the last few days - some observations

So I finally have a minute to myself so I thought I would make another blog post. Life has been crazy with a lot of social stuff, 2 hours of language lessons, 7 days this week and a little bit of pre-work work as well. I officially start work tomorrow so thought I would get this one in before life gets even busier.

So this week I have been told I am beautiful which is nice. I have also been asked in the street if I am pregnant (!!!) due to being a little rounder than your typical Vietnamese person. I have been told I look like I'm Indian as well!!

I have ridden three people to a motorbike, I have carried a bunch of flowers and a birthday cake on the back of the bike, I have ridden up to the buddhist monument on the coast of Da Nang and took some great photos off the back at about 50kms an hour. I have carried a porcelain sink (no really!!) on the back of the bike.

I also had my first minor scrape tonight (literally). The bike I was on the back of, with a work friend driving scraped mirrors with another bike and my arm got a bit grazed on the other bike in the process. No biggie, but it is a reminder that little (and big) accidents can occur very easily.

Today (Sunday) was spent on 2 hours of language lesson (9am to 11am) this morning. Then I checked out another house to rent (cheap but a share house with an older Vietnamese woman and I think I want to be closer to the Beach) and then spent 2 or 3 hours swimming and having a couple of beers on China Beach. It was a beautiful day and with the minor flooding and torrential rain we've been having lately, you take any chance you can to hit the beach. I'm going to have to test my Vietnamese language skills and translate what the sign says. I am told it is referring to a rip (called a whirlpool here) and identifying this section of beach as not a safe place to swim.

Tomorrow I am off in search of a bag for my laptop and then heading into the office for some planning and admin (setting up work email account, mapping project plans and background reading etc).

Looking forward to hearing from you all (subtext - comment more!!!).

Amy xoxo

Da Nang

Hello everyone... first things first, as you can probably see I have resolved the camera issue. With the help of my ICM (In-Country Manager for the Ayad Program) Mr Thong I managed to located a replacement cord for about $9 AUD so I was pretty stoked to get my pics off my camera and onto the blog.

I have arrived in Da Nang, flew in on Saturday morning. Saturday was spent looking around Da Nang a little, though this was rushed because a storm was coming in. We went to the top of the Green Plaza hotel along the river and I managed to take some photos. I look forward to taking more when the weather is clearer and you can see the mountains better.



Saturday night we had a dinner at Ian's (my new boss) house and I met a couple of girls from the Project Office. I also had my first ride on a motorbike, as we went for a drink with the ex-pat network that has been established here in Da Nang. A lot of that group are American ex army men who have come back and married.

Sunday was spent house hunting and more motorbike riding. I am now in the possession of a brand-new spanking helmet of my own, complete with full face visor. Its very cute. We also did quite a bit of house hounting today. If I choose, I can get a three or four story place to myself with 3 to 4 bedrooms and bathrooms for about $300 USD a month but I think I will hold out for something a bit smaller.

Also late this afternoon I got to step foot on China Beach here in Da Nang. The city is split into two sections, one of the ocean side of the river and the other on the mountain side of the river. If I can I'm going to live on the beach side and use my pushbike to get around, with the view to learning how to ride a motorbike in the near future.

That's all for now. Tomorrow will be spent setting up a bank account, finding a local dr and visiting the project office.

Keep the comments rolling in and love to you all.

Amy xoxo