Big rainstorm drives our bees away; imitation isn't flattery

 We had tremendous rain all day Wednesday with high winds. It was kind of odd for this time of year, but when it finally stopped raining around dinnertime, the air was much cleaner and there were more stars visible in the night sky than I've ever seen here before. The rain did result in an unwanted change for me: all the bees departed the hive on our third floor balcony. I immediately saw the change when I went up to read that night -- there was an empty hive with a little honey visible, but no bees. I hope the bees moved on to a safe and drier location. I went downstairs and got my wife and we went up and cut the hive away from the branches it was built on and put it in our fridge. There was a tiny bit of honey remaining, and we squeezed it out and gave it to the kids the next day. I had a small taste and it was quite good, although perhaps a bit thin from the rain. Reading upstairs hasn't been the same since the bees left. I would accidentally bump a branch with my water bottle and the bees would get agitated and crawl all over each other, presumably to protect the queen. And once I got stung when I bumped a branch, and it took over a week before I could get the stinger out. Ah, those were the days. I'll miss seeing those bees when I read. The swarm turned hive was on our balcony for just shy of a month.
* * *
Joanna, Elijah and I went to Gosanke Koi Coffee and I pointed out a spider spinning a web near the water to my daughter. Joanna stayed to watch while I chased Elijah and prevented him from jumping into the water to play with the fish. Joanna yelled for me to come back and see something, so I returned to see a dragonfly caught in the web. I didn't even think to take a picture -- brilliant, huh? We didn't stay to watch the spider enjoy dinner.
* * *
One of the down sides of being a white monkey here is that I receive a lot of unwanted attention. And I do mean unwanted. My daughter was having a public meltdown -- it happens on very rare occasions -- and I also had Elijah with me. I really couldn't focus on my daughter to calm her down because Elijah would run away or also melt down if tried to hold him while dealing with my daughter -- the dreaded double meltdown. So Elijah and I headed toward the park while Joanna shrieked. Some shirtless adult male stood in his doorway mockingly imitating Joanna's screaming. I called the clown on his behavior, and signaled for him to come over and calm her down. He lost a staring contest to me and went inside his house. On the plus side, a woman watching us picked up the stuffed animal that Joanna threw into the  busy street in anger and gave it to us. A sobbing Joanna still had the wherewithal to say thank you. Earlier in the week in the smaller of the two parks, Elijah and I were playing soccer -- kicking and chasing the ball around, actually. When Elijah would kick the ball off the pavement and into the bushes or onto the grass, I would say, "Oh no!", get the ball Elijah. Two guys were attempting to smooth some concrete, and one of them mockingly copied me three or four times saying "Oh no!" to the great amusement of his buddy. Since they were imitating, I yelled to Elijah: "Matriculate the ball down the field!" about three or four times. The imitation stopped at "Oh no!" Sometimes, I'm just not in the mood for what passes as humor to some folks, especially when it's 97 degrees and I'm taking care of an energetic 22-month-old boy.
* * *
Joanna insisted we get a live sturgeon at Mega Mart and have it filleted. She watched the whole process and wanted the guys killing and cutting the sturgeon to say sorry to the fish. Didn't happen. My wife did a nice job cooking the nearly five pounds of sturgeon and it was dinner for two nights with some donated to Phuong's family. ... I damaged my left foot pretty good on a monster walk. It may be an inflamed tailor's bunion, according to Dr. Internet, so we'll see if the pain subsides. At least it takes my mind off my back.

