Xin chao ... uh ... hello

I'm slowly getting settled in here. Bien Hoa is clearly off the beaten track. It's an industrial city about 20 miles from Ho Chi Ming City, but it certainly doesn't feel like HCMC. There are really no tourist attractions here. In fact, I'm probably the biggest (in every sense of the word) tourist attraction for the locals. They all stare at me when I walk the streets or eat out, but unlike other places I've been, I usually get a big smile and HELL-O. Kids follow me along the street like I'm the Pied Piper. The people are a big plus here. They're very welcoming. Everyone wants me to sit down, even if I've been sitting all day. Service is excellent, whether it's the restaurants, or coffee shops (of which there are millions), or department stores. The only time I've encountered attitude is when people are on their scooters. There are billions of scooters -- everyone has one, including teens. I thought about getting a scooter, but that would be like going on suicide watch. Crossing the street on foot is plenty dangerous because there is always heavy duty traffic. And no one slows down when they're on their scooter.
Communication is a struggle. No one speaks English here. They know numbers so you can pay them when you buy stuff, but otherwise it's charades.  American charades must be different as well, because I've had a heck of a time getting my points across. Vietnamese is a tough language. They use our letters, but don't pronounce them the same, so the written word isn't a whole lot of help. Pitch is crucial to the language, and I've never been able to pitch. I'm trying to learn, but failing so far.
The food is awesome, and very cheap. A long loaf of French bread that costs $2.25 in the U.S., goes for 6,700 dong here or about 33 cents. Packaged dinners/lunches at the super market are 18,000 dong, or about $1.50, and they include pork, noodles, and some vegetables. Good stuff. The tastes are surprising as well .... a vegetable soup has a sweet aftertaste, or there's a spicy finish to chicken, which is dirt cheap here. I've just begun to scratch the surface when it comes to the food.
Teaching is fine. The students are great. Very friendly and hard-working. I only have one day off a week, which is sort of OK, because other days I may only teach a class or two. The bosses are great, and they're determined to make sure I have a good experience here. Cheers to that.
Speaking of cheers, the Vietnamese like to go bottoms-up when drinking, which basically means you're chugging beer. Don't like that custom. Local beer is watery lagers, and there's Heineken. Bottoms up!
Coffee is a bit of a problem for me. Haven't found drip coffee yet. It's expresso with sweetened condensed milk. Cheap, to be sure, but it ain't Dunkin Donuts or Dinos. Cigarettes are super cheap as well -- about 95 cents a pack. Picked the wrong country to quit smoking, but I'll keep it on my to-do list.
 Miss family and friends in the U.S., and I miss my favorite students and other fine folk in Peru.