The cutest blog ever

I still remember, at the same time last 5 years, how crazily Vietnamese young people (including me, I mean) addicted to 360 Yahoo Blog. It is very hilarious to recall all the memories back there I started writing my 360 blog when I was about at 10th grade, blogging everyday on my parents' laptop and having fun with the self shot mirror pics by my super old Sony Ericsson E** and Motorola V3i ( I guess self taken photo is always a part of teenagers' life- even todays). Honestly, I was very "low-tech" at that time by typing the whole blog in without using Vietkey, Unikey or any other Viet software, so it was like: "Chao` mu*ng` cac' ban. de^'n vo*i' Blog cua? Chi" (Chào mừng các bạn đến với Blog của Chi). Then, after a long time running a simple writing blog with no picture (because I had not known how to add image on blog by HTML -lol) and using the "non-visual" Yahoo emotion icons such as :X for or ;) for , I eventually learnt from other bloggers and started uploading my self taken and friends' pics among text in a post. However, changing avatars or themes were much easier - I remember changing my blog's themes everyday, flowing the stream of my up and down teenage moods . My 360 blog, as far as I remember, was very very simple and casual - it was more like a teenager's diary about school and family normal stories - kept in life by the immature, funny but deeply emotional comments from friends (mostly classmates). Although there were always mature but sad posts about people, who no longer are friends or harsh life - lessons learnt day by day that I did not want to read again, I still kept my blog until my second year at college, when Yahoo closed 360 Blog and Facebook begins it's new social network chapter. Blog's closing made million Vietnamese bloggers ( my peers) very sad, they cried on Blog to say good bye, changed the 360 Blog to the Plus Blog, which is also dead nowadays and copied all posts to keep for themselves the "once- in- a- lifetime" memories. I did not ! For me, leaving 360 Yahoo blog was more like growing up or chance to be a different person than who we used to be. I didn't copy any entry - I just left it there,peaceful  in the wonderful, lively and colorful teenage world, which, fore sure, never comes back.

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Nowadays, in the year of 2012, young people around this planet go crazy for Facebook (FB), we cannot live without FB, we check FB at least 10 times per day and we even set up FB automatic notification updating 24/7 on my smart phone, email account, i-pad .... It is no wonder why FB experts have been tirelessly figuring out the best ways to cross fire wall and access FB, against the secret effort of government in banning it. FB is really a "social network" with the true meaning of "network" - it connects people around the world, we always can find old friends, make new ones and update our acquaintance just by some clicks. FB is fast and flexible - pictures, status, comments ... all can be posted by any internet access device. There is no need to write a long-long blog entry to update personal thoughts, HTML picture upload becomes an useless tool and we can actually "see" before "read".  I <3 FB !

I first created my FB account when I was in U.S.(2008) while still holding on the 360 Yahoo Blog. The first 100 friends on my friends' list were foreigners I met while traveling abroad with free mind and free wings. Everything seemed to be very simple at first. Then, the sudden death of 360 Blog pulled all Vietnamese young people to FB, pushing my friends' list to an unexpected number that forced me to stop adding friends of my friends or FB strangers. Who are they? Do they know who I am? Or they just see my picture on FB of a random person, clicked "Like" button and double click "Add as friend"?? Who are they to have the right commenting on my FB notes or private photos? Again, do they know who I am? FB makes connecting people/ making acquaintanceship so simple that it scares me screw things out of control. I closed the FB searching result, guiding to my account and customized my FB for just friends right in the first week working as a college teacher.

FB sometimes bother me by updating many people, who share pictures and statuses everywhere they go, everything they do, every food they eat, how good they sex they had last night is ... And girls, uploading so many romantic photo albums,, proudly make comments and share with the whole world like it is happily ever after but eventually secretly delete them all after breaking up and creating a new one for new boyfriend. Is there any point of doing such thing?

Once Facebook becomes it's owner's social face, deleting old FB posts doesn't help healing scars, arguing on FB is just like slapping our face and ironically, people would like to unfriend others on FB rather than in reality.

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I still enjoy blogging though, even when this blog does not have many followers, I write for myself - free mind & free wings

Flash

It have been a long time I don't feel like writing this blog because my life in the recent 6 months cannot be described as "Adventure" as it used to be. It has been "same old same old" - going to work, facing to the computer, having lunch box with co-workers (still facing to the computer at the same time), going to GRE class (with a little effort of concentrating after being exhausted at work), coming home very late at night, skipping dinner and family's delighting moments). Although I love my job working with young students, my current office life has treated me "sleeping pills", making me forget what I used to be and how adventurous I am. No wonder why many young people change their plan from "temporary" to "permanence" working in stable governmental organizations. Taking "those pills" overdose and being pushed further and further in the one-way trail of working industry, I need to find my way out.

