Well the in-country orientation (ICO) is now over and each of the volunteers have now gone to their respective placements throughout Vietnam including, HCMC, Thai Binh and Da Nang. For a quick round-up of the final week of ICO please take a look at Trish's movie;
The volunteers in Da Nang had a dramatic start to their placement, as it was in this area that typhoon Ketsana made landfall. Warnings however were provided, the authorities were well prepared and, although tragically there were fatalities due to mudslides in the central provinces, emergency procedures worked effectively.
The newly placed VSO volunteers in Da Nang are safe and sound and apparently will even soon be starting work.
For those of us based in Hanoi, life has proved far simpler, having already spent 3 weeks in the city we have already had the chance to familiarise ourselves with our surroundings and have been able to find accommodation. I had an immediate choice to make, of whether to live on my own, something I have become very used to or to share with someone else. Well it soon became apparent that the best value was to share a house, and it became even more apparent that myself, Trish and Louisa would find it easy to get along.
So after a few frenetic days of travelling around various districts of Hanoi, we finally settled on the Dong Da District of the city, a locale that was relatively convenient for all, with me being the luckiest as I am within walking distance for work, and there is even a footbridge to cross the road!! The area has everything we could possibly want, a market with fresh produce literally on our door-step, a pleasant lakeside Bier Hoi just around the corner, a large supermarket just a short bus ride away, and for me a barber that does a fine cut-throat shave.
The house is a typical Vietnamese town house, tall and narrow but with plenty of space. The first floor opens out onto street, or should that be alley, and contains living area, kitchen and a small shower room, the second and third floors have two bedrooms and bathroom each and the final storey consists of a large landing, utility area and spacious roof terrace.
During my first night in the new bed, there were some ominous creaking sounds, which were the precursor to the complete collapse of the frame, proving, not for the first time, that I am taller, wider and, yes, considerably heavier than most Vietnamese. But the charming landlord was soon around to fix things and it is now reinforced and very solid, just right for a cool nights sleep under the mosquito net, fan and air-con. The standard of accommodation has exceeded our expectations for the budget, so we are all very pleased. Having settled in I have now began my assignment and I am very much enjoying the experience.
The public nature of blogging means that I shan’t be going into specific detail about my work, but in future blogs I will provide observations about my life here and describe some of the context within which my assignment takes place. So I hope you will join me next week, when I will describe a little about Vietnam’s turbulent but spectacular development story.
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wow - I am impressed with your luxury apartment. Very nice indeed. I an now green with envy! I am longing for a comfy chair or even a settee, all I have here are a couple of plastic chairs.
ReplyDeleteOne day maybe...