Monday, November 26, 2007

Go ahead and complain about American traffic


Here is a little video I made of the traffic in Saigon. It is horrible.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Post1



Hey everyone. Ryan here. I have been meaning to start a blog for a while but here in Vietnam I could not get the setup pages to display in English so I had to get some help.
Here in Vietnam I have seen the genesis of the 'Asians are bad drivers' stereotype, and believe me, I will have trouble arguing against that blatant generalization. There will be more written about this topic.
Above is a picture of some of my first graders. Maybe they appear cute to you, but they are cut like squirrels; they are ridden with diseases. I can't remember a time my nose wasn't running in Vietnam. I teach 1st graders and 4th graders and I usually enjoy it a lot. I especially enjoy the 1st graders. All you have to do is sing 'head, shoulders, knees and toes' and they're yours forever.
I really enjoy Vietnam. It's fun to be traveling, meeting people and experiencing a new culture. And besides, solid bowel movements are extremely overrated. Actually the food is really good and agreeable. It's also dirt cheap.
Another thing I like about Vietnam is that the girls here are attracted to me. In America girls always made me feel hideously disfigured and worthless--if they were attracted to me in any way it was a 'What the hell is that thing?' can't take my eyes off the trainwreck sort of thing. Yes, American girls, I hate you all. I will be home soon enough for you to commence ripping my heart out, throwing it on the ground and urinating on it before transplanting it in my body, resecetating me and repeating the process again and again.
I do struggle with bitterness, believe it or not (see previous paragraph). But the truth is I am very happy here. Everyday is an adventure. I truly believe my bitterness and natural tendency to be ungrateful are wearing down here. The perspective I am gaining here is a blessing to me. However, American girls, there will always be enough hate for you in my heart.