Wild trio find fish in nicer setting; field trips continue

Since I was asked to leave Kim Koi 2 -- with my two young children in tow -- for not ordering from the concession stand fast enough, our wild trio has gone to another fish/coffee place near our house. It's tucked away on a side street, and the clientele isn't as sketchy as Kim Koi 2, which is located across the street from the park. We've been here before. The coffee shop, Gosanke Koi Coffee,  has waiters and waitresses and a lot more natural setting than Kim Koi with several interconnected ponds, a bridge over the largest pond, rocks and plants, and even a faux waterfall. Kim Koi 2 has narrow walkways over the water, which doesn't work for my 22-month-old son Elijah. But he requires constant monitoring no matter where we go. Both of my kids like to live on the edge, so to speak, when we go out, whether it's near water or electric or trash. Joanna was feeding the fish and touching them, and naturally her brother wanted to copy. He was fascinated by the fish but I could easily see him falling into the water, which would be nothing but bad news. Anyway, the drinks are pretty much the same at Gosanke as everywhere else in town -- milk teas and a preference for ice in the coffees. They make a nice strawberry smoothie. Prices are standard. We went to this place before, but Joanna kept getting on the edge of the rocks so we moved on.  Now we're back ... with Elijah.
***
My daughter Joanna can be up and down with school -- she was way up a couple of weeks ago, but lately she's not interested at all, except a little in math word problems, of all things. Well, she still loves drawing and a little painting, but academics not so much. I think she's bored and could use more social interaction. She seems to really enjoy outdoor time, which isn't easy for me since it's 97 degrees every day. But I suck it up and drink lots of water and we go on decent walks daily. Last week, we wandered all the way to Lido, which has been closed for the longest time due to Covid. The metal doors were still closed, but a man happened to be opening them and he invited Joanna and I inside. We went in, ignored the barking dogs, and had all of Lido to ourselves. The manager or owner or whatever the man is, brought me a hot coffee with condensed milk -- delicious -- and encouraged Joanna to look at the fish and river and anything else at Lido. We had a wonderful time so ... "thank you, Mr. Lido." The only bummer was the long, long walk home in the heat and a shoe that hurt my left foot.

* * *
We've seen disappointing news online regarding my wife's waiver application to get a visa to enter the U.S.  The response time has been extended, meaning we have no real idea when we'll get the ruling. It looked like we'd hear something by July, but now August or September or beyond seems possible. Wait times were 7.5 months maximum when we began this process; now they're 10.5 months. I'm not sure if the horror in Ukraine has any impact on the USCIS waiver process. Or Afghanistan,, which has become an afterthought in the wake of Vladimir Putin's Russian invasion of Ukraine. I know that USCIS delays were being attributed to Covid a while back. Speaking of which, Vietnam is now 13th highest in the world in total Covid cases with nearly 8 million and has been posting 150,000 to 190,000 new cases a day for the past week.
* * *
A Thai kickboxing studio opened where the old Dacne (sic) Studio used to be. Joanna loves watching the instructors kick and punch the punching bags, and threatens to take lessons. The instructors smile and bow. ... I'm beating my way through Alexander Hamilton, which is over 800 pages. Nasty politics is nasty politics, whether it's 2022 or 1787. My Kindle streak is at 834 days in a row, but afternoon walks with Joanna and Elijah are taking their toll and I know I'll eventually sleep through one of  my nightly reading sessions. ... The Bay Leaf Indian restaurant continues to produce amazing dishes -- I like spicey and they got it. Tikka masala and korma were outstanding last week. (I prefer chicken but my wife likes the mutton).

