Funds upon arrival: 3, 181, 100 Dong ($178) (118,94€)
Current funds: 1, 640, 740 Dong (91,82$) (61,34€)
Amount spent: 1, 540 360 Dong ($86,20) (57,59€)

Bank notes: so many zeros that are worth so little.

Where did the money go?

-First two nights at guest house: about 290 000 Dong ($16,23) (10,82€)
-Tours, visits: 165 000 Dong ($9,23) (6,16€)
-Meals (lunch and diners), groceries, bottles of water, coffee, cosmetics: 1 060 360 Dong ($59,35) (39,58€)
-Miscellanous: 25 000 Dong ($1,39) (0,93€)

It feels like I have spent tons of money. Of course, compared to what I would spend at home (housing, food, transportation), it doesn’t seem much. But compared to what locals spend around here, it seems to be too much. Especially since I haven’t yet paid the past five nights at our guest house.

J’ai l’impression d’avoir dépensé beaucoup d’argent. Bien sûr, comparé au coût d’une semaine en France (hébergement, repas, transports), ce n’est pas beaucoup. Mais, par rapport aux gens d’ici, cela me semble trop. Surtout que je n’ai pas encore réglé les cinq dernières nuits à notre guest house.

I was pretty nervous about my demo class today, to be perfectly honest.  I had been given the outline of a lesson plan and no real instructions.  I was to teach (read: bluff) for 45 minutes.  It actually went really fast, I managed to get a few laughs out of my pupils and I didn’t break down in tears at any point.  Strangely, despite my expectations to the contrary, I began to enjoy it.

Afterwards, I spoke with the manager, who gave me some constructive criticism and then offered me a position with the language centre.  This is fantastic because in the initial interview it was suggested that I would be deployed to different public schools and potentially teaching children, which I was not stoked on.  In the language centre, I will receive an income of US$14/hour (net), have access to the centre’s teacher resource centre, and will be primarily teaching adults.  I can choose the amount that I work and the environment is friendly and professional.

So not only have I never taught, but I’ve never been employed in a foreign country.  Things should be very interesting.  Plus, being the first one of the group employed satisfies my competitive streak as well.  I’m still waiting to hear back about the web editor position but this will take the pressure off for now…and should provide many great stories along the way.

There are essentially two options for longer term lodging in Saigon.  The first is to rent an apartment.  I had done some preliminary searches for apartments and they were a bit over what we had budgeted per month to spend on accommodation (max $200/month).  I checked online, on Couchsurfing and even Facebook groups – many people were looking for roommates and offering apartments and suites, but for too much.   Also, we got burned at our apartment in Istanbul where the bitch of a landlord would only give us back half of the substantial deposit we put down because she claimed we had not cleaned enough and there was water damage (you’ll have to trust me that we SHOULD have received every penny back).  So with that fresh in our minds, we went with option two.

You can get pretty good deals at some of the guesthouses if you tell them that you will be staying for a few months.  We decided to take this approach and found one very central in District 1 that could house us comfortable and affordably.  We are paying US$6 per person, per night ($180/month), it has A/C, Wifi and hot water, and they even come and clean the rooms every day.  So although we will be without a kitchen or communal area, compare that to the rent you pay every month and you will realize how cheap things can be here.

The two rooms are bright, spacious and have their own balconies looking out onto Bui Vien Street (although as Serene mentioned earlier, it’s more “interesting” than scenic).  If you know Saigon, we’re half a block away from Go2 and the Crazy Buffalo.  The staff here are also really nice.  We could probably save a bit if we continued to look and went further away from District 1, but we like it here and the price is right.

Here are some shots of where we will call home for the next 3 months:

One of the two rooms we are staying in, sleeping three. There's a balcony and two bathrooms in this one.

Our bathroom. Pretty standard for a guesthouse. No actual bathtub, just a drain in the floor.

The Hai Ha Hotel, our home for the next 3 or so months.

I am confident that job hunting will be the most unpleasant part of the whole Jet Set Zero experience for me.  I don’t mind working, but it takes a lot of time and effort to network and apply for positions in a city you are unfamiliar with.  I started my job search by googling language schools in Saigon and sending my resume off indiscriminately.  I spoke with someone who teaches at the university and she told me that although it’s fairly easy to get a teaching job, there is a current oversupply of teachers. Crap. I got in touch with a couple people who are doing local ESL work and they suggested a nearby language centre and gave me a contact name.  This turned out to be an awesome tip as the contact person they know is in charge of deploying teachers for many different schools throughout Saigon, not just the actual language centre (which is good because without TEFL or specific ESL certification I’m not actually qualified to work there).  I was very excited to get a response asking me to come in for an interview.

So I went in this morning to meet Bich, the centre’s HR person, wearing one of my two nice outfits.  It’s strange after working in HR for so long to be on the other side of the table.  I didn’t have to say too much as she spent most of the interview explaining how the schedules and classes operate.  Apparently she liked the way I listened to her because she invited me to do a demo class on Tuesday where I will teach a mock lesson to some of the staff to test my teaching skills.

The only problem with this is that I have no idea what I’m doing.  I’ve never taught before and don’t speak more than a couple words of Vietnamese.  She gave me a sample lesson to use as a guide and I’m supposed to teach for 45 minutes.  So it should be very interesting to see how it goes.  My master plan is to get the job (obviously) and then use my clout to get the other Jet Set members jobs as well.  Wouldn’t that be nice!

