Saigon Sucked

Seriously, I hold great disdain for that place. Too crowded, too noisy, and too big. I couldn't wait to get home sweet home to my laid back, sleepy little town of Bien Hoa. I joined my Korean friend, Song, for the new year. We went to a bar, it was lame, and went back to the hotel and went to sleep. So much for New Year's in Saigon and letting them "have it." Below is a pic of my dong saeng (Korean for younger brother), Song, relaxing in his bed in the hotel.

Enough of the pessimism. A couple of cool things did come out of it all. 1. I bought five pairs of new underwear and some speakers for my laptop. and 2. The receptionist at the hotel told me I spoke Vietnamese EXACTLY!! Meaning.. my pronunciation is perfect. I only spoke five things to her.. but.. whatever.. "My pronunciation is EXACTLY!!!" Misplaced adverbs in conversational English make me a happy guy!

I'm happy to be home after that trip. I took a taxi home. It was $20 so no big deal because Dao gave me some money yesterday for tutoring. Hoorah!

After I came home, I ate lunch with Ti and took a long nap.

Andy and I went to see his grandfather in the hospital as he'd had a terrible motorcycle accident with a drunk driver. He has a broken leg and some serious problems with his head, but I held his hand and just talked to Andy about some things. Maybe his grandfather just needed someone to touch or hold. Sometimes, we all do, don't we? Especially in our darkest hour.

Afterward, we left the hospital and set off for coffee. Upon arriving home, Mr. Phuong and I celebrated the new year with some homemade cocktails of Malibu and Bailey's, some gin, and vodka. It was... good. Tina took a picture of us, and I took a pic of Mr. Phuong and her with the "goods."

Now, Tina is in my living room playing the piano. I'm going to kick her out and get to bed soon. Happy New Year!