Oh, Blog I am so bad at you. I had such good intentions to write every other week, and here it has been at least five since I have written anything. I have been thinking about it though. Pondering over the various topics I could wax philosophical about. I still haven’t settled on anything specific.

Ants. Let’s start with those little bastards. When I first arrived they were all over the place. Then I began to hunt down their hide-y holes. Plugging them up with moistened toilet paper proved to be an ant-deadly-people-friendly approach. And despite my many attempts to stamp out their numbers they prospered. I kept all food in the fridge, took out the garbage religiously, and tossed baby powder (yeah, they don’t like it) everywhere I could think of. And still the persisted, all the while biting my ankles and legs while I slept.

Now, through some miracle yet unknown to me, they have been satiated by living and infiltrating only the garbage. Hoorah.

Students. I have a few of them. When I returned in November I was promised little ones. I got some, and it’s true, they are little. And yet I love them dearly. They are always excited to be there. They never say “Teacher, boring.” They are willing to do anything you ask of them and quick to let you know when they like something. And they don’t care at all how badly I sing. I have other new students, but none so remarkable.

Christmas. Craziness. Everyone in the street co-celebrating Christmas (the capitalist way) and victory over Thailand in a soccer match. What was usually a 35 minute walk home became a 1 hour and 45 minute trek through a living sea of motorbikes and people. Banners were flown. Noisemakers made noise. Confetti was tossed, mostly onto me I am convinced. I am still finding bits of it on me three days later. Ben and I hurdled our way over the wheels of countless motorbike in our journey homeward that night. We arrived home sweaty, covered in engine fumes, exhausted, confettied, snowed, and it was all amazing!

Also, elephants. This isn’t the fun part guys. On Christmas Eve, Ben and I went to Dam Sen Amusement Park. They amusements were less amusing than our favorite park. The everything was more expensive. We had gone there only to witness the giant yule-log cake that promised to be some 22 meters in length. In the end we never did. But elephants, those we saw. Dam Sen has what some might refer to in one of the most astonishing misnomers in history as a zoo. There are some monkeys in barren but spacious arenas. There are farm animals in their own little fenced in area, fairly standard.

Anyone who might consider what they do to the elephants there humane ought be treated similarly.

Imagine if you will five elephants in a smallish barn. Each tied to its own stake rooted into the ground, provided with roughly two feet of chain on which to “roam” about. The result is five stir crazy elephants all doing the same horrifying dance of one step forward and one step back over, and over, and over. I don’t think I have ever seen such an awful sight, and I have watched quite a few hours of Animal Cops in my time. To see such intelligent beasts treated in such a way really messed with my head. I can’t even find a way to properly explain myself here. Suffice it to say, if anyone ever suggests that you go to Dam Sen park in Ho Chi Minh City, stay away. Do not give those people one more dollar with which to fund their “zoo”. It’s wrong and I hate that I know its there, and I hate that it happens, and I hate that people enjoy seeing it.

People deserve to be kept up to date. I am terrible at writing people emails, and hate writing the same thing over and over again. I hate sending mass emails. I should keep a written record of adventures through Asia and elsewhere.

For all these reasons have I started to blog. My intentions are honorable. Write once or twice a month telling of adventures and exploits. I will attempt to include a picture or two.

So, lets start blogging people.

I am Emily, you know me already. I just got back from Seattle, two weeks of eating, celebrating, and visiting were had. It was wonderful. That said, I am so glad to be home in Vietnam where things move at a considerable less hectic pace. It's really nice to return and really feel like this is home. The apartment was right where we left it. The breakfast restaurant is still open, though others along the street were not so lucky. Business turnover is exceptionally high in this city.

Christmas has come to Ho Chi Minh City. I was so hoping it wouldn't. Instead there is an abundance of cheap and tacky Christmas crap for sale on every other street corner. The grocery store is pumping the usual holiday tunes, which it turns out are much more bearable when sung in Vietnamese.

Winter has also come. By winter I mean that it is cool enough for it to be t-shirt weather. I had breakfast this morning without sweating. It was a novel experience I hope to repeat for at least a couple of weeks before things get all hot and disgusting again.

I start work again tomorrow. I get to teach 4-6 year-olds now. I am so excited. I can't wait to have a room of 18 kids, they are so cute and amazing. I have been told that I will have criers, peers, pukers, and possibly poopers. What could be better?

Till next time.