I also put up a post on the Saigon group for Couchsurfing which was titled “I NEED A JOB!!!!”  I got a response from someone in Saigon who is looking for an individual to do some web-editing work, and I am currently waiting to hear back about that.  And, like the English teaching, I will have to fake my way through that as well.

Other than that, the other alternative to find teaching work is to walk through the districts and physically go to the schools, flash my white skin and drop off resumes.   I’m really hoping that it doesn’t come to that.

So I will follow up on the site next week in regards to the job search situation!  Vietnam is cheap but my money will not last forever…

Within our first 15 minutes of being in this city, we already saw male genitalia. Some dude just whipped out his junk and decided to start taking a waz right in front of us. Sure I’ve seen dudes at home pee in public, but usually it’s up against a wall or in a corner somewhere. That is definitely not the Saigon way…. feel free to piss anywhere!

On the the less scary side, the food here so far is amazing. I’ve eaten countless bowls of Pho already, crocodile, ostrich and mouse. Yes, MOUSE. It was delicious!

We’ve managed to find a place to live already, a nice guesthouse in District 1 which is a tourist area but for $6 a night you can’t go wrong, we even get HBO.

I’m a little concerned about finding a job. First off, we’ve been told that because of the poor economy there is a surplus of English teachers right now. The second problem is I’m Asian (although a Vietnamese girl asked me if I was Spanish, wtf?). After reading countless numbers of ESL forums and actually speaking to an English teacher here, it appears as though English schools only want white people, despite the fact that I am a native English speaker and I only know about 9 words of Chinese. Oh discrimination, you gotta love it.

I said countless times that the worst part about Istanbul was how chaotic it was but it is 1000x more chaotic here and I’m ENJOYING it. I guess in Istanbul it felt like organized chaos and here it’s actual chaos which makes it more exciting… I don’t know, it’s possible I’m just crazy.

It should be noted that this balcony now brings loads of entertainment every evening. I get to see expats visiting ATMs so that they can get enough funds to accommodate the hooker elegantly clad (hah!) on their arm. I also got to see a completely wasted couple pick a fight with another couple. That scenario lead to two girls kicking each other in the middle of the street, while the two men punched each others faces into the ground. The cops broke that one up before I could pull out the video camera, dammit.

(French version of this post further below.)

My name is Laurene and I am the newest Jet Set Zero cast member! I’m absolutely thrilled to be part of this adventure, and to make it even more international since I am from… France!! (Yay! Go France- and please do qualify for the 2010 Soccer World Cup!)

I first heard aboout Jet Set Zero about eight months ago while I was surfing the internet looking for potential jobs or internships. Somehow, I ended up on Jet Set Zero’s Web site. I got addicted to it, and I have followed them ever since.

What I really like about Jet Set Zero is the idea of traveling on a low budget. People usually think that
you need a lot of money to have a great trip. Well, from what I’ve seen- especially among people of our age- the money often goes into partying or into going to expensive bars. With little money, little temptations. Instead of hanging out at a bar for Westerners, you hit the local café. Instead of partying, you get acquainted with your neighbor and perhaps his entire family.

I love traveling because I love meeting new people, listening to their stories, and getting to know their culture. And of course, I love being able to do so with three enthusiastic girls from different countries.

For me, the adventure starts in Ho Chi Minh City, and I think I’m going to have a fantastic time!

*********

Bonjour à tous!
Je m’appelle Laurene et je suis la dernière recrue au sein de l’équipe Jet Set Zero! Je suis emballée à l’idée de participer à cette aventure, et d’en faire quelque chose d’encore un peu plus international puisque je représente la France aux côtés d’une Américaine (Serene) et de deux Canadiennes (Jen and Kris).

J’ai découvert Jet Set Zero il y a environ 8 mois en surfant sur internet à la recherche d’un emploi ou d’un stage éventuel. J’ai atterri sur leur site internet un peu par hasard et j’en suis devenue accro.

Ce qui me plaît tout particulièrement dans le projet de Jet Set Zero, c’est de voyager avec un mini budget, en routard pour ainsi dire. Souvent, on pense qu’il faut mettre pas mal d’argent de côté pour faire un voyage inoubliable. Mais d’après mes expériences passées, beaucoup de voyageurs- surtout parmi les jeunes de nos âges- dépensent leur argent en soirée ou dans des bars pas spécialement bon marché, comparé au niveau de vie local. Eh bien avec peu d’argent, peu de tentations. Au lieu de papoter dans un bar-repaire à Occidentaux, on va au petit café du coin ignoré des touristes. Au lieu de faire la fête, on fait la connaissance de son voisin, et peut-être de toute sa famille.

J’adore voyager car j’aime beaucoup rencontrer des gens d’horizons différents, écouter ce qu’ils ont à raconter, et apprendre à apprécier leur culture. Et bien sûr, je suis ravie de pouvoir le faire en compagnie de trois filles pleines d’enthousiasme et originaires de pays différents.

Pour moi, l’aventure commence à Ho Chi Minh Ville, et je suis certaine que ça va être génial!

And I should mention that the background music in the video is Saigon’s own band “Prophecy” in concert.  Local food and local music all rolled into one!

And of course, everything costs more because you are in EUROPE. I’m not sure why myself and a lot of other people consistently arrive here thinking it’s going to be cheaper than it turns out to be. You can get whatever you want…but you’re going to pay for it.