A week of sickness but Covid test negative

The past week has been a rough one health-wise for our family, but the bottom line is a negative Covid test for me after some scary symptoms: sweats, chills, nasal congestion, headache, sore throat, chest pain, coughing and wheezing. I thought I was a lock for Covid since the people across the street had it. But most of my symptoms were short-lived, however, and took place over the course of five days. The coughing and wheezing continue to nag me, but I attribute that to being an ex-smoker. Speaking of smoking, my six-year anniversary of stopping cigarettes will be March 22. Anyway, since Vietnam gave up on the 0 Covid policy, which seemed impossible with all the variants, the number of new cases has risen dramatically. I remember when 15,000 new cases daily upset people. Now the daily case count is more than 10 times that number -- it's been close to 200,000 new cases a day for the past few days --  and the overall total is approaching 6 million.. Most of the country is vaccinated -- I've had three shots -- but it seems people are still getting sick. There are a lot of viruses out there, no doubt, so perhaps our family picked up one that isn't Covid-related. We're all almost 100 percent healthy. That hasn't been the case for a while.
* * *
Vincom, the big mall in town, is showing the effects of the recent  Covid surge in Vietnam.. It has very few customers -- obviously bad for business but great for me and Joanna on our weekly field trips. We practically have the whole mall to ourselves, which is especially fun for Joanna, who loves to run the aisles and handle every item in the stores. The employees usually are on their cell phones and don't  bother us unless we ask for help. Joanna and I still walk daily to a coffee shop or a specialty grocery store in the heat of the afternoon, then we'll come home around 4 p.m. and I'll take Elijah to the park, and also for a walk  around town. He loves the electronic ticker tape above a jewelry store on Vo Thi Sau and we stop while he watches the letters and numbers go round and round. If he enjoys an activity, it's difficult to pull him away; we've stood on the corner watching the ticker tape longer than I care to mention. We're spending more time at a smaller park across the canal from the main park so Elijah can kick his ball and run free. Joanna joins us most of the time, and she'll look at little creatures and critters and toss sticks and such into the canal while Elijah runs around and tries to remove his face shield.  Joanna is wonderful about wearing her mask but Elijah won't wear a mask and he resists but usually relents with the face shield. If my wife ever gets a visa, and if we ever get to the U.S., we'll probably still wear a mask even if it's not mandated.  We're just used to it now, except for Elijah.
***
Like staring at a horrible car accident, I turn on the TV each day to watch events in the Ukraine for 10 minutes or so. I hope for a glimmer of good news or any sign of peace, but the situation is deteriorating rapidly and the news is always grim. ... Motorbikes still race up and down our street at high speeds. There's not quite as many since I wave my arms like a scarecrow and urge people to slow down whenever I'm outside. Most folks are OK with it and slow a little, but some tough guys will glare and speed up just to show me, well, how tough they are. ... My Kindle book, Alexander Hamilton, is a little like a textbook at times but fascinating nonetheless. Since it focuses in part on the formation of the U.S. system of government, the details can be a touch mind-numbing. Still, it's excellent overall. ... It looks like the swarm of bees on our third floor balcony is now a hive, and my wife talks of getting honey from it. She can get it ... I'll sit inside the house and watch, with the windows closed.

Our family gets sick after neighbor contracts Covid

 Both of our children were sick this past week with low-grade fevers, crankiness and clinginess. They had runny noses and some sneezing, and a little bit of coughing. My son could have been fighting teething issues, but I think something else was going on, especially since he has a cough. My daughter seemed to have the worst of it, staying up most of  the night on Sunday, acting a little delirious and taking extremely rare afternoon naps on Monday and Tuesday. Everybody was getting closer to being 100 percent as the week went on. I mention this because the guy across the street was diagnosed with Covid this week and he was showing our daughter his caged hamster last Saturday. He wasn't wearing a mask; he's one of several people I see on our street roaming around outside without a mask. New cases are topping 100,000 a day in Vietnam, although they're reportedly low in our province. I don't want to sound too cynical, but there's probably more since not everyone is testing all the time. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added Vietnam to the Level 4 "high risk" travel destination category this week due to Covid.  My wife and I now feel ill, with runny noses, sore throats and other unmentionable issues. We'll be fine. Most of the schools in our area have returned to online learning after a short stint of in-person classes. Some of the students were diagnosed with Covid. My daughter had a tiny bit of homeschooling this week, but I let her cruise. She's more than earned it with some excellent work of late. Being sick when it's 96 degrees with a real feel of 104 due to humidity can be confusing -- is it fever or just the nasty heat? Thermometers and chills determine real-deal sickness. No chills yet and, as noted, fevers were low grade. Ironically, after watching cases soar in the U.S. when cases here were relatively low, the situation has been reversed now.
* * *
I play classical musical as background for homeschooling for Joanna, and it stays on much of the day until my daughter hijacks the laptop to watch an ever-changing variety of videos, from kids songs, to Octonauts, to David Attenborough. It's so cute because she'll be coloring and humming Beethoven, or Vivaldi, or Mozart. My son, who's going to be 22 months old soon, likes Vivaldi, mainly because of the cartoon of birds, leaves, snow, and rain that accompanies Vivaldi's "four seasons." It's must-watch video before bedtime for Elijah, meaning he'll fuss unless it's played. It almost always gets played.
* * *
It's getting more difficult to watch coverage and read about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The bombing of residential areas and subsequent civilian casualties are becoming more prevalent. U.S. President Joe Biden warned that some grim days were coming for Ukrainians in his State of the Union address. True enough. And bombing that resulted in a fire at a Ukrainian nuclear plant shows just how ruthless and reckless this attack has been.
***
There are fewer crazy speeders on our street, but still enough to cause concern and lead me to signal the drivers to slow down. ... We're probably looking at waiting at least another five months before we get a decision on my wife's visa request ... Alexander Hamilton bio-book is interesting and entertaining, and part of it takes place near where I grew up and even includes events involving the Brandywine River, where I did a little swimming as a teen.

