Anytime you travel to a new place, especially on a new continent, one can expect to experience a certain degree of culture shock. I think anyone from the Western world is bound to practically have a stroke as they take in the complete insanity that the Vietnamese call traffic for the first time. I thought the driving in South America was bad, but at least there, there seemed to at least be rules of some sort. Here the only rules are: the bigger vehicle gets right of way, and don't get hit.Making a left turn in a taxi while traffic continues to zoom past you in every possible direction will make you heart jump in your throat the first time, I can almost guarentee it. Stop signs do not exist, traffic lights are rare and when they are in place they are practically ignored unless it's an extremely busy road. Most Vietnamese drive scooters or motobikes and there are literally hundreds of them all over the road at any given time. There is no such thing as driving lanes, other than one lane goes one way and the opposite goes the other (although motorists do not always seem to abide by this). It's amazing how many near accidents you see every couple of minutes.
For someone like me, who plans on riding a scooter only when hell freezes over (what? I may be a thrill seeker but I don't actually want to die), the real challenge with the traffic is crossing the street. In Vietnam, there are no crosswalks and cars and scooters will not stop for you. So what you're supposed to do is slowly cross the street and let the cars and scooters avoid you. It is actually an exhilarating experience, because although there are literally hundreds of cars zipping around you, it does not feel dangerous. The trick to it is walk extremely slowly and never hesitate or panic. If you do, it is a surefire way to end up roadkill. I have to cross two major streets on the way to my work place, so I'm hoping that I get the hang of it pretty quickly.
That brings me right to my next point, which is that I was brought to my placement for the first time yesterday. The downside is that it is going to take me an hour and half by bus everyday to get there because it is on the complete opposite side of the city. However the trip is absolutely beautiful (I will post some pictures in an upcoming blog) and after meeting my boss and the staff at my placement, I think it is totally going to be worth it. The organization I am working for is called Viethealth which raises awareness and offers support to people living with HIV/Aids. It's ironic that it is actually my experience with the Campus Police rather than my education that made them want me there, because my job is going to be helping to implement a system that offers emergency first response to their clients. I am also going to be responsible for helping with research and proposal writing since everything has to be in English, as well as helping the Vietnamese staff with their own English skills. Due to my background in human rights they also want me to work on some campaigns raising awareness for the rights of the disabled and people living with HIV. My boss seems awesome, and they were so nice and seemed extremely excited that I was there. Although I don't speak their language and many of them do not speak English, I felt very welcomed. My boss also gave me a Vietnamese sim card loaded with enough minutes to last me until December, because they want me to have a phone so they can contact me. Now I just have to go pick up a cheap phone for $10, and from what I was told it will be even nicer than the phone I have at home anyway! So if anyone is interested in having my Vietnamese cell number for emergencies just inbox me on facebook and I will get it to you.
Last night we headed out to the local supermarket where I bought yogurt, beer, crackers, diet pepsi, peanuts, and gum for less than $5. Yes, life is extremely cheap here, and it fits my budget excellently. We were going to go out to a club last night, but instead we stayed in an had a few beers in our common room. I broke out the guitar and sang for a bit (which went over well, of course), and we played a really messed up Australian version of Asshole called Cumrags and Prostitutes (don't ask, because I did nothing but laugh at it). Right now we're all getting ready to head into the city centre for a guided tour on our last day of orientation. Apparently we are staying down there in a hotel tonight or something and going out to check out the bars and nightlife. So I suppose this is it for my second blog entry. I'm doing better with this than I thought!
Until next time, if you see a crazy driver, remember how much worse it could be.
Sarah
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