I put together a quick video with a summary of my fave moments and some funny moments (and potentially embarrassing ones – sorry Rob and Brian)…enjoy!

Goodbye Oh Beloved sweet ass balcony.

Shout outs go to:

Bengu- Thanks for being the most amazing, rock my socks of Turkish chick ever. Sorry we made you interpreter/tour guide half the time. You introduced me to the stuffed mussel and I will never forget you for this, my love.

Harun- I never met you sir, but your hookup with the sweet ass hotel in Kuşadası was just about the best thing ever.

Unknown Biatch at our party- Yes you, whoever you may be that felt so inclined to steal a bunch of mine and Kris’ makeup at our going away party, go to hell. Yeah, I said it.

And Huseyin- Thanks for being our hero on our last day. Oh, and thanks for being cute too, that was much appreciated.

Peace, Turkey. Vietnam next (Insert dramatic music here, please)

And now, for the photo montage of my favorite, most awesome, most memorable days/nights in Turkey:

Princes' Islands Sunset, and yes, I know I'm a sucker for a good sunset.

Striking a magazine pose like every other tourist in Pamukkale.

Hangin' with my favorite ladies in Ephesus.

Drunk in random nightclub on bar street in Kuşadası.

After we locked ourselves in a room to take pictures.

It’s a funny thing about expectations.  I imagined that Thailand (”the Land of Smiles”) would be exotic, untouched and the most amazing place on Earth.  That was not entirely my experience.  When I landed, a miscommunication meant that there was no one to meet me at the airport so I was left to try and find a guesthouse by myself at 1am…and naturally headed to Koh San Road.  I had never felt that kind of humidity before, and was terrified to see what it would be like in the mid-day heat.  We spent a few days in Bangkok, and I discovered that I despised that city.  To this day, after visiting tons of metropolises, there is no rival for the hatred I feel for Bangkok.  On the second night there, Darren took me to Patpong, which is the sex district of the city.  I was already suffering from some pretty serious culture shock, and I saw things there that I did not even know were humanly possible. Someone hawking T-shirts outside one of the ping pong places wouldn’t leave me alone and I had a major meltdown right there on the street.  I think a combination of the heat, aggressiveness and poverty (which I had never seen before) all attributed to the tears.  I begged Darren to get me the hell outta there.

The plan had been to spend the 2+ months just in Thailand.  That plan quickly changed.  We went north through Chang Mai and Chang Rai and entered Laos.  This was now closer to the trip I had envisioned – in 1998, Laos was very rough travel and not too many tourists were going there.    We started at Muang Sing, and went south through Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, and down to Pakse.  I ABSOLUTELY LOVED LAOS.  I knew virtually nothing about the country before we went, but we had the best time.  I loved that sometimes the only transportation was in the back of a pickup truck.  I loved that people who didn’t even speak English would invite us into their simple homes for a home-cooked meal.  And I loved that I was finally getting the kind of trip that I had envisioned.   After Laos, we headed into Cambodia and visited Ankor Wat…still to this day one of the most amazing things I have seen.   There is now an international airport in Siem Riep and the site is apparently crawling with people so I consider myself very fortunate to have gone when I did.  The last two weeks of our trip were spent in Southern Thailand, partying on the beaches of Krabi and Koh Samui.

In Northern Laos, the only transportation choice was often a very dusty, bumpy ride in the back of a pickup (which I thought was SO COOL). Here, I'm also getting a lesson in the treatment of animals in the third world.

The beauty of Ankor Wat.

Upon my return to Canada, I felt like my eyes had been opened.   I had never experienced that kind of poverty before and I considered how lucky I was to live where I do.  I also realized just how big the world is and how much there is out there to see and that was truly the beginning of my love of travel.

And now, 11 years later, I’m headed back to the place where it all started for me. If we had more time in 1998, we would have gone to Vietnam.  But as it happens, time ran out.  This time I’m older and wiser.

What do I think Saigon will be like?  I’m praying that it’s better than Bangkok, otherwise it’s going to be a very long three months.  I think it’s going to be chaotic, dirty and buzzing with life and energy.  I am super stoked on renting a motorcycle and exploring Vietnam by bike.  I’m excited to eat pho every day.  I can’t wait to get a $2 pedicure.  I don’t see any culture shock in my future but I think it will be interesting to see how Jen and Serene react.  My friends have all spoken highly of Vietnam…but they didn’t spend their entire time in Saigon.  And as I’ve learned, expectations can often be way off-base. All you can do is take the plunge and hope for the best.

Jen opted for the basic “self-service” option, while I splurged and paid for the chance to have someone else scrub me down.  We entered the changing area and an attendant handed us each a pair of very large, black grandma panties, which immediately set us into giggles.  We then wrapped our almost-naked selves in towels and then entered the steam room.   We laid on the huge marble slab in the centre of the room uncertain of what to do next.  There were a number of small washing rooms off the main room, and after steaming for awhile, Jen tried to enter one of the rooms to wash but a very large naked Turkish woman yelled something indecipherable at her so Jen went elsewhere.  My friend was very confused and a bit frightened, I think.  An old woman with breasts sagging down to her hips came over to scrub me down…thankfully she put her bikini top back on before she started.  She proceeded to scrub me from head to toe with what I suspect was detergent…there was a bit of massage thrown in the there and then she washed my hair for me.  It was a pretty interesting experience and like most things, I just went with it.  After you’re finished steaming and washing, there’s a lounge area where you can hang out and drink tea.  I loved the experience and pure laziness of having someone else scrub me, but it’s not something I would pay for on the regular.  But it’s like Turkish delight…you can’t come all the way to Turkey and not try the Turkish bath.  And there’s no cameras allowed in the hamam, so unfortunately this is the only shot we snuck in the dressing room:

Kris playing Backgammon with our new friend Stephanie in a hotel "room" aka cave

One of the most popular attractions, and admittedly my favorite part of our visit, are the underground cities.  The cities were frequently used by early Christians as hiding places from persecution.  6,000 people at a time could seek refuge in these underground cities for months at a time while they waited for invaders to pass.

