Happy lunar new year!

These last two weeks have been jam packed with festivities as the lunar new year (known as Tet in Vietnam) kicked off on January 23rd. Basically it's an excuse to take time off work, party with friends, eat delicious food, and in many Vietnamese cases, drink lots of beer. It's been a really great opportunity for me to meet new people (since nobody's working and everybody is celebrating with family) and get to know my city a little more before getting to work on my project early February.
During my orientation in Saigon, one of the Fulbrighters (Laurel) introduced me to her friend/co-worker Tho who lives in Nha Trang and was going home for Tet. I've been fortunate enough to meet up with Tho and her family several times here in Nha Trang before she goes back to Saigon in a few days. One thing I've learned is that Vietnamese people are very generous and big-hearted - they open up their homes and welcome you into their family, and they are such a friendly people. I've had a wonderful time with Tho's family and it's been almost a daily affair going to their place for at least one meal. The day after Tet, Tho and her family took me and Laurel to Vinpearl island, a small but beautiful island just off the coast of Nha Trang, connected by a cable car! It was the coolest thing being lifted over the sea in a gondola, and it was quite an experience seeing the big blue sea underneath me instead of a blanket of snow!
Many new friends and new experiences over here in Nha Trang, it's been very exciting. Tonight I will go to Hue (another small town about 300km north of Nha Trang) with some friends I met here to visit their hometown for a week. I'm really excited to travel a bit within Vietnam and see more of the country!


Tho, Laurel (another Fulbrighter, based in Saigon and visiting Tho's family for Tet) and Tho's little brother

Tho's father

A view of Nha Trang from the cable car

Riding the cable car to Vinpearl isand

Dinner with Tho and her family during Tet

Vietnamese rice field

Nha Trang = paradise

Well, I think it's safe to say I picked a paradise location for my research here in Vietnam. Nha Trang is regarded by most as the vacation hot spot of the country because of it's key location along the coast, it's stunning beaches, crystal clear ocean, beautiful mountain backdrop and amazingly friendly people. I was surprised by how quickly I fell in love with this place, and I've quickly come to realize why everybody at the Fulbright orientation was jealous about where I was headed for the next ten months. My apartment is about 200 meters from the beach, and centrally located in the 'western' part of town meaning there are a lot of wonderful restaurants and activities for me to do during my time off. I've already got myself a motorbike to cruise the town, and lately I've been spending a lot of my days swimming in the ocean, meeting new friends, giong out to restaurants with my professors and peers, exploring the city for new and exciting things to do, and basically anything else I can think of. Right now is Tet, the Vietnamese new year, so everybody is off work and celebrating. It's perfect because it gives me two weeks to get to know Nha Trang without having to stress about getting my project in order, so I've been having a lot of fun figuring this place out :)


My friend's cats

Boats at the harbor

A fishing boat

One of the islands off the coast

The beach outside my apartment

the city at night

another view of the beach outside my apartment

beautiful place

Final days in Saigon

We had our orientation over the past few days and it was great meeting the other Fulbrighters (who will be spread out all over Vietnam when we leave here) and getting to experience some Vietnamese culture. We took a day trip to the Mekong Delta where we watched how they make fish sauce, rice paper, crafts, and a bunch of other things. The food was great, the people were friendly, and all in all it was a fantastic experience. Other than that, it's been a lot of sitting in lecture halls and listening to a lot of information regarding our stay here in Vietnam and how to make the most of it. I think in this situation, pictures will speak better than words, so I'll put up a bunch here. Now it's off to Nha Trang, my home city for the next ten months! Super excited!

A bunch of meats at the market. Pig ears anyone??

Living the hard life in the Mekong Delta

An artist and his shop (really great work!)

Vietnamese woman makes rice paper

A typical sight in Vietnam

Making these beautiful works of art is very labor intensive! Takes a line of workers several hours just to finish one!

Incredible work

Local Vietnamese spirits may have a snake or scorpion inside...watch out!

Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City is nothing short of a non-stop hustling bustling city. Everything seems to operate at a hundred miles per hour over here – the streets are packed with motorbikes and cars, people everywhere, persistent honking, thousands of little shops selling this and that… visiting this major city for a few days was an experience in itself. Though not being much of a city person myself, I can gladly say that I am only a couple days away from flying to Nha Trang – the location I will be spending the remainder of my time here in Vietnam.
Despite flying in a few days ago, I am still trying to get over a nasty bout of jetlag. Waking up at 2am and taking long naps during the day probably isn’t helping… anywho it’s been fun exploring this wild city since I’ve arrived. So far I’ve picked up a few things:

Nobody, and I mean nobody, speaks English out here.

Crossing the streets is a dangerous, heart-stopping activity.

My fear of not having enough funds to feed my never ending hunger has been assuaged – to my amazement, I’ve been able to eat myself happy for less than $6 a day! Yay!

Being one of the only white people the locals have ever seen, you get used to being an object of amusement for them.

Being the only person over six feet tall in this country, I must be considered a giant…

Well, more to come soon, I have orientation until the 13th, then it’s off to Nha Trang to work with some lobsters!

Missing everyone back home! Love you guys!

powerlines look pretty messy...

This girl gets it done in heels!

Yummy Pho!

Need some shoes?

Checked in to a hotel and they put me in the 303!

Balloons anyone?

Mini market

Mini Market

Long travels...

After a pretty grueling 36 hours of travel, I've finally made it to Ho Chi Minh City! I'll be here for the next week for orientation, then it's off to Nha Trang to become an official lobstologist! I'll post a better update tomorrow, but right now it's 3am so I'd better be off to bed. Pictures coming soon!

Flying out..

Just waking up at 5:30 and now on my way to the airport... this is my biggest adventure yet and I can't wait to get it started!