... And a whole lot of catching up!I know I've talked about food before - more than once - but as you've probably gathered, leisure activities in Quang Ngai aren't exactly buzzing. This means that drinking coffee and eating the local specialities occupies a fairly big part of our free time.There's lots of chicken and pork, many kinds of fish and delicious squid and prawns. The meat is all "free range" and often tough, which probably explains why m...

A friend said in a recent email "I'm sure there must be some trying days" and it reminded me that I once chastised Owen for his "rose colored glasses" news posts when we were in China. So here are some reality checks in case you think it sounds all too easy :)The 10 Most Trying Things - in no particular order.1. Ironing. Go and stand under a fan to dry off between shirts. Give up when the sweat starts to drip onto the ironing board as I iron.2. Mosquitoes. I...

Not the answer to everything - we all know that's 42 - just some answers to questions and comments I've received.IsolationNo there aren't any other Aussie women here that I know of. We've met a Canadian and a Pilipino who work at an English school in town (spoken to them twice) and I believe there are a couple more working in the same school. There are one or two other Westerners we've glimpsed in the supermarket and we got into conversations ...

The day begins pretty early in our little Lane - up well before dawn, sweeping, washing and cooking. I'm afraid I'm torn between either enjoying a quiet cup of tea and read of the news, or getting the housework out of the way, before it gets hot. The tea wins most days and I just sweat it out doing the housework later. We now go walking three mornings a week with our next door neighbour - leave at 5.30, walk to the square, five laps round, then home again...

The Tet holiday has come and gone. Weeks of build up, three days of public holiday with longer breaks for many then gradually returning to work. Pre Tet saw shopping, cleaning and partying. Post Tet saw visiting and more partying. During the three days people visited ancestors' graves, home villages and family - then teachers, friends, neighbors, colleagues. We had a string of visits from neighbors, colleagues and a class of students - and were taken on many ...