Walking in a Buddha Wonderland

    It was unbelievable how much we liked Lilith's grandmother. Actually, we got off to a bad start. We were told last night to be ready by ten this morning. Try more like seven, which is when her grandma showed up. We received seafood pizza for breakfast along with chicken and sticky rice, a favorite among our group. We were then whisked away from the main house to a branch of the families house so they could take pictures with Lilith. She decided to wear her hooker shirt today to meet her dad's family for the first time. Hope she doesn't regret that later on.
    The first real stop today was at a temple. Part of a temple. Just the jeeti. Needed to pay to get into any other part but you already had to pay to get into the jeeti part. Plus it was hot. Not just hot but genetically mutated hot. Maybe it's because we are fresh out of Northern Vietnam where it was as a reasonable temperature but today was stifling. Another strange thing today was how many tourists there were. Vietnam doesn't have that many tourists, especially white ones. I kept commenting on how weird it was to see so many of them but Niko told me they were all German. Also stopped at the Asia Arc de Triumph. Got plenty of stares there. Thought that would go away once we left Vietnam.
    Next stop was a long drive away. Thankfully we had a Chronicles of Narnia marathon going on today to help with the long drives everywhere. We were brought to a Buddha park. It was a statue garden but all of the statues were Buddhist themed. Some stories I recognized but some were either stories I did know or were some of the weirdest statues I have seen. One was a man throwing a hatchet at a woman while a bunch of onlookers did their audience role. Very strange. A man was playing a flute with his nose (not the oddest thing we have heard about since coming here) but he climbed up into a tree before I could see him. If you listened too long he threw leaves down at you.
    Our final stop of the day was at Lilith's family BBQ. Everyone ate goat. (unknowingly at first) and then they served us beer. Now, they told us it was rude if we didn't finish our glasses. The problem: they kept filling them up even if it was empty or if we had only taken a sip. We were then forced to sing and dance. The van stopped at a grocery randomly on the way home and bought us all coffee. Not sure why but hey, coffee. Who doesn't need more of that?? Too bad most of our time here was taken up with this. It would have been nice to travel around and see some more of Laos.
    Really missing my host family today. It was so weird not to ride around on a motorbike. Plus, their food was much better.

Picture Count: 50
Lizard Count: 32                      They are everywhere in Laos...

My Sandwich!!

    Another day filled with traveling. Well, part of it. First thing to do this morning was finish packing. Then a book meeting. We're currently reading "The Quiet American" (I keep calling it the unquiet American). There is a movie adaptation with Michael Caine and Brendon Fraiser. The characters are not very likable which never helps but thinking of Caine and Fraiser in their comedy roles then playing these guys is helping quite a bit.
    Had a sandwich off the street for brunch. Since it had been raining earlier many of the sandwich places where closed but found one open. There was another lady there who I assumed was the vendor's friend or helper from the way they were talking to each other and to me. The lady asked me what I wanted and started making what I thought was my sandwich. When she was done the 'helper' grabbed the sandwich and took off running like the police were after her. The sandwich lady waited for me to recover before asking what I wanted again like nothing had happened. At least the sandwich was good.
    Donna and I are missing the next book. In America it's called "The Sorrows of War" but in Vietnam the title of it is "The Sorrows of Love". Apparently Americans are more interested in reading about war than love. However, all the bookstores around our hotel were completely in Vietnamese. The workers, the books, the signs were all in Vietnamese. So instead I spent some of my remaining dong on shoes.
    After we got through security at the airport all of us went shopping. Dong isn't used anywhere else so we either had to spend it or turn it into another currency. The airport was small but had plenty of shopping places. They were all the same shop, but there was a lot of them.
    Had to sit by Lilith. Again. I'm starting to believe that I am put in charge of her, that Drexler thinks I can handle this responsibility. It's actually because our last names are at the end of the alphabet.Thankfully the flights are less than an hour or they have movies to choose from so it's easy to ignore her.
    We are the first Asia Term to come here. It's all thanks to Lilith who's half Laotian and her dad wanting her to meet his side of the family. That's happening tomorrow. Perhaps getting sick suddenly would be the ideal way to deal with meeting a family of Nazis. This is her first time meeting her dad's family so we are expecting her to hate them immensely and the day to be awkward or they will make her their new leader. Who knows, maybe they'll be completely normal and fun and we'll have a good time. Following the catch phrase of this Asia Term, things change.
    Happy Nothing Happened to Jesus Saturday!! When we realized it was Easter it was a major shock. There aren't bunnies and eggs everywhere like usual.

