It happens to everyone at least once in their life, right? Maybe not so much in America, but it only took two days in Viet Nam for the inevitable to happen to the perpetually accident prone.
We had just finished a two hour game of volleyball with some of the locals down at the beach. It was a pretty intense game; my team one by a few points and I was feeling the victory as I mounted my bicycle, excited for the shower that awaited. I get to the first intersection and look both ways as a skilled cyclist would do. I’m coasting at a solid 1 mile per hour speed as I enter the cross walk, because to my left is a single car approaching the intersection. The car passes and right as I begin to pedal, a motorbike comes out from behind a car going the opposite direction and while looking only to her left, rams right into my front tire on her right. I fall off the bike, but am able to catch myself before hitting the ground. My bike seat is turned sideways and the front tire spokes are bent in on one side. The motorbike, unharmed, drives on and I pick up my bike to quickly remove myself from the traffic area.
Now as peeved as I am at the situation itself, I am also glad the only thing hurt was my pride and the bike. I essentially was injury free, save a few scratches on the side of my leg and hand. The front tire of my bike was all sorts of janky, weaving from side to side when I tried to ride it again- See video below. I first tried to carry the bike home, but was spotted by my teammates who, after laughing hysterically and making sure I wasn’t injured, encouraged me to go ahead and try to ride it to the bike shop- damage was done at this point. Don’t worry, there is a happy ending for the bike. 200,000 Vietnamese dong later (about $10 USD), my bike had a brand new wheel and the seat was back in its original .
Now besides the very minor motorbike run-in, my time in Viet Nam has been incredible! We are less than half a mile from the beach, and spend time getting to know the locals by playing beach volleyball every morning and/or aerobics-ing with the fittest in all of Da Nang. Our bikes are the main mode of transportation and we have seen much of the city through self-guided bike tours and our wonderful host, Sherman!
By far my most favorite part of the month has been working with University students helping them practice their English. We are involved in several English clubs throughout the week, sometimes meeting at coffee shops or restaurants or even going to the beach! On Sunday nights we have Girls Night with one of the English clubs. We cook dinner together and then read through a story to work on vocabulary and common American phrases. Last week we made American pizza, which they only ate with Asian hot sauce. This week, the girls made a vVetnamese meal of fried corn and pork spring roles that we wrapped in lettuce with spouts, carrots, cucumbers and fish sauce. For dessert, we introduced them to how Americans eat Oreos- dipped in milk, of course! They LOVED it. Next week we will be making spaghetti with garlic bread as our main entre and the girls are taking us out for a special Vietnamese dessert called “sweet soup” afterwards. I can’t wait!
It’s been so fun to build closer relationships with those we meet at English clubs and at beach volleyball pickup games. My hope is that we will continue to build upon our foundation and dive into deeper conversations as the month goes on!
