SesameStreetSchool

 The apartment is comfortable,, there is plenty of food nearby and we're excited to begin our next phase. Larry came by in a car and took us to meet Nancy at the school.  It is quite a distance from Tainan so it doesn't appear we will be living in the apartment. It's in a suburb called Hunei-definately a smaller town than Tainan. More like a village, a farming village where the main business is fish farming.  

When we arrived, Nancy informed Barbara that she must give a demonstration lesson.  This seems to be the norm.  It is also the norm to not tell you ahead of time.  Arin was also invited to demo and decided to do it.  The demos were an hour long. I think this is rude and abusive. The schools are basically getting free teaching.  After the demos, we were fed, then reminded about the group dinner tomorrow night.  There was no feedback on the lesson and are we hired or not?????. So here we are left in the dark.  The Asian cultures seem to have no urgency.  Since we aren't paying rent, we are just going with the flow.  I mean, we are staying at Nancy's house so eventually she needs to make a move.  There appear to be no other Westerners working at the school and maybe not even in the town of Hunei,  The Taiwanese staff are very nice, unlike the former Vietnamese staff at ILA, and I think they get fed dinner every night.  Lots of schools do that.  After our demo, Nany fed us lunch. You will never guess what it was. Here is a hint. What is the most iconic Western restaurant? Did you guess it? Fast food! And not just any fast food, McDonalds fast food. You should have seen the school staff. They were so proud to be able to give American food to Americans. They were beaming. It reminded me of the times in Bien Hoa when a local person would score a Budwiser beer and offer it to us as American delicacy. So here we are, finally in the midst of Taiwanese culture looking forward to real Chinese food only to discover that McDonalds is on the menu!  Not only that, but Arin is a vegetarian. Later, Nancy asked what we wanted for dinner. Our request was fried rice for dinner. They couldn't believe it.  

The school is 20 minutes to the beach by motorbike.  We do not really want to live in this town, but it is probably the best bet for Arin to get a job without a diploma, and it pays $65,000 TD per month which is $2000 USD.  Arin could go to college on that amount.  Also, we feel obligated now.

A house in Tainan

As promised, out BnB friends helped us find a job.  The AirBnb has new people booked for tonight se we need to get a job and relocate to a new place. Yesterday our hosts introduced us to a guy from Colombian named Sabastian.  He has been in Taiwan for 6 years and is quite the entrepreneur.  Among his many endeavors, today he is wearing the hat of English teacher recruiter.  He is trying to fix us up with a job at The Sesame Street School located in a nearby village. Today he arrived on his motorbike and informs us that even before meeting with our prospective employers, an employer sponsored group dinner is scheduled for next Saturday.  So what does that mean?  Is Barbara hired before even meeting the employer???  As usual, cultural differences abound. 

Sebastian carried us on his motorbike to a restaurant where we met Larry whose family owns The Sesame Street School. Nothing was finalized at the meeting, except that when Larry informed his mother, Nancy, that we had no place to stay, Nancy offered us her apartment in Tainan.  So now we have a woman whom we have never met, inviting us to live in her home, on the recommendation of Sebastian whom we just met, who vetted us on the word of our Airbnb hosts who have known us for 3 days. Larry gave us a  key and we now have the house all to ourselves. Neither Nancy nor her son are even staying here with us. There is cash everywhere, what looks like important papers, and all sorts of personal belongings lying about. I guess living on an island provides its own security  They figure we can not get off the island undetected so what is our potential harm?  Anyway, the 5th floor apartment with no elevator is ok and we are able to pirate off a neighbor's internet.  As usual, Barbara and Arin have only one key between them so are virtually attached at the hip.

Larry came by tonight and took us to the school where Arin and Barbara both gave a demonstration lesson.  We have no idea if Nancy liked our lesson as there was no feedeback.  There appear to be no other Westerners working at the school and maybe not even in the town, which is off the beaten path.  The staff are very nice and I think we get dinner every night.  Today they offered McDonalds and fried rice.  The school is actually in a town called Hunei.  It is 20 minutes to the beach.  That is the important part..

Tainan, Taiwan

We visited many schools and no one was hiring.  We visited the beach in Tainan and it was not impressive. The motorbikes are out of control. We are probably not going to move to Tainan.

Last night in Taipei

We spent our last night in a new BnB.  This one better reflects the city-clean, spacious, airy.  The last one was a bit musty and dark which was a good transition from Vietnam.  We went to our first night market, the Raohe, which is literally right around the corner.  Tomorrow we go to the railroad which is literally right across the street. We depart to Tainan, a smaller city where Barbara hopes to find a job.  We will stay in a BnB run by a couple of teachers who promise to help Barbara find a job.

AirBnB

Our first AirBnB placement is in the SongShan district.  Even though it is in the center of town, it is incredibly quiet.  Our host, Yogee is as helpful as can be, even letting us arrive early.  He rents out two rooms and our first roommate was a Korean man in the next room.. After that, a German fellow joined our household.  It is so comfortable that we feel part of the family.  Barbara has been all over town looking for jobs.  Even though there is an excellent underground train, she still spends about 2 hours trying to locate the schools.  She had two interviews.  One of them seems very casual, but the other is just the opposite and she is not interested.  Apparently she had a bad experience with some school in Vietnam to which I heard her referring as she walked down the street after non casual school interview.

Taipei, Taiwan

Culture shock!!!!  I was made in Vietnam so I am in shock to see that other places in the world are so clean! I had no idea!  Taipei is modern, clean, and best of all, pedestrians have the right of way. Wow,  I am speechless.  Give me a couple of days before I can  post again.

Note from Barbara:  If you remember from the first post, The Water Bottle Chronicles was founded on the premise that I had not personally purchased a water bottle since Nov 2015.  Now, due to airline regulations, I was forced to leave my last water bottle behind in Khoa's car.  Since coming to Taiwan I have not had the same luck, therefore, I am calling an end to The Water Bottle Chronicles.  If you wish to continue following my adventures, you may tune in to my next blog.

Red Eye to Taiwan

Hello, Barbara bought me on the plane.  My name is LaVie.  I heard through the LaVie grapevine that I am the first water bottle that Barbara has had to purchase since leaving Sacramento in November 2015.  Not only that, but she had to pay another $1 sky tax which is something the airline added to the normal fee.  I am probably the most expensive water bottle that will ever be purchased in Asia.  Anyway, as you know, Barbara came from Vietnam and is taking the red eye on VietJet.  She used her usual trick as the last person entering the plane so she could see which aisles were empty and get a whole row to herself.  It was a nice flight that left Ho Chi Minh City at 1:30 am arrived in Taiwan at 5:55am.  The only glitch was having to purchase a return ticket in order to get the USA free 90 day visitor Visa.  Taiwan, like many other countries, will not let you enter the country if you do not have an exit ticket.  Thankfully, a nice lady at the ticket counter let us use her computer to purchase a ticket with a 24 hour free cancellation.  She say she has helped many people this way.  I wonder if she can fathom the depths of her good deed. This simple act by a person working at a obscure job in an obscure airport in the middle of Southeast Asia has probably saved people thousands of dollars, not to mention, mountains of stress and everything that goes along with that.

