Released from captivity

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Over the last four weeks, Marc and I have combined for 1,000 flights of stairs, 60 bowls of pho, a loss of 30 lbs, not nearly enough sleep and more beer than we’d like to admit.

After all that, we are pleased/relieved to announce that we both passed the CELTA.

Now it’s time for a vacation from our vacation.

Today, we bought backpacks and open bus tickets from Saigon to Hanoi, which includes several stops along the way. We may take up to two months traveling through Vietnam, with the goal of finding a place that we would like to live and then finding teaching jobs. We leave on February 11, and we are beyond excited.

Since finishing the course on Friday, we’ve been trying to move outside the 10-block radius we’ve been confined to for the last month. On Sunday, we took the hydrofoil (giant speedboat) to Vung Tao, a beach city about an hour and a half from Saigon. There is an ILA school there, so we wanted to see what the city was like, in case we wanted to work there. Compared to Saigon, Vung Tao was a ghost town, but it was Sunday and Tet (Vietnamese New Year) is this week so it’s hard to get an accurate impression. Still, we got hassled a lot, ripped off at every turn and generally did not get a great vibe from the place. Consensus is a big “no” to Vung Tao. The hydrofoil was pretty cool though.

Tomorrow, we're leaving for a two-day trip to the Mekong Delta so we'll write again soon.

Miss you all,
Krysta (& Marc)

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Photos

Cruising
Saigon by night

Teacher Marc
Suits him, doesn't it?

My favourite students
Tao, Loan and Quan

Another jump and turn
Me and the intermediate class on the last day of class.

Last day lunch
All the CELTA trainees and the students at lunch

Late night celebrations
Following the CELTA completion dinner courtesy of ILA on Friday night, our class went to this bar for further "celebrating."

Characters
A few trainees and tutors on the last night of CELTA

The English birds
Me with Annabel and Hannah

River boat
As seen from the hydrofoil on the riverway to Vung Tao

Front Beach
Facing into the South China Sea, Vung Tao has a front beach full of fishing boats, and a back beach for swimming and soaking up the sun.

Sinking ship
At Front Beach in Vung Tao

Back beach
Check out the giant Jesus on the hill in the background.

Superstar
Some locals asked to have their photo taken with me...maybe it was the pasty white skin that fascinated them. One of the guys also got his photo taken with Marc.

Tet Decorations
Large red lanterns fill the parks in preparation for Tet.

Comments

[chelsea]

so wonderful!
it looks like you two are having a great time. i can't believe how much weight you both have lost. very visible! stay safe!

[Tracy]

Congratulations on making it through! Love the pictures and, of course, your writing Krysta. Looking forward to more as you tour the country. Hope you're taking full advantage of street corner 15-cent bia hoi. And what sounds like boon cha (forgetting the spelling--bun something)--may be a northern dish of little pork patties on the hibachi with vermicelli noodles and herbs. Looooove it.