Mo and Charlie are loving themselves silly every weekend learning about science (their idea, not mine). We've watch videos on spiders, made dinosaur dioramas and modelling the orbits of the planets round the sun. In the photo below they are looking at some chemical reactions.
Seared Tuna with a Passionfruit sauce
Durian and more
Pomelo
Hungry Caterpillars - Dec 2010
Just came across this old gem. Charlie's 4 and Roma's 3.
Cake Decorations
Well obviously the local cake shop has it all over us when it comes down to cake decorations. Check out what sits just to the left of the strawberries. Yes, you got it. Eat cake and all your constipation troubles go out the window. Wendy, have you thought of trying this on your cakes?
Chocolate, strawberries and ........all bran
Charlie's Big O Seven - 9th and 10th November
A great birthday inculding presents and cup cakes at school on the Friday and then a bowl-a-rama on the Saturday. Lots of friends, a few ring-ins, lots of presents, incredible bowling technique, a great cake and a commemorative t-shirt. What else could a boy ask for?
Before & After - 6th October
So apart from all the eating and drinking and sightseeing and working we've been doing, Ruth has also been a busy little beaver in the Gym. She started with Jenny Craig in Australia a year ago, this week. She then went it alone when we moved to Vietnam in January. Here are a couple of before and after photos. I shouldn't really after, as it's probably not over, but to date, Ruth has lost 25.1 kg. Not bad really.
April 2011
2 Months into Jenny Craig.
Gym Junkie
Ready for a night on the town.
Blue Crab
Just around the corner from home. Brand new restaurant with some unusual choices. Yummo. The service is a bit slow (they've only just opened) but the food is delish. This will definately be a place we go back to.
It's Raining - 1st October
Well, we were promised a rainy season and today we got it. Flood, flood, flood. District 2 (where we live) is built on a swamp and it showed today. Yahoo.
Roma in an Áo Dài (traditional Vietnamese costume), getting ready for The Moon Festival.
Roma with her friend Geralynn.
Charlie in his Tough Mo Fo Kung Fu outfit. Don't mess with him.
Ruth's Big Four O - 30th August 2012
Now I'm 40. I had a lovely day, kicking off with a 30 minute gym session followed by a pressie from the kids and Dan. It was then off to school where my Kindergarten class sang a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday, carrot cake in the staffroom at morning tea and then carrot cake in the staffroom after school. Out to dinner with the fam, then home at the end of the evening for more cake (chocolate this time). My 30 mins in the gym was negated after the first piece of carrot cake.
Then on Friday after school we headed to The Deck for a couple of sherbets.
The Deck
Cool Expat hangout right on the river in D2. Vietname - Japanese- Thai fusion food. Great views and great food. And cheap cocktails.
Pillow Sandwhich
When Darth Vader isn't blowing up worlds she likes to to play Junior Monopoly
High Tea - 26th April
So what do you do when you head out to a friend's place for a play after school? Well you have high tea of course.
Roma's friend, Margaux, and her Mum, Helene, who works in the high school
Old Friends
We mean that is the nicest way. Dirk and Susan came to visit (well probably came to visit Chris and Jenny but we were around). [All friends from China].
Bike!
We're tentatively working up to riding on the big roads.
What are you doing with 1 hand off the handle bars? There should be a phone attached and you should be texting.
...about 10km/h
A Video would really capture the speed that Ruth is moving at.....
How cool am I?
Visitors - April 2012
Visitors everywhere! So with our school holidays coming to an end in a couple of days, we can reflect on three sets of visitors in 10 days. Firstly, Kaylene flew in from Tokyo. She stayed with Chris and Jenny for 3 days and then with us for two. She was the first to try out the spare room and claimed the bed was very comfortable. Kaylene checked out the importnat things that one would see on any trip tpo Saigon - Metro supermarket and the hair salon.
Next was Ros and the fam. They stopped by for a couple days in HCMC before checking out the rest of Vietnam. They came over for a swim at the school pool (which is apparently not allowed and we got in trouble), dinner at our house and then Ruth and Roma met them at the botanical garden the next day for a play. Ros and Neil's girls - Alice and Kate - were very jealous that a 5 year old should have a Queen bed and an ensuite. Roma doesn't know how lucky she is.
Finally Es came and stayed for a week. She had a fun filled time checking out the neigbourhood and enjoying her grandkids. There have been a few trials - climbing two flights of steps to get to her room and climbing into "people mover" taxis". But she's enjoyed the shopping and the food. A combination of cough mixture and a pina colada had the head spinning. Luckily her seat was far enough from the edge so there was no slipping into the Saigon river.
