Goooood Mornin VIETNAM!!!!!!

First of all, I need to thank my lucky stars and GOD that I made it safe and sound into VN. We heard of the typhoon that hit two days before and another was on its way...as we were flying in. Not being a true flyer which I should be good at by now I was a bit nervous to enter. The weather in Taipei was crappy and it was pouring. As we were finally ready for take off we are cruising down the runway and I swear we were not making it up and would have to land in the rice fields. I have never had such a horrid take off...I think I started saying Hail Mary but couldnt remember the words. It took us a good five minutes before we got out of the turbulance and I was ready to hit the restroom. The rest of the flight was really bumpy. We fly many different airlines and this one was like heaven. We had seats that reclined and great movies to chose from. The food was phenominal for a plane, either that or I was very hungry. After a two hour flight and a rocky landing, we arrive in Vietnam. The bus ride to the hotel was about 20 minutes and I was snapping away on my new camera. VN is FULL of scooters which is the basic mode of transportaion. Vietnamese are so friendly....they were waiving at us as we would pass them. One woman spotted us that was a host in a restaurant and she actually posed. The clothing they were is unbelivable. They wear dresses with slits up to the ying yang and pants underneath. Mind you they are all of about 5 foot and 75 pounds, so they always look amazing. If I were a man, I would look for a wife here. No doubts!

God I love VN! We arrive into the city around 1:00 pm. I actually had a day off during this portion of the trip. I had two things in sight...shopping and finding a tailor to have a dress made. Being that I am waaaay over the weight limit already, I decided not to have "clothes" made, but a cocktail dress for a party that I am going to when I get home. So, I hop into the shower and start to think about where I want to go. I look out the window and remember how overwhelming it is to get around VN, I start to get a headache. I meet up with another guy on the tour and he's going shopping so we end up going together. I told him about the dress I want to design and he said he would help me there, if I helped him shop. Sold!

We go to a famous tailor around the corner from the hotel and start the process. If I had known what a process this was, I wouldnt have started. I mean, these people are professionals, they make clothes all the time...couldnt this be simple? I start to describe the dress I wanted made and if I had a dollar for each face, and each expression, I would have not had to pay for the damn dress. So, after much debate, she calls a male tailor from her other store who comes over to this store and she describes the "type" of dress I want. After they speak their native language for a bit,out comes the measuring tape. HELLO boobs, hello other customers, and hello Hips...Jesus, these people have no privacy! After a lot of measuring and him giving the measurements in Vietnamese, which I swear they were laughing at me, I have another apointment to come back later tonight and again the next afternoon. Mind you, the next afternoon I leave!!! After giving out my measurements to Roger (hey, someone had to hold my purse while he measured me IN the middle of the store) we go to the market which was my next big mistake. I remember last year I was grabbed so damn hard they left a mark on my wrist for a day...what am I doing? And, already with headache..

Roger is funny. He will pay whatever, I say no. We found a bunch of great silk prints he needed to get for people. Had I had money on me, I would have bought a few as well. After much debate, and the damn woman not going down in price, we leave. Of course, they shout something down the ailes and we white people, are being starred at...of Course we are, Missy cant get out of a damn market without being stared at or grabbed at! Oh, let me explain the market for those of you who have never expereinced such chaos. Its an indoor building in which there are items being sold, but you dicker. He didnt want to dicker so she wouldnt go down in price, we went back to her 2 more times, but he wouldnt budge..Now that's a serious shopper, I would have bought the first time! Now What I want to know is where they get the stock they have. They have crap from everywhere and anything you could want from clothing, jewerly, hair items, colognes, hand bags, gadgets and gizmos...EVERYTHING..! Oh, and then there is the food courts. This is where I lose it. Imagine your garbage sitting in solid 100 degree heat for 3 weeks with mice running around and who knows what growing in the bins. Thats the smell inside the food stalls of the market. I did not want to put my hand to my nose, I mean, I AM in another country..communist might I add, so I was trying to be polite. I had to step up the pace however as I was getting very, very ill. I think half of the stuff was still alive, although not sure. After I saw the jellyfish being quartered at the last market, I didnt need to stick around to see what other animal would be diced. Absolutely down right disgusting. There went my appetite and with the bitches grabbing at you with the only piece of English language they know...Madam, what you looking for, Madam, come here...I HAD to get out. So we leave and start shopping in the little shops along the street. Roger had to get back, and I was glad to leave so I head back for some much needed asprin.