Ukrainian roots add to my concern about invasion

My mom was Ukrainian, so I'm intensely following Russia's current invasion of the Ukraine.  I'd follow it regardless, of course. I make no pretense of fully understanding the methods or motives of Russian President Vladimir Putin. I know what I read, and I read that bombs are falling and people are dying. And that much of the world is united in opposition to Putin's invasion. Add my name to what I would assume and hope is a long and growing list. My mom's family came from the Ukraine -- she and my grandfather spoke Ukrainian in the house --  and it's possible we still  have some relatives in or around Kyiv. No one in my family has the time or inclination to find out for certain let alone try to make contact. Regardless, if my mom's life and behavior are any indication, Ukrainians are generous, hard-working and decent people. Perhaps they're ill-fated, but that's yet to be determined. I can only hope at this point that there's a peaceful resolution, quickly, and no more lives are lost because of politics, power or whatever else that is driving this senseless and cruel invasion.
* * *
Coronavirus remains very active in Vietnam, with nearly 78,000 new cases reported yesterday along with 88 deaths. I'm not sure which variant is responsible for the uptick, but I would guess Omicron, which apparently is extremely contagious but not as severe as other variants. I've had family members get sick with Omicron and fortunately all have fully recovered. In-person school started here last week and some cases were reported, which prompted  more testing. I'm not sure how extensive the outbreak was or what the next step will be.
* * *
One of the big supermarkets in town, Mega Market, is undergoing another remodel. It seems like this place remodels every three or four months, making finding groceries something of an epic journey. The place is huge, and sells just about everything, but the problem is ... everything could be anywhere, including inside boxes ready to be hidden away in some far corner of the store. My daughter and I went this week and fortunately the fish in the tanks were in the same place so my daughter could look at the sturgeon and goby. I got discombobulated with the remodel and forgot some key items, but no big deal. I asked where the ostrich is and an employee told me they no longer have it. I walked around and found it close to where it used to be. I asked a girl where the cereal was relocated to, and she sent me down an aisle with no cereal. Probably a language thing. Never did find cereal -- the shelves were bare at the old location. None of this really matters. The whole point is to get my daughter out the house, where we hunker down due to the wicked sun and 98-degree heat each day. We have walked at 3:30 p.m. or so quite a bit, but the heat wears us down.
* * *
I took my children Joanna and Elijah to Kim Koi 2 last week to see the fish. I sat in my usual seat with Elijah, and Joanna ran off to look at fish. Then some woman I've never seen there before comes up to me and points to the concession area. I say thanks and that I'll order in a little bit, and continue showing my son the fish.  The woman persists with talking I didn't understand and pointing. I guess she's an employee -- I'd never seen her before and we've gone to this place about 10 times since it reopened a few weeks ago, buying 4 boxes of pretzels and a peach tea each time (and I always leave a tip). Well, the woman didn't leave, and then she lost an icy staring contest with me, got agitated and called for security, and the security woman comes over -- with a badge on her shirt, no less -- and points to the concession area with a scowl on her face. Sorry, folks, but I like to order at my own pace at a place like this, which doesn't seem to have waiters or waitresses since it reopened. I didn't make a fuss. I just got up and told Joanna we're leaving, and away we went. I'm sure the two women could care less about my style of ordering or my son and daughter's happiness, or the lost business, for that matter. Besides, this place smells like, well, fish.
* * *
I mentioned the heat earlier -- upper 90s daily -- and lately there have been showers most days at around 4 p.m., which gives the humidity a little boost. ... Currently reading Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. Good stuff. My Kindle streak is at 813 days in a row, owing to the heat and limited entertainment here. ... The bee swarm remains on our third floor balcony. ... Poetry has been added to my homeschool curriculum with Joanna, and it's a big hit, especially the rhyming. So, later gator.

