Almost jewelry heist!!!!!!

So today I spent the afternoon with our Curriculum Director who is here from the states for a month.  We got some coffee and did some shopping and I drove us around on my motorbike, I'm a very safe driver and licensed I may add.  We are driving on one of the busiest and well known streets in Ho Chi Minh and all of a sudden Nancy screams and slides forward into me and I plant my feet on the road and break and manage to keep us from tipping over.  I'm like "what the heck happened?"  I thought someone had ran into us or something but no, a younger guy on a motorbike pulled up right next to/behind us and reached out to grab Nancy's necklace off her neck.  So I have read about this happening here and been told not to wear fancy or expensive jewelry but never seen or known someone first hand who it has happened to.  Well it happened today.  It was scary, and luckily her necklace glasp is super strong and he didn't get it but he did manage to pull her forward into me and almost pull us over on our bike.  He left big scratch marks on Nancy's neck where he grabbed and a mark around her neck from the necklace being pulled.  The marks are still there hours later.  If I would have known sooner I would have had her get off and chase the bastard but wasn't sure what happened and just watched the jerk drive off.  I don't wear any jewelry besides stud earrings and a watch but I will for sure never wear nice earrings and necklaces again in the city, that was super scary.  Luckily I am a pretty sturdy driver and there was two of us on the bike otherwise I think we would have gotten pulled off.  People around saw it happen too and were looking after, it was just like out of a movie or something.  But we are both ok and wiser for the incident.  I just can't believe it happened.  I know the poverty here is massive but so many people try to sell trinkets or food on the street and make nothing.  This A-hole could have seriously hurt us or someone else by causing an accident all for a stupid gold necklace.  I will definitely be more careful now.  Wow!

30 looks good on me!

So I'm 30 now, I know none of you knew that or gave me any crap about it...Bekah Chell Peavey!  I honestly can't belive it.  If you would have told me I would be teaching in Vietnam, traveling around the world when I was 30, I would have probably laughed in your face, but here I am and I don't regret the decision to come here at all. 

My life the past couple of months has been crazy busy - the start of a new school year, moving into my first solo apartment, getting a VN driver's license and motorbike, flying home for Kelly's wedding, and turning the big 3-0. 

I'm finally getting back on track from Kelly's wedding trip back home.  It took a lot out of me doing such a short trip home and back but I wouldn't have missed that crazy girl's wedding for anything.  It really was one of the most beautiful, magical weddings I have ever been too.  If you haven't been to Mackinaw Island in Michigan, you must go stat, it is breathtaking.  It is like going back in time, only bicycles and horses are allowed on the island for transportation.  Kelly and Andy got married at The Little Stone Church, it was adorable and Kelly looked amazing, that dress was made for her.  It was great to get to be there by her side as she got married and was thrilled to have my mom there as well - Kelly always was like a sister. 

That experience really solidfied my feelings about the future, for the past couple of months I have been trying to figure out what I am going to do after this year in Vietnam is done (I have a two year contract).  I have been going back and forth, making lists with pros and cons and I have finally made my decision.  I AM coming back to the States after my contract ends here in June.  It was a hard decision and it will be an uphill battle finding a PE job but it is the right decision.  So everyone spread the word you know an awesome K-12 PE teaching that needs a job for the 2012-2013 school year, I can be persuaded to move as long as my kitty, Meelo, gets to come with. 

Many of you ask if I regret coming here and honestly I don't, not one bit.  I have grown so much in the past year here and learned so much about myself and what I want in my life and who I want in my life.  As you know I have always wanted to teach overseas, it was a dream of mine and I got to do it, I am doing it and for the most part it is pretty amazing - the benefits, the kiddos, the traveling, etc.  If I wouldn't have come I would have always thought, "What if?" and regretted not taking the chance.  I absolutely love my job and know I found my career.  It took coming here to realize how much I love all the things I had back in Minnesota, yes I am saying I missed things from MN, it is hard saying love and Minnesota in the same sentence, but it is true.  All those sayings are too, distance makes the heart grow fonder, and so on. 

So I am happy to say I am coming back to the states to teach next summer.  I am excited and terrified because I am well aware of the job market and economy back home right now - part of the reason I went overseas to begin with.  But I am one determined woman.  Many said I wouldn't get a teaching job overseas without any experience and here I am, so BRING IT ON!!!

Just wanted to update you all on my good news!  Happy Monday!!!

