Så er der ved at være gået lidt over en uge siden jeg ankom her til Saigon. Det er gået ret stærkt - både tiden og de ting jeg laver. Siden sidst er jeg kommet rigtigt i gang med mit arbejde, har mødt nogle forskellige mennesker og lært mit lokalområde lidt at kende.

Steve har de fleste dage hentet mig tidligt om morgenen og taget mig med ud og spise morgenmad på forskellige restauranter med forskellig ekspertise i asiatiske retter. Så har jeg også været på shelteret de fleste af dagene, hvor jeg både har afholdt møder angående fundraising og undervist i engelsk. Eftermiddagene har jeg flere af dagene brugt på en nærtliggende kaffe bar. Den ligger lige ud til en større vej, men alligevel tilbagetrukket nok, så det ikke er ubehageligt og stressende at sidde der. Caféens terrasse, der er halvt overdækket med træer, hvori der bliver tændt lys som mørket falder på, er et helt fantastisk sted at sidde og indtage byens puls. Her har jeg siddet og indtaget kold 'cafe sur da' i varmen, og når det har været helt perfekt har man kunnet føle en let brise. I disse øjeblikke føler jeg et stik af lykke og taknemmelighed over at dette er mit liv lige nu.

Mit arbejde, der lige så stille er ved komme i gang, er virkelig spændende og fyldt med udfordringer og alsidighed. Bl.a. medførte det at jeg onsdag aften tog til et møde med andre NGO-arbejdere. Det var virkelig en god aften, og for første gang siden jeg forlod Danmark snakkede jeg med vesterlændinge. Jeg var ikke klar over hvor meget jeg havde savnet det, før jeg mødtes med de andre. At leve med asiaterne er vildt spændende, men man må erkende at der en forskel i tankegang, og ih hvor var det befriende at snakke med folk, der tænker mere ligesom jeg. Det var en virkelig hyggelig aften, og det mindede mig om mig selv igen. Om min selvstændighed og handlekraft der, måske uden jeg selv havde bemærket det, var blevet sat lidt på prøve, grundet mine bolig forhold og det at være et nyt sted, hvor mange ting er anderledes, fra hvad man er vant til. Den første jeg mødte til mødet var en pige fra Tyskland ved navn Miriam. Hun snakker virkelig godt engelsk, og er her i to måneder for at indsamle data til sit speciale. Vi klikkede ret godt med det samme, og var i går aftes ude at spise middag og få drinks sammen. Det var en rigtig sjov aften, hvor vi endte på en fransk bar, hvor vi fik drinks og blev inviteret til en åbning af en anden fransk restaurant. Hende kommer jeg nok til at se en del mere til herude.

Derudover kan jeg berette at min ven B i mellem tiden, nu er blevet til eks-ven, idet han (trods min forlovelse og i meget upassende påklædning) forsøgte at kysse mig, og dermed blev dømt ude. Det er okay, jeg har jo Steve og Hoang, der kan introducere mig til det asiatiske miljø.

Yderere vil I, i mine album, kunne finde et billede af en irrer, ved navn Andrew. Ham stødte jeg tilfældigt på, på gaden en af dagene, hvor jeg netop var taget af sted med mit kamera for at tage billeder af byen. Han var lige ankommet til byen, og så sit snit til at stille mig et spørgsmål, da han bemærkede min hudfarve, og vi endte med at udforske byen sammen. Bl.a. var vi, som billederne illustrerer, i Zoo. Vi havde den rigtig sjov dag, på trods af at jeg gennem hele zoo besøget havde det helt forfærdeligt over at se disse dyr, der bliver holdt i fangeskab, så en masse fremmede mennesker kan komme og kigge på dem i deres bur. Forfærdeligt. Og lige så forfærdeligt var det faktisk at se byens krigs museum i går, hvor jeg igen mødtes med Andrew. Billederne var meget udpenslede, og det gjorde et stort indtryk.

Foruden besøget på museet og aftnen ude med Miraim, var jeg i går ude og shoppe lidt. Jeg manglede både en parfume og en taske. Hvornår lærer jeg, at jeg ikke er, aldrig har været, og aldrig bliver en rygsæk-pige?? I don't know, men det er virkelig på tide, for nu har jeg taget en rygsæk med på min rejse, idet jeg inden afrejse tænke, at det nok var det mest praktiske at gøre. Problemet er bare at det er den eneste taske foruden min rejsetaske, jeg har medbragt, og jeg kan simpelthen ikke få mig selv til at tage den på. Det er bare ikke min stil. Derfor har jeg rendt rundt med min pung som clutch, indtil jeg i går investerede i en reel clutch fra maxmara. NEJ, den og min parfume er ikke fake, og jeg har anskaffet mig dem i et stort indkøbscenter, så JA, det var ret dyrt - men nok billigere end hvis man køber det derhjemme. Men det er lige meget, for jeg ELSKER begge dele, og da vi var ude i går, fandt jeg mig selv sidde og beundre min taske. Man må så sige, at det er ret godt, at jeg er så glad for den og at den har en rem man kan snurre rundt om sit håndled, for så er den ikke bare lige sådan at vriste fra mig. Det måtte to motorcykel-røvere i går aftes sande, da Miriam og jeg stod og kiggede i et kort, for at finde vejen til den franske bar. Her kom de to røvede pludselig out of nowwhere og forsøgte på snedigste vis at hapse min nye taske med sig i farten forbi os. Jeg blev instinktivt stik tosset, råbte op, og holdt så godt ved min taske, at de måtte opgive. Pyha, luckey luckey.