Picture Count: 48

Good Evening, Vietnam!!

It has been an exhausting couple days. We had our Vietnamese final, left our host families, and had our closing ceremony. I was more sad then I expected to leave my host family. It was even more of a shock to be shoeless in the shower after a week.

• Thursday
• Woke up to the house completely deserted. Except for the dog it was very quiet. Well, and me walking all over the house practicing Vietnamese. 
• Had lunch with Hostess. She paid for the food, I paid for the desert. Then we sat and watched the others wait for me. It was funnier than it should have been. 
• Took our Vietnamese spoken and written final. Even though I did horrendously bad on the spoken part I had the best pronunciation in the class (minus Drexler) and an average score. I think she was being generous. 
• After the test I was supposed to go with my host student. Instead, I was cornered by this girl who asked strange questions and then this really creepy guy showed up out of the blue (it honestly felt planned). He started off asking me about how I do group projects. This should have been my cue to get a hold of Hostess and get out of there but I was too nice and stayed there for another twenty minutes of answering reasonable but ultimately weird questions. Eventually I texted Hostess my location and she came to get me. They talked in Vietnamese and then Hostess became my knight in shining armor. She told me that when she walked up they didn't believe she was my host sister (the girl didn't understand the word 'host' and thought I was talking about my sister, so she asked if Hostess was actually Vietnamese) so Hostess very politely asked if she could take me away. She told me they were talking about me as if I was there God. Apparently, the guy is a second year student who is famous for being creepy so the Vietnamese students will know who I am attempting to describe.
• The day got much much much better after that encounter. We went to a cat cafe where you drink coffee and pet cats. We went in the girl cat's room first. This was a mistake since everyone knows boy cats are so much better. You had to buy the girl cat's attention with milk or a toy and the cat who eventually settled with us would not let me take pictures for free (I started calling them cat prostitutes). Plus, there was a bunch of loud and obnoxious high schoolers who treated the cats in a way that would have gotten you removed from my house in the blink of an eye if you attempted it. The boys room was much better. Less people and more welcoming cats. The kitten in the room curled up on my lap and Hostess made friends with a fluffy black and white cat with green eyes. Too bad we had to leave so she could go to evening classes again.
• Fast forward to after she came back and ate dinner. We went to pick up my ao dai via taxi since she was feeling sick. I said I could have driven us there. Her response was "I have thought about how I want to die. That is not the way I want to go." My ao dai is gorgeous. It barely needed any adjustments and I could take it home right away. So I put it on for my host mother. Two things always go with ao dai's: high heels and push up bras. She said I needed both, but otherwise I looked 15 years old (which is her way of saying I looked young and sweet).
• Said good bye to my host mother. She didn't really get what I was saying at first but then expressed her wish that we would meet again one day. I told her I was never coming back to Vietnam because the boys here are so creepy. I also taught her the word flip flops. 
• Friday
• Again woke up to the empty house. Spent some time saying good bye to the house. And the cat. And the dog. It was really sad and too soon I had to leave. I read O'Henry while I waited for everyone else to arrive. Thankfully I found a secluded spot so my followers couldn't find me. 
• Chipette and Hostess did not arrive till half way through the closing ceremony. Scared me a bit but everything went better than expected. I wore my ao dai for my performance and for the rest of the day. Chipette and I performed "Good Time" by Owl City ft. Carly Rae Jepson. Everyone said I looked amazing. Hostess started crying when she was asked about her feelings on the trip and I would have joined in as well if it weren't for Deanna. Instead I told the volunteers that I'm sorry that I'm shy and didn't get to know you all better because you all seem very fun and welcoming so thank you for sharing Vietnam with us. 
• Unlike other years it was only the American students who went to the farewell dinner (which makes no sense!!) We went to a tourist trap buffet (a very high class buffet) which served every kind of Asian food imaginable. The highlights were tiny crabs, snails, and bird soup (some pieces still had the head). I had all three. And some other tasty things like burned your calf salad. Seriously, that's what it was called. I was bursting out of my ao dai by the end of it.
• I really miss my host family already. There will be no more extra servings of vegetables, no more motorbike rides, no more at home Vietnamese lessons. Actually, the last one isn't that sad. Vietnam has been an up and down ride but a memorable one. 