Big Step

So last year I had some teacher friends from another international school run in the 10k at Angkor Wat in December and I just thought that was so cool.  Well everyone knows I have always been a runner and love running even thought lately my body doesn't show it.  But I was intrigued by this and started researching it a few weeks ago and looked at the route of the 10k which is an out and back route and would be cool but the half marathon is around a bunch of temples (some that I got to see last January on vacation).  Anyways it looks amazing and I thought, "how cool would it be to say I ran my first half marathon around the 8th wonder of the world, Angkor Wat."  Well it is an international half marathon so pretty big and the airlines that fly from Ho Chi Minh to Siem Reap are pretty limited and filling up fast, very fast.  I finally found a cheap flight that would work for me and booked it today.  I already found a 12 week training plan that would have me start on September 12th.  This is a pretty big step for me because I am running 20-25 minutes only right now pretty slow but I like a challenge. 

So gonna need a lot of support to stay on track for this but I am pretty excited about it, part of me is going crazy thinking WTF did you do but it will be awesome. 

Sorry I haven't updated lately on here but I wanted to share this info with you. 

I am running right now and doing personal training to get off a little weight before coming home for Kelly's wedding in a few weeks. 

School is going well, this is our third week of classes already, crazy!  Hope to hear from you all soon about my adventure!

Plateau.....need some help

On a positive note I am 4 weeks into my 5 weeks of personal training and I am not sore after training sessions anymore and getting a lot stronger and more tone.  Also I am running again, after three saturdays in a row I went sunday, monday, and this morning.  It is still pretty hard but it feels great after and good at times during the run.  But I have hit a plateau with the weight loss.  The first two weeks I lost 7 weeks but haven't lost anything the last two weeks.  I am getting so frustrated because i went 31 days without pizza, pop, chips, and alcohol.  Also I am still eating pretty well.  So just really would like to hear from you guys and help me get through this rut I'm in. 

I am feeling so much better and back into my habit of working out and especially running.  I just am really really frustrated about the weight loss plateau. 

Words of Wisdom please!!!

Running again

So the past three saturdays my friend Crystal has stayed over and we get up and go running in the morning before she has to go to work.  She is in great shape and just runs at my speed with me which is awesome.  We get up super early and it is still hot and humid but better than the middle of the day.  But I actually look forward to these runs a little bit now, I mean they are super painful but I can feel it in me still, that I"m a runner.  I actually got up this morning and walked for 30 minutes with a colleague and ran after too.  I am so so not a morning person but after I get up and do my run I feel amazing and I am wide awake, it feels great.  I might try to stick to this. 

So the personal training is going well and I have already gone down one size and lost some weight, which is awesome.  But really the best part is I feel "me" coming back.  I still have a long way to go in my weight lose journey but I am just a happier person again.  The past month I have been really trying to eat better and keep up on my workouts and have done pretty well but really i have to thank my friendship with Crystal.  She is very active and doesn't like to go out and drink really so we just hang out and go to dinner, meet up on bike rides, go on runs and it is reminding me how much I love doing all those things.  Plus I am not getting those empty calories from drinking.  But no worries, summertime is a different story :-)

I was listening to my ipod on shuffle on my run and came upon my new favorite song right now, "Just the way you are" by Bruno Mars.  It is a great song and just makes me happy to be me right now.  I think every woman can take something from this song, listen to it! 

Only two weeks until I fly home.  I can't believe I made it a year here in Vietnam, it is crazy and awesome.  I am excited to explore more next year and would love visitors to do that with.  On my flight home I have an 11 hour layover in Tokyo so I am gonna try to do a quick look see of the city before I fly home. 

I hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day Weekend, I actually had to be at school for 5 hours today for Children's Day, but it was a huge success and pretty fun to see all the kids there. 

Two weeks!

Milestone

I am two weeks into my personal training sessions, three more to go, and have already lost 7 pounds.  My trainer is awesome but literally kicks my butt every session.  I often think "I'm paying for this?"  But I am pretty excited about the weight loss and overall toning up I've done on my body.  It feels nice to have a little extra space in my shorts, thats for sure.  The best part is that I starting running again outside.  I have only down two saturdays in a row and they were hot and hard but I did them.  I have a long way to go before it feels good to run again, but there were times when it did. 

Also since I started my personal training sessions I have been eating a lot healthier, so definitely working on an overall body makeover right now.  Jenn Lent is still going strong, over 2/3 through and no alcohol, chips, pop, or pizza. 

Just writing because I hit a milestone in my weight loss and I am pretty proud of myself and where I am going and what I have done so far.  I told myself that if I lost 10 pounds before June 2nd I could go to the beach my last weekend before coming home, still working towards that goal but might change it to a day at the spa so I can see friends here before going home. 

To all my friends working on getting themselves healthier and happier, you can do it.  I still have a long way to go but I'm here to say that the beginning part is the hardest.  Once you start it and stick to it you can do it.  Also working out isn't for everyone, I know that.  But if you do get out and do some sort of exercise you usually want to eat healthier after anyways so it is a win win situation. 