The Jet Set Zero ladies in an underground city bedroom...

And of course, in true Jen Cheng fashion, here’s a beautiful view of Cappadocia from the panoramic viewpoint in Göreme, oh, and Jen’s ass.

Anyway, yesterday was a Turkish equivalent of the 4th of July in the U.S., and boy oh boy did we get told!

Take that rest of the world, Turkey just kicked your ass with the most amazing fireworks display I have ever seen. Ever.

Nihat, if you’re reading this, please don’t think me creepy.  Creepy would be attaching your photo to this blog (which I briefly considered before thinking better of it).  Instead, slough off the military service and look me up in Vietnam.  I’d love to look more deeply into those eyes.

I took a few classes at the local community college in the fall semester of ’08.  One of them was Art History from the Ancient Near Eastern to the Gothic period, and coincidentally my favorite architectural piece was the Hagia Sophia.  Also at the end of last year, I promised myself I was going to travel, I didn’t know where but I was finally going to Europe at the ripe ol’ age of 24.   I decided on Istanbul because of my strange infatuation with the Hagia Sophia, Paris because I love food, and London to go see my lovely little sister, but then even more good news!  I spoke to my friend Rob for a quick second and his show was going to be in Istanbul.   Sweet, now I have a place to stay.  Last step involved coming to Istanbul and as you all know the rest is history…

So thank you Professor Blackwell, for unknowingly playing a huge part in me now living in Turkey.  Who could have guessed?

My daydreamin' all started with a picture that looked something like this. Except this picture is way cooler because I actually took it...

This seemed to be creating a kind of buying frenzy, and just like the stock market at home, I had absolutely no clue what was happening.  But it was pretty entertaining to see it go down on the street.

I’ve sampled everything from back-alley street food to a full mezze dinner at an upper-end restaurant.  I honestly haven’t tried anything I haven’t liked yet.   Though I did see Sheep Lung Kebap on a menu but was too grossed out to try it.  Here is a photo spread of the delicacies to date:

One of my first meals in Istanbul. These boats moor right next to the Galata bridge and serve fresh fried fish sandwiches.

Dried fruit and nuts at the market.

The sample tray for a typical mezze dinner. Small portions similar to tapas and served with raki.

These guys are everywhere, selling grilled corn and roasted chesnuts.

I've managed to incorporate midya dolma (or rice-stuffed mussels) into my diet every other day. Yum!

Turkish delight!

Manti, or Turkish ravioli. I opt for the "Manager's Favourite", which is half walnuts and half yoghurt sauce.

Olives.

Oh, baklava. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

The imposing front gates of the Palace.

The Tower of Justice

An example of the fantastic tilework.

Definitely a must-see for any visit to Istanbul.

The touristy part:  I have to admit, I haven’t done much of the touristy bit since I’ve been here the second time around because I squeezed a lot of it in on my first visit.  On the other hand, and I know I’ve said it before, this city is just so damn beautiful.

Food: Fucking amazing! I love to eat, but I’ve come to realize that everyone else on the cast is way better at eating than I am.  Jen’s about half my size and can eat twice as much as I can, which in reality means she can eat four times as much as I can.  In fact, the only fights I’ve noticed here have been over food or beer.

Relationships:  Glad to know I fucking blow at maintaining relationships everywhere and anywhere.  I’m beginning to realize that spending a short time in a place is not good for anything serious, which means I’ll pretty much be a single woman for a long, long time.

The roommates/cast/friends/people I spend all my time with:   This by far has been the biggest relief for me.  Getting squished in a house with five other people is usually a recipe for disaster but so far so good.  I was a bit worried at first about how Kris, Jen, and I would get along considering we’re the three moving on to Vietnam, but I couldn’t ask to be with two better people.  The majority of my life the ratio of men to women in my groups of friends has been about 10:1, so yes, I was a bit skeptical at first of living every waking moment of my life with just ladies. But Kris and Jen have pretty much hung out in similar situations their whole lives as well.  I am feeling a bit guilty because I think we’ve shattered the view of what its like to live with women for the men living in our household.

I’ve also found it interesting that I’m pretty sure I have the most loud and obnoxious laugh in this city.  On the bus, in a restaurant, everywhere I go, someone’s head always seems to turn whenever I let out one of my large guffaws.  In general, I haven’t seen many groups of friends in any of the cafes or bars laughing as much as our group seems to.  It makes me a bit sad sometimes, because laughing is most likely my favorite activity, and I’d like to see others enjoying it just as much as I do.

Istanbul is a transition period for me, and I’ve come to realize it rather quickly.

Tunes by Tettix!

