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What's new this week ?
Writing stories here is much like a journal and recounts some of the events that mark my daily life overseas. It is very theraputic for me since it gets me to put words to experiences and emotions and share these with family and friends. Hopefully, this will also be interesting to you and shed some light into what life can be like living and working overseas...
January 4, 2009
A new year has come...
I had a very quiet New Year and I was sleeping when others were doing the count-down. No regrets tho as this was right thing for me this time around. Nothing special on January 1st either, and that was fine. I had planned to take Jan. 2nd off work but in the end I had to go to the office. Next week we are planning to go to the field for the first time to visit the vegetable farmers and meet the local partners. So I had to prepare for this, make an agenda with appointments of key partners, set objectives and get the things underway. I will be gone for 4 days, and this will be the first time I put our nanny to the test, and see how it goes. Of course she'll have to stay at the house and care for Rémi. Let's hope for the best...
We just had 2 days with our friend Karen who has bee traveling through Vietnam and Cambodia. She passed through Hanoi and stayed at our house, in our guestroom on the 4th floor! On Friday we enjoyed Huong's cooking of vietnamese rolls and stir fry as well as grilled salmon. Saturday we went to the zoo and invited my friend Thang who worked with me a few years ago as
translator. It was great to see him again, and he came with his nephew who is 8 years old, so Rémi had fun running after him. We went on rides together at at times just the kids, then came home for lunch. That night, we went to a floating restaurant which had huge aquariums filled with fish. When a table ordered fish, the cook went to the aquarium, got the one desired, put it in a bucket then showed it to the table before heading to the kitchen to hit its head and chop it. Rémi followed him around and came back to the table to explain how the fish had gone from the aquarium to the plate - "Papa, le monsieur il prend le poisson, puis les gens dit ok, puis le monsieur frappe la tête du poisson, puis il coupe la tête, puis il le prepare et le met dans l'assiette. C'est ça papa?" !
Today is Sunday and Mrs. Hop came by the house to do the dishes and then left with Rémi. He will spend the day at her house and then come home at 4-5 pm. This will give me time to relax, recup and do some chores around the house. It has been gray and cold for weeks now, with no sun and chilly temperatures. Oh yes, Karen loved to hear every morning on the loudspeakers just outside my house the morning propaganda and revolutionary music from 6:30 am to 7 am. What a way to wake up feeling like you should rally for the communist cause! We only get a break on Sundays...
December 28, 2008
A quiet Xmas at home...
By 5 pm on December 24th, I was so exhausted I was ready to fall flat on my face. Too much to do in too little time, tho yet again I must stress that all went well. Still, the only Xmas wish for this papa was rest, and that is what I got. On Xmas day I started our new house help Huong, and that was a relief otherwise I would have had to clean the house top to bottom. But thank God she came at the right time, and even cooked us a nice rice noodle dish with shrimps and veggies that we both enjoyed for Xmas night. It was the first time that I felt that I had caught up to everything, and our life was now on track and in order. A few more things to buy like a table for the laundry room, chairs, heaters and some food shopping got things done. I had taken off Dec 26th so that I could
have a long weekend, so Rémi was off to school (thank God they have a Xmas program off regular school schedule) so I rested some more. In the evening we were invited with other VECO staff to an expats' house for a party, so I took Rémi along. Not much action over the weekend, except more rest and some shopping. I also set up with another woman to help out on the weekend, mainly on Saturday to take Rémi so I can have a break, and also 2 nights per month so I can go out with friends for dinner, when I do end up making friends that is! Her name is Mrs. Hop and she's older and very nice. She also does the dishes on Saturday when she comes by. We love our house which very much feels like home. One thing I enjoy is buying beautiful fresh roses for about 1$ a dozen, so I have them in the kitchen and livingroom much to my delight!
December 21, 2008
Moving into our new house!