Reward for Needles - 10th March
The kids have finished their final round of vaccinations and can now stand in any rice field in SE Asia without shoes knowing that they're safe from any nasty virus. Their rewards are shown below.
One can never ever have enough cuddly toys.
We're not sure what this pose is. Hopefully it won't last.
So, what happens when your electricity get's cut off - 28th Feb 2012
So when you don't pay your bill because you don't own a letter box so the bill just floats away into the ether a man comes to your house and cuts off the electricity. So when he cuts off the electricity he just cuts it off ....... with a pair of pliers or a knife or something like that because when you go to put it back on you need to actually stick the two wires back together again. So then you pay the bill and then it gets dark and there's no electricity which means no air conditioning and no one has shown up because they're not coming until tomorrow but then you get the number of some guy who works for the electricity company and you just pay him a 500 000 Dong ($25) bribe and he just shows up and climbs up the pole and climbs down the pole and stands on a wall and joins the two pieces of wire together and 50 people crowd around outside your house and watch and he reconnects the electricity and then the people inside the house cheer and clap (that'll be us) and he puts his arms up in a victoy salute , you've got your electriviy back.
Simple as that.
"Calling all Tooth Fairies" - 27th Feb
A momentous day in the life of Charlie Aarons. Today at approximtely 12:40 pm while munching on a white bread baggette (don't tell mummy), Charlie lost his first tooth. It was a wonderful moment almost lost when Charlie came close to swallowing the tooth.
"I took a bite and I could feel something in my mouth so I spat it into my hand", a quick thinking Charlie said. "It's cool because it's got blood inside of it".
It is currently residing under his pillow waiting for the tooth fairy who we hope knows where Saigon is. Charlie is hoping she carries Vietnamese Dong with her.
Getting Around - 11th Feb 2012
Getting around in Saigon is chaotic, to say the least. The kids get to school by motorbike. Our Nanny takes them in the morning and picks them up (See pictures in "school"). Ruth has bought herself a bike and is probably the only adult in Saigon (local or expat) who wears a helmet. Strangely, the bitumen in Vietnam is as hard as the bitumen in Australia. Who would have thought? I get to work on a back of a motorbike. Ms Hoa found me some guy who completes the trip (15 mins each way) for about $4 a day. Not too bad. For the first 2 days I borrowed his helmet. He then took me to buy my own one afternoon. When we went to leave I reminded him to take the helmet I had been borrowing but he informed me that it was crap and left it there. I'm glad I wore it.
The roads are chaos. To quote my good friend Bob, who has just returned from a trip to Vietnam.......
"I really miss crossing the road. I now cross Brisbane Street with my eyes closed just to get that ‘high’ again. I am also thinking about getting the horn connected to the brake pedal on the MG.
A trip to the Supermarket
There's nothing like a good trip to the supermarket to get accustomed to the place you’ve just arrived. So I am very pleased to announce that when we are bored on a Saturday arvo in Saigon we will be heading to the local “Metro”. Everything you ever wanted can be found within its confines. Our latest trip was very successful. We picked up a microwave, DVD player, Bulla Cottage Cheese and batteries. The kids loved seeing the fish section as there was a large selection of live fish swimming around for them to check out –sting rays, eels, cat fish, crabs, scampi and even (I know it’s not a fish) snails. Other items that we didn’t pick up (on this occasion) can be found in the pictures below.
Pigs
We had our first truely Asian Supermarket experience last week when we went to "Metro" to stock up on essentials for the new house. You need a special card to get in and shop there and we were lucky enough to score a (picture ID) card from some teacher colleagues. We were a little concerned that Ruth may not have been given access but luckily for her, she looked enough like Nguyen Thi Hong Lam to get in. Being a little Aldi in its makeup we were able to source everything we needed - iron, ironingboard, plates, tupperware, circular saw. There is also a large selection of food (I'll definately take my camera next time to capture the essense of the place fully). The piece de resistance was to be found in the hot food section. Who says chickens should be the animal found on a rotisserie!
Swimming - 12th Feb
There is a big swimming pool at school which can go to whenever we want.
Nha Hang Ngon
Yummo! We were taken to this restaurant by Chris and Jenny and have since been there a couple of times. It is set up with street food style stalls around the outside. You can either choose from a menu or you can wander around the stalls and point at various things you like the look of. This is the prefered option when you don't know the names of anything.
Eating Out
There's lots to eat in Vietnam. But our favourite is Breakfast in the afternoon.
