Volunteer Skipper

Khaly and I were up again at 5:30 and out the door! Since we didn’t see Ken we figured he still wasn’t feeling too hot. I could only manage ONE lap today (embarrassing I know) but I was BEYOND sore and I have a hard time breathing in the heavy air (that and the fact I am out of shape!) I decided (since I was now walking..) that I would use my iPod pedometer to see how long one lap was. We moved on to aerobics which was good as always. I think the class is an hour, but after a half hour they take a break and we usually leave then because it gets very repetitive.

I got back and took a WELL needed shower and decided to figure out how much I “ran” today. 1/8 of a mile!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UGH! Not ok! Afterwards I skyped my family who RAGGED on me the entire time once I told them (even though it was THANKSGIVING). I told Khaly about this and we were BOTH in shock (although we did question whether or not we were just trying to make ourselves feel better) but we both agree it looks like a standard track..so who knows.

So, I am a volunteer skipper. Ken was going to spend the day resting, so Khaly and I decided (since we were not scheduled for anything) to spend the day doing errands. I KNOW how that sounds, and we both thought, “Are we awful people?” We decided we aren’t. First of all, we are exhausted. It is our own choice to be out by 530am but we go until about 6:00ish pm and by the time we shower and have dinner it’s bed time! The heat (not that I am complaining) drains us even more! So we decided we had a lot we wanted to do but couldn’t get done during the week. Tomorrow (Saturday) we are doing a mini tour of the city and on Sunday (EARLY) Ken is taking the ladies at the orphanage out to get a new outfit! So as bad as this sounds we decided instead of getting run down and sick we would get our “stuff” done today.

First stop, laundry! We both dropped it off so it would be ready tonight. Then we headed to find an iPod arm band (for when we run). We walked and walked but couldn’t find it ANYWHERE. We were both STARVING so we made a pit stop at a bakery and it was SO good! We continued on to try and find workout shirts. We both wear t-shirts which are DRENCHED just from walking down the stairs at the hostel, never mind working out. Today, Khaly asked our instructor where to find them and she gave us an address. However, when we got there we realized it was all imported Nike and other brand names and we were thinking something VERY cheap!

We continued on to the grocery store (I LOVE this place) and we were able to get some cheaper tank tops. I had to get the XL and it is STILL too short, but it will have to work. We both love the supermarket because you can get anything you want. I also got PB&J that I am hoping to make for the days we don’t really have lunch. My problem is I do TRY local food but am sometimes nervous at the street vendor’s cleanliness and when we don’t have time to eat I just snack all day which isn’t healthy (at least what I end up eating). So I am hoping I will be able to make myself a sandwich!

On our way back we stopped at an Italian place! I have converted her to the dark side. It was a pasta buffet and it was DELICIOUS! I was actually “good” (relatively speaking) and had cucumber, tomato, watermelon and pineapple. Everything was delicious and gave us a boost of energy.
We then came back to rest and both tried to fall asleep but just ended up resting..it felt great though! We were off again to find a bookstore! I had been telling Khaly about teaching in Beijing and how flashcards seemed to work. I think we will really only use them for the boy’s shelter because we don’t teach English at the orphanage or soup kitchen. I thought we would be teaching English at the deaf school but it sounds like we go during their activity period so we really are just there to hang out and play games! SO we found a bookstore but couldn’t find ANYTHING good until finally we spotted some posters! We got a lot (in hopes they can put them up around the room) that have themes (animals, fruits, numbers) in both English and Vietnamese. I think it will be GREAT and was very excited!

We also stopped by the main tourist information center in Ho Chi Minh because we are hoping to see more of the “country” of Vietnam and not just the city. The prices were WAY too expensive but we wanted to get an idea of where to visit and then book on our own.

We came back and after a LONG week treated ourselves to a pedicure! It was great! Definitely a little sketchy but no problems! I told Khaly to play dumb (not speak in Vietnamese) to see if she overheard anything good. I don’t know why I got such a kick out of this. She did tell me the ladies said, “She looks Vietnamese..no Pilipino” and she said it was hard not to speak in Vietnamese at all. I always think when I get pedicures that they are saying how I have nasty feet etc. but Khaly said they didn’t say anything mean (or she just didn’t want to hurt my feelings). When we were done they had us fill out this paper rating the pedicure and it had a place for a tip. Khaly didn’t write anything so I didn’t either but the lady kept pointing until we wrote something. It made us a little bit uncomfortable but since it didn’t cost that much to beginning with it was fine. We got downstairs (where we leave our shoes) and mine weren’t there! NOT OK! They kept saying, “Just one minute” and kept looking for them. Khaly said they were saying things like, “Let’s find her shoes..maybe someone else took them..etc” but after about 5 minutes they found them (who KNOWS where). I now learned my lesson to BRING my shoes. They were only flip flops..BUT I had them worn in so I would have been bummed!

Jemma came to our area for dinner, but I don’t like her so I wish she hadn’t. JUST KIDDING. She told me she reads my blog every night so this is a test to see if she will say something to me about it. I told her she probably knows more about me than I even realize! Ha!

Every restaurant has the same thing, which includes both Vietnamese and Western food so we ended up eating at an Italian place and I got pizza! Yum! Too many carbs today I know..tomorrow will be better! Khaly and I went to pick up our laundry and it is so nice to have it done and folded! Then the three of us girls went to a nice little outside seating area and listened to very old American pop and watched the world go by!

Hugs and kisses from the volunteer skipper.