Sorry - no pictures of the ball...but this is pretty much what it looked like, but with bottles of Foster's all over the tables.

There are things I don’t like about being 38…mainly the wrinkles, and the realization that my appendages are still growing while other parts of my body are shrinking. Then there’s the days when I feel old…I really hate that. However, there are some wonderful things about being 38, things that I never could have dreamed about experiencing and dealing with when I was in my twenties or even early thirties. Tonight I had one of those…I love being 38 nights. My 4th day in Saigon landed me at a huge, formal ‘ball’ where I danced the night away.

It’s hard for me to comprehend how one week ago I was living above a cow barn, doing my business in an outhouse with a spider, listening to rats roam above my head, eating dhal bhat yet again, and periodically removing leaches; and tonight I got dressed up in a formal ‘gown’ and went to the Australian Ball in Saigon drinking champagne and wine all night, dancing to ABBA. This is what makes life interesting. This is what makes the hard times worth it. This is why giving up is not an option. It’s these experiences that make me happy to be living…not just breathing…but actually living. Enjoying all of the moments that we are given; being present. This is why I’m not sitting in an office any longer sending email after email about things that don’t interest me and suck the life out of me. This is why I do it.

I know one person in Saigon. Jill is a women I met while traveling last year and have formed a business and personal relationship with. She lives in Saigon with her family and if living in a developing country raising two young girls isn’t enough, she also has started a personal business; she designs and manufactures luxury Italian handbags. When I decided on Saigon as my next home, it was a bonus that she was here. When I arrived this week, she insisted that I come stay at her home. In addition, she has taken on the task of introducing me to people and to be my life preserver ensuring that I don’t go under. Today she called me and said that she had an extra ticket to a big party that evening; a formal ball thrown by the Australian expat community. I was thrilled at the prospect of having something social to do, yet I had one problem; I had no ball gown, nor shoes that weren’t flip flops. These are the times when I hate living out of a suitcase. I have perfectly good, appropriate shoes and clothes, but of course they aren’t packed in my suitcase; they are back in my storage boxes in upper Manhattan. So of course – there was only one thing we could do; go shopping. By some miracle I found a dress that actually fit me and a pair of heels that barely fit me. I was exposed to the difficulty of buying shoes in Asia when you are a size 9…you are considered an abnormality…big foot. The prices weren’t cheap, but I would have paid three times the price in NYC, for the silk gown and gold stilettos; that’s what credit cards are for I guess.

I dug through my makeup and jewelry and accessorized my new purchase. When I looked at myself in the mirror I could hardly believe that I was looking at myself, I looked like me again, not a vagabond.

The party was a great introduction to the Saigon expat community. Well – actually – the corporate expat community. I figure that there are two types of expats – the corporate expats that are living in the big houses with a staff of people because their corporations put them here; and the other expats…the ESL teachers and other less prosperous careers. Simply put – there are there well off expats, and the ‘poor’ (relatively speaking) expats. I hope to be able to exist in both communities somehow if possible. Tonight was a good start. I was able to meet more people and feel like myself again.

As I looked around the huge red carpet event, it was a lot to take in mentally considering where I had just come from. It felt a bit like a dream. The wonderful thing about being 38 is that I could handle it. I could go from village to ballroom fairly effortlessly and interact equally well with each group of people. I guess maturity has some benefits after all…and so does a credit card.