Ice Cream
Mmmm, ice cream. Delicious.
Singapore Noodles
Finally I'm eating some Asian food. It's Singapore noodles. Not Vietnamese, but heading north from Aus at least. The noodles were "Yum. I loved them. We can go to that restaurant again and I can order the same."
Roma's Birthday - 8th Feb
Coming down the steps for the first time as a five year old
Roma had her first birthday out of Australia.
I liked my birthday. And it was so sweet. And I really liked my treats (which were cupcakes delivered to the classroom no less). And the presents were very beautiful. I got a Rio Book from Charlotte, and Princess Undies and Angry Bird undies and a bunny doll house and a pink bike.
Roma
Roma has had a wonderful time turning five in Vietnam and celebtrated the occasion with a big bash at Joy Max - the local under 10's hangout (oh God, 5 more years of this). She invited 10 of her closest buddies, and ate and played until she go do so no longer (due to the 2 hour party restriction limit set down by her uncomprimising parents).
She received a wonderful stash of presents and fun was had by all - even the adults.
I Think We've Found a House!
So, after numerous trips on the back of motorbikes up hill and down dale (OK... I'm lying about that bit as it's as flat as a tack here) with assorted real estate people, I think we've found a nice house to call home. It's pretty close to the school, so I should be able to get a pushie and ride, but Dan will have to get a motor bike to get to his campus as he is further away. The kids will go to school with Ms Hoa on her motor bike... They are really excited about that bit. To be honest, we are just completely over the whole searching for a house bit. The agents deliberately show you houses above your price range which is very frustrating. Everyone (staff we have met so far) keeps saying... "You'll be able to get something great for your money" but we just haven't been shown anything great in our price range. So, today after looking at about 3 apartments and a dozen houses we've decided to just take one that's a bit over price. Anything to get out of this hotel. We sign the contract tomorrow then we'll have to move in on Wednesday or Thursday. Will post a photo as soon as we have one!
Everything else is going swimmingly....
The First Few Days
Well, we've arrived in Saigon safe and sound. We arrived at about 10am last Thursday after a long flight. The kids were pretty good on the flight, thankfully. We got through customs without too much drama despite having no clue how to go about it. We were picked up by Ms Bang at the airport, she brought us to our hotel (4 of us in 1 room - but otherwise OK), waited for us get changed then took us to the school. Talk about being thrown in at the deep end. So we met the Peter, the Principal and Jamie who is the other teacher on Year 5. All seems good at the school. We came back to the hotel and were all asleep by 6pm after a huge couple of days. The next morning we were up bright and early (like 4:30am...) and off to the school again so Dan could meet his classes and have a chat with the fellow he is taking over from. We left the kids with one of the teachers' maids and she took them to a cafe with a great kids play area. I went into town with the Principals driver to buy phones, which I wasn't able to do.... I wanted to get my phone unlocked but couldn't find anyone to do it... "No, we sell sim cards"... "No, we sell phone plans"... "No, we sell phones"... The driver was getting a bit agitated and took me back to school. Ah well, there's always tomorrow. I picked up the kids who were having a great time, then we went to pick up Dan who had had a nice day. We ended up going out in the afternoon to open a bank account and picked up phones all by ourselves. Aren't we clever! So that took care of Friday! On Saturday we went with Ms Hoa (who will be our maid/nanny) to look at houses. We looked at 3 but don't think they are quite right for us. We have to wait until the Tet holiday is over before we can look at any more as everyone goes home to their families for Tet and the place is deserted.... So we've had a few days of doing not much in the hotel while we wait... Ever sat around in a hotel room for days waiting? The kids are playing way too much DS and we're just surfing the net. We have ventured out for food a few times and have found a couple of neat places to eat. We're not forcing the issue too much though and have kept the menu choices fairly western. Dan and I've had a few goes at Pho and Banh Mi, which has been great! And cheap! We had dinner for $2.75 the other night. Ok, don't want to bore you too much. We'll leave it at that and blog more when we've found a house.
Everyone lives in this one room.
Cool work.
There are lots of cool laneways to explore.
The Snap Cafe - 30 Jan
Today we went to The Snap Cafe. It's got a park. It's got two swings that are really fun and make us laugh. we can climb up somewhere. It's the really highest place. Here are some pictures. Charlie
ALL our belongings.
Parks
It's a cool park because it has exercise things. We met a friend who always said "Oh my God".
Cyclo
I think that the cyclo was bumpy and it was a little bit fun.