A semblance of normalcy, and adventures in taking the bus

I haven't blogged as much recently because there hasn't been much to say.  After three weeks at E&C Center, I finally feel like I've started to gain a regular daily pattern. That doesn't mean I'm used to the terrifying traffic or the constant noise, but it doesn't phase me as much as it used to. This past week I finally started to make some real progress at work.  I submitted some initial inquiries for grant applications, and finished translating some documents into English. Today is my last day of work for two weeks because of the Tet holiday, but I still plan on doing a little bit of work while traveling.

The worst part of the day is taking the bus home.  In the morning I get off at a major bus stop where lots of people get off and more people get on, so I never have to worry about the bus not stopping.  However, coming home is a different story. First of all, I take Bus #201, but there are two #201s and only one of them goes to my street. So every day I have to ask the money collector if the bus goes to Tay Mo. Sometimes I get a definitive "yes," but other times the guy just sort of grunts or ignores the question altogether.  Those are the bus rides I hate, and I'm incredibly tense until I figure out whether or not it's going towards my stop.  Luckily I've always gotten on the correct #201, or I've realized early enough that I was on the wrong #201 and had time to get off and transfer buses.   I just figured out a few days ago how to tell the difference between them, so now that part will be easier.  But there's a second part to the bus ride home: making sure the bus actually stops at my stop.  I get off at the crossroads of a major highway and the small street my dorm is on.  There is no sign, the bus driver only stops if someone yells at him to stop. I tried yelling in English a few times, but he just completely ignores me. So now I try to make sure the money collector knows I need to get off at Tay Mo, and he will usually tell the bus driver to stop (and I use the word "stop" lightly...the bus doesn't actually come to a halt, it just slows down and you jump off). Then there's just the ten minute walk down our one-lane dirt road with no sidewalks and tons of trucks and motorbikes driving by in both directions, and I'm back at the dorm! It's always such a relief to walk to through the gates of Coma 6 alive and unharmed.

                   View of the road from the roof of Peace House

                                          Coma 6!

I rode a motorbike and survived

Chaos. That's the only way to describe the roads in Vietnam. There are no rules, practically no stoplights and absolutely no respect for staying on the correct side of the road. It's incredibly overwhelming for all us foreigners but the locals aren't fazed at all.

in the Old Quarter, happy to be out of the ridiculous traffic...

                                                  
Until today I had only ridden in buses and cars and that was scary enough. But this morning when I walked into work, Luan (one of the coordinators at E&C Center) told me I would go with her to the Korean Embassy in the afternoon. For some reason I totally assumed that we'd take the bus. It wasn't until we were about to leave and she handed me a helmet that I realized I was going on the motorbike with her.  I totally freaked out (internally), but kept my cool on the outside.  We hopped on the bike and got going, and it wasn't as bad as I had feared. There were only a few times I thought we might hit someone/get hit by someone else. The worst part was when we hit big bumps I thought I was going to fly off the back of the motorbike.
But we got to the Korean Embassy and back to the office just fine. I'm not exactly excited for my next motorbike adventure, but at least now I know what to expect and I know it's something I'll (probably) survive.

My attempts to capture the crazy traffic. It's kind of hard to tell, but just imagine that none of those motorbikes are slowing down at all...they just all honk and swerve around each other.They also swerve around the ladies selling goods on bikes, like the one in the second picture. I'll take a video at some point...