A statue of Ho Chi Minh at the museum dedicated to him

Ninh Binh bay, if you get tired you can row with your feet

Rubbing the monk's statue's feet, hands and bellie's for good luck

Pray to this Buddha for good luck in money. I had my picture taken in front of him 

The artist making a Vietnamese soldier out of colored rice paste

Me with the boy kitten. 

My pig made out of rice paste. Left it with my host family as I don't think it's meant for traveling

My bed with the mosquito net on it

Cat and John/Thu. Those are there names. 

Me in my ao dai with Hostess. One of the few not photo bombed pictures.

Picture count: 48

"Please, Eat the Telephone"

    Hostess had an early class this morning so we were supposed to be at school by seven. It was very cold out but that didn't stop me from trying to sleep in the French quarter of the school. Right as I was dozing off, "Excuse me!!" had me jumping up to see a student standing over me. I thought he was going to tell me to move when he asked "Are you sleepy??" Well, let's see. I was lying down with my head on my purse as a pillow with my eyes closed in a secluded area. Yes was the answer. "Are you from America??" "Yes." "Do you study here??" No, I flew all the way to Vietnam just to pretend I was a hobo. "Yes." Then he just walked away. Probably the strangest encounter I've had this trip where there was talking involved. Then, since my host mother is worried I don't eat enough, I bought something else for breakfast. It was cold and vanilla flavored. Karen laughed at me when she saw what I was eating. 

    Instead of having a day off like we were supposed to (grumble grumble) we had to come in to make rice paste sculptures. The guy did not speak any English but what he created was some of the most amazing art work I have ever seen. First there was a dragon, then a phoenix and then a Vietnamese soldier. It's called 'to he' for anyone that wants to look it up. There are probably some pronunciation marks. He taught us how to make something resembling a rose and then a pig. The pig is much easier on the eyes than the rose is, except for the caterpillar I tried to put on the stem turned into an alien worm. The Vietnamese think it is an eel. Maybe it's time to give up on art, especially after the bunny mask. I got to take the dragon home, Alessa took the phoenix and Lilith took the soldier. Turns out we're going to Laos then Cambodia so we get to meet Lilith's family Saturday. Hooray. I am filled with so much joyful anticipation. Sally was around our group today because her and Niko had plans but he was very late. So much awkwardness. 

    I was treated to a facial today by Hostess. She knows the woman who does them very well so they chatted away in Vietnamese about her baby. Because of the early morning and the soft bed, I spent most of the time there sleeping. After we were done we had to wear face masks all the way home to protect our delicate skin. Hostess laughed at me because I wore it long after I could take it off. 

    I was left home with the mother and brother since Hostess had extra classes tonight. The mother told me I could use the laptop as much as I wanted since she doesn't speak very good English. Instead, I had her help me learn how to say the time in Vietnamese. I also tried to help with the cooking but she declined. Probably a smart idea looking at my skills in the kitchen. We talked a bit about our families and my picky eating habits (she thought I loved fish and mushrooms) but then it was dinner time and Hostess came home earlier than was expected so host family dinner night!! Eating with everyone is fun since the mom keeps trying to convince her kids to trick me into eating more food or count how many ladles of soup I put in my bowl. After dinner the water was turned off. Again. They are hoping it will be back by morning and I hope so too since washing dishes becomes such a chore. Plus, they are willing to wash my clothes here. Free laundry!! 

At dinner the mom keeps asking me to wish her a good meal in Vietnamese. This is usually left to the youngest person so I don't know why she wants me to do it, especially since she has to reteach it to me every time. Today  I started making up sounds which sounded like telephone in Vietnamese. So I asked my host mom to please eat the telephone. 

    Hostess tried to help me study for my Vietnamese test tomorrow. We looked over the worksheets that the teacher gave me. We did not learn 90% of what is on them. And it turns out that the teacher has been teaching us some weird pronunciations and old fashioned ways of saying things. Even not knowing what we had learned when Hostess looked over the sheets she knew there was no way we could answer the questions on our own. So not even studying will help me now. 

Picture Count: 45

Hey, Who Turned Out The Lights??

