Then, after a month in Hanoi, I flew to Cần Thơ and, from there, drove to Sóc Trăng to begin my year in-province. This journey is roughly 785 miles by air and ground. Total distance traveled: 9,215 miles.
Since I have been living in-province, I have not traveled very often as I am trying to build community within the city as much as possible. But recently I have taken trips to Cần Thơ City and Ho Chi Minh City. Cần Thơ is 35 miles from Sóc Trăng, and HCMC is 135 miles away. Total distance traveled: 9,385.
In total, I have almost traveled 10,000 miles already, with 1,100 miles traveled in Vietnam, and it is only month two of my ten months here. It is one of my goals to see as much of Vietnam as possible while I am here. So, I will certainly keep adding to this total as time goes on.
On my beautiful bike, of course! I am very fortunate to have received a 50 cc motorcycle (xe may) from my host school. In Vietnam, especially in a provincial city like Sóc Trăng, if you do not have access to a motorcycle, it is very difficult to get around. There is no such thing as sidewalks, and if you do see one, it will be completely full of parked motorcycles. So, every time I leave the school, I turn the ignition, shift into gear one, and slowly shift up to the cruising gear of 4 while pulling into a busy road–a skill that I had to teach myself quickly. Riding on my motorcycle has been one of my favorite parts of my entire journey, and when I am driving it, it is one of the times when I feel the most connected with the culture.