Some of my initial thoughts on Istanbul what I REALLY think about the other cast members:

Some other first impressions of Istanbul:

-       Immanuel Kant said that we can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.  If that is true, then the Turkish have very big hearts.  I have never before seen such kindness and compassion towards stray cats and dogs.  People treat them with respect, feed them outside their shops and sit in the park and pet them.

-       The “Asian” side of Istanbul is not really “Asian” as you’d expect it.  Sure, it’s on the Asian continent, but I was expecting noodles and pagodas.  It’s pretty much the same as the European side.

-       This is a very hilly city.   My calves scream in protest every time I leave my apartment and attempt to go anywhere.  I’m hoping to have the legs I’ve always dreamed of by the time we leave.  No need for a gym here…just walk around for a bit and you’ll work up a sweat in no time.

-       You see very few homeless people here – in fact, you’d see way more at home in Victoria.  I was told by a local that Turkey is making a concerted effort to become part of the EU and one particular effort is taking care of the homeless issue, so many factories and large businesses have a quota of challenged or disadvantaged employees that they hire.  That, and they are harassed by the police if they are found hounding locals and tourists for money.  Ah, that sounds more like it.

-       A smile goes a long way.  This is often the way when travelling but I haven’t found a Turk yet who, in the midst of a communication breakdown due to the fact that I don’t speak ANY Turkish, wasn’t charmed by my smile.   This has come in handy more than a few times already.

To get in, you need to get patted down a couple times to make sure that you’re not smuggling in any booze, weapons, or oh yeah, change. So after I managed to lose about 15 lira because I didn’t know this little rule, Kris got her hidden water bottle taken away, and Jen got a very very thorough patdown. And I’m pissed, and I mean really pissed, that I lost so much damn money, but I at least understood the reasoning behind it.

But wait, about 20 minutes into the game what do I see? A FLARE. And oh wait, not only one flare, but two flares! So I can’t bring in my change which was supposed to be my dinner money for the evening, but homies off to the side can smuggle in flares? I hope they had to go through a whole lot of discomfort to get those damn things in, if you catch my drift.

As always, thanks to Tettix for the tunes.

After a little over a week in Istanbul, general ideas about Turkish culture have floated through my head causing me to make rather quick judgments on what the people are like and who they really are. I’ve noticed things like many of the people here are trustworthy yet not trusting, passionate as all hell about pretty much everything, and aggressive in their interactions yet extremely helpful. I’ve formed these opinions from different interactions with friends, a lover, and even street vendors, but the truth is I’m finding it exceptionally difficult not to sit at home at night and wonder if I even have the right to come up with so many general assumptions after only being here for a week.

The point of the matter is, I’m sure we’re all pretty judgmental when we travel. We go to a place for a short period of time and say “Oh, the [insert specific nationality here] are so very [insert stereotype formed after a week in the country here]” and assume that we know everything about a culture after meeting one or two locals and listening to their opinions on their own country and people.

Let me ask you this, my fellow Americans, pretend you were some other nationality, taking an exploratory vacation to the United States. Say you coincidentally run into or have conversations with two different Americans: one a businessman in good ol’ NYC who you quickly learn has five, count ‘em FIVE mistresses, and the other a college student at Yale driving around in daddy’s Ferrari. This being said, what assumptions would you go back home with?

If someone judged you strictly on those two encounters with those two American citizens alone, wouldn’t you feel rather pigeonholed and robbed by what you truly believe is your national identity? This is in a nutshell why I’m all of a sudden beginning to feel this constant guilt about making any assumptions about the people here at all. As much as I may have all of these sweeping generalizations about what the Turkish are truly like, I have to mentally slap myself in the face to realize I know absolutely nothing. You can’t make a pattern with only a few interactions.

This does, on the other hand, make me much happier that I chose to travel with the JSO team, as it gives me the opportunity to spend three months in a place rather than make assumptions after a week. It also, unfortunately, makes me thoroughly bummed out that my knowledge of Turkish culture will not be fulfilled anytime in the near future as I merely have a couple weeks left here, and the clock is quickly ticking until my days in Vietnam. The point is, I think everyone travels in hopes of getting a better understanding of the world, but how much time does it really take to get a solid grasp on any culture? And how are our opinions formed on these cultures? By our own encounters, or is a mental picture already in your head due to stories from fellow travelers?

Well, I had a pretty hard time with all of these, but saying goodbye to the friends I had made in LA was the hardest of all. The recording studio I worked in had become a second home for me. The majority of my best friends were my coworkers and we all hung out together in our spare time despite the fact that we were usually spending about 60+ hours a week working anyway.

I had far too many porch parties at work with all my coworkers at Conway... They usually looked something like this.

I had other good friends outside of work that I will miss just as much, but the ties that I had at work were something that will never be forgotten.

LA quite honestly rocked my world and I’m going to genuinely miss it. As excited as I am to be a part of the Jet Set Zero team, there will always be a piece of me sitting in Los Angeles. It was never the dazzling lights of Hollywood, the fake styrofoam Grammy statues (yeah, those made me laugh, a lot), or the rockstars, it was all about the people I’d met on the sidelines. Sitting in a dark deserted bar bullshitting about the stupidest things somehow became one of my favorite activities because I love people, stories, and well, beer.

The Short Stop - Best Local Bar Ever.

My lovely ladies...

So here’s a little taste of my last day in what I frequently called Lala Land, and how I felt about joining the team literally hours before departure. You even get to see my last beer, which as I mentioned is always pretty cool in my book.

