Arrived Safely...

Hello all,
It has been two weeks in Vietnam thus far and I must say that this place has thoroughly surpassed all of my expectations. I am having a blast! All of the people I have met at school orientation are great and we all get along so well! Not a day has gone by since arriving here that I haven't been out with friends going sightseeing, exploring, eating, and just wandering the streets of Saigon. I must admit it certainly is a crazy place, but crazy in a good way. I'm not saying that Viet Nam doesn't have its negatives, but every place has its negatives if you choose to focus on it, and I've never been the kind of person to do so.

The culture here is amazing and the city has a certain vibe that I've never felt before; it is a living, breathing, bustling being set to the soundtrack of millions of motorbikes roaring throughout the city (please refer to video). In that respect,I think Vietnam is a mix between Bali and China, sharing all of the good qualities of both places. Christine, a Canadian teacher at my school and her English boyfriend, James, just came from a teaching gig in Shanghai and we all agree that, thus far, Ho Chi Minh City (aka HCMC, or Saigon) is much much more of a friendly, happy, and open place in comparison to Shanghai. I can already tell that my time here is going to be lovely.
Sometimes, as I'm walking around the streets here, I look around and think; "How the hell did I get here?" It all just happened so fast! Now, here I am suddenly clinging to the back of motorbike taxis in the infamous Saigon traffic, eating delicious Pho everyday, and enjoying spring rolls that are not actually called Vietnamese Spring Rolls here! Believe me, it's been hard to grasp.

Upon arrival, the school put the new teachers in a hotel in District 1 called Lan Lan Hotel. It was a cute place in the center of the city near the famous Ben Thanh Market, and was where we would be based for our first week. I met all of the teachers in the first few days and had New Teacher Orientation; where we were given tours of the city, taken to see our current school, and taken to see the new campus that is currently being built. It was a very eventful week to say the least. Now, here I am, two and half weeks later, teaching 5th grade to a wonderful group of 11-year-olds and I'm enjoying every minute of it. It is amazing how different teaching is here. The profession is extremely respected here and students rarely ever have any behavior management issues. It's been hard getting used to the silence of my classroom when the students are doing work as I'm used to usually having a chatty bunch of kids!
I'm currently still on the hunt for the perfect apartment in the center of the city, but luckily for me I have the luxury of staying with my aunt and uncle who also live in Saigon. Who knows... I might have found one while you're reading this!! Cross your fingers! Mark and Dunky-diddles arrive October 2nd and I cant wait! It's going to be a wonderful two year adventure with my love and my Dunky-doo. Never in a million years would I have thought that this would be a stage in my life, but I can see now that this is the path I was meant to take...
Anyway, I must get back to lesson planning for my class tomorrow, but I will definitely be updating you as much as possible and so will Mark, once he arrives.

Love you all,
Neiks