Refusing to accept speeding drivers on our street

 I've adjusted as well as can be expected to the weather here. The heat and humidity are excruciating, but I'm coping by getting up early in the morning when it's coolest, staying inside and occasionally napping during the heat of the day (10:30 to 3 p.m.), and spending time outside before dinner, and sometimes after dinner.
   There are some interesting meals in Vietnam, and generally the food is OK; there are more choices now than when I first moved here, even if fresh fruit like blueberries can cost $5 for a small plastic tub and strawberries can fetch a whopping $12 for 12 berries in the specialty stores.
    I've even accepted line cutting to small degree if I'm buying a ton of stuff and the cutter has one or two items. Generally, I'll be proactive in those instances and invite the would-be cutter to go ahead of me.
   So while we wait for a final ruling from the USCIS on our efforts to get a visa for my wife to enter the U.S. and get our daughter into a decent school there, I consider all contingencies. If we get rejected, could I play out the end game in Vietnam? Well, if we could find an acceptable school for our children, perhaps. I guess I'm trying to point out that even with the many differences between life in Vietnam and life in the United States, I've adapted to most aspects of life here (gradually). There are so many wonderful people in Vietnam.
   But there's one aspect of life here that I refuse to accept and never will: when people ride their motorbikes or cars at high rates of speed down our narrow street, often in excess of 100 kmh, and neighbors and pedestrians look away and pretend it's not happening. When I yell at the speeders to slow down -- and I have to yell because they're going too fast and their bikes are too noisy for the folks to absorb a polite "excuse me" -- the stoics/neighbors will look at me like I'm crazy or out of line, either rolling their eyes or trying to give me the ice stare. One guy asked me sarcastically: "You police the street?" I answered yes because I have two young children who don't understand that many vehicles won't stop or slow down for them when they walk or run in the street. The drivers will use horns constantly but won't slow down.
   The sidewalks have plants, chairs, motorbikes, and assorted junk on them, so the streets are the only option when we walk to the little market around the corner, or anywhere else for that matter. Lots of folks drive big SUVs here, and they can fill up the street. Bikes will race around them if the SUVs aren't speeding, and they can unexpectedly appear around a vehicle in our walking path. They won't stop or slow down but swerve and skim past us. That's why I've been hit about six or seven times -- four on the sidewalk -- and my daughter has had way too many close calls, and she's been hit twice on the sidewalk. I use a walking stick to alleviate back pain, and also to keep vehicles at bay. When people cross busy streets here they hold up their hands so they're seen. I've held up my walking stick in the white-striped pedestrian zone while holding my daughter's hand and some riders have refused to slow down or stop and they've come so close to me they've hit their heads on the stick. It happened twice last week, and a delivery bike driver hit my stick, which was in a vertical position at my side. All three "victims" glared and stared and shouted something or other at me, but, of course, they didn't slow down and continued on their way.
  Admittedly, I've made a lifetime of stupid decisions and choices that have cost me dearly. But being proactive to try to slow down speeding, reckless and arrogant drivers for the sake and safety of my kids and other pedestrians, isn't one of them. I don't want a confrontation, but I expect human decency and civility. And on a happy note, lots of teens and other regulars on our street have slowed down. Like I said earlier, there are so many wonderful people in Vietnam.