Barbara: Alright, it's been a lot of fun writing in the third person, but since the budget airline didn't give me a free water bottle,
I'm in a new, less attractive phase now, the phase where every trip to the airport is filled with trepidation. The phase where something goes wrong every time.....

Good bye Vietnam 13, 15 die

Arin and Barbara carried their luggage to the pool area which is the shortest path to where our ride was waiting.  Luckily, Hasnoor and Josh were in the Sky Cafe and escorted us to the car, helping with the luggage.  Our friend Khoa was waiting with his car as he had volunteered to drive us to the airport, and his daughter Payton came along.  I am glad they were our drivers, because, due to airline restrictions, Barbara had to leave me in Khoa's car when he dropped her off at the airport, and it is a very nice SUV.  40,000 new cars are imported into Vietnam every month and Barbara is very curious as to what the streets will look like in 2 years.  Who knows where I will be then? Tam Biet Barbara.  Hen gap li!

Street side seafood until midnight 13 alive arin uses

A group of Barbara's coworkers gathered for a seafood feast at the place where I go with Arin to buy vegetables.  When purchasing vegetables, we had seen muscles, clams and what not displayed. Seafood sitting in the hot sun all day did not look safe, so up until now, I'd not had the chance to accompany a meal. But when we ordered our food tonight, it was still alive.  This is how it is kept safe.  The street side eateries are filled with child size wooden chairs or plastic step stools as seats.  The plastic or wooden tables are also child sized.  Under the table is just dirt, and the motorbikes are about 5 feet away.  In other words, it is not clean, but if you want to be in Vietnam you just have to embrace it.  We had to wait until everyone got off work, so we went to eat at 9:15 pm.  At one point, Barbara noticed that the traffic had stopped.  We did not finish until well after midnight. What a great final memory of Vietnam.

Going away party hosted by the family

Dung invited everyone for a going away party.  We had delicious eggrolls and Bi Bui gave Barbara a little wooden elephant for which she seared high and low at the college  night market.  Everybody was there-Bi Bui's family, Dung's family, Thang Sue and Mr Thien.  A nice time was had by all and for the first time in history, the gathering only lasted 3 hours and did  not involve outside trips, because Arin and Barbara both had to work tonight.  So we went to AMA for the last time.  Mary, the director, kept squeezing Barbara's hand and saying how much she would miss her.

A typical date with Dung's family.

Barbara likes to hang around with this local family headed by a Vietnamese woman named, Dung, pronounced Yum, as in Yuma, Arizona.  Every date with Dung turns into an all day event (see Vung Tau Beach post).  Today, Barbara requested assistance with a haircut for her and Arin, so at 10:30 am, Dung and family pick up Barbara and Arin in their van.  The first thing Dung asks Barbara is "Are you hungry?" Barbara was determined not to make this another marathon day so answered no.  Dung and gang head to the hairdresser where we spent an hour because Barbara agreed to a 30 minute shampoo???  The haircut was great and we were on track for a short day until the hairdresser decided she could not cut Arin's hair short enough and decided he must go to a barber.  Dung has one near her house so we pick up food on the way.  As soon as we arrive, Dung invites Nhu and her mother (who had just left our house an hour earlier) to the big event that "Barbara and Arin are here."   Arin finally gets a haircut at 3pm when the shops reopen and we await our friends' arrival.  Dung keeps telling us 5 minutes, but it is actually another hour until our friends arrive.  Once Nhu arrives, things take a turn for the better because she can translate  Usually we do not know what is going on so Barbara finds herself waiting and waiting for who knows what, then gets driven who knows where. Nhu's mom invites everyone to coffee but Dung says it is too hot so we literally sit in a circle on the floor for an hour jabbering in the heat of the house.  At 6 o'clock, Nhu informs me the decision has been made to go to coffee near her college, but we must wait for the Buddhist ladies.  Two ladies arrive an hour later so Barbara hops up but finds to her dismay that we are waiting for yet another lady.  Barbara approaches Nhu about skipping coffee hour, but Nhu really wants her to see the college campus.  Finally the last lady arrives and we go to a cute little college area where Barbara has a raspberry smoothie.  All is well, all is well, the smoothie was delicious, the college village worth seeing, but can we go home how?  No, Nhu tells Barbara as we drop Nhu off at her dorm, the ladies must visit the Big C supermarket.   So we visit the market.  Barbara was tired, but Arin said it was like being a movie watching these three ladies who were the oldest and roundest in the store.  The day ended with the 7 of us trouncing through the parking lot at 7:30 pm sharing a baquette.  Hallejuh, we are home at 8 pm!  Oh yes, I forget to tell you, in the middle this marathon, everyone insisted that Arin's shirt is too hairy so he must take a shower and borrow one of Mr. Thang's shirts.  Arin opts to go and change at home, and being a good sport, he returns to the party.  You know, we really did not have anything else to do today, so why not....

15 dies, 16,14 remain

Water Bottles #16 and 14 reporting.  Red alert, red alert. water bottle #15 is missing and no one, not even Barbara, knows what happened.  As far as we can figure he was left at school, and this would not be the first time!  He was left there last week.  The reason we know this is because Barbara brought us to school when she could not find him, and lo and behold, when we entered the classroom, there he was, waiting for us.  Oh, you should have seen that day.  It was the first day of rain in 5 months and hereby commenced the official start of rainy season.  You see, Vietnam has 2 seasons: December through April is hot.  May through November is hot and rainy.  The Vietnamese describe the two seasons as hot, and hotter.  In California, where Barbara is from, it rains on and off throughout the year, but here in Vietnam there are two distinct seasons and is does not rain when it is not the rainy season.  She was surprised when the whole class stopped to stare outside at the falling rain.  When she asked the students what the big deal was, all they said was, "Cool weather coming."

Water bottle #12 meets its demise.

Dang it all. Barbara threw me away when Arin was not looking.  Down the garbage chute I went along with a coconut that Barbara had finished drinking. I am a little bit angry at the coconut, because Barbara likes to buy these on the street, stick a straw in them and drink the juice instead of drinking me, but all was forgiven after we were sent down the garbage chute together.  He let me ride on his back and I had the ride of a lifetime. I don't know if you have ever heard a coconut bouncing off the walls of a metal garbage chute for 16 stories, but what a racket we made!

Plans to move to Taiwan

I just saw my life pass before my eyes.  Barbara's lease and visa are expiring so she has decided to move on to Taiwan.  This is bad news for all of us because, as you know, we will not be allowed on the airplane.

Vietnam's best dishes

In the last two posts, you heard from my mates, but I am Barbara's water bottle now and it is my right to tell our story, so please ignore those other guys.

Today we went to the birthday party for a 4 your old.  In Vietnam, sparklers and candles are sold along with the cakes.  The sparklers are great fun for the adults, but the 4 year old was quite afraid of them.  Barbara always enjoys the opportunity to eat cake because Vietnam boasts one of the best cake recipes around.  The frosting is so light that it is like eating a cloud.  According to Barbara, Vietnam has 3 really great foods: cake, pork chops and smoothies.  This is what Barbara will miss when she leaves Vietnam.  She thinks that these foods rate up there with crepes in France, waffle cookies in Belgium, racellette of Switzerland, and yellow mole empanadas of Mexico.  I fear I will never experience the aforementioned taste sensations, but one can dream.....

