Beginning To Sign On The Dotted Line

OK, so we think we have jobs and a house. Woohoo.

Jobs: I signed a contact this morning for a part time teaching gig. I will be teaching a series of classes in "Effective Business Communication" at a local electronics business. This school has a variety of classes coming up so if I do well on this course, there's plenty more.

P and I have also contracted with another school to edit their textbooks. I will also do recordings for the audio part of the lessons. There is some talk of P and I sharing authorship credit and possibly receiving some small royalties...we'll see! P has a demo class there this evening - assuming he does well ( and of course he will), he can work as much as he wants to. I was also offered a teaching position at this school, but I am freaked out by their 25th floor location. Heights and I don't do well so I will edit (at home) and record for them and teach at the other school.

Apparently there are quite a few jobs here - just takes time to interview and to weed out the ones that are obviously flaky...hopefully we've made good choices. Time will tell.

House: This has been an experience. Do we want to live in the heart of the city? Enjoy all the small shops, the hustle and bustle, the street vendors, live next to locals, but put up with the noise and pollution?

Or do we want to choose an area that is a bit more upscale, cleaner, more foreigners, but also calmer and quieter? After looking about 35 apartments and houses we found a place that gives a bit of both. We made a low ball offer ( P mentioned this in one of his earlier posts) on a lovely home we both liked. After a bit of negotiation, the landlord came down a bit, we came up in price and we settled on a compromise that made us all happy. We are now in final negotiation regarding what is included in 'fully furnished', how soon we can move in etc.. We also have to do a walk through together. We think we might be able to move by around Thursday of this coming week.

The house, is four stories (!) with top floor room devoted to a family shrine. Most houses we saw seem to have this - part of the negotiation is allowing the family to come to the house once a year, for about half an hour, to pray and light incense. We are also allowing the Grandmother to come every full moon to pray for her husband. Of course they have to let us know in advance and we schedule it. What we are not allowing is having their dog live with us! Small and cute, but no.

To reach the house, we walk through a maze of alleyways ( no cars, just motorbikes, bicycles and people on foot) for about one and a half minutes - it's far enough from a busy downtown street ( with all the street vendors and locals) to offer a very quiet atmosphere. The alleyways are full of little shops; so far we've seen a beauty shop, a tailor and a very welcoming beer stand. It is surrounded by mature trees so there is plenty of shade and privacy. We have a plant enclosed terrace AND, there is plenty of room for visitors.

When we go back to sign the lease, we'll take pictures. We'll also take some pics of where we are going to be working.

A few random observations/ experiences:

-Many grown men have one thumbnail quite long. We're told it is the fashion, no meaning (?)

-At a funky hole-in-the-wall restaurant ( fab food, very inexpensive, we were the only non-Vietnamese) I was having a bit of difficulty picking up my sticky vermicelli with my chopsticks - everything kept sticking together ( duh, that's the name!). Just as I was going to use my fingers, one of the servers rushes over with a pair of scissors and cuts the noodles for me. When anyone finishes eating, any food stuff left on the table is cleaned right on to the floor to make way for the next patron.

-Finally saw my first rat. I say finally because I've been looking - you'd think in a city with over 6 million people there would be more visible - can't imagine they're that shy. They're lurking.

- Very few mosquitoes - so far no creepy crawlies of any kind. I'll enjoy this while it lasts.

O.