One of the other girls was not doing the fair that night, so I called her to see what she was up to. I had another fitting for my dress so we went to that, and...yes...I went back to the darn market. I think it was worse this time around. I looked for north face items but being overweight already, I could not purchase them. I left with nothing...and that is a rarity. It was downpouring so when we got back to the hotel, I scrubbed my black feet and threw out my rubber flip flops. It was time for them to be tossed anyway...it was no loss. Walmart 2.99, I can get more!

My friends at home have graciously agreed for me to skype in and see them all in one location...imagine that...Codders!! Ha...Anyway, it worked out, I packed the night before and was able to see my friends and say hello for a bit. High school visits were not fruitful, so I think next year, I have to skip HCMC. OHHHH, So the dress...


After the second try on/fitting there were more alterations. I really cant explain the dress until it is seen, it will sound like I am going to work on a corner in Harlem so lets just say you really have to see it to understand. And, I actually added more to the dress (basically to keep myself in) but it really spruced up the whole dress. I cant wait to wear it! Invisible double sided tape, here I come!!

So after the last visit of the day I literally had 10 minutes to go over, try it on, fix any last minute details, pay and get on the bus to the airport. I made it! And, yes, I purchased the dress. I had to bargain for it, and I actually ended up winning!! Next stop...Singapore~

Taiwan= Nakedness?? Not I...

So we arrive in Taiwan to the hotel around 9:30. It's a very nice area but the city seems much different than our previous stops. There definately is a lot more poverty here but also wealth, so pretty much the same through Asia. There is a "cultrual" activity that we always take part in during the trip with Linden. Last year was the night safari in Singapore, which I really enjoyed. This year we are able to go to hot springs in the mountains of Taiwan but on the bus Cathy announced on the bus that we were not able to actually sit in the springs but could walk around the national park. now had I packed sneakers, I would have been a little more inclined to go but since I only have heels and flip flops and sandals, I was not about to trek around the hills in any of the above. I got up and did emails and went for coffee while my lindenites traveled to the springs. I was checking email when I noticed on facebook a post from one of the guys on the tour that had gone to the springs. He said hot springs=nakedness. Yes, you read that right. THANK god I didnt go to the springs as they all had to go in NAKED!!!! I like everyone on the tour, but I sure as hell do not want to SEE everyone on the tour. The men were seperate from the woman and I guess all of the women did it and only 3 men went in. I was actually surprised when I learned who did not go in, but I dont blame them at the same time!! So, thankfully I did not go...it was really raining out anyway, it would have been relatively miserable.

We had a school visit in which we had to load a fast train for an hour and a half ride. Not being thrilled to travel 3 hours for a hour long college fair, we loaded the bus anyway. The train was neat/ It was fast, but still wasnt worth the long journey. When we arrived we were met by the counselor Leif who was very accomodating. The school was up on a mountain so we were able to take in some great scenery on the way. As we were approaching the school Leif told us what renovations were in progress. Ok, so schools here are nothing like American schools. There is a 5 star chain hotel being built, a shopping mall and what else? hot springs going through the hotel. Yes, more hot springs. We (the tour leader) agreed that next year we would look into staying at the hotel and doing visits in Southern Taiwan rather than in Taipei. Guess I will have to be more prepared! At any rate, the school visit was ok, we will be going back again next year. We have 2 visits on Monday and then another US fair which attendance is not expected to be stellar. So, we go to the hotel lounge and have a drink. I ate lasagna as I was starving..it was ok- nothing like home. I went to be around 10 as the trip is slowly catching up to me and sleep is not on my side. Well, the fair was also not on my side. I was not feeling well and after only 30 registrants, it made for 3 long hours. Off to bed I went. Oh, and I guess Linden paid 20,000 dollars for the venue...yes, that was American dollars. So, we get charged for basically a shit fair. Oh well, we now know that next year we will be staying in the hotel in I-Shou with the hot springs. Better start working out now! Ho Chi Minh City...here I come!! you know how you say I love NY?? Well, I LOVE HCMC!!!

More to come!
Miss

I've Got Seoul!!!

