Phan Thiet June'12

The best laid plans of mice and men and all that. I didn't make it have my massage on the weekend but I did make it to Mui Ne. On the Friday night I went there to meet up with Mel and her friend Celine, they had just come back from a few days in Singapore and were stopping off on they're way back to Nha Trang. I tried to go over on the bus as usual but I don't know what was going on, three buses sailed past my stop, they were all full and I ended up getting a Xe Om over. I met Mel and Celine in Sankara, they'd had a drink there but weren't keen to stay, it was empty and it's always expensive.We went to Wax, which was also empty except for the staff. I explained that as it's low season now every where is dead unless there's some big party on. We stayed for one drink and then I came back to Phan Thiet, it was an unexpectedly quiet night. I woke the next morning at about 6.30am which is pretty much par for the course for me. I went downstairs and luckily I was dressed as there were people preparing stuff in my kitchen and the side yard. Ms.My had told me that the family who own the house were going to have a memorial party for the grandfather who had just died but she had told me that it would be on the Thursday and Friday. As it hadn't happened I had just put it out of my mind. Well it was happening now. I made myself scarce and went to meet Anh, the lady who owns the Sunflower English school here in Phan Thiet. Anh is a friend of Ms.My's and apparently she has not had a foreign teacher at her school since Grant left last year. We had coffee at Nhat Vien on Tuyen Quang St. and she tried to convince me to come and teach for her. I didn't commit to anything, Ms.My had already warned her that I don't like to work evenings and will not work weekends. I went to Mui Ne for lunch at Mia with Larissa and Marie, Marie is leaving in three weeks, her replacement is already here and she doesn't know where she'll go next. Her company have offered her a job in Laos, so she is going to go there and take a look. It's all change here. That night was spent at the Doi Dung hotel at another wedding. I had received the invitation the previous day, my boss's sister was getting married and since I love going to weddings I said that I would go. Ms.My agreed to go with me and met me at the entrance with a few of the other APC ladies and in we went. I had a great time but afterwards got stuck with the groom's friends and went to 7up night club instead of going to karaoke with the APC staff. I was a little upset. Mel and Celine came into town and I left the wedding party and met them at Galaxy club and we had a few drinks. I was home before midnight. The next morning I had little or no choice in joining the wake, I had dodged the early morning one but didn't manage to get out of the mid-morning one. And I'm glad that I got to go. Ms. Phuong who owns the house is one of seven children but the five brothers all live in the States. I got to sit next to one of them and he was kind enough to be my translator. The food was great, including the whole pig that they had slow roasted and they even left me some food after they cleared out. I spent the rest of Sunday watching T.V. and not moving from the couch, I was tired. I was also feeling out of sorts. I was starting to feel wobbly about leaving. Despite having done this before I am still nervous, even scared and I do miss having someone here to talk to about this. I hadn't been able to get hold of Anna and I find it hard to express myself clearly to people who don't know me that well. My feelings are so at variance with how I come across. I don't like to share all that I am with people, I am afraid that they wouldn't like me if they see me as I see myself. I talked it over a little with Carlo, but he was the typical guy and just pointed out the good in my life, which there is a lot of but didn't give me the chance to just talk. Of course I'll deal with it, I have to but still. The last week in June was as expected. I went to work, I saw Bael on the Tuesday, I made it to Mui Ne on the Wednesday, had lunch at Sinbad and had my massage. When I was walking through Mui Ne I bumped into Tan, who I haven't seen since my party, we had coffee. It has been a strange week for bumping into people. The previous week I bumped into Hoang, the APC P.E. teacher, I've never seen him outside of school before. Then I had coffee with Tuan, the music teacher who was always calling me and then suddenly stopped (not complaining, just commenting) and now I'd bumped into Tan,another guy that I had hung out with and just don't see any more. If I were looking for a relationship in this country I'd be so confused and/or married as one minute people are professing their undying love and the next they just stop calling. It's scary how different different cultures can be. You'd think that there would be some things that would be the same across the board, but it's not the case. Maybe it would be different if I spoke Vietnamese, I don't know. Friday afternoon Ms. My and I had a meeting at a new school that is opening in Phan Thiet, one of two as it turns out. We met with Ms.Trang and she showed me around, the school looks great and the building is more suitable to be a school than ours. Not surprised by that in the slightest. The meeting went well, but then I wasn't expecting anything from it and I don't need anything which really takes the pressure off. I had a quiet night at home after a couple of beers at the Op restaurant on Nguyen Tat Than. I went as I hadn't been there in a while but it's not the same by myself, there are some things that I do need Anna for. So the last Saturday in June saw me on a bus to Saigon, I needed to hang out with Anna. We had a beer in the apartment and then went to her local Bia Hoi place, we were the only women there to begin with. We had dinner at Fresco's, which I love then Jan joined us once he had finished work. He is still working crazy hours, I don't think Anna gets to see a lot of him, but hopefully it's not forever and if he can get through this it will be a big step up in his career. I went home after the restaurant, Anna and Jan went on for another drink, I don't know where Jan gets the strength. Anna still hasn't found a job in Saigon yet but she is getting out and meeting people, that may lead to something. Sunday was a day spent hanging out and shopping. I got an early evening bus back to Phan Thiet and I was in July already. I have started to think about when I will leave the house, trying to fit in a visit to Nha Trang, I don't think I'm going to be able to go to Da Nang to see Andy, which is a shame. We'll see.