How can water taste like fish sauce?

Barbara did not like me.  She says that the Japanese water tastes like Vietnamese fish sauce and poured all the water out of me.  At least she will not abandon me, she just does not like the taste of my water.  The bottle that she brought back from the wake is very small so she says she will take me on her journeys instead of the small guy.

Update:  Barbara never did use  me.  Arin is using me instead, so I still get to go to school.

Ha, ha, Barbara could not get rid of me.

Well, Water Bottle #9 has arrived and as I suspected, Barbara tried to throw me away but guess what saved me?  It was Arin.  He saw me in the trash and pulled me out.  When Barbara saw me sitting on the counter, she knew exactly what had happened.  She had personified me and Arin has embraced me as a brother.

Update:  Dang it all, Barbara threw me away when Arin was not looking.  Down the garbage chute I went along with a coconut that Barbara had finished drinking.  At least I had a lot of fun riding along with my coconut friend.  I don't know if you have ever heard a coconut bouncing off the walls of a metal garbage chute for 16 stories, but what a racket we made!

Attending a wake in Vietnam acq 14,15,16

Hello, I met Barbara at a wake for Khoa's friends's parents.  You should have seen the pagoda at this property.  It was a 150 year old structure made of polished wood.  Absolutely gorgeous.  We spent several hours eating an 8 course meal, and watching others drink beer and sing karaoki.  If you are comng to Vietnam, learn the words to Hotel California by The Eagles. You will probably be asked to sing it. We also took a grand tour of the orchard of mango, fig, pomelo and durian.  This was an annual celebration of life for the owner's parents which is held each year on the anniversary of the owner's father's death. This was truly a cultural experience.

Hi. Barbara brought me back to her house along with two of my friends and I have been told that we are Water Bottles #14,15,16  I'm #14. I'm ............ and my two buddies have stickers which read Legend Travel. I guess the guy who owned the house has a travel agency ????  I mean, it is written in English, so your guess is as good as mine...

Twice today water bottle #12 almost met its demise

Scare #1
OH, man, I almost bit the dust today.  The local Vietnamese guy who was hosting the pool feast, all of a sudden grabbed me when Barbara wasn't looking.  She saw him holding me, and after he put me down, thinking that the host had drunken from me, Barbara did not even touch me.  I knew it was curtains for me and la ti da would get her chance but luckily he picked me up again and Barbara saw that he was only using me to demonstrate some point he was making.  I think she is still somewhat suspicious but I know that she does not want to use La Ti Da because she is 16 oz and cumbersome to haul around.
Scare #2
Barbara stuck me in the freezer and then forgot where I was.  When it was time to brush her teeth, because one can not drink the water here, she searched for me.  She couldn't find me and was about to grab La Ti Da from the shelf when all of a sudden she recalled my placement.  I think she is still suspicious of The Host and will probably trash me when she comes across another normal sized bottle.

Hasnoor and Josh, Barbara's 30+ friends

You have heard about Hasnoor already, well, Barbara introduced him to a new teacher from her school, Josh, and now they are best friends who love to party together.  Josh, who says he had a hard time getting a date in the USA is living the bachelor life and loving it. They like to party they told Barbara that have to wild of a time together, they say, "It's Barbara's fault.," because she introduced them. Though these guys are 20 years younger than Barbara, she spends a lot of time with them. One of the best parts of being among a small group of English speakers in a foreign country is that you create a bond and differences in country of origin, age, etc, don't matter. Instant friends!

Today, Barbara was starving as usual and we went down to the new Sky Pool cafe for lunch.  As we were turning the corner, Hasnoor was seated at a large table filled with food. A local guy was hosting and Josh was serving one of his cocktail creations.  Barbara has been taste testing these cocktails that Khoa is going to let the guys sell at Tony Cafe, and she keeps telling them, "Add 2 tablespoons of sugar."  You see, the Vietnamese love sugar.  Just like the my previous example of the guacamole, you would be shocked to know to what they add sugar.

Barbara was also working on something to sell at Tony Cafe, cookies. However, the project did not succeed for 2 reasons:
1. Most Vietnamese food consists of boiled noodles so homes do not have ovens and the only one available to Barbara is Pat's light bulb over. Cookies don't cook well with only a lightbulb.  2.Vietnamese do not eat cookies. Yesterday was the bi-monthly children's birthday party at the school, complete with cake, cotton candy and a magician.  At the end of the party, with 60 kids in attendance, plates of oreo cookies remained untouched.  Can you imagine? Here is another interesting cultural note.  There was a limited amount of cotton candy yet the cones were placed on the table for anyone to grab.  Several kids took more than one and most were left with none.  Not a word was said to the greedy kids. Ha, try that anywhere else and you'll have a guilt trip put on you.

Khoa is quite the entrepreneer. He is now thinking of starting his own English school and hiring Arin and Barbara to run it. Awhile ago, Arin starting teaching English to Khoa's two children, Khoa introduced Arin to more children and now Arin has 12 students in our little apartment school

Advice: If you are hesitant to go to a new country where you don't know anyone, consider applying at a school to teach English or find a volunteer opportunity.

nothig written

La , te da #13 la ti da

Tony and his wife Thuy were to visit today to try the Mexican version of avocado preparation, which is guacamole, but, in order to avoid having to host in the apartment, Arin suggested bringing the guac and chips down to their home on the 13th floor of our apartment complex about 10 minutes before they were set to arrive.  Barbara had spent all day making and baking chips which was not easy since the homes in Vietnam do not contain ovens.  The chips really were not good but the guac was.  So, they set off to Tony's apartment, only to return a few minutes later.  Tony had clearly been asleep and Thuy was at the gym.  Apparently they had all but forgotten about the Mexican food. So, the guac was simply dropped off. Later we spotted Tony in the lift.  He wanted to return the guac containers.  When asked how they liked the dish, he informed Barbara that once his wife added sugar to the guacamole, it was fine.  I know it sounds terrible, but although an American would never try it at home, the Vietnamese are accustomed to sugared avocados. The most common use of an avocado is in a SINH TO which means it is mixed with condensed sweet milk blended with ice, and served as a smoothie. We already knew about the sugar because the avocado smoothie is a favorite of our friend Pat. She has been touting avocado smoothies since we met her.  Barbara has not been interested in trying one yet but I am sure she will one day order it mistakenly because she likes to use the local language when ordering. If you are visiting Vietnam and want to try it, the Vietnamese name is SINH TO ZOAI. Other common smoothies are strawberry and mango. They are super high calorie with the sweetened condensed milk, but also super delicious!

Aside from adding sugar to avocados, another Vietnamese tradition is that when you visit someone's home, you bring a gift, most often fruit. Likewise when you leave, you are given a food item to take home.  Today, when Barbara and Arin dropped off the guac, Tony had to quickly find a food item to offer. A case of Japanese water bottles was sitting inside the front door, so of course, Barbara and Arin came home with one of them, #13. These water bottles happened to be French, so water bottle #13 is given the name: Madam La Ti Da.

