Happy New Year!

We hope everyone had a great holiday season with family and friends. It came and went in a flash for us, partly due to the fact that it is 95 degrees everyday and partly due to getting very limited time off around Christmas. Regardless, we've kept ourselves very busy over the last month, including a trip to the beach and welcoming our first visitors, Madelyn's parents, to Saigon! 

Cocktails poolside in December? Only in SE Asia! 

During a holiday PUB crawl, we won a couples game that required us to wrap a present with one hand each.  The prize was a free shot!

On Christmas Eve, work hosted a beautiful buffet lunch for all of the staff. 

We've realized the importance of taking advantage of weekend time to explore different parts of Saigon. We explored around District 5, also known as China town. 

Fake flower shops are very popular in Saigon 

One of the most memorable parts of the last month was getting to be a part of the craziness as the Vietnam soccer team won against Malaysia in the AFF Suzuki Cup. We went down into the city, after getting some gear on the side of the road, and cheered on Vietnam amongst hundred of thousands of fans. All the streets were closed down, and the game was projected onto big screens every few blocks. We'll never forget the excitement of the evening, or how long it took us to get home. 

We've made a goal to travel to one new place for a weekend each month, and December's destination was the coast of Vietnam to a little beach resort called Coco Beach. Six of us loaded into a car and spent the weekend on the beach, sipping cocktails out of coconuts and swimming in the South China Sea. The highlight of our beach trip? Finding out we BOTH PASSED OUR BOARDS!! We now officially represent 2/3 of Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA's) in Vietnam. 

Just after Christmas, Madelyn's parents arrived in HCMC. We loved being able to show people we love our new home and kept ourselves busy exploring this beautifully chaotic city. We're so thankful they made the trip out to see us, even if that meant saying the dreaded "see you later" again. 

At a pit stop we thought was just to use the restroom, we got a full tour of a chocolate factory. This sweet woman was explaining the process of identifying the best cocoa beans.  

Cu Chi Tunnels. Not Pictured: The four of us crawling through 100 meters of Vietnam war era tunnels on our hands and knees. A somber, yet somewhat thrilling experience. 

Mekong Delta, the countryside of Vietnam. 

We winded through the narrow roads of the Mekong Delta on bicycles and stopped at various homes to see different local businesses, such as a mushroom farmer and a naturopathic medication provider. 

Mr. Hai, a fruit farmer (and war veteran) in the Mekong Delta, quickly found the one to pick on in the group and these two shared a bond in no time! We still smile thinking of how much Mr. Hai made us all laugh. 

We spent most afternoons exploring the craft beer scene in Thao Dien.  

Top of the Rex Hotel, the historic hotel in District 1 that was made famous during the Vietnam War for hosting the American military daily press conferences. The rooftop bar was a well-known spot for military officials and journalists. 

One night was spent riding around on the back of retro Vespa scooters and eating local food from a variety of restaurants. We quickly learned Kevin was the most adventurous eater of us all: he ate a quail embryo while the rest of us were brave enough to try several types of snails. Yum!

Happy new year from Vietnam! 2018 was a big year for both of us. We finished graduate school, moved to a different country and passed our board exams. We can't wait to see what 2019 brings!

Distant New Years fireworks from the banks of the Saigon River. 

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.