So here is my honest story, the not so fun part about traveling.

When I arrived in Istanbul I was stoked beyond stoked.  Everyone was new, the surroundings, the people, the language, the food and I was completely out of my element.  I was in the honeymoon period.  Istanbul could do no wrong.  The fun part was trying to find jobs and housing because it really gave us a chance to go out and wander around and get to know the city.  About 3 weeks in, we had housing and we had jobs.  I went off and started my new job at a travel agency in Sultanahmet.  I thought this job would be really exciting, getting a chance to learn about Turkey and meet other travelers as they came though.  But like any job, it gets old, and this got old fast.  Suddenly I had the Monday to Friday 9 – 6 job.  Wait a minute….. didn’t I just leave that back in Calgary?  Except at my job back home I made 10 times as much money, I worked with some of my best friends and I had real honest responsibility and it was really fun.  Now, I make a very small amount of money (I think I’m doing alright according to Turkish standards though), I don’t work with my best friends and I spend a lot of time sitting and staring at the wall waiting for something to happen.

Then it started to happen, the homesickness.  I was thinking to myself, why did I give up everything to come and do the exact same thing I was doing at home but to a shittier capacity?  Not to mention that I don’t have my family, friends, dog, bed, pantry stocked full of all sorts of food and my Xbox.

So everything just started to pile up and everything about this started to suck.  The little things became huge things.  I got super irritable (sorry to my poor roomies for having to deal with me). I’ve been told that everyone hits a slump about 3-4 months in and if you can get past that you’ll be alright.  In the past, when I’ve traveled it was for a few months at a time, I had a return ticket and i knew when I was going to see my family/friends and I always had a pocketful of cash to go do whatever the fuck I wanted whenever the fuck I wanted.

I’ve lived a relatively stress free life and for the first time in years I’m stressed, I can honestly say that I don’t have the coping mechanisms wired within me to deal with it.  It usually takes a lot to get me to this point but here we are.  What a terrible feeling, I can’t believe that people live like this all the time.

This may just sound like ridiculous bitching because honestly, this is probably going be the greatest experience of my life.  How many people get a chance to do something like Jet Set Zero?  I think I’m starting to come out of my dark hole of existence now though, today is my last day of work.  I’m going to see a Besiktas football game on Saturday, I’ve planned a weeklong excursion to take me down to the southern coast of Turkey where I’ll live in a treehouse and hang out on the Mediterranean sea and I have a ticket to Ho Chi Minh City.

I guess this is what I came here for, the experience, the good and the bad.

I’m not ready to give up yet, things are starting to look up.

The Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia is amazing. Unlike the historical sites in Istanbul, you wander up to the massive cathedral–once the largest in the world–without seeing a hoard of tourists (we saw two), and walk inside without any ado. I would love to show you the interior, but the video didn’t come out. Needless to say, it looks unrestored and unadulterated.

Beautiful.

SAIGON! I know I know, you’re probably constructing  a cartoonish bubble poking out the side of your head with the words “Wait a minute, haven’t they already been to Saigon?” pasted inside.  Well the answer is yes and no.  In case you haven’t noticed, there have been a few new additions to the team recently.  That being said, Kris, Jen, and I booked a one-way ticket to Ho Chi Minh City yesterday and are headed out for our own adventure in the city where it all began.  Look out Vietnam, the ladies are coming.

More extremely cheesy posed photos sure to come.

No more boruk for breakfast, baklava for lunch and sutlac for dinner.  Instead, meals will be more balanced and look something like this:

And we all know how good a cold Efes is at the end of a long day, but in the interests of health that will have to go as well.

And no nutrition plan is complete without an exercise plan.  I’ve already implemented a schedule of cardio and weight lifting to get the team in tip-top shape.  The great thing about Istanbul is that in the parks, next to the playgrounds, there is exercise equipment, so there is no need to pay for a costly gym membership.  On Sunday we began this program at Princes’ Island:

They truly seem to be enjoying it. Extra kudos to Brian for really giving it on those lat pulldowns.

Through a combination of these two areas of focus, it won’t take long before this team is running marathons through the streets of Istanbul.  I can’t wait to see that!

Ups include amazing sunsets, coffee on our terrace, random excursions to the Princes’ Islands, kick ass food, and wonderfully helpful people.

Ahhhhh the island....

Ya, that's called wrapped deliciousness.

Downs include being eaten alive every evening by some sort of bug that thinks both Jen and I are delicious, trying to figure out how in the hell to pay our bills when I can’t read Turkish, nor can I manage to find someone who speaks English, nor is the internet being helpful AT ALL, rioting, tear gas, and being lost all the time.

On the bright side, all the goods are making me smile and all the bads are making me laugh just because I’m finding the smallest difficulties quite hilarious.

Something, something, bank, something something, other bank. I never thought I would actually say I miss Los Angeles DWP.

Travel bug, itchy feet – whatever you want to call it, I’ve got it.  I picked it up after going to Europe years ago when I realized how much more there was to see in the world outside North America. Subsequent trips to Asia and Africa opened my eyes to how affordable this travelling thing could be, and it very soon became a priority in my life.  A second job was procured to pad the travel fund, and the endless daydreaming and planning began.

