Sweet Saigon

I've realized, especially in the past couple of weeks, that life gives you many, many obstacles before you ever reach your final goal. My goal being make it to Asia with enough money in my pockets to sustain myself for four months, a passport with appropriate visas, and other things of that nature. Sometimes I just want to ask, why can't things just be easy? Maybe I make it hard for myself, but I've realized for a long time that getting what you want in life is anything but easy. If you didn't have to work for it, would you really appreciate it as much? I dunno, but I do know that I leave in less than a month and that scares that shit out of me. I want to know when the fear will subside and excitement take over. I know this is an opportunity of a lifetime and all my own doing, but I always get nervous when it's time to actually do the thing I've been working so hard for. Whether it be going to college, teaching in Japan, studying abroad in Barcelona ... whatever it is, I'm always more terrified than excited, and I'm lucky if I even get one hour of sleep the night before. Once I get on the plane is when I finally get it, and it's like a needed slap in the face. I always end up having the time of my life. Always.


My first stop is Saigon, and I am ecstatic get a taste of local life with Denny's gracious family who we will be staying with. I want to eat steaming bowls of pho, lots of noodles and BBQ pork, and drink Vietnamese coffee sweetened with condensed milk daily. I also want to finish every meal with one of those jelly, coconut tasting desserts served in some sort of creamy liquid. You know what I'm talking about, especially if you're Asian and/or really appreciate Asian desserts. Denny is really pressuring me to get an Asian perm as well as do a joint series of glamour shots in Vietnam to send as post cards. I'm contemplating the glamour shots, but the perm is not an option. I just don't think it's worth it to have a perm , simply for humor's sake. It would be awesome and hilarious for a full five minutes then I would be pissed that I had a perm and there was nothing I could do about it. Of course, there are other things I want to do in Saigon, other than consume a bunch of amazing calories and get glamour shots. To be honest though, food for me has always held strong significance in my life, not just for it's savory-sweet-spiciness, but for the culture and history behind it. You can learn so much about a countries people by tasting the food and all it's flavors, that is a part of them, and has been, for centuries. I want to get lost in the city, finding myself in unexplored alleys, winding boulevards, and discovering Saigon in my own way, as I always do.