neighborhoods are. i don't feel completely lost or so vulnerable when i am by myself. i think that is an extremely important step, where i feel comfortable walking by myself, which i never did feel before. i feel more comfortable shopping; though i know people are still charging me higher prices, i don't mind spend the extra fifty cents or so.

i enjoy class. the economics classes are going to be really challenging things, but the rest of the readings are interesting and relevant, thought written in a pretty general way about vietnam's history and complicated nuances.

i hung out with my aunt today, running errands, getting my phone unlocked, getting a book bag, stopping by her neighborhood to hang out and grab some things. sometimes i still question if i can do this, and if i have the strength, and then i realize i do. i want to do this for myself. i am determined to build a network here and to make an awesome independent study project, and to make people love me so much they want to be my friend. i am going to impress people so much, they would want to hire me! ;O) hahahhaha.

i am heading out to the mangrove forests to the southeast of Sai Gon for saturday and sunday, so for the next two days i might not have internet. i will try to get internet as soon as i can, but it will probably be at least a day and a half before i can gt back to the city and to normal internet usage.

i realize something. i realize i put a lot of efforts into things and people i am passionate about, that i take personally, that have personal meaning. art and Viet Nam are personal to me.

viet nam has a strange impact on me. i feel energetic. and when i am tired, i am not tired out of boredom. i am tired out of a good day of activity and adventures. truly. i feel good everyday. i wake up early. i shower. i brush my teeth. i feel tired and cranky, but then i feel good again. i learn, i get excited, i doubt. i go through a whole cycle of feeilngs, which tells me my mind and myself is constantly wake and stimulated, invigorated. i look forward to the rest of the semester. and with the more hope i have, the more doubt i also have. but that is okay, doubt will make me keep working hard.

i enjoy it here. and as always, i wish i can show it all to you.