When I first read about Jet Set Zero, I loved the idea.  The concept of working to live and living to travel totally appealled to me and working overseas to fund further travel was something I had not tried before.  When I first expressed interest in joining the group, I never in a million years dreamed that it would actually happen.  And I don’t doubt for a minute the steps I had to take to get here.  I was working in a cushy HR job for the BC Provincial Government and quit at a time of layoffs and economic uncertainty.  I gave up my awesome apartment and put my stuff into storage.  I said goodbye to my amazing friends and family without being able to tell them when I would return.  All with zero hesitation.  Why?  Because life is too short.  There are so many adventures to be had.  And what an adventure this will be!

Chained to a desk in Victoria, BC

I could eat hundreds of those rice-stuffed mussels (midye dolma).

–

Re: DWC I

Amen, my friend. The American Experiment of the past few hundred years has taken a lot of moxy on behalf of US citizens, and anyone who thinks that it would be easy and wonderfully utopian to attempt to bond across tribes and political, ethical, religious and motivational boundaries for the sake of the larger democratic movement the States has been working to represent is simply naive. Too soon we’re wiling to offer criticism without alternative solutions or – better yet – support for change. The human race as a whole is only an inch above the primordial soup from which we emerged, Americans included, but the messy work of evolution is engaged bravely by the US and I, for one, am proud to be their neighbour. Not proud of all of their actions (nor of all of ours as Canadians), but supportive of the kinds of changes their particular strange brew can stir up.

Alright then: let the onslaught of criticism for being a torture-loving, bomb-happy, capitalist asshole-lover ensue …

–

Re: DWC II

And yet you seem to make an enormous amount of judgments about the type of person Rob is. It’s not like Rob isn’t well versed in the populist “America is bad” history you quoted. He’s far more educated on the subject than you give him credit.

I thought traveling the world to learn other cultures and share experiences with the world through JetSet was “doing something”.

Tell “Americans” to stop being such assholes when they travel the world and the problem will be fixed.

Read the full comment and my response after the cut.

Tell “Americans” to stop being such assholes when they travel the world and the problem will be fixed.

I just had someone tell me that when you point a finger at someone, there are 3 other fingers pointing right at you. So don’t be so quick to make judgements.

—-

Thanks for the comment. With regard to US Americans being assholes, I have to say that in a year of travel I’ve noticed all kinds of people being assholes, some from the US, some not. Whether US Americans are disproportionately so, I can only factually disagree on with you and I don’t know where we go from there except to continue to disagree. I do find US American travelers disproportionately annoying on a personal level, but ultimately harmless.

I agree completely with your closing quote, which prompted me to write my frustrations in the first place. Again, similar to the first comment I responded to, I think you misconstrue my argument. My biggest question is why I should be satisfied when I make all efforts to understand people and their opinions, and they make none to understand me and mine? It may be true that it’s a fact of life, but I will continue to be disappointed by it.

Once again, prejudgment is ignorance, and that’s why I’m so annoyed to find it at every turn.

“Sorry, but you kill that many innocents and basically give a unilateral finger to the world for that long people are gonna be pissed…”

Full comment and response after the cut.

Eight years of Bush was enough to make anybody unAmerican. Sorry, but you kill that many innocents and basically give a unilateral finger to the world for that long people are gonna be pissed (the great lie that was the Iraq war, Afghanistan and blind support for Israel basically pissed off 1.57 billion people who call their god “Allah.”

To say: “So yeah, our country killed and exploited millions of people but why the hate?” will probably make most thinking people hate you more. It’s like a fat guy complaining to skinny dude how hungry he is (big mac in hand).
Some might sympathize with you, some might not. There are worse things, though…much worse…

—

Thanks for the comment, although the way you reconstruct my argument in your last paragraph is not only a ridiculous straw-man, but almost seems like an attempt at intimidation. Let’s try and talk about the previous paragraph, because it’s far more productive and doesn’t suggest that I am fat, stupid or deserve to have violence served against me for my opinions.

Few countries have had to bear the burden of hegemony, and history shows that it’s incredibly difficult. Americans were deceived by their leaders in that “great lie” you speak of in the way so many other countries have been and continue to be deceived by theirs. These countries, however (including the four I’ve had my experiences living in), prefer to shout down US imperialism over letting dissent and dissatisfaction foment within their own borders. Foreign enemies are domestic pacifiers.

But let’s avoid politics because it’s a red herring, and you’ve clearly misconstrued my frustration.

Like you say, most people just want to live a good life and keep their hands clean. This seems true everywhere I’ve been, although the context for their lives and the limitations on their dreams have been drastically different. The problem I am dealing with is why this fact escapes some people when I tell them I’m American. Frankly, “that’s how people are,” just doesn’t do it for me. I want to be responsible for my opinions about people from around the world, and I expect you to be as well.

Don’t judge someone before they open their mouth. Period. Or if you do (I’ll admit that I do a lot), at least do your best to be listen and understand the choices they’ve made, or not made, to become who they are. What frustrates me in your argument is that you seem to suggest that this is my job, and that I should be fine with coming across anyone that fails to do the same themselves.

Take the Sofia hipsters for instance, who I felt were too caught up in moralizing solipsism to learn a few things about me and the people that I love. First, I campaigned for every presidential candidate opposing Bush and voted in every major election against the very course of action that I have been judged for. Second, I am traveling, like so many, to learn more about the world I live in and the people that live in it with me. Third, I have been working for over a year to build a travel network in order to educate my countrymen about these very things so we can avoid such things in the future.