Barbara's English conversation group at Tony cafe

Barbara took me for a walk along the river today because she wanted to see the damage done to one of the bridges along the river.  It has been reported that a barge full of sand had collapsed the bridge by running into one of its pylons.  Once we got to the river, sure enough, the entire middle portion of the bridge was missing.  This is a 100 year old bridge built by Eiffel who is the same fellow who built the Eiffel Tower in Paris. There have been some horrible bridge collapses around the world with dozens of people killed, but this collapse only resulted in a few motorbikes diving into the river and the passengers swimming away unharmed. When asked how long it would take the government to repair the bridge, Barbara was told, "A long time".  This also means that all train service to Ho Chi Minh is shut down.  The southern route now ends here, in Bien Hoa, at the station which I can see from our apartment.

It seems that every time we go to the river, we meet someone, and this time we met a primary teacher.  Barbara has invited him to her bi-weekly free English lessons at Tony cafe. She is hoping to get more private students.

La Ti Da here.  I don't know why I am being called this name, but I will hereby be known as Water Bottle #13.

grocery shoppig late night with Tony

Since Barbara is no longer at the school, she is able to take on private lessons.  She has started a club called Coffee and Conversation whereas she invites anyone to join her for casual conversation 3 mornings a week at Tony Cafe.  One of the regulars is Tony.  He met Barbara when she substituted in his adult English class at the school, and now he is one of our best friends. Tony wants to take Arin along next time he and his wife grocery shop, since he knows we usually have to go by taxi. Here's how it goes when someone in Vietnam offers you an  invitation....This morning at breakfast, Arin was invited to shop with Tony and his wife.  Most of the day passed without hearing from him. 8 pm Arin receives a text and it is time to go.  By this time of night, Arin has settled in and not interested in going, but he really likes Tony ( a 58 year old man) and out of respect, agreed to go.  So, Arin heads out to the elevator and within moments he has returned.  UGHHHHH, guess what, Barbara has to go too.  Oh, well, time to get out of the pajamas and get dressed she says.  Anyway, with this trip as with all others, it is topped off with a street side coffee.  Getting coffee can also mean, and in this case does mean, getting a (Sinh to (smoothie) or ep (fruit juice).  At the coffee stand, Tony's wife, Thuy purchased some avocados and Barbara told her about guacamole, a Mexican chip dip containing avocados, lime, and sometimes garlic, tomatoes or peppers. As soon as Thuy heard this, she promptly gave them to Barbara and announced that she and Tony would be coming to our home tomorrow night to taste some. Now you must remember, Tony is an English student and Thuy doesn't speak English, so there is always somewhat of a language barrier in every conversation. Barbara must had unknowingly offered an invitation.?.?.?

Put the new job for Barbara and Arin

Another 50+ friend, a Brit named Eric whom Barbara met at the pool works at another one of the English schools in town. Today, Barbara got a surprise call from the director offering her a job. Apparently Eric gave her Barbara's number. Now she is teaching an adult class and also has 5 minute English conversation sessions with children.  It really is about the easiest teaching job in the world because the curriculum is good and requires almost no prep.

After the first day of work, the director asked if Barbara had any friends who needed a job, so now Barbara's son works there also. What!, you say, Barbara's son???  Yes, Barbara's oldest son, 24 year old Arin, came to Vietnam. He's always wanted to travel and when Barbara offered him the chance, to come and make some money for college, he jumped at it.

The twin is no more, the job is no more

The twin here. Well, it happened, Barbara finally had it with this goofy school where she works.  The school unnecessarily works all their staff to death and then when a new boss was hired and decided to change everyone's teaching style, Barbara was done.  Today she collected all her papers and put in her notice.  Also, she knew that I would probably remain forever by the chom choms so she tossed me in the trash to end my lonely misery.

Communications bloopers with The Family

Incident #1
After this, we know to ask, "How far away is it?"
Barbara and Arin are friends with a group which includes a male music teacher, a male math teacher, a husband and wife with a preschooler and three grown children, all of whom I refer to as The Family. Barbara first met the music teacher in the park by the river and we were invited to his home. The mom, Dung, was also invited and she and Barbara danced the cha cha while the music teacher, Thanh Su, played the guitar and keyboards.  After lunch we were invited to see a pagoda.  Of course we jumped at the chance.  WE picked up more people and we drove and drove until finally we arrived at the beach town of Vung Tau where we remained until 10 pm at the Pagoda, which was a private beach club, not a religious structure.  The water was seriously like a bathtub, much warmer than Hawaii.  We ate, waded and listened to the music teacher play guitar.  It was quite lovely, though unexpected.  Vung Tau is 40 miles away, but took two hours due to high traffic volume (normal traffic).  After this incident, we know to ask, "How far is it?"

Incident #2
After this incident, we know to ask, "How long will it take?"
The Family invited me to shop in Saigon at the Metro supermarket.  I had been with them before, knew it was 20 minutes away, and said yes.  Two hours later I barely made my 5 o'clock class.  Again we were driving and driving and come to find out, we had to drop off some supplies at someone's house in the next province.

Incident #3
After this incident we know to ask, "What exactly is required of me?"
The math teacher asked if we would help distribute charity items to high school students.  Barbara arrived at the High School in her shorts and pink tennis shoes only to discover that she was the guess of honor so not only did she and Arin have to sit on the podium, but it was actually an award ceremony where everyone was dressed up.  Next, Barbara had to give a speech on the microphone and to top it off, the whole ceremony was videotaped.  Later, the math teacher showed Barbara a DVD box with her on the cover, and the DVD movie began at her apartment building where the math teacher had gathered her on his motorcycle.  We never did get a copy of it and have no idea to whom it is distributed.

One lone twin

My twin and I are still sittinThe teacher complaints have really heated up since the new manager was hired. PUT STUFF FROM OTHER BLOG

 when a new manager arriveMy twin has a new owner. Here is what happened:  One of the British teachers was rushing around preparing for her class, tossing items in one of these rectangular plastic baskets which teachers load with classroom supplies.  The school is game based, so the baskets can contain anything from fly swatters to bowling pins, and are usually quite full.  I took many a ride with Barbara, because a teacher can not last an entire 2 hour class without water.  Well, the British teacher thought the same thing and since she was in a hurry, she grabbed my twin for her refreshment and my twin was never to return. Good-bye good friend.....

Meeting the family only 12 remains Intro Arin

That's right, Barbara's son Arin has

Down and out at Tony Cafe. Water bottle #7's final post.

It finally happened.  I got left.  Almost daily, Barbara has breakfast at Tony Cafe right in front of our apartment building. Usually, us water bottles don't go because our friend Khoa, who owns Tony Cafe, sells fresh squeezed orange juice, Barbara's favorite, but today Barbara took me along because she wanted to save money by not purchasing an orange juice.  Truthfully, I can't understand why she would do so since her meal is almost always paid by some friend who wants to practice English.  Today, three people joined us at the table and insisted on paying for her meal.

