Vietnam --- hard to believe I am finally here. My flight over was uneventful, but very long. And the most amazing aspect was to see all my suitcases and duffle bags come into view on the baggage claim belt. I was met by the Chair of Geography and she presented me with a beautiful bouquet of roses. I was overjoyed by just seeing someone meeting me and the flowers were the frosting on the cake.
My Room - I arrived at 11pm...and after 25 hours of travel, I was pretty trashed. I was taken to my "dorm room" --(More on student dorms in another post) and was surprised to find a very nice room. Before I left Missouri, I told Quyen, one of our grad. students at MU, that I was staying in a dorm. She almost fainted. I expected the worst, but found the best!!! I was told my room had two twin beds...and when Phil (husband) arrives in a month, I can push them together--followed by their laughter! Well, to my surprise, I found a KING SIZE bed in my room. The mattress was still wrapped in plastic! They bought it just for me. Amazing.... Judging by the condition of the furniture in my room, I think most everything is new. I have a very fancy desk .....a sitting area with two chairs and a table. A very large refrigerator...it is exactly my height, so about 5 ft. tall--big for Vietnam standards. Also a microwave, and a flat screen TV with about 20 English language channels. Unfortunately I don't have any news channels. I have HBO, Disney, 5 ESPN sports channels. I guess the good side of this is that I don't have to listen to all the political babble going on right now. Only one person has asked me if I was a Obama supporter. I laughed, and said ........
So....I am experiencing MAJOR culture shock and I will write on this at some point. My major personal issue is independence. I am so damn independent and it is really a struggle to suddenly become totally dependent upon others. English is not widely spoken here. I can count on one hand the number of people who understand English in my dorm area: one. The university lecturers and faculty have some comprehension, but for the most part it is very, very basic. So far the Chair of Geography, her husband-the President of the University, and maybe 5-6 others are fluent. I have been assigned to a young lecturer in Language Studies who is supposed to shadow me and help. Her English is quite good. I also have found one other faculty member in geography (specialist in GIS and RS) who has good English. But that is about it.... and those of you who know me... (I am a WOOT, for god sakes--Wakonse Joke!) I need to be out talking, meeting and chatting with everyone.
I will sign off for now....... and hopefully get back soon. By the way, I have been able to get Skype and iChat operational, although I still wonder if my improved internet access is a fluke or something that is now stable! If you are up in the wee hours of the morning, Skype me! If you notice by the clock on this blog...12 hour time difference from Missouri.
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