    Woke up very early today because it was so hot in my room. The fan was plugged in but not on so it must be broke. Then my hair straightener wouldn't turn on either so it must be the outlet that is broken. When the bathroom light wouldn't turn on it dawned on me the electricity may be turned off. It's pretty obvious which conclusion was correct. The house was noticeably darker without the lights even though we don't use them in the mornings.
    The Museum of Music is a hands on museum. Which means everyone got to play with the drums and some other random instruments lying around. I was able to show off my percussion skills which actually amazed people for once. That usually doesn't happen. It was a nice change. The museum wasn't English speaking people friendly and there was no room in the budget for the volunteers to come with so our Vietnamese teacher came and translated for us. During the trip I noticed that the guide would give this long speech in Vietnamese and we would only get a sentence or two. One instrument sounded very beautiful but would suddenly sound like it needed a doctor and that's what one tribe uses to court people. Another looked like a boat and was hit with a stick on the inside and the rim to make noise. I was good at that one, to everyone's surprise.
    In Vietnam they drink sugar cane juice. They put the stick of sugar cane into a juicer multiple times and out comes the juice. The vendor then puts it in a bag with a litle straw and a rubber band around it so it doesn't spill easily. When we leave on Saturday I will miss this concoction greatly.
    The review session today was horrible. I think most of us have accepted we don't konw much Vietnamese and have little chance of learning it by Thursday. The teacher is a bit scared of me because I ask many questions and get her off topic. It would have been really nice if we had a crash course on Vietnamese culture like we did with Thai culture. One on food would have been helpful as well.
    After school I had a mini practice session with Chipette, the student I am performing a duet with for the gala. The problem is that she has a low voice and I have a high voice while the male singer is right in the middle of our ranges so neither of us can hit the notes just right. I also realized I have nothing to wear since my ao dai may not be ready in time. If it isn't there is no way I will be able to pick it up before we leave. Thankfully the electricity came back on during the rehearsal and the water has been restored as well. It was so nice to take a normal shower this evening.
    Had a mishap at dinner over the fish sauce. No one told me it was fish sauce. This wasn't Thailand fish sauce either because Thai fish sauce is made from fish but it doesn't taste like fish. What I put in my mouth was straight up fishy. The other thing was that you dip plain bean sprouts into it or eat them without the sauce. Sometimes Vietnamese cooking is so weird!! I have to remember not to put random things in my mouth but it will not be easy.

Picture Count:

A Moped Built for Two

    My Hostess is worried about me not seeing enough temples for my independent project so this morning we left early to visit a local temple. Which was closed. So instead I arrived at school early and got to listen to Deanna's story of woe. She rarely complains about anything so if she is upset by something, there is definite good reason for it. Last week her host student copped out the night before we were supposed to stay with our families. She ended up staying at Sally's house for the first two nights and slept over with Alessa last night. With good reason. Sally has five cats and no litter boxes so they go to the bathroom everywhere and everyone sleeps on the floor and the house is very small so they sleep close together. Except the little sister who kept trying to sleep on Deanna. Everyone at the house was rude to her and she was too upset to go back to Sally's house on Sunday so she went home with her original host sister and hopefully I will not see Sally anytime soon or else I will be very cross with her.
    Some of the students from the college gave us a presentation on Agent Orange. In a nut shell, this was the US trying to destroy the forests of Vietnam using dioxin which causes cancer and birth defects. There are a few places around Vietnam that are set up to deal with the children born to parents who have been infected with dioxin but the government doesn't provide enough funding and the US refuses to acknowledge they are responsible for this so they don't have to pay. One of the things I am noticing in most of the classes we visit is that only one or two of the students respond when we ask questions but the rest of the class is talking to each other.
    In the elevator today Lilith, Deanna, Donna and I were about to ride up to the room. Then mischievousness struck.When you get out of an elevator it is a common prank to push all the other buttons. Instead, I pushed all the buttons on the way up to our floor. Deanna and Donna took it as a joke but you could feel the loathing rolling off Lilith in waves so much it scared the others. I am not sad to say it made me happy to make her angry. I am a terrible person, but she is worse. One story the host students keep talking about often is how when Lilith showed up at her host's house she asked for potato chips. When none were given she asked to be taken to the bar. Now that she has gone back to the hotel today the girl said her parents are much happier and she is telling everyone she survived. I wish I could meet that host and shake her hand for how well she handled Lilith.
    During class our teacher taught us some songs (instead of teaching us Vietnamese). Drexler is firm that we all perform together.Problem is I'm already in two acts and possibly a third. He won't listen to me so I feel some spontaneous interpretive dancing while be done during the song.
    After school my host student gave ma a lesson on riding her moped around (I was wearing a helmet the whole time)!! It was so difficult and nerve wracking. Then she climbed on the back so I had to balance with two people driving around in a not deserted area while trying not to kill her engine. I lasted about ten minutes. She says that I am good but not a genius at it. As a reward she bought me strawberry jam and bread. We're giving it another shot in a few days. We also visiting a temple where there was a statue of a woman everywhere. Hostess couldn't explain it so she looked it up for me when we returned to her house. The temple is devoted to one of the most famous woman followers of Buddhism who was made into a god after her last life. Vietnamese people would know who I am talking about. You could tell that even though it was a small temple it was rich because of the ponds and the plants everywhere. The nuns there wanted to be helpful as well.
    On the way back home we passed an old woman sitting by the road and because Hostess is so sweet she turned around and bought all the fruit the woman was selling. You should be wearing jeans to eat this because you rub it against jeans very lightly to get rid of the bumps on the outside. It's very sour so Vietnamese people put salt on it to make it sweeter. Strange thing is it actually works.
    The water is still turned off so cooking and washing dishes has become harder than before. Plus, the brother showed his real colors today and they are not pretty. I'm thankful my Hostess is so nice. We ate duck for dinner and the mom gave me my own separate bowl of vegetables. It's strange to be mothered again. Really sure I don't like it. Don't get me wrong, she is very nice, even tried to help me with some Vietnamese homework (She doesn't speak much English but she made it make more sense than the teacher does). The dog is used to me as well so I can be out in the yard when he is out. He is such a sweet heart .I had to run downstairs a little bit ago for some water and when I closed the refridgerator I noticed the largest spider I have ever seen outside a zoo, about as big as my hand. Had to stop myself from running up the stairs and into my room it freaked me out so much.
    I have been recieving a lot of spam from Anonymous comments lately so I've been forced to remove that option but thank you for 100+ pageviews today!!
Picture Count: 45
Lizard Count: 24                    Saw one on the wall of a temple. First sighting in Vietnam.