I was just a mad mad week again. Wednesday was the big moving day where I took Rémi to school, then rushed back to the hotel to finish packing our bags and load everything in a taxi. I brought it all to the new house, then went to a supermarket to do some shopping - soap, dishes, kettle, oven, glasses, pots 'n pans, etc. Then off to a
friend of a friend's house to pick up some of his furniture since he's leaving the country and had sold me a few things, mainly a sofa set and a bicyle. Then unpacking of things, washing up so that by 5 pm, I am ready to pick Rémi up at school and make dinner. Whata life! And all day long, workers are in the house fixing up hot water tanks in each bathroom plus 3 air cons, and bringing in furniture. The next day, off to work and same with Friday. I went
shopping for an electric scooter, made up my mind, went to the bank and called back to have it delivered to work. So no more taxi, and now all I have to do is figure out how to get around this huge Metropolis. On Friday evening all my office staff was invited to our Country Rep's house for a Xmas party, and that was very nice. There were many kids around so Rémi had a great time. Plus of course, there were nice presents from Santa Claus tho he did not make an appearance in his red attire.
Saturday - more workers to deliver the washing machine, more furniture and other repairs while I unpacked our stuff. Saturday evening, I ventured downtown on my scooter and got lost big time, so I kept having to ask the way to people. I was to meet my cousin Guy who is visiting here from Canada with his girlfriend. So we met up and went for Korean Food for dinner. It was nice getting to know each other and hearing about their impressions of Vietnam. Then I tried to get home but got lost again and had to ask directions. One guy asked me
where I was trying to go, and I answered - "home!". Eventually we made it. Then by Sunday, the house was a mess and filthy, so I cleaned from top to bottom. In the meantime I have been interviewing women for the job of housekeeper/nanny, but so far no one "feels" right. Too young, no English, too expensive, etc. Today Rémi played in the street with the neighborhood kids all afternoon and it was such a blessing to see him having so much fun, and it gave me a break. For sure now he will pick up Vietnamese quickly since that is all that the kids can speak, of course.
Our house is really nice with 5 floors, tho only 3 that we will use regularly. The first floor is the kitchen but it has cathedral 2 floor high ceiling and you can see the stairs going up to the livingroom on the second floor. The third floor has 2 bedrooms, mine and Rémi's. Then 2 more bedrooms on the 4th floor, and finally a storage/prayer room on the fifth floor with also the washing machine area and the terrace. So when I am doing laudry and the doorbell rings, I have to go down 5 floors! This will require some space and time management, and provide for some great exercise for big papa! This year I won't be able to take Xmas holidays since I just started my new job and there is much to be done. We have been so busy and away from the Xmas craze of home so it doesn't even feel like Xmas is just around the corner. Granted, there is no snow either. Tonight we just had dinner with one of my colleague who is Nepali. He is here with his wife and 2 kids, one daughter who is 3 and the son who is 7. We had a nice time, and I am sure we'll do this often. Contrary to my time with CECI, here I do not know any expats or Canadians, so my social life for now is a bit dim.
December 14, 2008
Rémi can drive a car...
Next to the lake where we went yesterday, there is an amusement park with a zoo integrated. So this morning I went with Rémi, and we first went for the go-cart. He wanted me with him, but after a few rounds he was doing so well that I got out and just let him drive on his own. He did great, but he was easily distracted and kept looking all around and not where he was driving. Well, he has another 11 years
to improve his driving skills! Then we went on other rides, saw the animals in cages like the tigers, and saw also a nice peacock showing himself off. There were a lot of people, but to my surprise I was the only foreigner there. Then we went to the market near our hotel for lunch with deep fried spring roll, nem, and some tofu. We met a Vietnamese woman who spoke perfect French, so I asked her if she knows anyone who could come and do housework for us. She'll get back to me...
December 13, 2008
We have found a house to call home...
Over the week we got a nice routine going, getting a motorcycle taxi that they call here Xe-Om to pick us up at the hotel every morning at 8:15 am. He takes us to Rémi's school, we drop him off, and then I either came back to the hotel if I have to go look at houses or I go to the office. Then at 4:45 pm, he comes again, and we go to get Rémi at school. After looking at many houses - some quite old and dark, others near main noisy roads, some too big, it finally came down to 2 houses which stood out against all the others - they had both been completely renovated so they were clean and modern, both near Rémi's school. In the end I chose the one that is the closest, and negotiated with the owner on the furniture she would put - washing machine, 3 air con, beds, kitchen table, wardrobes. We still have much furniture to get, and then all the small things like dishes, blankets, brooms, bookshelves, pillows, etc. It even has a very kitch plastic bamboo plantation corner with crane birds and pastic grass in the kitchen and another set-up in the livingroom (pictures to come later!). I wouldn't necessarily have chosen it, but why not, hein? Wednesday Nov. 17th is the big moving day, so I look forward to this. I have been battling a cold all week, at times feeling a bit low on energy. Today is Saturday so we went near our hotel to a little lake where they have "pedalo" (pedal boats?) in the shape of swans. We went around the lake a few times and that was nice. Rémi gets a lot of attention from everyone who all want to know if he is Vietnamese and if he speaks the language. Funny thing about Hanoi, NO ONE speaks English here. It is quite stunning to go to the airport, supermarket or anywhere, and people just don't speak English. So I will need to start Vietnamese lessons soon tho the little I learned last time is coming back to me and it is quite useful.
