Thursday, December 24, 2015

Catching Up: Thoughts from Saigon



I love the way the wind blows at night in Saigon. Nights in this city are a perfect end to sunny days.
Everyday I wake up happy.
I go to bed happy as well. I appreciate life here. I am no longer feeling like my hours are being wasted sleeping or tooling off on the internet.
Today I want to be right here, in Saigon.  I am loving my time here, even when things are weird or uncomfortable. I love it.
Perhaps my brain has finally, finally, finally, caught up with my body. And here it is, in Saigon. Alert and observant. Not judging. Always being grateful. I am grateful every morning I get to wake up and see our sun-shadowed bedroom through the blue mosquito netting. Even when those early morning hours are passed in sleep, even when I’ve frequented the same bakery day after day, even when we twice failed to leave our district and go into the city, even then I can say boldly that the day was good. Though I’ve made relatively little progress sod my blog, my website, or my novel, I feel very proud of  any small progress I make.

I’m sure some of this happiness comes from being in a city where I feel mobile. A city that offers me enough choices to feel content, even if I choose the same restaurant or cafe day after day. I am also happy to be in an apartment, which somehow makes so much difference. Knowing that I have autonomy over my domain, not have to acknowledge anyone on my way in or out of the apartment each day. Having space to spread out and rule my territory. Having exposure to local people and life and being able to observe it at a distance, without being targeted as a tourist and peddled to or served. I can walk through the streets and exist as a person, nothing more.

Saturday , Jan. 17, 2015   Tous les Jours,  Saigon 2:08 pm

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