Molar drops out of my mouth; bees on balcony DO sting

While eating cheese and crackers last week -- a taste of home -- one of my molars broke in half and fell out of my mouth. Obviously, it was that tooth's time to go since cheese and crackers delivered the knockout blow. I called Nha Khoa Sai gon - Viet My (I call it Saigon Dental Clinic) in Bien Hoa, the same folks who took care of my daughter's cavity a few months ago, and they told me to come in the next day. I had X-rays on the first visit, a temporary crown put in on the second visit, and I'm due back next week, presumably for the permanent crown. I might have one more visit for a final check. My out of pocket expense for the entire treatment is about $213 U.S. dollars, or 4,850 Vietnamese dong. Best of all, these guys seem very competent. Other than some minor language issues with the receptionists, I trust the process, so to speak. Another molar that fell out maybe six months ago -- I don't remember and don't feel like researching -- was treated by a "family" dentist and still bothers me sometimes. That dentist had trouble getting the new crown in place and used a little hammer to whack-a-mole it. The hammering took place next to a gold tooth I have that one of my former students wants when I check out. The gold tooth can also be sensitive sometimes, but I'll deal with both of the crowns since they do what's necessary.

* * *
The bee swarm remains on our balcony, Even though I've been told otherwise by family members, I know from first-hand experience that these bees do sting. A bee landed on my thumb while I was reading Friday night and it stung me pretty good. Not sure I got all of the stinger out because the thumb is red and has a tiny bit of swelling. No big deal but to all the naysayers, these bees do sting. I might have bumped a lower branch, so I probably had this one coming. These bees aren't aggressive and there are no hard feelings and the swarm, or maybe it's a hive now, remains. Joanna and I enjoy it either way since it brings some nature right on top of our house. 
* * *
I'm about to hit 800 days in a row of Kindle reading. I'm currently absorbed in The Last Days of the Incas,  a book about Francisco Pizzaro and the conquest of Peru. I wish I had read this book before I spent time in Peru. I find myself rooting for the Incas and native people, and hoping the Spanish invaders get theirs, but I'm rooting for a cause that's already been lost. ... The flowers remain at the base of the trees in our neighborhood park, meaning our son Elijah has no place to play soccer. Balls are still prohibited from the park -- some people ignore the restriction -- and motorbikes and cars won't slow down if we play on the street in front of our house. I've mentioned that Elijah will bang a ball around the house, but that's starting to lose its thrill -- there's not enough room to roam. Also, children are now prohibited from grass areas in the park enclosed by low hedges, which our daughter used to hurdle while running the length of the park. That activity has been halted so Joanna doesn't run much ... Despite the reduction of physical activity outside, our daily homeschool lessons start with dancing and stretching to YouTube videos. The warmup, the introduction of hangman into our lessons and frequent breaks for snacks  have made homeschooling much more productive. ...  I bought Joanna some rollerblades, and even though the early going has been a little touch and go, she loves them and is working hard with her mom to stay upright. ...   Elijah is struggling with teething, and perhaps an early case of the terrible 2's, and hasn't been a happy camper lately, which is unusual for this usually cheerful fellow. We're encouraging more toys, block play and reading to fill in the gaps, so to speak. He's also getting lots of ice chips. ...  Hot weather is starting to really pick up, with late morning temperatures hitting the low 90s and afternoons in the mid- to upper-90s. February, March and April are particularly brutal for some reason. Maybe there's slight relief when the rainy season approaches. It's all hot to me -- wet or dry. ... In-person schooling should start next week after a long online stretch due to Covid. I guess students must take a Covid test before returning. I don't know if masks are required. Our family, and most people, wear masks outside the home. That's a good thing on many levels.