So when you say it’s “just how people are”, I feel so disappointed. I am not simply content to expect understanding and open-mindedness from myself– I want to expect it from others as well.

So please don’t tell me not to get frustrated when I find closed-minded ignorance instead of an effort to understand others, because that’s what got us here in the first place.

Serene can be translated two ways:
1. Cheese
2. Shit (the act, not the product)

Rob, on the other hand, only has one translation: slave.

Sweet.

It’s not just Sofia (although it seems more prevalent here) I get this all the time, regardless of where we are– Japan, Vietnam, Korea. Take Turkey, for instance, where anti-American protests are basically a daily fact of life. Amid the accusations that Americans are baby murderers and racist trolls is a complete disregard for the absolute atrocity that seems to occur in Turkey on a daily basis. The suppression of unpatriotic speech, racial oppression and the disappearance of political dissidents are only some of the country’s problems– but like everyone else, it’s much easier to blame a scapegoat than reflect on yourself.

The US is an easy scapegoat, and we’ve done a lot of stupid things in the world. But just so you know, when you judge me for being American, you’re send a much more powerful message about yourself and your own ignorance.

I too have been living vicariously through Jet Set Zero this past week.

- Hop on a bus from our apartment down to Taksim

- Surprise!  Oh hey, the buses aren’t going to Taksim because of the riots, walk up the hill. Note:  I have a horrible sense of direction and figuring out where I was actually going was an adventure within itself.  My method included following the woman in the purple shirt who kind of looks like she knows where she’s going.

- Walk up the hill to find that every single glass has been broken on the bus stops, there are piles of trash ablaze in the middle of the streets, and people are walking around covering their mouths and noses with tears in their eyes.

- Finally get to Taksim to find that yes, there is indeed a riot going on.  The police keep running back and forth along the small corridor on which Taksim rests, chasing very loud and very passionate protesters.

- I kept my safe distance from the protestors and police, but keep trying to get the camera to work so that I can actually see something.  Trying to get close resulted in me almost getting knocked in the head by a tear gas canister.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I ended up with my horrible, shaky, “Serene is obviously not a good cameraman” video below.  Yeah, when you see the camera go down and out for a second, that was the aforementioned tear gas canister landing about three feet to my right.

Thus far, I’m having a very interesting initiation to Jet Set Zero.

The final day saw a lot of police, a lot of heavy vehicles, a lot of cameras, and much less violence.

Adding to the overall intense and eerie scene at the protests was a police helicopter that would slowly circle over the streets as the riot police moved through the alleys.

1. The tear gas and IMF riots didn’t claim my life, though they did cause me to cry and almost vomit (more on this later).

2. I arrived safely in Bulgaria.

3. Serene is outside reading a guidebook.

You can read more about the protests here, here, and here.

So far the news is basically that there are in fact protests and the police are using tear gas and water cannons.

After my first two week vacation (ever!) I admittedly caught what is frequently labeled “the travel bug”.

About a month ago, I came out to visit my old friend Rob after watching him for about a year on his travel show, Jet Set Zero.  I meandered the streets of Istanbul, hung out with the cast, forced half the cast to get tattooed, and had every intention of returning to my posh life as the studio manager of a world-renowned recording studio in Los Angeles.  As I sat on the plane on the way back home, something struck me, I was bored… with work, Los Angeles, everything.  Although I mingled with the likes of Gene Simmons, Slash, and Britney Spears, I always felt like I was missing out on something.  I was comfortable and surrounded by great people, but I was tired of knowing exactly what to expect every day.

This is where I used to hang out every day....

So what did I do about it?  I walked into my home in L.A., evaluated my surroundings, and decided that I was going to do everything in my power to make it back to Istanbul and join the cast of Jet Set Zero.  Within in a month, I’d rid myself of most of my possessions, given notice at my job, submitted an audition video, and said my goodbyes.  Half of my family/friends looked at me like I was a crazy person for joining the cast, the other half greeted me with either envy or enthusiasm.  Either way, I’ve never been happier or more confident with the decision I’ve made and I can’t wait to explore the world.

Who could resist?

I literally have two weeks of time spent out of North America, so traveling is brand new to me.  Wish me luck…

As it turns out, this girl would like to meet Mohammed, Einstein and … . Hitler. Why, I ask. Because, “I hate Israel, and he killed a lot of Jews.”

I was pretty fucking stunned to say the least. I kind of stuttered along, dutifully avoiding politics in the classroom (especially because someone had said “Virginia Woolf” and “Karl Marx” earlier), only to find out that a number of students wanted to meet Hitler, for similar reasons.

Jesus. This is Turkey.

*P.S. Einstein was a huge zionist.

READ MORE ON ROB’S BLOG

After trying several of those crazy sites that give you a new IP address it still didn’t work.   The video is now being uploaded to Vimeo instead.  Damn you Turkey for telling me what I can and cannot look at.  Apparently over 4000 sites have been blocked as of May including Youtube and every single porn site known to man. Even Myspace is blocked…MYSPACE.  It’s a piece of crap but that’s besides the point.  If I want to watch copious amounts of porn I should be allowed to.  What next?  Am I going to be given a quota of how many hours of sunlight I’m allowed to receive daily?  Thank god www.jetsetzero.tv isn’t blocked.

Inside a mosque near the Istanbul Spice market as the sun sets and the call to prayer starts.