My Typical Day.....

I have been in Hanoi for almost two weeks and am settling into a daily pattern. I teach on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and spend about 3-4 hours preparing for each class. I have taught the class I am teaching (Research Methods) many times, but getting the material into shape for non-English speakers is a time consuming challenge.

My day....
I wake up each day at 4:45am. For those of you who know me, this is almost unbelievable. But I have discovered that early mornings are when it is cool and when EVERYONE is out. The dorm kids are up and exercising. The old old folks are strutting their stuff around the block. People are playing badminton, soccer, kicking a little feathered shuttle cock thing, doing tai chi; or running. I have joined a group of about 6-7 people who practice Tai Chi.
We meet each morning in the courtyard of a Pagota at 5:30am. It is a bit different from the typical Tai Chi movement with hands and body. They use a sword; one fan; and two fans for the different sets of exercises. We do three exercise routines for each set. And....at then end of the hour I am totally drenched in sweat. Part of it is the exercise and part is due to the extreme humidity and heat. I come home and shower. I typically do laundry next, eat and then try to clean up the room. Living in a small space is a challenge and I am trying to stay orderly.

Around 10am I either work on my class or head out the door to the market to buy fruit. I am living on fruit and yogurt! Amazing stuff. Papaya, mango, some hairy red thing, guava, dragon fruit, watermelon, apples, pears! It all is amazing stuff. But you have to eat it pretty quickly, so I usually hit the market once or twice a week. I get "fleeced"--pay much more than the Vietnamese, but it still is cheap so I just suck it up and spend the extra.

Around 11-2 everything seems to shut down. The university is empty....the stores close...the market is vacant of people. Everyone goes home for lunch and a "soft sleep" or nap. I love it. I snooze a bit and then go to class....or I have another office in the administrative building that I can work in. I get out of the room.....and try to work in other places.

Around 5pm I switch into exercise clothes again and head out to play volleyball. I found a group of older people (ahem, my age!) that play every evening. It is great fun...we don't use a regular volleyball, but a softer, larger and bouncier ball. It makes it much easier. Again, I am sweating like crazy when we finish. We typically play until 6:15pm.

I amble home and have a beer or a martini! I take a shower #2 of the day. Then I either go out to dinner or fix something in my room. I don't have any cooking facilities, but I do have a refrigerator and so keep easy things to eat. I am tired of eating alone, but usually all the waitstaff in the restaurants want to practice English, so they sit down at my table and talk-talk-talk. I will be glad when Phil gets here and I can talk to someone in regular English! I usually am trashed by 9pm...and try to read, but usually just fall asleep.

that's life in Hanoi for me right now!