I’ve spent the last hour writing my parents a card in Vietnamese, with the constant help of a Vietnamese dictionary to ensure that I get everything correct. I’ve never learned how to read and write formally so don’t know how to do it that well. Even though I am totally wiped out after four very… Read More Postcard from Hanoi
In my recent post about leaving Chiang Mai, I wrote that “I find myself yearning for the familiar faces of friends and family, and relationships that I know will continue”. But in fact, we have had an astonishing amount of visitors over the past seven months, as well as a number of meet-ups in various… Read More Special guest stars
It wasn’t exactly a soft landing in Vietnam; from the airport, I headed straight to my grandmother’s 80th birthday at a fancy hotel. I was actually picked up by my uncle (who I know from back home) and it was great to see a familiar face and catch up. We don’t regularly see each other… Read More Being present
It seems kind of crazy that less than a month after I left Vietnam, I’m heading back. So yes, tomorrow. My life is over-full these days, with all the visitors we’ve had between the two Vietnam trips. Josh’s family came to stay for two weeks, and my friend Mike is hanging with us for a… Read More Back to ‘Nam
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure-dome decree: Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man Down to a sunless sea. It doesn’t feel much like Christmas here in Thailand. For example, it’s Christmas Eve today and yet it feels like any other day really. I’ll be finishing work at 5pm.… Read More Chiang Mai Christmas
After the first two nights staying in District 1, we went to stay with my aunt, my mum’s only sister here in Vietnam — her other two sisters live in Sydney, near us. As it turns out, my aunt in Vietnam is extremely well to do, and has a huge, four storey house not too… Read More Building bridges
The Travels of Elephant Woman 