Making an excuse of having a fever (actually I was, coincidentally), I stayed at home for the whole day to watch TV shows on Star World and (it is hilarious) talk to myself in English. I miss thinking and communicating in English rather than my shy and childlike Vietnamese, which I completely failed in the last effort of changing. I miss myself and the way I feel comfortable among friends and students - I even miss this blog so bad ! It is amazing how the one day off switched my mind back to 6 months ago - before I started being sick of this job and dying inside gradually.

I need to find my way out of it. Today's decision my lead my future to the huge risk - but it is totally fine because it is how we define "adventure". (Smiling Face)

The tough progress of growing up

As the name of this blog- Chi-chi's Adventures, I like having adventures and being adventurous becomes a part of my characteristic. The best thing of any adventure (either small or big one) is that you feel like growing up through once in a life-time experience.

When I was in Taiwan, along with some friends, I stayed in the church and got familiar with staying up late doing my laundry and acting nice with people. At that time, I just realized that there was no where like home, where I can skip some of my personal tasks and someone would finish the rest without saying any word. For example, I had never hanged my wet clothes to dry because I was too lazy going up stair, opened the door and found a appropriate way to hang them on. My dad, my mom or the family's helper would hang them on for me afterwards, they may complain a little bit but most of the time, they don't. So, staying up late to wash clothes and waking up early to hang all wet stuff (not only mine but others) were strange to me everyday in Taiwan. I though, hummmm, I am willing to hang on clothes for strangers but never feel that enthusiastic when helping my parents.At that moment, I wish I could come back Vietnam to hang on all wet clothes in my washing machine at home that childlike ideas actually made me cry once in Taiwan.

Now at work, as the youngest person in my office, I take my responsibility of doing errands such as pealing the fruits, cleaning fruits, wash all lunch boxes, buying things ... Sometimes, I feel like people take me for grated or take advantages of me by asking me to do things or being lazy completing their personal tasks. They used to have a list of people taking turn to clean the office, wash dishes or cutting fruits but now they don't because I am the office's little helper. I mean, people at the office are quite nice and those errands are not too difficult for me but the fact that we always have to act nice and support all people except our family makes me  tired. It's very tough when we get into a new community, I understand that. Considering it as a "daily adventure", many parts of me have been grown up everyday.

The more tough my life is, the more I love my parents. Life is precious !!

Blogging for "Tết" - Vietnamese New Year

Today is the last day of the old year - the year of Cat. There are only a few days to the new year of Dragon.

Although I'm a 100% Vietnamese and from a very traditional family, I don't feel crazy for Tet like others, especially the religious side of it. For me, Tet is a precious opportunity that family's members gather to their hometown and together they do preparing and celebrating for Tet. Without Tet, people would probably be super busy on their own and tend to forget about their small family back to the faraway hometown. I even strongly believe that it's the core meaning of Tet, which was decided and created by our great-fathers thousand years ago. It means for Family, not for Religion, not for Big meals in 3 days, not even for our ancient ... it's for ourselves- now.

However, Tet in Vietnam and possibly in other Asian countries celebrating it has put too much pressure on the women. The more modern the world is, the more crazy people become to prepare for the Tet. They are willing to buy a small Peach tree with 50 millions, which ironically equals to total income of a working person in a year, just for decoration in 3-5 days of Tet. The women become the slaves themselves in their homes. My mom has been so crazy since the recent 2 weeks by talking too much on what she needs to buy for Tet, what she wants to do but she could not because she is very tired, by feeling so scary of religious things and by being mean to me sometimes when she gets stressful. I love my mom - there is no word can describe that. She is my angel guidance. So I hate Tet for making my mom stressful - I also hate the modern people for making Tet so complicated but missing the original meaning of it.

I can write a forever long essay about Tet and how much I hate it. Nevertheless, since it is the last day of the old year, when people forget and forgive everything and are looking forward to the bright future, I decide to temporarily forgive Tet ;) (It is temporary because I doubtlessly will hate it again next year at the same period of time- :D). Anyways, Tet is forever in my heart as a Vietnamese girl and I will miss it so much if I travel far from home. Maybe when I am at my mom's age, I will start acting crazy for Tet, so my children don't understand why and they begin their blog for Tet just like this one. :).

We don't know about our future but we never stop believing that is why Tet- a signal of the new year, is so important for Vietnamese. So, I believe in the brightness of the Dragon year and wish everyone the best!

Happy Lunar New Year! Cheers !

In the middle

There were so many things happened in the last couple days. I don't know how to start ...

I just want to make my mind straight by writing down all everything below, so for any of you, who by any reason, read it and get confuse, I'm so sorry about that.

The first thing striking my mind right now is my future, which has been partly showing up, even still foggy, after almost one month at work. At work, there are many people having master degree from foreign education system, have been doing the same job as mine. Of course, they may have higher salary and allowance but the type of work is almost the same. It makes me wonder who I am going to be in the near future.

I mean, after a few weeks, I feel like the only dream I have is studying abroad and so do my parents. But no one ever ask: "What's next?". Actually, the only reason why I want to go oversea to study is to have a better future for my family and for myself as well. The more mature I am, the more I feel like should be some "mistakes" in my characteristics, making me love and hate being in Vietnam at the same time, making me be so confuse all the time staying here and forcing me to find the answer for the question of who I am... ]

However, what will happen after a master degree?

