Birdy and Luke Look Both Ways Before Crossing the Street

Waiting for Rain to Stop at Ho Chi Minh Airport

The Mekong River Delta
(flying out of Ho Chi Minh)

     The seasons in Vietnam vary quite a bit from north to south. As far as I've gathered, the north experiences a recognizable four seasons, with late fall through spring bringing the rains. In the south you can expect a rainy season and a dry season. The central regions of Vietnam have their own patterns altogether. Everywhere you go, humidity rains supreme. We fall somewhere in the central/south. Ho Chi Minh City was experiencing its rains when we arrived, but Tuy Hoa was a different story altogether.

     At the moment we're experiencing some light rains and cloudy skies, but when we arrived in early July we were attacked by the heat. The locals deal with this by getting up every morning

Our First, Fuzzy View of Tuy Hoa

around 4 or 5 am and walking down to the beach. The entire city sits right along the coast of the South China Sea, making a walk to the beach a five to ten minute ordeal at the most. People do their exercise, swim, rinse their bodies and cool off before heading to work around 6 or 7. The temperature steadily rises until about midday; people deal with this by having lunch around 11 am and then napping until about 2 pm. They return to work for a couple more hours and then head back to the beach at 5. It may seem like an easy day, but the rest and breaks are required to keep your body functioning in this climate.
   

The Sky Here is Always Gorgeous

     We were waking up at ridiculously early hours when we first arrived and decided to join the morning routine. It was bizarre to see thousands of people up just before dawn, walking, bicycling, running, playing soccer and exercising in the streets. Our sleep pattern caught up with us within the week and we've only been out in the morning once since then. Still, we keep telling ourselves that we're going to make it a part of our routine. It's a nice idea, anyway.

     My family is renting a very large house in one of the newest neighborhoods in town. There are only a couple neighborhoods where foreigners are allowed to live, which feels strange. Lucky for us, they're nice and new. I don't think we're ready to live in the run-down shanties many Vietnamese call their homes. Often times a single, average-bedroom-sized space will house a family of four, their kitchen, bathroom, pets and vehicles.

Landing in Tuy Hoa

     Our house is three-stories with six bedrooms, an enormous kitchen, five bathrooms, three large living spaces, a large terrace and an accessible roof. It's bigger than the quasi-mansion Birdy's family is currently living in back in Oregon. We may share the house with my family and occasional guests, but we have our own room (complete with bathroom) that gives us all the privacy we could ask for. Aside from the construction taking place, it's a quiet neighborhood.
   

This Guy Delivers the Building Supplies Next Door
(Birdy and I want one)

     We are a couple of minutes away from downtown, which is convenient, and just as near to the beach. Everyone gets around by motorbike or bicycle here, and I've learned how to drive one already. Birdy wants to learn, too. I'm not sure which one of us is more nervous with the idea, but it'll have to happen soon.

     We're slowly getting to know the city, a process which is helping me feel more in control and more at home. It's really a very small city with not much to see- or so the Vietnamese say. With everything being so new to us, it seems like there are a million things to see everywhere we go. The biggest challenge will be learning to speak and read the language- a task we haven't started yet. Most of the words I've learned are related to numbers or food, since its actually cheaper to eat out than to cook at home. The food is delicious but with few variations. We need to find some new ways to cook rice, since it's used for lunch and dinner. Every day. Always. Birdy's thrilled.

At a Cafe Around the Corner
(Birdy isn't actually this color)

     While the food is reliably homogeneous, the traffic is reliably unpredictable. You see a lot of strange things as you drive: large potholes, piles of sand used in construction, people, animals, swerving motorbikes and bicycles, unrelenting trucks and buses and an occasional herd of cattle.

Off to Work

An Empty Street in the
Middle of the Day

     It's always interesting to realize that something as surprising as a bull pulling a cart down the street no longer shocks you. People carry entire families on their motorbikes, and while I still find it impressive, I no longer look twice. Birdy's even begun riding side-saddle when she has a skirt on! I always figured she was missing a few marbles. Now I have proof!

Front to Back: My Mother, Birdy, Our Friend/Translator