It is so nice to have today to just chill out and I have finally found somewhere with WiFi so that I can get my dose of CBC 3 podcast. I have really missed that!
Having a bit of time to myself makes me feel a bit more normal again after the shock and stress of adjusting to a new environment. I have been hesitant to turn down any invitations from the other WUSC Canadians (Dave, Swee-Lin and Elaine) because I know I will very soon be yearning for some social contact! I have been quite spoiled by having these instant friends here in Hanoi who have shown me around and taken care of me quite a bit. We are all western Canadians with the other three coming from Alberta, so we have a similar vibe and sense of humour.
The weekend Dave and Swee-Lin went to Ha Long Bay for a kayaking adventure and invited me along but I didn't think that I should spend so much moolah on touring when I will need to put up 3 months of rent and possibly some furnishings when I get to Tra Vinh. Yes, that means that I am still in Hanoi. The plan for leaving keeps getting changed and it is unclear what is going on, but I think that I will leave this coming week... maybe Thursday.
Everyone keeps telling me that I will love it in the south, so I am really looking forward to going. Hanoi is a bit crazy with all of the traffic and disorganized bustle of life and I think living in a smaller town will be good for me. I am really going to need to get it together to learn some Vietnamese though as I have been spoiled in Hanoi where pretty much everyone speaks English.
This week Jonathan booked a flight to come and visit me in January. I am glad to have this to look forward to during what rough moments surely lay ahead in a small Vietnamese town in the middle of nowhere.
The director of WUSC was recently joking about me going "Apocalypse Now" in the Mekong jungle and I keep chuckling still about the thought of myself going AWOL and setting up some cult in the middle of the jungle. ee gad.