My ChipIn Page

I have a page where I've been udpating my Vietnam shenannigans...

http://jessicaandvietnam.chipin.com/jessica-in-vietnam

Do take a look!!!

Arohanui

- Jess.

The Journey to Tuy Hoa

I can't believe it's only been about 48 hours since I arrived in Vietnam.

It feels like it has been over a week! I have learnt and seen so much in this short space of time.

Firstly, the ride to Tuy Hoa. It was... well... pretty interesting.

I get on the bus with 2 other volunteers and 2 coordinators, and 1 of them asks for my jandals and puts them in a plastic bag. Not sure why she did that. But I look in the bus and everyone is barefoot. There are no seats, only bunk beds. The bunk beds are to sleep a person that's about 150cm tall. And they are really narrow. I take a top bunk, and I can't stretch my legs, nor can I sit up. The seat belt forces you to lie down. It is an 8 hour bus ride. Wooh!

After 3 hours of half sitting up in the bus, we got off and got served dinner. It was also our only toilet break. In Vietnam its mostly squat toilets. I've used one before but I can't remember the last time I used one. It does require some practice and a whole sack of guts! This time was a lot more difficult. I had my backpack and my green recycled bag on me, and it was also 6pm and getting quite dark! Ooh... I get shivers thinking about it.

We have dinner family style (heaps of dishes shared by all at the table), and the locals were so lovely to us, dishing us rice, telling us to eat, sliding dishes closer to us. You don't get this in London!

After dinner we continued our journey, but it got darker. I stayed up most of the journey. We went on roads where there were potholes the size of elephant footprints. The bus also went on both sides of the road, especially when it needed to avoid a large pothole. I made sure I had my seatbelt on at ALL times, and pretty much was in an ab crunch position the whole journey. At least I got a bit of a workout.

We get there really late but I am so excited I couldn't get to bed. Tomorrow is a whole other story.

Da Nang

I'm here! Not without dramas...

I got to Da Nang airport and waited for a bit, but no one came to pick me up. Luckily I printed out the number of the house I was staying at and rung them. Apparently they lost my arrival date.

Mom, Dad don't worry the airport is safe, and I'm totally fine. Met with the other volunteers, everyone is very nice!

Tomorrow I leave for Tuy Hoa, where my placement is, can't wait!

I have to get off now, but will write more when I get a chance.

Singapore

Have a quick stopover in Singapore before I fly to Da Nang.

Lawrence, Victor and Sally were so nice to put me up at their place and being so wonderfully hospitable. Thank you so so much. It made my stopover so much easier. Tips of the trade from the more experienced also helped greatly. I will keep them on board, I promise.

I went hunting for supplies in Singapore, hoping they would be cheaper than London, but unfortunately couldn't find everything I needed in the short amount of time I had there. Am quite dissappointed. I did manage to get some books, a baby thermometer, and some nappy rash cream to bring with me. So for those who helped me with supplies, thank you so much, I will make sure these get put to good use.

I will get more supplies when I get to Vietnam, as we were told that we could get things like pens, colour pencils there, which supports the local community also.

I fly out to Da Nang tomorrow, will keep my blog updated when I can, so keep checking back!

Nearly there...

For those of you who don't know, I'll be volunteering in orphanages in Central Vietnam for a month. Less than 24 hours to go before I get on the Piccadilly line to Heathrow Airport!

Thanks for all your lovely messages and special contributions - The GS team for the Vietnamese phrase book and cotton sleeping bag, Bev for your Kindy material, all you guys who helped chip in for supplies, Nik, James, Karen, Amy, Jason, James, Albert, Nathan, Allan... and these are only at time of writing!!!

I will be thinking of all of you guys when I'm there.

I better get packing... Will write more once I'm there.

Arohanui

Jess

Fira, Greece

We spent a week in Greece and found a place, of all places, in Fira, that does the best blueberry pancakes I have ever tasted. In Fira, a lady that goes by the name of Mama will totter out to the entrance and greet you with a loud HELLO!!!! She told us she makes her own maple syrup, and Canada gets really excited. We end up going back to this place three times.

But of course Greece is not just about their pancakes and loud, boisterous women. It is also about blue skies, very blue water, and making sure you pause long enough to appreciate it.

North Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam

Me and the same four girl crew from last year were at the North Sea Jazz Fest again, where we saw Chaka Khan, George Benson, Alicia Keys, Soil & Pimp Sessions (Yakuza death jazz group from Japan), Jill Scott, Cassandra Wilson, Mark Ronson and heaps others.

You know how at festivals they have tshirts every year? They do at North Sea as well. I start to play a game to see how many North Sea tshirts I can see from previous years. I see loads of 2007 and 2006s... Even some 1999s... Earliest is 1994, 14 years back. To think these guys have been coming to this festival from 14 years ago...

Well I stumble across an exhibition of posters from yesteryears... 1968, 1966... I see the listings... the names were... Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Herbie Hancock, Oscar Peterson... I really should have been born in the 50s.

Cuba

I spent two weeks in Cuba, solo. I went not knowing anyone there, nor did I know of anyone who has been there. Well, I had my Spanish Phrases Lonely Planet and made sure I had enough 120 film for my Diana+.

During my two weeks there, I catch buses around the country and see the most amazing things.

If you've seen pictures of Havana or Cuba where 1950 Chevrolets parked down the street of the corner store where they still use antiquated cash registers, Cuba is exactly like that.

During my 2 weeks there, I learnt a few things:

1 - If you miss your flight, there is going to be a silver lining for that dark, grey cloud. I missed my flight and had to spend a night in Madrid, where I met Oskar and Irene, who took me out to a jazz club where we hung out with the musicians after us and the guitarist asked me if I play because he said I looked very earnestly at his playing. So I told him I play the piano and am learning the sax, and they start showering me with CDs and DVDs of the band. If this was in London, you would probably have to fork out 30 quid at the min. Oskar and Irene also took me to a Spanish club where they only play Spanish music and clubbers only dance flamenco or that violent hip shaking dance. Madrid is so awesome!

2 - Cubans can dance all night, every night. And they do this so f**king amazingly. I was told everyone learns dance at school. Like Phys Ed. When I was in Vinales, a little place I visited for 3 days, there was only 1 "club". Every night I went to that club. Every night I saw the same people there, dancing their hearts out till 3 in the morning. Then they'd do the same thing the next night. On my last night there I scored a percussion lesson with one of the guys I met there. (See note 4 below). That evening my percussion instructor and a group of 12 people came to talk to us (me and a few non-locals I met on a tour in Vinales); and it was a mixture of frantic hand movements, broken English, broken Spanish and very loud laughter.

3 - Cuban guys can shake their hips vigorously and not look ridiculous. Cubans also call what we call the running man, "disco dancing". I know this because I was told to show them some dance moves. So I did the running man and they said, Ah... deesko deesko!

4 - Everyone plays at least 1 if not 2 or 3 musical instruments.

5 - Their passion and intensity is to be envied. They dance like they are about to explode. I would say the O word, but I know my mom will be reading this.

I love Cuba.

Leaving London

Not quite.

But I do have my bags packed.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.

First destination - Cuba.