Happy Birthday Part 1

Just a warning, there will be a few birthday blogs this month. For some reason it seems that half my friends are born in April and the beginning of May. Today, April 7th, USA time, kicked off my first friends' birthdays.

My buddy Seth -- who some thought was my brother in college -- is one of the best guys you'll ever meet. It was nine years ago that we celebrated Seth's 21st birthday in Madrid, Spain. Because of that trip I got my first case of salmonella. Yes, my first case.

Some of us have aged over the years but Seth hasn't. Some think it is due to his daily side bending exercises while others think it's because he's always keeping life interesting by switching the city he lives in and the job he works at.

Oh, and in Madrid we celebrated another birthday too: Jamie Shapiro's.

When I say "first friends" I really mean it with Jamie. My mother and Jamie's mother took Lamaze classes together when they were pregnant with us. Actually, I shouldn't say "together" since my mom taught the class. Oh, and for those of you who are curious, my mom's teaching paid off for Mrs. Shapiro who delivered Jamie by natural child birth. As far as my mom -- the Lamaze teacher -- she had a C-section!

Happy birthday Jamie and Seth!!!

Monorail

From time to time I've commented about the traffic in Hanoi. Okay, I've commented about it a lot (including yesterday). However, I need to get my jibes in because in just a few years Hanoi will have no traffic problems. That's right, the city is getting a mass transit system.

Check out this youtube video of the plans for Hanoi's monorail which they'll be breaking ground on next year: MONORAIL VIDEO

There are tons of funny things about the video but I'll just comment on one: why are all the people white?

The cool thing is that the monorail will stop right next to Language Link. If you watch the video Language Link is the building directly to the right of the Horisson Hotel. If I'm still working at Language Link -- say around 2064 when this thing is completed -- the train will be quite convenient.

Vietnamese Swimmers

I'm making a last ditch effort to get in decent shape before I come home. I've started to run (I've gone running twice) and to swim (I've gone swimming three times). One thing that you quickly realize when you go to the pool here is that the Vietnamese swim like they drive. There are no swimming lanes in Vietnam. It's just an open pool and a free-for-all to get from one side to the other. Just to give you an idea, the other day I started to swim across the pool and in one lap the following happened:
1. A woman and her baby stepped in front of me. I veered around them.

2. A teenager doing the "breast stroke" was coming in my direction and gently kicked my leg with his strange kicking motion.

3. I think a piece of trash floated by me; perhaps it was a q-tip. (that said, the pool is pretty clean)

4. I constantly had to avoid people who prefer to swim their laps in the horizontal direction of the pool rather than the long, some would say traditional, way.

5. I swam around a couple of kids who I think were playing the Vietnamese version of Marco Polo.

6. An extremely powerful jet turned on and pushed me into a dude doing the breast stroke.

7. As I was approaching the opposite wall I looked up and saw a man standing poolside directly where I was swimming too. The man stretched his arm and then proceeded to dive over me.

At the end of the swim I was totally scratch free. Like driving here, it all somehow work out.

Oh, and Mom, to answer your inevitable question: no there aren't any lifeguards.

Da Vinci Code

One of my students who I am tutoring has been reading Vietnamese translated version of "The Da Vinci Code." For the last few lessons I've asked him to tell me what has been going on in the book as a way to practice the past tense. I "read" the book a few years ago (I listened to an audio tape of it while running at the gym) and remember it pretty well.

Yesterday I asked my student where he was in the book and he told me that he finished. I asked him if he was surprised at the ending and he said yes. I asked him to tell me what happened and he said that Robert -- the Tom Hanks character if you saw the movie -- had dreamt the whole thing and had just woken up in his hotel room. I stared at him blankly for a few seconds and said, "Really?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Really?" He said, "I swear."

Granted I know I only listened to the book -- and distractedly at that -- but that is 100% not the ending in the English version. I'm now wondering how many other translated books have completely fake endings...

Thesis

The other night Huyen and I went to a concert with my friend Quynh from Language Link and some other people from work. At some point Quynh introduced me to a friend of hers -- whose name I can't remember -- who promptly said to me in broken English, "It is nice to meet you. Thank you for editing our paper." I turned to Quynh, confused, and she informed me that "her" paper that I edited a few months ago was really "their" paper. I had no problem with this since I was happy to help out Quynh since she has helped me countless times at Language Link (including once tracking down a visiting friends lost luggage from the airline).

Well, what I did have a problem with was what Quynh's friend said to me next: "Can you help me edit my thesis?" I looked at her and asked, "Isn't a thesis really long?" She looked back and said "Yes."

Quynh and her friend go to Foreign Trade University, the same school that Huyen went to. Like Huyen they have to write a thesis to graduate. Huyen's thesis was 100 pages long. If this random friend of a friend's was even half that, it would be a tedious task to say the least (it took me about 30 minutes to edit their group project paper which was only two pages long). Well, I told the girl I'd be happy to help her out if I have time...so now I'm really hoping my schedule gets jam packed this next month.

11 Months

I know everyone must be confused that there wasn't a cheesy montage video yesterday about Huyen and I celebrating our 11 month anniversary. I thought I would take a month off and then throw together a big, over-the-top video for our one year anniversary. However, once you've put monthiversaries into action they can't just stop themselves.

At 6:58AM yesterday my cell phone rang. It was Huyen: "Can you come open the front door?" I was shocked that Huyen was at my house for many reasons:

1. Huyen had slept the night before at her sister's house which is about 25 minutes away from my house.

2. 99% of Vietnamese people wake up at 5AM and do morning exercises. Huyen is in the 1% of Vietnamese who sleep till the very last minute possible, hit snooze anyway one time and then rush off to work. 6:58 is 17 minutes before Huyen ever wakes up. AND since she was at her sister's that meant she woke up even earlier!

3. It was pouring rain outside.

When I went downstairs, Huyen was standing outside with an assortment of bags attached to her motorbike. She greeted me with a giant smiling, "HAPPY 11 MONTH ANNIVERSARY!", gave me a kiss and handed me 11 red roses. She then told me that she bought my "favorite eleven things from Vietnam." Huyen had gone to the market and bought an assortment of my favorite breakfast foods and fruits including my two favorite types of sticky rice, banh gio (a pork dumpling type thing), pineapple, na (my favorite new fruit), passion fruit, oranges, grapefruit, watermelon, and a fruit I've never seen (she assured me it'll be one of my new favorite things in Vietnam).

Yeah, I'm gonna say it: Best. Girlfriend. Ever.
(PICTURE: That's not a peace sign. That's two ones next to each other -- 11!!!)

April Fool's Day

(PICTURE: Hien, my April's Fools Day target.)

The Vietnamese love April's Fools Day. Today, I will be on full guard against any tricks against me. Last year, while taking my TOESL course in HCMC, Hien got pranked by her from Nha Trang. Her friend called up Hien and said she was arriving at the train station and asked if Hien could pick her up. Hien, being the angel that she is, jumped on her motorbike and drove across town to the train station. Once she got there she waited for her friend...and waited...and waited...finally she called her friend who said "April Fools."

Today I will be texting Hien to pick me up at the airport...