Mind you, four people at the table equals 9 containers of beverages on the table since every meal in South Vietnam is served with tea.  Even if you order just coffee, or just a smoothie, it is served with a glass of tea.  Her friends ordered cups of Vietnam's favorite morning beverage, coffee with sweetened condensed milk, so, when everyone left the table, Barbara forgot me in the midst of all the glasses. At one point she turned back to the table with a look of, "Isn't there something I am forgetting?" but I could not get her attention since of course, I can neither speak nor move.  So, after so many adventures with Barbara, I was sadly forgotten. Forlornly I  tumbled into the trash bin to never be seen again.  I will miss you Barbara.  Thanks for the good times....
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Remember the twins from blog #9?

We are maintaining our post at the school near the chom choms for quite a while now.  It really is not very interesting here.  Mostly all we hear are complaints about how hard everyone is working.  Barbara always says hello when she visits the table to retrieve her chom choms, but she still can not tell us apart.  It is quite sad for us when she arrives at the counter with her current water bottle. She feels badly visiting with a new bottle, but this is also the place where Mr. 5 gallon abides,and she must fill her individual bottle from here.  You cannot imagine how hot is in Vietnam when the air con is turned off and  when I see a everyone's bottles and cups getting filled with icy cold water, oh, I long for those days. We must say that we are a bit jealous, but in fact, the 5 gallon  is a bright spot in our day.  He is replaced every week and when all the workers go home at night, he reagals us with stories from his travels about the city. Tonight he told us.............

Bike riding in Vietnam

My big brother just came back from a bike ride with Barbara and he was white as a ghost (which is hard to become when you are opaque).  I have spoken of the traffic before, but I have not told you the method for crossing the street when you need to travel in the opposite direction. Hint: It does not involve making a left turn across traffic.  Most streets do not flow to a traffic signal, and people do not stop for us when we want to cross the street, so how do you think it is done?  Any guesses?  Only one choice is left to us.  We must travel down the street the wrong way, against traffic, dodging those coming toward us, until we can merge into the traffic in the lane which is going our direction. Bicycles, motorbikes, cars, they all use this method of travel.  It sounds and looks dangerous but think about it, it works very well because everyone can see each other.

Russian MIG airplane

Ever see a Russian MIG up close?  One just flew by.  Our apartment is on the 16th floor and I felt as if I could reach out and touch it! The Bien Hoa airport can be seen from our window.

Traitor!

Today at Barbara's school, I was happily abiding at the computer where she had been working when I noticed her across the room, tipping a water bottle to her lips.  I was about to yell traitor, when I recognized the water bottle to be one of my production mates.  I watched and waited for Barbara to realize that it wasn't me, and sure enough, as she was taking her final gulp, she turned and zeroed in on my position. You should have seen the look in her eye when she discovered her lips to be touching that of another.  It was hilarious!  She quickly put the water bottle down, grabbed me, and we skedaddled out of there.  I don't know who belonged to that water bottle, but they will never know that it had been defiled.  Seriously though, I don't know how Barbara ever mistook that water bottle for me.  Couldn't she tell that it was a female water bottle, whereas I am a male water bottle?  It's so obvious!

Vietnam's love afair with motorbikes

I went with Barbara to her favorite breakfast spot.  I've got to tell you, the walk there was not fun.  My little buddy was right about the traffic situation. The traffic at the marketplace was tame, but here in town, oh boy, what a nightmare!  Due to the lack of traffic laws, walking in Vietnam, and in most of Asia I hear, is extremely precarious   You see, pedestrians do not have the right of way in Nam, and crazily enough, motorbikes and cars are not limited to the streets.  Yes, this means a car can drive on the sidewalk along with the pedestrians.  For instance, if Barbara wants to enter a shop, she has to look behind her before even taking a step to the right, because a motorbike or car may want to pass between her and the shop door. Barbara likens it to snow skiing down a mountain.  The rules are the same.  It is the responsibility of the uphill, or in the case of a road, the person in the back, to avoid the downhill person, but it is also the responsibility of the downhill person to remain on a constant trajectory.  Sudden moves to the right and left are not advised.  Barbara is a good skiier, and often skiied within a few inches of her friends within hitting them, so when she feels the breeze of a motorbike cutting close to her, she trusts them to not hit her, and is quite confident that Vietnamese drivers are very skilled because they have to be. Bad drivers would get themselves killed very quickly. And worse, they would kill thousands of little babies.  You would have to see it to believe it, but whole families will ride on one motorbike seat with infants protected only by the parents between whom they are smashed. If a single parent and child are riding, the infant is seated on a high stool which is not attached, but only balances in front of the driver.  Added to that, the Vietnamese do not allow their children to wear helmets because they are afraid of neck injury.  Disregarding the fact that they are in a death seat!!!!!?????

The cutest kids

I went to school with Barbara today and I have got to say, these Vietnamese kids are the cutest kids in the world.  I am not kidding.  They are adorable!  Barbara has some teenager students also and the girls are all beautiful.  Oh, if only I was human!

BWOC

Hello, I am Big Water bottle On Campus.  My little buddy has filled me in on life up until this time.  I have been in Bien Hoa for quite some time, but don't really know much about the town. My home was in a convenience store on a shelf, where I really couldn't see much.  My store is one of many down at the marketplace by the river.  The marketplace is called Bien Hoa market and the river is called  Song Dong Nai.  There are probably a  hundred little shops down here which sell all manner of goods, and just as many food carts and restaurants.  I couldn't really see much of what was going on at the marketplace since I was tucked away indoors and most of the action is outside in the streets.  So, as you can imagine, I was thrilled to walk around with Barbara and Pat for a few hours.  All this time, I had been wondering about the rumbling noise I heard outside, and now I know...... the place is full of motorbikes.  Since most of the shops are outside, people drive their motorbikes from stall to stall, gathering their goods, without ever leaving their motorbikes.  Of course I did not know this because I was housed where people could only get into my shop on foot.  As I cruise the streets, my little buddy informs me that Barbara does not have a motorbike and usually walks everywhere.  He tells me to enjoy my peaceful walking tour of the marketplace and warns me that when we get into town, the traffic will scare me to death. I don't know, it doesn't look like a big deal to me.........

Meet my new big brother. Water bottle #12

Barbara's co-worker Pat lives directly above us so we do a lot together. Today we visited the fabric area by the river because an average sized American must have clothes specially made, as all the clothes in the shops are for short tiny Vietnamese people.  It is also very inexpensive to have clothes made, so why not.  Our friend Nhia, who works at the front desk in our building, has a mother will do the sewing.  I don't know if you have ever been fabric shopping, but there is a plethora of choices and it is very hard to decide.  Needless to say, we spent hours and hours at the outdoor market, and as the day wore on, it became hotter and hotter and the shops began closing their doors for siesta. After today, I finally understand the purpose of the Mexican siesta and most of the shops and restaurants close from 11 am until 4 pm. It is just too hot without air conditioning.  In this heat, it wasn't long until I was drained of water.  Pat's water bottle was emptied quickly also, so she bought a new water bottle for both Barbara and herself.  I am a 250 ml bottle and the new bottle is 500 ml, so I call him my big brother, #12

Home again in Bien Hoa First hint of quitting ila

 I, #7 continue to go about my travels, mostly to and from the school.  Sometimes I am left in the staff room and I hear things.  MOVE THIS I know that most of the young teachers want to be in a party town like Saigon and they don't want to work in off-the-wall places like Bien Hoa I FOUND out that Barbara, Lila 50+ from South Africa, Pat 60+ from USA and Maurice 60+ from UK were all assigned here because YOUNG I'm not sure if you would be able to find this many 50+ in other places.
Also, all the teachers complain about the misleading job description which brought them here. It sounded so carefree. You only have to teach 16 hours and you get paid $20 USD/hour. However, the advertisement neglected to mention the crummy curriculum which requires at least 2 hours of prep time for each hour taught. Complaints escalated yesterday when the new manager visited our classes and told many of the teachers that they were doing everything wrong and must change.  As all the teachers are putting in about 30 hours of unpaid weekly overtime already, and this would add another 10, many of them are thinking about switching to one of the other 12 schools in town.  Of course, most people are just talk, but I think Barbara is going to do it.

