The Tet hangover continues in Bien Hoa. TH true, a store near my school that sells only milk and yogurt, had no milk or yogurt a week after Tet. Two weeks after Tet, there was milk but no unsweetened yogurt. Unbelievable. I used to go there for my milk and yogurt. The girl in the store gave me the hand-wave in my face as soon as I walked in the store, meaning they didn't have squat. The hand-wave in my face pisses me off. Also, I've been unable to get a haircut. Well, I could get a haircut if I want to wait an hour or so. The custom here is to clean up -- in every sense of that phrasal verb -- around the holiday. I'm not a wait-er, so my hair looks like Linc's on The Mod Squad. Or George Washington's wig. It's taken a while for the traffic to rev back up, but I started seeing the usual craziness this past weekend. There were two very close calls involving moms and children in front of our school. The folks here are immune to the risks they take. The women (and their children riding on the back) didn't flinch even though they came within inches of getting hit by a truck and another motorbike. Two security guards watching the whole thing laughed. When I took my walk on Friday, two guys rode past me at about 130 KMH on a very narrow neighborhood street, almost brushing my shoulder. Then they stopped 100 yards down the road at a coffee shop. Ya know, I could live here indefinitely and enjoy it if it weren't for the motorbikes and the low life attitude of those riding them. I see many of my students bandaged up because of motorbike accidents and they think it's funny. Ha ha.
Phuong and I are waiting to hear from our lawyer on my efforts to get Phuong to the U.S. -- the lawyer told us the process will take a couple of years. Waiting is happiness.
Phuong and I are discussing whether or not Joanna will accompany me to the U.S. this year for my annual visit. She would be 16 months old at takeoff, but I'm not sure she could not handle the 26-hour trip (one way), and the three-week separation from mom. Phuong spends almost all her time caring for, playing with, holding, kissing, hugging, and cuddling Joanna. That's when she's not watching Joanna sleep. But I really want my children in the U.S. to meet their half-sister and see how incredibly cute, lovable, energetic and stubborn she is. Everybody loves Joanna, including the other babies in the neighborhood. She'll be a natural leader ... I know it. There's no hurry on the decision. We'll wait to see how things shake out.
Phuong is threatening to return to the tennis court to beat my butt again. Of course, everybody beats my butt in tennis, but it's so much fun playing with Phuong. Millman vs. Pham isn't Federer-Nadal, but we compete and have some exercise and laughs in the process. We've targeted May for our first match.
I missed watching the Super Bowl because TV here showed three crucial Bundesliga matches. Soccer is a tough watch for me -- 90 minutes to see a dramatic 0-0 (nil-nil) tie doesn't spin my beanie. I know football is just soap opera for men (credit Peach's employee Chris for that line), but watching soccer is like waiting for a haircut. Anyway, I've missed the last IV or V Super Bowls and seem to have survived OK. What I really miss are my children, Yoo Hoo, and hiking in Glen Helen.
Happy birthday, Caroline!
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