Post-Exam Update

Hello from Vietnam! 

It's been a whirlwind of a month as we continue to explore our new home, adjust to work (and life in SE Asia in general) and crammed for our BCBA exam. Studying before and after work quickly became our routine as our exam date got closer and closer. 

We have enjoyed some incredibly beautiful sunsets from our balcony as the seasons change. This month also contained a handful of visits to the U.S consulate and various Vietnamese government buildings but we are happy to report that our work visas have been submitted and (fingers crossed) they will be approved by the end of December. With our exam now behind us, we are so excited for more free time and the opportunity to travel, and welcome our first visitors, Madelyn's parents, for the new year! 

The best way to explain Vietnam is through pictures. What is often times unexplainable, can somewhat be captured in photos, so here are some highlights. 

BIG shoutout to Kevin for navigating Saigon rush hour like a champ. 

There is a bike garage around the corner from work where we park the bike each day. Men on the top floor, women on the bottom floor.  The ramp Kevin has to drive up wouldn't meet any safety codes ever created, nor would the amount of weight the aluminum floor is holding.  Only in Vietnam! 

Study break lunch by the river and our favorite Banh Mi Sandwiches

This is the sweetest little home turned restaurant that we found one day while exploring our neighborhood. 

Perhaps one of our more adventurous meals over the last month was that one time we accidentally ordered more goat that anyone would want to eat. Kevin is always a good sport, Madelyn struggled more with this one. 

One of the best parts of the month was a visit from Ira, the man responsible for getting us to Vietnam! For those of you who don't know him, Ira is one of Kevin's long-time family friends and is a BCBA-D who practices in Southern California and consults with Learning Strategies in Vietnam. We enjoyed remembering that it was just about one year ago when Ira initially brought up the idea of working in Vietnam to Kevin, and now here we are! We enjoyed his company, and the familiarity of home. 

Ira treated us to a nice dinner at The Deck, a restaurant right on the Saigon River. 

Amongst all the studying this month, we did our best to have one "touristy" outing once a week. The "Pink Church" is an iconic site in Saigon. We also participated in the Terry Fox 5K with some coworkers. It was fun to be a part of a 5K event, and the course took us through some parts of Saigon that we hadn't explored yet. 

We'll be honest, it was more of a "walk" than a run

Brad works with us at Learning Strategies and he and his wife, Alex, are from the states.  

Quick study break

All of a sudden, it was Thanksgiving. It really never felt like Thanksgiving, partly because its still 95 degrees everyday, and partly because we didn't have any time off. This was a day we missed home and our families, and the comforts of celebrating all together. After work, we went out to a restaurant that served a classic thanksgiving dinner. We got our taste of turkey and pumpkin pie, but it still wasn't the same! 

The group from Thanksgiving. New York, New Jersey, Kansas, Missouri, California, Washington and England all represented.

On Saturday November 24th, we packed up our bags for our first trip. We had been studying SO hard for the past couple months, and felt as ready as we could be to take our board exam. Big thanks to our families, friends and co-workers for all their support and encouragement in what felt like the never ending study days. What we intended to be a focused weekend preparing for the exam turned into walking 12 miles all around Singapore, because you really can't resist exploring a place like this. We spent our first night eating the most delicious Malaysian food at a famous satay street food market, and then went down to the Marina Bay Sands light show. We both felt like we were in a different futuristic universe. The next morning, after promising ourselves we would study more, we ended up walking over 7 miles and spent the entire day at the Singapore Botanic Gardens and in Little India. It was well worth it. 

Packed up and ready to go! Thankfully we left before a big storm hit Vietnam, and our flights weren't affected.  However, while we were away Thao Dien flooded, closing down almost all the schools in the area. Apparently people were spear fishing on our street!

Napkins don't come with your meal, you have to buy them from vendors walking around. S$1.00 for dry napkins and S$2.00 for wet wipes in Singapore. 

Tekka Center in Little India is buzzing with a variety of "hawker" stalls and we ate food from the famous Allauddin's Biryani. Michelin-star rated food for under $10!  

Marina Bay Sands light show

Gardens by the Bay

One of the most manicured and pristine places we have ever been. Chewing gum is illegal! 

Our UW student ID cards got us into the Orchid gardens for free. Thanks, UW:) 

We'll never forget that one time we crammed for our board exam in the middle of Singapore's Botanical Gardens

Sri Veeramakaliamman temple in Little India

Quick bite to eat between finishing the exam and rushing to the airport. This is Hainanese chicken, a staple of Singaporean cuisine. 

So long, Singapore! 

We're back in Saigon and are happily adjusting to the new normal of having much more free time! We are currently planning a trip to the beach in December, and a trip to Cambodia in February. Sometimes we still have to pinch ourselves that this is our life. 

Finally unpacked

This is the view looking down from our Balcony. 
The path leads to the Saigon River. 

Hello from Vietnam! 