I can't believe these fools working 40 hours a week when the job was advertised as 16 hours per week.

Water bottle #7 at home alone

Barbara took the bus to Cambodia and planned to fly back.  I'm no fool, I know airplanes don't allow water bottles, so I volunteered to stay in Bien Hoa and save my life. I played it up real good that I was afraid of spilling on the bus ride so they never figured out my real reason.

It's too bad planes don't allow water bottles. Wouldn't you much rather ride on a plane than a bus?  Can you believe a plane ride is only 45 minutes compared to the 7 hour bus ride.  Well what do you  expect for $15 compared to $150.

MOVE THIS DOWNI spoke too soon. After what I heard about the fiasco at the airport, I am glad I was left here in peace, and you know what, I will take the bus over the plane any day.  The plane was almost missed and Arin's bag was presumed stolen until it was found to be stuck in the xray machine.  No thanks, I want no part of that.

I had a very peaceful 4 days while everybody was gone, but I wasn't alone.  I had a friendly mother bird building a nest right outside the window in the balcony planter.  Barbara saw her before she left to Cambodia, and had hoped to see it finished upon her return, but the mother bird abandoned her efforts after a couple days so Barbara did not get to experience the joy of baby birds.

Oh boy, am I glad I  was not on that flight. What a fiasco at the airport.

Airport Siem Reap 9 10 11,die

Barbara's return to Vietnam was by airplane, so we I got abandoned because of course, water bottles are not allowed on airplanes.  Barbara thought it would be really cool to have a Cambodian water bottle in Vietnam because the Cambodian writing is so beautiful, but is was not to be.

Angkor Wat 8 dies, 11 acquired Need to describe ankor

I knew it, I got left in the Tuk Tuk. Tiger is our driver and he speaks fluent English. DESCRIBE ANKOR

You know,  I'm really angry about the whole situation because we shouldn't have even had to make this visa run! We are supposed to already have the work permit promised by the school. One day, while eating a school sponsored lunch in the Korean restaurant, one of the managers let it slip that the school has worked it out with immigration so that they only need the number of work permits to match the number of employed foreigners regardless of what names are on the permits, so they only initiate the work permit process when the numbers don't match up. Barbara and some of the other teachers have been livid about this work permit delay, and now, so am I. Before Barbara left the USA, she spent a lot time, not to mention stress, driving all over California acquiring documents and spent a lot of money on a Federal Bureau of Investigation clearance, fingerprints, etc, all the things that the school insisted were required for this work permit in Vietnam, just to discover that most teachers arrive with nothing other than a passport and just do a visa run across the border every 90 days.

Well, at least I got to see Ankor Wat  instead of just getting a glimpse of the border by taking one of those all day visa runs offered by Vietnamese who drive carloads of foreigners to the border and back everyday. Barbara decided instead to combine her visa run with a short, cheap vacation since it is TET holiday and everything in Vietnam is shut down so people can return to their villages to spend time with family.


 Barbara didn't need me anymore and I wasn't going back on the plane anyway, so after she drank all three of us because it was hot, hot, hot, and she left me in the tuk tuk.  The driver, Tiger, gave me to one of his friends who has promised to recycle me.

Tiger driver gave Barbara a water bottle for our journey, hence, water bottle # 11 has arrived and she is beautiful! She is beautiful mainly because the Cambodian written language is very artistic.

Bus journey through Cambodia 9.10 acquired

I have met some friends so now I won't be abandoned alone. They are property of Mekong bus lines and were given to Barbara on the two legs of her journey through Cambodia.  Water bottle #9 was obtained on the leg from Ho Chi Minh to Phenom Penn and  #10 came along for the ride to Siem Reap, Cambodia.  Right now we are all staying in the most beautiful hotel ever named HNK.  We are surrounded by carved wood on the walls and ceiling.  You must see this hotel if ever you have the chance. It's one of the expensive hotels in Siem Reap, our friend Lila is here also and her hotel is only $9. Most of the hotels also include a free ride to or from the airport or bus station in their price. We opted for a ride back to the airport from the hotel. For our ride to the hotel, we caught a Tuk-tuk. I was warned to carry some Cambodian money called rials, but since the money is not allowed out of the country, it is very difficult to obtain. When I informed the tuk-tuk driver I did not have rials, he let me pay in US dollars. Later, when I hit up the ATM, the cash came out in US dollars. You may be surprised that US dollars is now one of the official currencies in Cambodia. The riels don't have much value and are used mostly for increments less than one US dollar.

All the drivers offers us tourists, for a price of $9 a day to fetch us and take us to the tourist spots.

Meking bus and more cries from my lost mates. 4,5 6 die--7 stays at hoe, 8 goes on bus ride

I, water bottle #6, am alone am on a Mekong bus with Barbara, headed to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Her 3 month visa ran out so we had to leave the country for a minute.  Last night we stayed in Ho Chi Minh City where we caught the bus this morning. The hotel was recommended by our friend Pat. Pat came to Vietnam after investigating the world's teaching opportunities and discovered Vietnam to be the best bang for the buck in wages vs. cost of living.  At 60 years old, she flew to Saigon to take a CELTA class and began her new career as an international English teacher. The CELTA is an intensive 4-6 week class presented by the British Council that results in an English teaching certificate recognized by most 2nd and 3rd world countries. The trick is to take the class in the country where you want to teach, because at the end of class, all the local schools are banging down the doors to get to you.

Today's bus ride has been surprisingly pleasant. Water bottle #7 was left in Bien Hoa to await our return, and I have a sneaky suspicion that I will never see it again since Barbara is coming back by airline, and you know their policy.... This is very sad for me that I must be abandoned in a foreign country where I don't know anyone.  At least my other lost and abandoned mates got to stay in their home country of Vietnam. Listen to their cries as they were lost, one by one.

Water Bottle #4 Noooooo, I was sighed as Barbara accidentally left me at the rice restaurant.  I don't know why she even brought me here since they serve iced tea anyway.  Oh yeah, that's right.  Someone informed her that they do not wash out the glasses after each use, but I say "So what!  Let everyone share." I just hope I don't fall onto the floor with all these rats running around!

