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

And so it begins....

On October 2nd, we boarded our flight and set out on this great adventure.  After 19 total hours of flying (with a fun and relaxing layover in South Korea featuring VR flying machines and a planetarium) we arrived in our new home, Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon), Vietnam.  We arrived late in the evening, and after obtaining our visas and getting through immigration, we were picked up by our new boss and ventured onwards to our Airbnb in District 2.  It has been a bit of a challenge to stay awake during the day and asleep at night, but we've taken the advice of our coworkers and have avoided naps and afternoon caffeine, and so far the jet lag hasn't been too bad!

   

VR Wing-suit machine at Incheon/Seoul Airport 

Madelyn barely staying awake going through immigration after finally getting our visas

We spent Thursday getting oriented and organized.  We enjoyed going on little outings to explore our neighborhood, riding on the back of motorbike taxis and tasting some of the best food we've ever had.  These are some pictures from the street we are currently living on while we search for our long-term apartment.

   

This is our new office building in District 2. 

We spent Friday with our new company, Learning Strategies.  After breakfast with the directors, we searched for and toured apartments for rent in District 2. Our instinct coming from Seattle is to jump on the first housing opportunity we find, but there is a plethora of options here, and we are determined to find the perfect fit, even though the process is quite exhausting. Later Friday evening, we met up with the rest of the team for dinner and happy hour, and ended the night at a fantastically entertaining drag show with our new coworkers. We are feeling excited about the eclectic group of people we will be working with and are looking forward to meeting our new clients starting next week.


We'll never forget so many things about these first fews days in HCMC, like this sweet woman who made us the tastiest banh mi sandwiches and the look she gave us when Madelyn accidentally paid her 300,000 Dong ($13.00) instead of 30,000 Dong ($1.30).  Thankfully, the Vietnamese people are friendly and forgiving and we are slowly learning how to pay correctly.

The most common way to get around Saigon is on motorbike, and we have already taken lots of "Grab" rides, which is the Vietnamese version of Uber. We have taken them all over town and have amazed ourselves at our ability to direct them back home when they somehow manage to get lost (and Kevin has finally begun to loosen his grip on the back of the bike seat when riding a Grab). Next step will be renting our own bike to get around town!

Although we've been on our fair share of Grab rides, we have also spent hours every day walking around the different neighborhoods to get a feel for where we want to call home. We noticed quickly that we are usually the only people walking, and that we will look back on these days and laugh about the 7 miles of walking we did in 3 hours one day but in the meantime its a great way to start to slowly understand a city, and take in the beauty of this bustling, chaotic and charming place. 

Saigon River 

Google maps has been blowing us
away with the accuracy of routes and
taking us through what feel like secret shortcuts 

In the distance you can see Landmark 81, the tallest building in Vietnam.

Say hi to our first friend, who escaped a rainstorm by finding a way into our apartment

The first of many bowls of Pho 

We are exhausted and excited for whats to come.  Hopefully within the next week we will find our permanent home, and will start to establish some sort of a routine.  Until then, we are embracing the chaos and complexity of this transition! 

Goodbye (for now)

The last month has been a whirlwind as we spent time with family and friends, and coordinated everything there is to coordinate for a move abroad.  It was a month filled with weddings, a road trip visiting friends across the U.S for Kevin, precious time with Madelyn's new nephew, Hunter, an unforgettable going-away party at Green Lake, one last Husky tailgate, and getting back into the study grind as we prepare to take our board exam in November. We are thankful for the time we both had to say goodbye (for now) to family and friends, and to prepare for this next chapter of our lives!



















Thanks for all your support and love!

- Kevin & Madelyn