We were thrilled to move into our apartment last weekend.  It's a sweet little one bedroom apartment in a quiet neighborhood, right on the Saigon river.  It's a brand new building, which we've learned has its pros and cons.  We have taken full advantage of the gym on site, and are looking forward to when the rooftop pool is completed.  The sweetest security guard greets us and wishes us off every time we come and go from the apartment.  He helps get our helmets and motorbike ready, opens the gate and always has a huge smile on his face. We are slowly building up the courage to speak some Vietnamese to him, but until then we exchange sincere facial expressions and gestures.  Non-verbal communication goes a long way. 

The kitchen where we make about 2-3 meals a week. Rumors are true that it is indeed cheaper to eat out than cook.    

The first time we've ever had a TV!

Balcony off the kitchen

After looking at many apartments without windows, we fell in love with the natural light and in fact, rarely have to turn on the lights!

We are learning the nuances of the culture here in Vietnam.  Instead of saying "to-go" you say "take-away."  Almost any place will prepare the food for "take-away", including our favorite Ban Minh sandwich shop. 

Our new apartment is a pretty fantastic place to watch the afternoon storms 

And the sunsets! 

Kevin has mastered motorbike driving like a local, weaving in and out of the chaotic traffic jams without any hesitation.  There is a parking garage next to the office, and Kevin has to maneuver his way up a 3 feet wide ramp (without railings) and somehow park the bike amongst the hundreds up there.  Kevin learned the hard way (getting a stern talking to in broken english) that you shouldn't "lock" your bike (a must in the U.S), because most days when you go to retrieve your bike at the end of the day, its in a completely different place. 

 

Rush hour traffic in in our neighborhood on the way home from work. Notice wide-eyed Madelyn in the mirror. 

Madelyn has continued to practice primarily on the back roads but is becoming more and more comfortable. 

We've had a few fun outings amidst work and studying to District 1 to site-see and even made it to a comedy show with some co-workers.  We are making it a goal to go to another district at least once a week. 

Perks of not having a chair?  Free beer from the bartenders

We've continued to be adventurous and bold when it comes to food, stumbling our way through ordering at various street food vendors.  Perhaps the most notable recently were the giant snails Kevin ordered. We've had some hit and misses though, like last night when Madelyn was craving soup so ordered was she thought was "tomato soup with basil" and was promptly served a huge bowl of marinara sauce.  The learning curve is steep. 

Kevin enjoyed the snails more than it looks like in this picture, but he wouldn't say they were his favorite food he's tried in Vietnam  

We are both thoroughly enjoying work.  We've had conversations about how Learning Strategies has created a place where both staff, and clients genuinely want to be.  It's a beautiful thing to be a part of, and is a great refuge from the sometimes overwhelming nature of this transition.  We'll be taking a trip to the U.S Consulate next week to complete the first step (of many) in obtaining our work permits and are thankful for the support of the admin team in navigating the visa process. 

We hope everyone is having a good start to fall, and has a happy halloween!  

Settling In

This is the Learning Strategies office

Things are slowly starting to feel more like home, and less like a vacation as we sign a lease, open bank accounts and become fluent driving motorbikes through the streets of Saigon.  After the time off we had between grad school and leaving for Vietnam, our first 5-day work week felt long, but we were pleasantly surprised by how the clinical aspect of the job is more similar than different.  Each day at 12:00pm, Ms. Chang sets out a homemade meal for all of the staff in the gazebo, and we have thoroughly enjoyed getting to sample a variety of Vietnamese foods and begin bonding with our coworkers. 

We've taken the opportunity each night to explore more parts of Thao Dien, run necessary errands and even got caught in a monsoon one night while running! The sun rises around 5:30am and sets around 5:30pm so we are becoming early birds and consistently finding ourselves ready for bed around 9:00pm.

After viewing over 15 different apartments, we finally made a decision and are really looking forward to moving in on October 19th.  We fell in love with this little neighborhood in Thao Dien, right on the Saigon river and are thankful we found our apartment right where we wanted to be.  More apartment pictures to come! 

This is the street our apartment is on

This is the view from our balcony

Motorbiking in Saigon is both terrifying and exhilarating.  We have rented a motorbike for a month, and it has been a very steep learning curve, but we are getting the hang of it and doing our best to fit in with the locals.  Lets just say, there are no rules.  

The traffic is no joke

Madelyn has been sticking to side streets or driving when the roads aren't as crazy

Kevin has been doing the majority of the driving

This weekend we ventured down to District 1, the heart of Saigon, two times.  It takes about 15 minutes, depending on traffic.  Kevin did a fantastic job driving the confusing streets and Madelyn did her best as co-pilot.  We went through Ben Thanh market, bartered with some vendors for a pair of shoes and some dried mango, ate local street food and took in all of the bright lights and sounds. One of our coworkers was a DJ at a roof top bar and we enjoyed getting a glimpse into Saigon nightlife and couldn't get over the views. 

The view from The Lighthouse Bar.  Feels like New York City!  

With our board exam just 43 days away (but who's counting), most of our free time will be spent in various coffee shops around Thao Dien.  We are eager to get this exam behind us so we can start exploring more of this beautiful country! 

One of our new favorite coffee shops, The Loop