Ahhh, Seoul...such a big city!! Seoul is great. We arrive at night so the lights were popping and the drive to the hotel was AWESOME!!! Each city we have a coach bus taking us to and from places. This bus...omg!!! First off, the sign on the front of the bus said "Foreign Tourists On Board"....wtf, lets just announce to the entire city that we are a bus load of tourists. We get on the bus and its full of neon lights, mirrors, the arm rests have golf club head covers which i SO wanted to steal one...but didnt. My conscious got the best of me~for once! :) We have a guide which was hysterical..it was by far one of the best hour long rides we had. She had us cracking up, she was pulling down maps from the ceiling pointing to things, making sounds I have never heard before and just plain funny. One of the guys is an actor back home so he was cracking jokes and started singing. Low and behold, she pulls out the microphone for what other that karaoke!!! The bus went crazy but she came back on and said that the driver did not hook it up before he picked us up. Americans like to sing!! He should have known this..but, it was a fun trip anyway. We have visits on Friday and a fair at night. We are all looking foward to unwinding as we have Friday night off and do not fly out until 12:45 on Saturday. After a long day and a long fair, the hotel has a happy hour they host and we all head up. The fair gets over at 7 and happy hour gets over at 7:30 so we talked them into staying open. They agreed to stay open until 10:00. That was their first mistake. Open bar, open food and 30 admissions counselors....EEEKS!!! We depleted the bottles and all of the food..and we all are pretty tipsy. A few of us wanted to go out so we head to another bar. This bar was in the hotel and here you could pay 400 won for two bottles of jack, 8 beers, appetizers and what else...karaoke. Basically it came down to about 20 a person USD but since there were about 20 of us, we decided not to do it and hit the town. We took taxis to a nearby hot spot which was full of bars and eateries. We only can fit 4 people in a taxi and there are 10 of us. We somehow con the driver into letting 5 of us in. Of course not one of us have money in the group so it was interesting. We had to offer to pay double to let all 5 of us in, which he obliged. We take 2 taxis and of course get seperated. We were walking around thinking we never were going to see our friends when they pulled up..not sure how that happened. We were walking around asking people if they spoke English and of course they didnt! We found a polish dude who ended up taking us to some club. When you paid at the door, you got a free beer! How sweet! After dancing here for awhile, one of the guys got on stage and took his shirt off....dumb Americans..I know that's what they were all thinking! After a few people on stage with the dj, (NOT ME!!!), we finally head home. It was like midnight and we were all toast, I mean tired. We hadnt eaten much in the last couple of days so I had to order room service. I got a cheeseburger thinking it would be good...haha, it was not meat I was used to. It was a bit spongy so I ate the fries. I really have not had too much native food, I have eaten sandwhiches at the schools which most of them provide. I have eaten pizza which was interesting and really that's about it. Oh, I had to buy another suitcase seeing as how i was overweight and having to take brochures and materials on the plane means I pay overage charges. So, now I have two carry ons and lugging through airports does not make for easy navigation. Our next stop is Taipei which I have never been to. Looking foward to seeing another country!!

Oh, the funniest part of Seoul is the toilets. Each seat is heated and they have the options of an ass hose..I mean a bliday, or however you spell it. I have never used on, nor do I plan on using one but, this is freakin hysterical. One of the ladies came out of a school visit on Friday saying she just had the worst visit. I was thinking she did not see students and was just complaining about the visit...was I wrong! She was in the bathroom of the school where they also have these funky toilets. I guess Korean's like to be clean. At any rate, she said she could not figure out how to flush the toilet and ended up pushing a button and got the spray RIGHT IN HER FACE....I think at this point, I would have had a breakdown. She looked perfect, me on the other hand, I would have had make up all over my face smeared from the water. I could not help but laugh, which she was laughing as well so it was ok. But, can you imagine thinking you are flushing a toilet and WHAM...water in the face. First off, I dont think my face would have been that close to the bowl, but in desperate times of flushing, I guess one never knows.

So, after a few good times in Seoul, we are on our way out. I am sitting in the airport and one of the guys said he had to show me something on his computer. This was while we were boarding so I didnt find out until later that our little interviews in Beijing...THEY ARE ON THE INTERNET!!! I about died. I searched the internet and low and behold, there were are on the net for the world to see. Of course, I have a picture looking ever so constipated and scared to death!! Another picture is ok, but I still do not like the fact that we are even on the internet. Of course it is in Chinese, so I will post the link soon. Maybe... :)

Well, I have to get ready for a high school visit, so I will post more later. Asta for now!!

Beijing China...Blah!

