I started to feel better Saturday and was going stir crazy inside so even though it was overcast and a bit chilly I wanted to get out. Went into the Old Quarter to book a cooking course for when mum and dad get here - banana and chicken salad, spring rolls, caramelised pork and floating cake?? CAN NOT WAIT. I already have mum and dad's first night planned out to give them an authentic Hanoi experience. Stumbled across the Moose and Roo pub on my wanders and knew they did Sunday Roasts there so went in on the off chance they could do something similar for us around Christmas. Turns out he is doing a full xmas dinner, turkey, ham and all the trimmings which was a result but now I've managed to give myself something else to organise!

Later in the afternoon I went to see an Independent docu-film 'Matthew's Laws' which was on as part of a small film festival focussing on mental health issues (get me). It was screened in a random run down building block which was a development centre with a section for filmmaking. Have to say I felt very cool and arty (which probably makes me sound very uncool). The film was about an Autistic man, mainly focusing on his struggles with landlords and the changes he had made to his flat. It was film from the viewpoint of his friend. His perception was fascinating, although sadly he committed suicide as he struggled to cope when he was contradicted, asked to do something he viewed as unreasonable or felt a lack of (or too much) support. It was difficult to follow in some places as it was in German (I think) with English and Vietnamese subtitles but I'm glad I went.

I wandered some more looking for present ideas for the awkward people and then met some of the girls for dinner. We went to Highway 4 and the food was really good - more expensive than we are used to but still only around £6 each for a meal and drink. It was nice to sit in a proper restaurant though and have more than 5 things on the menu; we have made a promise to try and do this at least once a week. After dinner we went to the night market to Christmas shop. I lost track of who I was buying for at times, trying to make sure I didn't forget anyone as I was buying for far too many people. Think I may have been over generous, still when the average price for a really nice present is between £1 and £5 you tend to get slightly carried away and forget you should be thinking in Dong.

I got a bit complacent at one point though and had my rucksack hanging over one arm by my side (still nearly in front of me) and I heard the zip go as someone tried to get into it. Luckily I had only bought it with me to carry xmas presents and they were all quite big so nothing was taken. The guy I suspected of doing it just strolled to the next stall casually and started looking at stuff there!

We got home after midnight but I couldn't sleep as I had too much going through my head. I went back in to finish off on Sunday and now only have a few people left to buy for. I got some bargains (I think!) and didn't pay full price for anything which I was proud of - stick to your guns and walk away! *Sorry people I know this sounds cheap but bear in mind I'm not living here on a Western salary and £200 a month only stretches so far!!

After getting back I sat down with Monika and Paula to look at travel plans. Originally we had Vietnam (Hue, Danang, Hoi An, Dalat, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh city), Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and Thailans on the list, possibly with a few days in Phu Quoc thrown in, but after working out we only had around 35 days before going home we sacrificed going to Laos and want to try and fit Kuala Lumpur in one weekend if we can. I'm glad I won't be travelling alone, it means I don't have to book on to an expensive tour and can just do what we want to do or book on to a much cheaper tour in country. We then got distracted by the thoughts of weekends away and the 'easy' trips to China etc promised by TTV in their advertising. There was a cheap flight sale so we looked into this option but the visa seemed to make it a complicated and much more expensive process. It also didn't help that the 'sale' flights were nowhere near as cheap as advertised. We are still determined to find somewhere to get away to though.

I've been offered 4 tutoring jobs in the last week (typical) but no point starting anything now for only 6 sessions! My TA at one school seemed surprised that I would be leaving and she would have another intern to work with (seriously do the company tell them nothing?). Her jaw nearly hit the floor when she found out how little we were being paid, she assumed we were paid the same amount as the other foreign teachers who are on 6 times what we were originally getting.

I've been looking into a volunteering program in Spain recommended by some of the other interns and I stumbled across a job 2,300 Euros a month for 2 weeks full time and 2 weeks part time work. I was very tempted by this but wanted more information - start dates, ages of children etc. However after doing a little research into this company many people advise steering clear of them; after this experience I think I will take their advice!

We finally found somewhere to go this weekend and booked a bus to Vinh which is about halfway between here and Hue. There are 6 of us going at the moment but more may join us. It's failry near a beach and Ho Chi Minh's birthplace but even if there is not much to do it would be nice to just switch off with a book away from Hanoi. A few of us definitely want to hit Hoa Binh before we leave aswell and looking into a jeep tour and homestay around Mai Chau and Cuc Phuong National Park. Finally some real exploring and visits to different areas the main reason I actually came here at all. It's easy to get sucked in to the teaching and let the weekends slip away not doing very much or getting into a routine while forgetting why we signed up to do this in another country, missing out on trips and experiences that we wouldn't have at home.