The last time I took down Christmas decorations in April was more than a decade ago. But since it seems as much like Christmas now as it did five months ago–hot as ever, and sweaty, too–pulling the white paper snowflakes from their threads doesn’t seem any stranger than hanging them did.
I probably wouldn’t take them down at all, were we not about to move. Our six-month lease is up on the second of our Saigon apartments, and we’re moving out now for a couple of practical reasons: 1. To make sure our landlord has plenty of time to cough up our $1200 deposit, and 2. We’re going on two weeks’ holiday and don’t want to pay double rent. Plus, we love the idea of someone else washing our towels for awhile.
Next week is our last week of this term, and we’ll spend it in a great new hotel down the block. Then we’ll spend two months seeing the rest of Vietnam; we’ll travel by train to Hanoi, see Halong Bay and hopefully Sapa, and then head back down to the imperial capital, Hue, and end with the beach resort towns.
After that, we’ll teach for five more weeks, and then we’ll head back to California for a long, long time (student loans permitting–still crossing our fingers for a decent offer).
We haven’t posted much lately because there hasn’t been much to say. Work and food and sleep. Phu My Hung–our neighborhood–is surprisingly Lodi-esque. Big, quiet streets with dining options to stave off the boredom. We’re regulars at the Thai place downstairs. There’s the cutest little waitress there with a gap between her teeth; she smiles mischievously whenever we order, probably shocked at the amount of pad thai two westerners can shovel in!
We’re thinking of you all right now, and praying that this swine flu thing fizzles out and doesn’t hurt you. Love to you all, Heather (and Joel!)