Well here we are on Beijing. We flew out of HK around 9 pm and do not get to the hotel until about 11:30. We have a few high school visits, which were not fruitfull for me. In the hotel we have a large college fair where I guess 700 people have registered. What happens next was not fun. All of us had to do individual interviews with an educational consulting agency who was at the fair. None of us knew what to expect so we just went with the flow. Our group was first....love being the first in the alphabet!! Anyway, we start the interview very late. Good thing one of the ladies in my group was chinese so she was able to work with the translator and get our questions before the interview. Basically they wanted to know if we send any students abroad and if we have any opportunites for university students to come to our universities to study for a year. We start the interview and there are TONS of pictures being taken. The interview went well, but it was very chaotic so I wasnt sure if it really did go well. I have a translator for the fair which was great. She was a very sweet girl who is attending university in China. The fair was 3 hours and again I had to withhold materials b/c it was basically a grab fest. I needed material for the rest of my visits so I had a lot of inquiry cards being filled out. A LOT of grad questions so hopefully we will see something! We go into Shanghai after one night in Beijing and we stay in a very European area..it was very nice. I was standing outside when I noticed a lot of women walking around...oh, have I talked about the dress?? Chinese women dress to the nines and look great..however, we were in prostitute district..and Im not kidding. Many american men are walking around with their "dates" and it makes you sick. I guess a few of the guys on the tour left a couple bars because they were being approached by "hookers" and it just wasnt on their agenda!! We have two nights in Shanghai and the visits and fair were not as expected. I didnt not have a translator for this fair so it was difficult, but really no interest in AU. I just know for next year...not doing this fair! This week was so intense with visits, fairs, early morning flights, late night arrivals that I am looking foward to the weekend. China can stay where it is, I do not like the country but we do very well in terms of students, so I will be back next year. We fly out for Seoul and I am definately looking foward to it!

As you are reading this, please ignore the spelling...I am still not caught up on sleep and its 5 days into the tour....looking foward to a little rest this weekend.

Peace!!

From NY to Hong Kong

Well, I am on another journey across the globe!! I start out flying from Rochester to Ohare and then continue on to Hong Kong. I rode up to the airport with Liz as my flight was very early in the morning and I did not want mom falling asleep on the way home...yes mom, you would fall asleep! She dropped me off at the airport and I check in. The next part was a little frightening as I was 5 pounds over the limit...BEFORE I start the trip...after pulling clothes out of my suitcase and adding them to my carry on, I was on my way...at the max limit..





The flight to Chicago was rough, I was on a puddle jumper and for those of you that know me, you know I do not do well on small planes. It was a relatively short flight so it was fine. Arriving into Chicago, I had a 3 hour wait. I met up with the other 4 linden"ites" and things were looking good.



I arrive in Hong Kong and it was about 30 hours since I had slept..the flight was long, but it went pretty fast. I split a shuttle to the hotel with a friend from Linden and we were on our way. When I got to the hotel, after sleeping on the bus, I could not go to bed. It was 5 pm in HK and very lively. I ordered room service which included a salad and french onion. The soup was very sweet so I didnt eat much other than the cheese. now the salad..I ordered a greek salad with chicken, it was good, but to my surprise, there was no lettuce. So, I ate what seemed to have been 3 tomatoes sliced, a whole onion sliced, and about 2 cucumbers. Lets just say I received my daily intake of veggies! I took a sleeping pill around 9...but to my surprise, it did not work. I slept all of about 4 hours and then headed to the pool. I had two days to lounge around the pool which was sweet. I needless to say, burned my entire body. I met up with people I knew on Sunday, I think it was Sunday, could have been Saturday for all I knew. HK was great, I love the country and would definately move there if I had the chance. My friend owns a bar but I found out it was actually in China on the border so I did not end up going. A white girl alone going into China to drink at a bar and come back to HK?? Uh no!! So, I met up with people on the tour, we did a bit of sight seeing and laying in the sun...what more could I ask for! School visits were fun. We were driving on the cliffs of HK and thank goodness the driver was relatively safe..our major problems were meeting other busses on the one lane road. We did have to back up the bus at one point, I just closed my eyes!! We are now off to Beijing for more visits and a college fair. Not a fan of China but I will survive. More to follow! Oh, by the way, I still have not caught up on sleep...which is definately starting to wear on me! We are on our way to Beijing, where I am not a fan...we'll see how this trip goes!! More later!