A. Coming back to Vietnam and back to the job that does not require my master degree
B. Staying in U.S. or any other countries, living like a foreigners for the rest of my life and work like crazy to keep my job
C. Master - Husband - Kids --> Family model

I used to think that there are only girls, accepting the "normal life" after having no chance for higher education, decide to become housewives. But now, here, I see many nice, talented and educated ladies who work very hard at work as well as cover all jobs at home for the lazy husband and small kids. In addition, they "accept" their type of job instead of "enjoying" it because the current job is already much better than other ones.

I like my job, actually. But I also feel like I deserve to work in other place, devote myself for other field and end my single life in a different way.

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Second,

As you may know by updating my facebook, Douglas D.J., my greatest teacher passed away a few days ago.  I was so regretful that I haven't done anything which I had planned for him. I was too busy and depended so much on my own excuses. I hate myself taking others for granted. Just miss him.

I remember  Doug talking in class with the background of black slideshow. I have just told chi Trang, who sitting next to me at work, the day Doug died, "I like the lecturer delivering black and white slides with many gaps- their lecture will fill in the gap for students". I love his lectures. He's the one that I have never claimed for anything, just great.

I remember Doug working as Hanoian tour guide and introduced me to many tourists : "my great student! she knows every thing". It's the first time I worked with my first $70

I remember Doug teaching for kids at Dr.Lan's English class, remember the potato chips, cheese cake, water he likes and the way he ask : "What's going on?"

I remember An and I came to Doug's flat in a rainy day, asked him about everything but could only give him back a fruit. We were both so childlike.

Doug's passing away taught me so many lessons of life. They would not be called "self lessons" if I list them down here, so I decide to keep all for myself. :).

Thank you Doug.

And Thank God for leaving me here enjoying my own sky.

One day I will go visit Doug, thầy nhé ! hugs

The start of something new :)

Panda at work

Suddenly, I become an officer- a teacher in International School, Vietnam National University. Today is my 6ht day at work.

There are many reasons why I applied for the job and I can list them all right in a few second. I knew that from the very beginning when my mom convinced me to finish my application form although I was totally busy with the TOEFL and GRE study. Of course, my final objective is going aboard to study master- sooner or later. But the new job really rocks my world and gradually gives me the chance to see the "adult wold" in a different way.

I cant believe that one day- like today, I wake up at 5:45 with the first thing in my mind: "What am I going to wear to work", stop going to the gym, prepare lunch box, wear make up with "working make-up style" and leave at 6:45. It is great somehow, I mean, when you look at the mirror and see a mature teacher-officer is smiling to you in a childlike way. I like that feeling. :)

Well, there are many things about work I want to share but they all can wait for another free time. This entry is just for Chi Lan, my colleague :D. I have just known CL for almost 1 week but very early C.L became my ideal model. It's very funny that in other places that I used to work, I was always the one who rearrange everything from messy stuff and create the handy technique to deal with problems quickly, and in this place, C.L is the one. I feel like I meet the mature version of mine, or at least, I wish I could be someone exactly like C.L.in the near future.

From this work, I will be trained for details rather than the general/ abstract points as many previous working places, which is also a thing making me stay with this job.

As the time for lunch soon ended, I need to take my nap now :D

Random thoughts

Well,

It has been such a long time since my last blog entry although I promised to write more, even after UCHanu course. Sorry for that. As you all know, time flies fast and there have been so many unexpected things happened recently in my life, preventing me from keeping my writing habit. But just forget about it and let's talk about something else !

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So, what the hell is happening to the world now? :P

We have talked much about the situation of Vietnam and other South East Asian countries when fighting against Chinese benefit towards South China Sea. Beyond my expectation, the South China Sea dispute this time has been affecting many young educated Vietnamese much more than the previous time although Government doesn't want to publish too much information and citizens are still afraid of Anti-Communist force's taking advantage from the dispute. Youth is simply pure and easily vulnerable- it's understandable why they enthusiastically take part in the protest and are willing to do everything to show their patriotism. 

It reminds me to the case of Norway in the last few days, when the locals were terrified by a young gunman, who seems to be a victim of mental disorder, causing his extreme reaction. So, vulnerability of young people may lead them to nowhere but hurting themselves and even others. However, it is obvious that vulnerability is a part of growing process and once people get over it, they will gain so many experiences and become a better people in many ways. It was claimed in one speech, named "The art of vulnerability" that Sam shared me last week. We did discussed a little bit on email: 

"... I agree that vulnerability is in the border line of shame- fear and joy, happiness. People need to accept or even try their best to practice their vulnerability to grow up. My old boss always says that :"when you feel challenging, it's the time for you to grow up..."

Just a few thoughts running out of my mind before getting in bed.

 I'll be back in the next day as "tomorrow will be better" (Hilary Clinton).

 LUV