Having passed the one month mark in Saigon, I felt it was time to reflect upon the lessons that I’ve learned since arriving.

#1 – Look Both Ways Before Crossing the Street

I have never seen traffic like this before.  It comes from all directions and very often appears on the sidewalks as well.  You are not safe anywhere.  There is also a lack of street lights which means that when you want to cross the road, it’s an “every man for himself”, jaywalking situation.  They do have a system here, though.  You start to slowly walk into the road and the vehicles go around you.  You take steady steps forward and the drivers swerve around you.  It’s terrifying at first, but you do get used to it.  My biggest near-misses have come when I’ve crossed a one-way street and thought myself safe after checking the direction the traffic SHOULD be coming from only to find a motorbike flying down the street the wrong way. It’s truly crazy and cannot be explained – you really have to experience it (and do your best to stay on your feet).

#2 – Use Your Horn Liberally

Drivers at home use the horn in a “fuck you, ya cut me off” kind of way. Drivers here use it as an essential communication tool for letting other motorists know where they are – if they’re passing on the outside or inside, coming up behind you, etc. People can be pretty unpredictable on the roads and there is an absence of turn signals so at any moment someone can swerve and take up that tiny space beside you. I learned this quickly and now ride my motorbike around town with my thumb permanently on the horn.

#3 – Don’t Tempt Fate

If memory serves me right, I recall that I was the one was said “I can’t believe no one has gotten sick yet!”  Famous last words. Everyone knows you can’t say stuff like that and get away with it. Lo and behold, not long after I was taken down pretty hard by a stomach bug (I will spare you the details). I was also the one who said “I can’t believe, with all this traffic, that we haven’t seen an accident yet!” Not one hour later we pass by an accident scene that consists of a dump truck, a motorcycle on its side behind it, two pairs of flipflops and a helmet on the ground, and a pool of blood that starts at the back tire of the truck and spreads behind for a metre or so. Maybe I’ll keep my mouth shut next time.

#4 –  Always Be Spontaneous

Some of the coolest things we’ve done or seen so far have come to us last minute, sometimes in a text or message that doesn’t contain much information, but simply says that we’ll have a good time if we go. My personal philosophy is to say yes to absolutely everything that comes my way. Doing this means I’ve shown up to things not knowing a single other person and at some points flirted with exhaustion for consistently going out at night and then teaching early classes the next morning. But it’s worth it and hell – there’s too much fun to be had to worry about money or sleep.