Phan Thiet Dec'11

December was moving along nicely for me. Kate, the new teacher at APC, seemed to be settling in well, although I think her BO could be become an issue. Things weren't going so well for Darren however. He had fallen down some steps at Euston train station and had had to have an operation on his knee. The leg has to be kept immobile so this will bugger up not only his birthday but Christmas and New Year's too. Life sucks sometimes. How many times do we all fall over and get up and walk away without thinking any more about it. It did cross my mind to go home for Christmas, but....Darren very kindly let me off the hook and said that it wasn't necessary, none the less this is still one of those times when I become very aware of how far away I am and how long it would take me to get home in an emergency or in any situation for that matter. Wednesday December 14th is Winston's birthday, he's Kate's boyfriend, so we went out on the Tuesday night as Kate doesn't have work on a Wednesday. We went and drank beer at a beer hoi place, we were joined by Dan Q and Tony, it was a good night full of good comapany and good beer. The others left fairly early but I felt like dancing so went to Bocano alone and then cycled home after that. I woke the next morning feeling fine and I was uninjured, so a successful night all round. After cutting up my foot after drinking I now consider waking up uninjured an indication of a totally successful night! I am used to waking up with minor cuts,scapes and bruises but what I did to my foot goes way beyond that and could have ended up way worse. Add into that fact that I didn't go to the hospital as soon as I should have and you have to say "When will you grow up?". I am way beyond mortified, I thought I would have grown out of this kind of stupidity before now, it doesn't feel very adult. Anna finds it hilarious and fair enough, I've laughed at her and her misfortunes enough! That evening I had dinner with Daniel and Anh, I got to talk to her and she is lovely, although very slender, which of course has no bearing whatsoever on her being a nice person, but is something which I can't help noticing. If only because I think her waist is smaller than one of my thighs, she makes me feel like a giant. You'd think that I would be used to that by now after five years in Japan and a year here, but I'm not, clearly. We went to a rabbit restaurant, the rabbit was very bony and not a lot of meat for a lot of effort. Daniel and I ordered a beef and a boar dish, much better and no bones. Needless to say I won't be eating rabbit again. Our house Christmas party had been mooted for a few weeks and we had actually decided that it would be on the 17th of December. This coincided with the 10th anniversary party of Jibes, at first I was a little upset that I couldn't go but the more I thought about it, I was glad to have a reason not to go. Jibes is where I was when I cut my foot and both times when I've drunk there, it's been a big night, I think it's probably wise to stay away, at least until my foot is completely healed! Denise arrived on the Friday afternoon and she was at the house when I got home after work, it was good to see her. I was very happy that she was going to get to see where and how I live. Although the weekend didn't get off to a great start, it turns out that she doesn't like beer and beer of course, is my tipple of choice these days. She also stated that she rarely eats Vietnamese food and didn't like seafood, both pieces of news were blows to me. I'd planned to take her to Bo Ke, seafood restaurant row, as this is where I eat most frequently and a major dining experience in Phan Thiet. Anna and I went to get our nails done while Denise napped. We discussed what Denise had said, I didn't have an issue with it per se, I think what surprised me so much is that I get only really well with Denise, I consider her a good friend but I didn't realise how different we were. I love Phan Thiet and my life here,it's what I wanted when I came to Vietnam, I didn't want to live in an expat enclave, I wanted the local experience. Denise doesn't want that, and that's fair enough, what shocked me was that I didn't realise that until now. I thought she was just happy with where she had landed and that was that. I hadn't considered that she wouldn't have been happy in a place like Phan Thiet. Isn't it interesting what we presume about ourselves and other people. I am frequently guilty of presuming that people I meet are essentially the same as me in views, taste, outlook etc. Interesting. We went to Bo Ke for dinner anyway, part of the reason I wanted to go there was to show Denise Phan Thiet night life and that is where so many of my great nights out start. We found stuff to order that we all wanted to eat and I think it went well. We finished the night at MTV, which included Anna and I pole dancing. Awesome! We took Denise to the market the next day, she even managed to buy a top there. I've never even considered buying clothes there, so who's more locally orientated? I don't know. We went to one of my favourite shops in PT, they import shoes from Europe, so often have nice shoes in my size. All three of us tried on a load of clothes and bought something. I managed to buy a dress, which might actually be a bit big for me. Luckily in this country this is not an issue, I'll take it to the tailor and have them adjust it,it'll cost me next to nothing. I napped during the afternoon and then helped Anna prep the house for the party. Rudy and his wife Yum (don't think it's spelt like that but that's how it's pronounced) arrived before 7pm, the start time, but at least we knew people were going to come. Some people came from school, Mr. Sang, our house owner's father, came with his wife and two grandchildren. When they wandered through the gate I thought Anna must have invited them, but no, they just turned up out of the blue. I think they were a little surprised to find a party in full swing, at least there were other Vietnamese people there for them to talk to. Patrick and Ola came with their new baby, Patrick is the GM at a big resort in Mui Ne, Ola his wife' is a fellow Brit and lovely. We met very briefly this spring but I hadn't had to opportunity to see Ola before I left for the summer and by the time I returned to PT she was in Saigon. I have to meet up with her in the New Year. Marie also came over from Mui Ne, I don't see her very often but when I do I have a great time, she's another person I would like to hang out with more. Another thing I need to make happen nexxt year. Truc, the yoga teacher came, she is great, a really beautiful person inside and out, however she's adamant that I need to start aerobics classes next year, I'm seriously considering it. I lost weight and a dress size last year and I would like to lose a little more weight this coming year. Denise helped us start the party off right with a cocktail she drinks in Nha Trang, it's sparkling white wine, vodka and Red Bull, she swore it wouldn't give us a hang over but would immediately lift our mood. I was willing to try it, especially after the fuss over getting the vodka. It was a good drink and went down very smoothly, although it may have contributed to the fact I didn't notice Denise disappearing before the end of the evening with a couple of our other guests. However that's a story for another time and place. We closed the party down around 11pm and headed off to Bocano. Truc needed to go via her place first and I had Dan Q take her on his bike. He's recently broken up with his girlfriend and Truc sometimes dates an Australian guy when he comes to town, so I consider both of them single. There was a lot of dancing, a few beers and then I went home in a cab with Anna and Jan, once again uninjured. Another successful night! Unfortunately I woke early the next day, I am increasingly finding it hard to sleep in, I wake naturally at around 6am ready to face another day. There's no point staying bed if I'm not going to sleep, especially after a party. I cleaned up the kitchen, I could tell that we had had a smaller party than at Halloween, the kitchen was a lot less untidy. I went to a local coffee shop and met Denise on her way back to the house, she hadn't stayed at ours the previous evening. She gave me the whole story, which if I'm honest I am still trying to digest a week later. I don't think that I am judgemental but I was shocked and not a little surprised. Of course I know that these things go on but for me they take place in movies and porn magazines, it's not my friends doing them. For me there is a difference between what I read, what I think about doing and what I would actually do. Maybe that makes me a prude, I don't know. I do know that I have issues with talking about sex, it's not something I ever did with my mother, let alone my father! I saw Denise off to the train station and lazed around the house. The afternoon was spent by the Novotel pool, including a nap. I finished the weekend with an early night. Only one more week at school and then, holiday. Anna and I were planning to go to the Mekong delta for the first few days, then be in Saigon for a wedding I had been invited to on the 28th December. We'd stay in the city for New Year's and then I would be back to work on the 3rd. I was seriously looking forward to the break.