stay together, learn the flowers, go light.

and as I slowly turned a corner, I happened to look down at the right moment and saw a tiny, vibrant caterpillar inching its way across the road.  Call me crazy, but this minuscule chance observation has humbled me for days.  Life is đẹp dã man.

      Holiday milestone: Sharing my favorite Christmas classic with my kids… in    Vietnamese!  (Not that you need language to explain the brilliance of this dance.)

There’s a Vietnamese Santa Claus who works at the post office in Hue, and it sounds like he’s the only known Santa Claus in Hue for hire.

Khanh was planning on hiring him for the An Hoa Shelter’s Christmas party, but we found out his rates were a whopping 800,00 vnd per party! That’s 40 usd!

I’m a little upset that I just found out about this now.  I could have easily been his strongest competition, eventually intercept the guy’s clientele, and take over the Hue Christmas world, all while simultaneously wearing a comfy, felt costume (that costs $2.50usd) everyday.

This serious santa shortage in Hue must mean that Vietnamese people aren’t gutsy enough for this kind of ridiculous gig.  There are tons of Santa suits for sale on the sidewalks, but they’re all in kid’s sizes.  Where are all the grown-man Santa suits in Hue?!  Did The ONE Hue Santa buy them all out in fear of me?!

I am nowhere near to feeling self-conscious about my appearance here (once you just accept the flow of insults from Vietnamese people, it sort of turns into white noise.)  Thus, I would’ve been willing to wear that costume for the entirety of December, every, single minute of each day.  Flood or shine.  That’s how dedicated I would have been (to, uhh… becoming Hue’s #1 Santa?  Interesting goal, Hy.  Are you sure you’re not just making this up as you go?) 

Also, I can’t think of a more fitting person than myself.  My super abilities to gain weight and grow a full beard overnight could have really worked to my advantage.

My brain has never been so active.  I have so many projects in the making (most of which are work related in some way or another) and what surprises me is that I’m not feeling very stressed.  I’ve become one of those people who is obsessed with talking about work, but in a creepy, motivational speaker, rainbow-y way.  

So, since I don’t usually write specifically about my work on this thingy here, let me indulge for a moment, please (hope it’s not too painful.)  Also, this is largely a post to convince my parents that I’m doing something other than sitting in cafes and playing with kids everyday. (People work in Vietnam, I swear…)

[Current projects: An actual curriculum for life-skill workshops in children’s shelters (with Pedagogy/Psychology students as my test group), a new structure for both of Hue Help’s English teaching programs, teaching workshops for my Viet volunteers, a cultural orientation (with experiential learning exercises) for my new foreign volunteer group, a detailed street food map of Hue, an NGO tour map for tourists, a workshop on addressing game addiction, an internet safety class, the first collective shelter spelling bee, a conversation club for the advanced English-speakers in all the shelters, a specific English class for the Fine Arts University (so I can take cheap art classes!), K-pop dance instructing, teaching the kids how to harmonize, and lastly, being a stage director for An Hoa’s New Year party…?]

I think there’s at least one or one half of a good idea in there.  And it may look like a lot, but I won’t be doing it all by myself.  I have a huge support system of compassionate, talented, and motivated volunteers to help me carry these projects out.  see them through.  make them reality.  without them, my job would be impossible. (well that’s obvious, hy. a volunteer coordinator wouldn’t be much without… volunteers.)

I’m excited that I could possibly be this productive.  Excited that I have so much motivation to fuel all of this energy I need.  Excited that I really care about my ideas (to the point where working on these side projects is my desired “fun activity” that I want to do in my free time.  Weird?)

…This should make up for all the sitting I do here.

Seriously.  Everyday, I sit. Then, I sit some more on my motorbike (occasionally turning a handle here and there), only to find a new spot to once again, sit.  Good God, what a problem.