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Just when Vietnam starts to stress you out, a miracle happens. Today was a very special day. Before today, I was beginning to get aggravated about every little thing that Vietnam offers. If you're wondering, no I am not going to get my period, nor am I on it. We had to purchase a lot of items for our new home so there was quite a bit of shopping. As foreigners, you always get quoted the higher price. The other annoying thing is that you can never find what you're looking for and the layout of each market makes absolutely no sense. We ended up at 4 different stores, by scooter and by foot. Under rain and humidity, the mundane task begins to take a toll on you. What really irks me is the the checkout line! As Pauly and I are ready to pay for our over priced goods after taking a ridiculous amount of time to find them, there is always a lingering bystander who is waiting to cut you off. It's strange that Vietnam has no sense of courtesy. In a long line, it never fails that a person or two will pull up right in front of you and take your turn, it is extremely aggravating. As soon as I say something, the person will look at me as if they have no idea what is going on (because they actually don't), even though I am talking to them in there language.

Whew, I just had to let that out! Now for the miracle, Paul sent me a craigslist ad (yes craigslist exist here) for a teaching position. Something tells me that he wants me to start working. Anyhow, I call the number on the ad and I got an interview for today. The advertisement is looking for a part time teacher for $25 an hour. You only work 2.5 hours twice a week and you get to pick the days. The only catch is, it's 30 minutes away from where we live. I figure it's worth the time and being that it's in another district, D3, that will enable us to familiarize ourselves outside of our bubble. Paul decides to go with me for safety reasons, and as soon as we arrive to our destination tucked away in an alley, the interviewer asks who's applying for the position, you or Paul. Ok, I'm not close to the miracle yet, but will get there eventually, I forgot that this part was pretty interesting too. So I provided Jenny (the interviewer) my name prior and spoke with her on the phone, so obviously it's a female applying, me! When I respond, I am the one who spoke with you on the phone, she says oh, you're Asian. You see the thing is, when you teach English in a country like Vietnam, one of the unwritten preference is that you are Caucasian. They have this belief that Americans are all white with colored eyes, tall with fair skin. This is the second time Paul almost got my job in Vietnam. I don't think he should tag along with me on interviews anymore, too much competition. Anyhow, she decides to proceed with the interview even though I look Asian because she realizes that I do have an American accent. As soon as I sit down, she says “actually I have decided to make this a full time position”. WTF!>!>>!>!>? I just came by taxi dressed to the T, to respond to a specific ad and she pulls a 180. This is common practice here. We continue and I was able to convince her to return to her original advertisement and she agrees, I got the job, but you know what, I don't think I want it. Sigh. The traffic on the way there is pretty bad so I don't think it's worth the time or risk. So the good part of that long story is I got a job even though I “look Asian”.

Onto the miracle, we stumbled across a market on Le Van Sy, we found more kitchen supplies for half the price in D7 and so we stocked up. It was exciting to find all the things we needed for great prices, so we went on spending. Spending moola can really work up an appetite, so we slid into a sitting area decorated with small plastic chairs and metal tables with vendors all around. I haven't tried a soup called bun man, so I decided to give it a go. Paul eats anything without question placed in front of him. A lady comes by to ask if we want the bun man special and I say sure and she asks what drinks we want and we order a cafe sua da (check out the video of how to make Vietnamese Coffee) and tra da (they don't serve iced water here, just diluted tea with ice, pretty refreshing though). I look over at Paul and ask him how much we have left and that's when we realized we didn't have much left, just 65k, which is $3USD. I turn around to stop the woman from making the coffee, and in mid-turn she is delivering our drinks to the table. I tell her that we don't have enough money and she plainly says, I've already made it, please just enjoy your meal and pay me next time. Wow! Seriously, that made my month! Money is a big deal here, people in Vietnam are driven by money. You will literally see people on the side of the street counting there cash constantly. Counting and recounting, then counting again. In order to get any licenses or permits, it requires money. So for her to let us off and allowed us to save face was a MIRACLE. As Paul slurped up his meal, and I ate mine guiltily I walked over to apologize for the trouble and try to give her what money we had, but she would not take it at all. Again she just smiled and said, pay me whenever you come by again. That was the sweetest thing....these are the little things that reminds me of how beautiful Vietnam can be.

We jumped on the bus to head home, it's a 45 minute ride after one connection at Ben Thanh. It was a crowed bus and at every bus stop more people are loaded on, another beautiful thing about Vietnam, is how respected elders are. Every person knows to give his or her seat up to an elder that is 50 years or older. As soon as the elder jumps on the bus and I mean this literally, buses never come to a complete stop, a young punk kid, or uniformed student will immediately offer their seat. It is really nice to see that there are certain mannerisms that are carried out. We just got to teach them how to drive and how to wait in a line and Vietnam would be paradise.