Dodging the Breaststrokers

While I was in China last summer one of my favorite things to de-stress was to go swimming. I love to swim laps and I'm a pretty good swimmer. Most people don't know that I would be a professional swimming instructor for the rest of my life if I didn't have to look like a prune all day! Anyway, we all have those days where in some aspect in our lives we feel like we are drowning. I'll be honest I've been a little overwhelmed lately. So I decided to go swimming.

Behind the Reunification Palace in central Saigon is a 50 meter outdoor pool. I paid my 10,000 dong, (about $0.60) changed, and jumped into the pool. Ah. There is one lane line going half way down the pool and everyone swims around it in a circle. If you've ever gone swimming in Asia you know that all Asians do the breaststroke. However, this can be treacherous if you're trying to pass one or two or three of them because you can get some good swift kicks in the side. But I did my thing and felt the stress just starting to flow out of me. I didn't mind the dirt on the bottom of the pool. My goggles kept fogging up so I couldn't really see much anyway! I didn't mind the men smoking by the pool. I didn't mind the weird lady floating around with her floaties on. I just let the water take the stress away.

At the end of my swim I noticed that there was a swimming lesson going on! They had put floaties on all of the little children's arms and then proceeded to tell them to jump into the deep end! Shocking! Safety first? I think not. I was highly amused though and after most jumped sucessfully I started to rethink my theories of swimming lessons. Sometime I do just want to throw the buggers into the deep end!

Anyway back to my original thought... In a world where I can't speak the language very well (okay who am I kidding- I really can't speak the language), where I'm just trying to navigate my new job, and I'm learning how to provide for myself in a new Asian city, it was good to be able to do something familiar and something that I'm good at. In the future when someone asks me for advice about how to cope with a new situation I will tell them to do something that they are good at.

My friend Pam Davis had the best advice ever for living overseas for an extended amount of time. She said, "Be nice to yourself." This was said after her year in Guam and the Island of Chuke. She is my hero when it comes to living abroad!!

In other news I'll be in the US in a few days for my Christmas break. I can't wait to see my twin sister and everyone else!! Give me a call-- I'll have the same number.