December 10, 2008
Getting our life on track in Hanoi...
We have been staying at a hotel since we arrived and it has worked out pretty good. The room is large and I have access to the kitchen downstairs to make my "real strong" coffee in the morning. We managed to get Rémi settled at his school and he just walked in his new classroom and said "bye papa!". They say kids adapt well, but Rémi wins the big time award! His teacher says he is wonderful, listens in class and works well. What more could I ask for? I spent yesterday at the Air Cargo trying to get all my boxes which had arrived from Nepal. Thank God I had the VECO translator with me because we had to go to about 10 different counters, fill in various forms, get stamps and signatures, copies of this and that before they brought my stuff. In 2 hours we were through and glad for it. In the meantime I have been looking at houses but most of them are typical Vietnamese - very narrow and 4 or 5 floors up! You can have the kitchen on the first floor, the livingroom on the second, and one bedroom per floor. I can just imagine Rémi yelling "papa" and me having to climb 4 floors each time. No way! So I am trying to find places that at least have the kitchen and living room on the same floor and 2 bedrooms per floor. I have ALWAYS been lucky with finding the most perfect/amazing places in any country, and I think I have already found the right place - near Rémi's school, very modern and fully furnished! But rent in Hanoi is SO EXPENSIVE! Most places are over 1000 US$! This place is 1000 US$ but furnished. So now we need to work out the details, the 6 month rent advance payment and the contract/lease.
December 6, 2008
Our family is reunited in Vietnam!
I must admit that when I travel with Roxy, it is always a huge stress because so much is out of my control - whether they will "lose/forget" her somewhere in transit, whether the pilot will remember to put oxygen in the cargo hold, whether it will be too cold for her, whether customs will let us thru. By the time we landed in Hanoi, I was anxious yet hoping for the best. Well, Roxy was fine and they let us out of the airport without looking at her health papers or asking any questions at all! What a relief! So we arrived at our hotel at around 1 am, got somewhat settled in and then went to bed. This afternoon we go to see some houses for rent, then dinner at my NGO Head Representative's house. A new life unfolds here for us with more to tell very soon...And on Sunday evening, we met up with our friend Karen who is visiting here from Nepal! We went to a traditional Vietnamese restaurant that serves only fried fish, cooked at your table with hot coals. She now goes on to visit Central Vietnam, then Cambodia and she should be back to celebrate New Years with us, in our new house!
December 5, 2008
In transit in Seoul
The last time I was at Seoul airport, it was over 8 years ago. And now they have a new airport that rivals the ones in Bangkok and Kuala Lampur - it is modern, huge, bright, with good food, shops, a nice play area for kids (see photo below) and a Transit Airport Hotel on site. We arrived last night past 1 am, tired, but I first had to check and make sure Roxy was fine. We could not take her out, so it took 30 minutes to convince Korean Air to just look in on her to see if she had enough water. Since our transit time is very long, 18 hours, I then had to tackle the problem of where to stay. The information desk said the Transit Hotel was full, but it was the
same lady who looked in on Roxy so by then we were friends and she found us a room at a good price, right at the airport. We settled in past 2 am and slept until noon! I was able to access Internet so I caught up on some urgencies while Rémi watched cartoons. Had lovely sushi for dinner and Rémi had his favorite, dumplings, or momos as they are called in Nepal. Now 2 hours to go, with huge windows that allow for a great view of all the planes landing and taking off, much to Rémi's delight (see photo above). Seoul airport is definitely a nice place to transit, and the Koreans have been ever so friendly. Life is good. The only worry or cloud in my mind is whether Vietnam customs/immigration will let us take Roxy with us right away. Stay tuned for more soon...