"Good-bye, Vietnam!"

 A university in Guiyang emailed me to say that I am hired. So, with that, I packed my bags and got on the bus to Saigon, then took a taxi to the airport. However, I still want to remember my sweet find of a guest house in Muine because (who knows?) I might want to come back here for a vacation. 

To the left of the Sea Winds Resort is a Mexican restaurant run by Russians. The pretty owner can speak perfect English, too. They play Spanish music all day and night. It's happy music.

Anyway, onward and upward. I took the bus to Saigon and a taxi to the airport and before I knew it, I was in China. Again. And, boy was the weather a shock to my system. I didn't have the right clothes for it so I was freezing. It was rainy, chilly, breezy and I was unprepared.

In China, they take the weather as it comes, leave their windows and doors open year round and don't usually use heaters or fans. Air conditioning is unheard of. For the first week, I wore the coat I had bought while teaching in Maisai. But, my feet were in sandals, getting soaked in the rain. No wonder I got a cold straight off.

The dear agent who met me at the airport took me to a room in an apartment on the 23rd floor of a brand new high-rise. This is the view from my bedroom window.

 I'm surrounded by towers! The little low-rise apartments are being replaced with giants and this city is in a state of constant construction. There are 42 floors in my building.

On my arrival, I realized that there was still a firewall in place in China to prevent us from getting onto Google, Facebook, Youtube and even Guru, among other places. So, my first task at hand was to find a VPN (Virtual Private Network) that would allow me to bi-pass the wall. I found a free sample that lasted for 5 days and then ended.

I'm on here now through another free sample that will only last for a few more hours. Then, "the lights will go out again" on my "Google World". One never realizes how much they use these sites until they are inaccessible.

Well, at least the weather changed. Now it's intolerably hot and humid. The humidity is like a thin, wet blanket that is trying to suffocate you. Even in the classrooms of the university, there are NO FANS. Compound that with the smoking in the hallways and you have a recipe for discomfort.

I better quit complaining, though. After all, there IS a Starbucks right in the square at the foot of the apartment complex where all us "foreign" teachers live. And a Walmart! Or, as it is called here, "Wu ar mar".