#5: Barbara promised me a viewing of Star Wars 7 and then she left me on the ticket counter and watched Star Wars without me.  What a disappointment. I have been waiting forever for that sequel.


#6: Barbara carried me to her workplace in her backpack, then after her first class, she spotted Pat's bottle, thought it was me, and threw it on top of me.  This guy looked exactly like me thus both our fates were sealed.  As soon as she opens the backpack and sees us twins, we just know she is going to throw us both out. Oh...... she's seen us! Start praying! Hey, she's not throwing us out. Instead, she leaves us both filled and on top of the counter in the coffee area.  Now we call ourselves the twins.   We hang out together near the water cooler and the chom choms and other snacks provided by the school. We have been here for a long time. No one knows who we belong to so they're hesitant to toss us.

monkeys 3 dies get 7,8

Oh man, I got dumped in the trash today. I was trying to explain my importance, but my cries fell on deaf ears. Why me? What did I do to deserve this?

I can't tell you how many times Barbara has left one of us water bottles at her workplace overnight. We don't mind because the sunsets over the river are gorgeous and the computers have tons of bootlegged movies that we can watch. We hardly ever get thrown away. The cleaning ladies do a great job keeping the floor clean, but when it comes to the tables, Barbara is the only one who clears them off, so pity the water bottles which do not belong to her.

Her de-cluttering began one day when she found notes belonging to another 50+ teacher who left awhile ago. The teacher, who travels with her teenage daughter went to work in Mongolia and then United Arab Emerites. I thought the middle east was supposed to be dangerous???  Maybe I need to stop listening to the media. Barbara deduced that the tables weren't cleared because everyone was too afraid of tossing out something important, so she began doing it herself, once realizing that none of it was important. Often there is left over birthday cake on the table too. Barbara does not mind this, because Vietnam has absolutely the best cake icing! She describes it as biting into a cloud.

Demise of water bottle #3: You dirty rotten monkeys!  The school sponsered a fun staff bonding outing to Monkey Island, which ended up being less like fun and more like terrorizing, We bonded alright, because we were grabbing onto each other for protection, especially when the monkeys saw us with food. Pat, a 60+ teacher who is Barbara's best friend here, spotted an ice cream stand on the island and suggested getting one. Well, as soon as the monkeys noticed Barbara's, they began jumping on us to get at it, but she was not going to give up that delicious Vietnamese creamcicle. Unfortunately, that left me unguarded and one of those danged monkeys climbed up and grabbed me. As I was being dragged toward the alligator infested swamp, I saw Barbara fighting off monkeys and exclaiming,"Pat, I'm gonna get you for this!"

Let us introduce ourselves, we are water bottles #7,8 and we want to assure #5 that Barbara did not go thirsty as she was able to pick us up from the company supplied ice chest. We accompanied Barbara on the remainder of the excursion that included a hot pot on the beach, a ferry ride, a dinner at a seafood restaurant, and monkey free ice cream cones back in town. Barbara said that the rest of the trip was one of the best in her life. We're starting to get the idea that she may be a foodie!

Have you ever had a bonding outing go terribly wrong?

DELETE BELOW
I, water bottle #6, am alone am on a Mekong bus with Barbara, headed to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Her 3 month visa ran out so we had to leave the country for a minute.  Last night we stayed in Ho Chi Minh City where we caught the bus. The hotel was recommended by a fellow teacher, Pat. Pat investigated the world's teaching opportunities and deemed Vietnam to be the best bang for the buck in wages vs. cost of living.  So at 60 years old, she flew to Saigon to take a CELTA class and began her new career as an international English teacher. The CELTA is an intensive 4-6 week class presented by the British Council that results in a teaching certificate recognized by most 2nd and 3rd world countries. The trick is to take the class in the country where you want to teach, because at the end of class, all the local schools are banging down the doors to get to you.

The bus ride has been surprisingly pleasant. One of my buddies was left in Bien Hoa to await our return, and I have a sneaky suspicion that I will not be returning since Barbara is coming back by airline, and you know their policy. This is very sad for me that I must be abandoned in a foreign country. At least my mates get to stay in Vietnam. Listen to the cries as they were lost, one by one.

Water Bottle #3: Noooooo, I was sighed as Barbara accidentally left me at the rice restaurant.  I don't know why she even brought me here since they serve iced tea anyway.  Oh yeah, that's right.  Someone informed her that they do not wash out the glasses after each use, but I say "So what!  Let everyone share." I just hope I don't fall onto the floor with all these rats running around!

#4: Barbara promised me a viewing of Star Wars 7 and then she left me on the ticket counter and watched Star Wars without me.  What a disappointment. I have been waiting forever for that sequel.


#5: Barbara carried me to her workplace in her backpack, then after her first class, she spotted Pat's bottle, thought it was me, and threw it on top of me.  This guy looked exactly like me thus both our fates were sealed.  As soon as she opens the backpack and sees us twins, we just know she is going to throw us both out. Oh...... she's seen us! Start praying! Hey, she's not throwing us out. Instead, she left us both full and on top of the counter in the coffee area.  Now we call ourselves the twins.   We hang out together near the water cooler and the chom choms. We have been here for a long time. No one knows who we belong to so they're hesitant to toss us.

Our new home: Ca ho 1603 Pegasus Plaza, Bien Hoa, Vietnam 3,4,5,6,

"Why is Jennifer hopping around the hotel room in the middle of the night; is this some type of exercise routine?", wondered water bottle #4 and I? We heard her exclaim, "My leg has fallen asleep." and something about a hard bed. We don't get it, don't humans want their legs to fall asleep at night, along with the rest of their body???

The hotel maid kept putting out new water bottles every day. Today 4 of us moved with Barbara to her new apartment in the Pegasus Plaza.  It is a small but bright 2 bedroom apartment for $350 USD per month. The Pegasus Plaza has a rooftop swimming pool, a movie theater, a bar, lots of cafes, and believe it or not, a gym named California Fitness. The school is also located here.

The Pegasus Plaza has both apartments and offices housed in its two towers. The towers are attached at the seventh floor which sports the roof top pool.  Of course, we usually cross at the pool, and soon after moving in, we met our first local friend. A Malaysian man, Mahasnoor, approached us during a pool crossing and offered his friendship.  Hasno's Vietnamese wife holds court nightly at the pool with her friends.  She entertains everyone with her off-beat personality. As Hasno's Vietnamese is limited, he's been actively searching for English speaking friends to join in the fun.  His wife is also bilingual, so now there is fun to be had at the pool by all.

Vinh Anh Hotel Bien Hoa, Vietnam

When Barbara was offered the job, she had a choice of a beach town, Saigon, or , what was described as " a small city outside of Saigon". Of course she chose the beach town, but as we commenced our taxi ride out of Saigon, it became obvious that we were not going to the beach, but to the "small town" of 1,000,000 people, Bien Hoa. The first thing we saw upon entering town was a giant Christmas tree in front of a 4 story mall which had the words BLACK FRIDAY written on the window. Barbara did a double take. Something about it reminded her of home. I'm not sure what?
Bien Hoa was the airfield during the Vietnam War. Barbara was a bit young to be involved in the Vietnam War, but some of her older friends and relatives were not happy upon hearing the name of this town again. Vietnam for the most part seems to have forgiven the Americans for their part in the war. You will find that a lot of Americans in Vietnam have chosen to come here because of what happened during the war. They want to give back.