So stay strong and let's motivate each other.  I have three weeks until I am back home and hopefully you will all see a little more of the old Jenn (and not just my body :-))

2011 in a Nutshell

To my faithful followers I'm sorry I haven't updated often, I know many of you are curious as to how life is going on the other side of the world so I'm gonna try to recap what has happened so far in 2011.

First of all I want to say thank you to my family and friends for being such amazing people in my life.  I wouldn't be where I am today without you and I wouldn't be who I am without you.  As some of you know this year has had lots of bumps in the road and having you all there for me got me through it.  Words can't express my gratitude for being the amazing people that you all are. 

Now I started off the year on a great note, with three awesome friends traveling through Thailand and Cambodia.  I had a great trip with Jen, Danielle, and Aly and really hope that more friends come to visit. 

In February we had Tet, which is the biggest celebration of the year here, it is their New Year's.  They shut down a whole street (at least 6 blocks) and put in these spectacular flowers and even cemented bricks and pots into the street just for this one week, it was breathtaking.  Also they had fireworks on New Years and I climbed onto the back of a flat bed truck with Avis with some locals to catch a better view. 

March brought my lovely momma to Vietnam.  It was a bit of a confusion getting her here because the Japanese earthquake hit 10 hours before she was suppose to leave the cities and fly to Tokyo so her flight was cancelled and she had to wait two more days before leaving (long two days for me) but she finally got here and it was really great showing her around "my city."  I actually took her out shopping, for manicures and pedicures, dinner and bought her a day trip to the Mekong Delta.  It felt pretty awesome finally getting to treat my mom.  Ahhh, finally a big kid!  :-)  We went to Beijing, China and Phi Phi Island, Thailand over Spring Break.  The Great Wall was by far one of the coolest, most amazing things I've ever seen.  It is one thing to look at it in pictures but to actually be climbing the steps and walking on the wall, wow!  Beijing had so much history and beauty in it, we were only there for 4 days and we fit in a ton of stuff but I would love to go back and see more.  The Forbidden City was massive, so surreal seeing it in person just like the Great Wall, just never thought I would actually get to see those places.  We also got to go take pictures of the Water Cube and Birds Next from the 2008 Olympics.  It was pretty cool seeing them in person after watching the Olympics religiously.  Overall Beijing was amazing and definitly worth the expensive visa!

Next we went to Phi Phi Island which I found out is a huge party island that lots of 20-40 year olds go to.  that aside it was gorgeous, one of the coolest beaches I have ever seen.  It was tiny, no cars on the island, just a few motorbikes and bicycles.  It was a great way to end our vacation together, very relaxing. 

Seeing my mom go was really hard because she is my mom (duh) and best friend but we had a great two weeks together. 

April flew by, can't remember much of what I did in April really.  But at the end of the month we had two days off and I went to Mui Ne, Vietnam and chilled out on the beach for 3 days.  It was a very relaxing, much needed retreat from school and the city.  I went by myself but had a few friends who ended up there that I met up with for dinner and shopping.  I read on the beach and swam in the pool and met people from England and New Zealand.  It is quite close to Ho Chi Minh and next year when i get stressed out I am gonna hop on a bus for the weekend there again.

Now it is already May, wow!  I only have 5 weeks left to teach, super excited, but so so much to do.  We have a spring concert on May 18th and I am teaching dances to three classes and a group of teachers.  The second graders are doing a country line dance to Achy Breaky Heart, third graders are doing a dance to New York, New York, and the fourth/fifth graders are doing The Hustle.  It is actually pretty fun teaching the dances but hard to remember all the different steps and do them correctly while directing the kids.  But they are coming along and I can't wait to see them perform them.  I am also teaching the teachers a dance to Eye of the Tiger, think kicks and punches, gonna be so hilarious!  I also have to do swim assessments on all the students and fitness testing on 2nd - 5th grade, plus grades and ahhh.  But it will all get done. 

More news, I'm still struggling with my weight, I am happy to say i haven't gained any weight since I moved here (trying to stay positive) but really really want to lose some.  I have been trying to stick to weight watchers online with a little success here and there.  But I decided to get a personal trainer.  yes I know I'm a PE teacher, but even I need some motivation and ass kicking sometimes.  Plus it is pretty cheap here in Vietnam well compared to back home.  I got 15 sessions for $200.  So the last 5 weeks I have 3 sessions a week with Sam and once a week I am gonna meet up with my friend Crystal to go running.  I have only ran once outside here but gonna push myself.  I have always loved working out and figure since nothing else seems to be helping me lose weight right now gonna see if going harder at the gym shows any benefits.  The best part is when I come home even if I haven't lost weight I will be in better shape and ready to keep on pushing myself at home.  Also excited to hit the gym with all my friends too!  So keep your fingers crossed that I am able to get my body to start doing what I want it to do.  I am determined to not let my hypothyroidism win gosh darn it!

So that is what has been happening with me!  I am so stoked to be home in T-5 weeks!