Nå, men i alt er min følelse nu, at byen er begyndt at føles mere som 'hjemme'. Jeg er så småt ved at danne mig et billede af byen, og jeg kan på trods af min dårlige stedsans, så småt finde rundt. Så er jeg også ved at få dannet mig en hverdag og have opstartet et lille netværk herude. Det er fantastisk, og jeg føler, at jeg er, lige der, hvor jeg skal være.

Hvordan har I det derhjemme?

L.O.V.E

About one week into Saigon

Ho Chi Minh By, Vietnam

Sep 16, 2012

So now it's been a bit more than a week since I arrived here in Saigon. It's been quite fast - the time as well as the things that I am doing. Since I got here I have gotten started on my work, I have met a few different people and I have gotten to know my local area for a bit.

Most days Steve has picked me up early in the morning and has taken me out for breakfast in different restaurants with each of their specialty in Asian dishes. I have also been to the shelter most days, where I have had meetings on fundraising as well as taught English to the girls living in the shelter and the staff, and on several occasions my afternoons have been spent on a café close to where I live. It is placed right next to a main road, yet still drawn back enough so that it is not uncomfortable or stressful to sit there. The terrace of the café, which is half covered in trees, wherein lights are light as the darkness falls, is an amazing place to sit and take in the pulse of the city. Here in the heat I have been enjoying cold 'café sur da', while in perfect moments feeling the wind of a subtle breeze on my face. In these moments I feel this rush of happiness and gratitude that this is my life right now.

My work that is slowly starting to take shape is really interesting and filled with challenges and versatility. Along with other things it brought me to a meeting Wednesday evening with other people working in NGO's. It was a really nice evening, and for the first time since I left Denmark I had conversations with other Westerners. I hadn't realized how much I had actually missed this until I met with this group of people. Living amongst the Asian people is incredibly exciting, however, one must acknowledge the fact that there is a difference in out way of thinking, and gosh it was liberating to talk to people who think a bit more like me. I really enjoyed the evening - it reminded me of me again. About my independence and power to act, things that without me noticing it may have been challenged a bit due to my living situation and me being in a place where many things are very different from what I am used to. The first person I met at the meeting was a German girl named Miriam. She speaks English very well and is staying in Ho Chi Minh for two months to collect data for her thesis. We clicked right away and had dinner and drinks last night. It was a funny evening where we ended up in a French bar getting drinks and were invited for the opening of another French restaurant. I think I will be seeing her quite a bit while being out here.

Other than this I can tell you that my new friend B in the meantime have become my Ex-friend B after (despite my engagement and in a very inappropriate manner) trying to kiss my and hereby have been called out! But this is completely fine as I still have Steve and Huang to introduce me to the Asian society.

Furthermore you will in my photo albums be able to find pictures of an Irish guy named Andrew. I quite randomly bumped into him on the street on one of the days where I had gone to take pictures of the city. He had just arrived in the city and eyed the opportunity to ask me a question as he noticed the colour of my skin, which resulted in us exploring the city together. As illustrated in the pictures we went to the zoo and ended up having a lot of fun, although I through out our time in the zoo felt completely awful to see all of these poor animals locked inside cages. Horrible. And just as horrible was it, actually, was it to see the city's war museum yesterday, where I once again met up with Andrew. The pictures are quite vivid and made a big impression.

Besides from the trip to the museum Miriam and I went shopping yesterday. I both needed a perfume and a bag. When am I going to learn that I never have and never will be a 'backpack/girl'?? I don't know, but it is really about time, because now I've brought a backpack with me, as I before leaving thought that that was the most practical thing to do. However, this has now left me with the problem of not having a bag to use, since the backpack is the only bag besides from my suitcase I have brought and I can't bring myself to wearing it. It simply isn't my style. Which is why I have been running around with my clutch as a purse, till I yesterday decided to invest in a real MaxMara clutch. I also bought a perfume and I love both things. Being I girl I have the quality of being able to fall completely in love with material things. Although seeming quite shallow this, later on, turned out to be a good thing - along with the fact that the purse has a strap to it that can go around the wrist, as it then becomes more difficult to just snatch it out of my hands. That two motorcycle bullies discovered last night when Miriam and I were looking at a map trying to find the way to the French bar. Here all of the sudden two bullies on a motorbike came out of nowhere, and tried to take my bag as they were rushing right past us. I instantly became furious, shouted out and held on to mu purse so tight that they had to give it up. Whyyyyuw - lucky lucky!

Anyways, my feeling about this place is that it is starting to feel a bit like home to me. I am also beginning to have a picture of the city, and despite my bad sense of direction I am starting to be able to find my way around. Finally I am beginning to have something similar to an everyday life pieced together out here as well as having formed a small network for myself. It's amazing and I feel like I am exactly where I need to be right now.

How are you all back home?

L.O.V.E