All the young teachers want to live and party in Saigon, so Bien Hoa is where they placed all the 50 and 60 year old teachers.
The taxi dropped us off at our address, but it was a private residence, not our hotel, so she had to walk and walk lugging our suitcases all over town. And she was NOT happy. For this trip, she had purchased a matching set of luggage which included one of those giant sized suitcases. These are not conducive to hand transport.

Here's how the next hour went: The suitcases are marched along the street searching for the correct address. A nice lady who was working at an outdoor food cart takes pity and drives off on her motor bike to find the address. She finds the address and sends us off, but it ends up being the same private residence. We trudge back to her shop, where she gives up and places us in a cab to the school, because everyone knows where that is. It's in the only high rise in town. Eventually, we make it to our hotel.

Advise: Don't rely on addresses in developing countries. In advance of arriving, locate your residence on a map, copy down the phone number, and find a picture of the building to show to your driver.

What kind of luggage do you carry? Are you a light traveler or do you bring everything you own?

No more airports! 4

We stayed in a teeny, tiny hotel room, but with very comfortable beds.  Barbara prays that all beds in Asia are as such. Of course, I don't care because I sleep either on a wooden counter or inside a cold refrigerator. Barbara's last travel and work experience was in Mexico where not only the beds, but all the furniture was as hard as a rock, even the stuffed chairs!
It's just me and my buddy with Barbara now.  The hotel has water bottles but they cost, so they will wait for another guest since Barbara has both of us.
In the morning, we are greeted and served breakfast by Bao Ahn, a Vietnamese gal who is hired by the school to help get the teachers settled. Barbara was enamored of the breakfast of noodles and exclaimed, "I could have these noodles every day." Water bottle #4, who was made in Vietnam, broke out in uncontrollable laughter upon hearing this exclamation. "Why is he laughing?" wondered I, water bottle #3.

Why do you think my comment about the noodles was so hilarious?

Airport Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 3

Hello, I have been told that I am water bottle number 3.  Since Barbara's last two water bottles had to be abandoned before boarding the plane in Shanghai, China, you may have feared that she would be without a water bottle, which is a horrible predicament for a Californian, but it is o.k. I was given to her on the China South Airlines plane between Shanghai and Saigon, also known as Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.  You may have wondered how Barbara chose such an off the wall place as Vietnam for her first stop on the world tour. Folks, if you are a budget traveler and you want to immerse yourself in the local culture, start in Vietnam and take a job as an English teacher. Vietnam launched the National Foreign Languages 2020 Project and the county will absolutely hire anyone who has any kind of working knowledge of English. All you need is a TEFL certificate which can be earned online for an investment of a few dollars and a few hours. If you want more info, find Barbara's blog post        Other countries are hiring also. Use this website: www.davesesl.com. which lists jobs throughout the world. Some jobs will even pay for airfare. Barbara didn't get one of those, but she got a free ride from the airport and 10 nights in a hotel. Look, there's a man standing outside of the tarmac with her name on a sign.  What do you know, he has given her a water bottle. Now there are two of us.

Airport Shanghai, China

Oh, man!  We got left in China.  The airline would not let us go on the plane with Barbara.  Whatever will become of us.........so sad!!!

Airport Seattle, Washington, USA

I had hoped to have a bunk mate join me while flying to Seattle, but the airline was too cheap to provide passengers with water bottles and only gave half-sized plastic cups of water.  However, luck would have it that our plane from Washington to Shanghai was delayed for a couple hours, and to keep the passengers content, a snack cart was set up at the gate, thus my friend Water Bottle #2 joined me. Unfortunately, our travels together ended at the Shanghai airport, because Barbara was required to pass through customs and the airline would not allow us passage.
Bon Voayge Barbara!

I took three plane rides to get to my destination. What is your record?

Airport in Sacramento, California, USA

Water bottle #1: "So you think you are going to travel on a budget", I say to Barbara as my buddies and I are being wheeled onto the plane, and see Barbara taking her last drink from a public drinking fountain. "Wait until you see how much you have to spend on bottled water." We are very popular in 2nd and 3rd world countries. There is no such thing as a public fountain and all drinking water is either boiled or bottled.  I am the first of what will be many water bottles accompanying Barbara on this world tour.  She is going to carry one of us everywhere she goes!

From Barbara: After 3 months in Asia, I haven't had to purchase a water bottle yet.
FYI: The first 3 months of blog entries are actually done in retrospect. After I had been in Asia for 3 months, I came to the realization that I hadn't had to purchase a single water bottle. Each one was either given to me by a friend or received at a festival, a Buddhist temple, a wake, etc. In light of this fact, I have decided to write this blog in the 3rd person told from the perspective of my myriad of water bottles. Why? Well, it's just a lot more fun to write this way. I'll probably switch to my own voice eventually, but for now, it's going to be the water bottles talking.

Budget tip: Get an airline branded credit card and start racking up points. That's how I paid for my trip.

Do you have suggestions on how to pay for flights?

Journey through Asia as told by the water bottle

EEK!  I was almost stolen by a six year old Vietnamese child! YIKES! I saw my life flash before my eyes as I was headed to Tony's lips, which would mean that I would soon be deposited in a landfill.  I knew that if anyone else drank from me that I would be abandoned.  Have you ever been thrown down a garbage chute? I have. Others like me have been stolen, kidnapped, commandeered and lost.  You see, we are Barbara's water bottles. What do we have in common? We are all the water bottles which have---- We are her ------Barbara's journey through S.E. Asia. Our journey with Barbara begins at the airport in Sacramento, California, on DATE-----USA. This is the tale of her travels through Asia as told from the view of her water bottles as she flows throughout S.E. Asia.

Hello folks, I'm Barbara. I've been waiting 23 years to begin this journey. Why the long wait? I had 3 boys to get through high school graduation, and a bout with cancer, but now that everyone is on their way, so am I.  At the beginning of this journey I am a 56 year old woman from California and I am a budget traveler. Yes, the American dream has passed me by. I did everything right, went to college, got a degree, got a job. But I did one thing wrong, and I did it at age 40. I gave up a stable job and moved to a new town forgetting that I was in America, the worshipers of youth. Never again did I get a permanent job, but 16 years of part time and temporary work and numerous failed businesses is not going to discourage me from fulfilling my dream of traveling the world, I will just have to do it on a budget, thus, I have become, the TRAVEL THRIFTY PAST FIFTY budget traveler. If you are in the same boat as me, or if you just don't like to spend a lot of money, you too can travel and I will show you how to do it.

This isn't a hotel journey from one tourist spot to another, but a guide on how to live a life among local people, while finding ways to fund it along the way.  I have been traveling steadily for several years, remaing in each location for 1-6 months, meeting local people and learning about their culture.

The first paragraph is an example of how the first part of this blog will be written, from a 3rd person point of view. That's right, my water bottles's point of view.

Budget tip: Travel with a bank card which reimburses all ATM fees and foreign transaction fees.




Are you a budget traveler? What's your story?