First Impressions

So this is a shot of my 'hood from across Ho Truc Bach. "Ho" means lake. So roughly translated "Ho Truc Bach" means "Lake Truc Bach". Yeah, I know. I pick things up pretty quick huh? The house is under the tallest radio tower somewhere. More about this lake later...

I heard that scooters and motorcycles were big in Vietnam, but I've only seen a handful of motorcycles. The scooter reigns supreme here. It's a mod's paradise.
They talk about how quickly the economy is growing in Vietnam and they've made a believer out of me. I became a millionaire within hours of arriving. $100 USD comes out to about 1,660,000 VND or "Vietnamese Dong". As a currency, it's great. It not only makes you feel rich, "Dong" roughly translates to "set up for 1,000 jokes".
The school has arranged for the woman who takes care of the house here to feed me twice a day. Which is pretty great. It took a while to communicate that I was a vegetarian, but everything she makes is great. The meat is for my room mate, Kickflip (not his real name).
Here is the school. It's about a 15 minute bike ride or 30 minute walk from the house. It's not in great shape, but the kids are curious and generally well behaved. The teachers are really nice and they make you feel a little like a celebrity just for showing up.

I got a lead on where I can find good cigars, and I plan on celebrating the end of my first week tonight with a nice Cuban, and a real Coke made with sugar. Delicious Communist sugar...