Here we are again

March is always the month that feels like a black hole which swallows me up and never seems to end. This is probably because it comes after February. Or maybe March drags on because it seems like a time for change, but change is slow to happen. At home, it's the beginning of spring, but it usually stays cold with the potential for snow even into April. It may get warmer for a few days and then plunge back into winter. So, the delay and even backwards motion of change seems to make March into a month that becomes an eternity. Even now for some reason I feel like I've been living in March, 2009 forever. Maybe this is because the heat makes every afternoon unbearable, and now instead of spending the afternoons snug in my air-conditioned pad, i have to brave the sun's rays to drive to the public school, sometimes more than one in the same day. One day I actually had four different schools to go to, almost all right in a row.

I also have been waking up earlier on the weekends to teach children's classes at Elite. These classes are 45 minutes each, using the same books I've been used to at the public school, but it takes more creativity to fill up a longer class time. The classes are smaller so it allows for better interaction. But the students are no less restless, and begin to demand games after 15 minutes of class.

So, waking up earlier and having more to do in a day certainly makes each day longer. Which in turn makes the whole month longer. At any rate, it's not bad. Time doesn't move faster or slower, just our perception of it. So, I'm only in Vietnam for a limited amount of time, and I want to enjoy every moment while I'm here. I'm taking chances to eat out at various places for lunch or hang out at a coffee shop when I have the chance. Mostly because it's so cheap. And now with my busier schedule, I'm making more money and I'm starting to feel like part of the aristocracy. I was surprised to hear, but I guess it shouldn't be surprising, how much money a foreign English teacher makes compared to locals. Even working about 20 hours a week, I make twice as much as someone working 40+ for a company.

So, while I keep hearing grim news about the economic recession from the US, I haven't really felt the effects here. Nevermind my debts from college for the moment...

So my vacation to Nha Trang is finally going to happen, next week. This is a trip I paid for when I first came to Vietnam but I delayed going on it. Finally I have an opportunity to go, and I feel that it's at the perfect time for me to take a little time off to relax. I also haven't seen the beach in quite awhile. It will be good to hang out near the ocean and go swimming a little before the rainy season kicks in again. It's supposed to be a really beautiful place, very popular with tourists and locals as well.

As for the future... I was planning a glorious trip around all of Asia, stopping in every country for a brief time to soak up the culture and move on... but I realize that that's quite impractical and expensive to book so many flights. So I'm now interested in just traveling around Thailand and Laos, checking out some relaxing beaches and nature and temples and such. When I think about what I like to do on vacation, I realize that I'm not big on shopping. So, there's really no point in going to Singapore or Hong Kong, two big cities that are sophisticated and wealthy but I think I've had enough of cities for now. However, I think I'd love to make it up to China to check out Beijing, the forbidden palace, the great wall, maybe even Tibet. And rather than fly everywhere, I want to utilize trains. It will take longer, but the experience of riding through the countryside will be worth it, I think.

Since tonight I don't work, I decided to wander to a cafe on my street to blog from there, because I always drive past it and it advertises free wifi. However, it's not airconditioned, the fan just moves back and forth, and although it's wide open to the outside and it's 9:30 at night, it's sweltering in here and I'm sweating bullets. Specifically, about one bullet per minute. That's some record fast sweating. I just checked the temp online, it's 82 degrees, feels like 90, 79% humidity. I'm starting to feel that rainy season can't come fast enough.