Temple Run

    One of the best mornings yet. I got to sleep in till nine, even though I was up at eight. Our morning and the beginning of the afternoon was taken up by the Vietnamese/American meal with the host and some volunteer students. The American side made mac and cheese and smores while the Vietnamese made spring rolls, cucumber and some sticky desert with sugar water on the inside. I could tell that everyone liked the Vietnamese food more. They don't eat much cheese here nor do they like sugar so I guess it makes sense but it still hurt that they didn't like the way we made the food of our people.
    After we left my Hostess took me to get an ao dai made (the d is pronounced like a z. This is why I will fail Vietnamese!!). It was a long process just for a shirt and pants, plus many ridiculous moments as they had me try on different ones that were brightly colored with loose lime green pants. I resembled a clown. You have to choose between short, medium or long sleeves, collar or no collar, if yes collar how high should it be, length of the shirt, whether or not you will wear heels with it, and whether or not you will wear a push-up bra under it (it was recommended that I did). After those decisions are made comes the fabric picking for the shirt and the pants. I don't want to reveal too much but the pattern is very fall like. I'm just hoping it fits after I loose all this Asia term weight.
    Finally got to see some local temples. My Hostess took me to see the temple of love and money (though in the story of the temple it is more about fertility). Then we went to one that was by her house, although they were setting up for a performance. I was insulted there by an old man following us around to make sure we didn't steal anything and a woman coming up to us and scolding us for not wearing long sleeves at the temple.  That visit was kept short. We were supposed to go to eight temples today but between the meal lasting so long and the shopping it was shortened to two.
    Riding on the back of my Hostess' moped is much easier than I expected it to be. After the first ride I didn't need to hold on to her anymore and can balance on my own. In Hanoi, because there is so much traffic, you need to wear a face mask. It's a cross between a surgery mask and what you wear to protect your mouth when skiing. Very hot but effective. I definitely want one for when I take after my uncle and get a motorcycle.
    Spent the rest of the night hanging out around the house. I am trying to make friends with the cat but she is wary of me still. I spent some time talking with the mom. The mosquitoes have found me again and again so she is trying to convince me to switch rooms but I like the room I am staying in. Because I won't change I am now forced to use this grotesque pink mosquito net. It looks like a see through tent. But I cannot get bitten anymore so I have to use it. Oh well.

Picture Count: 44

I Am a Superstar!!

    Since I asked to see temples my host sister's very close friend's family took me to Ninh Binh (pronounced Ning Bing). The largest temple in South Asia is there and because I said Hai Long bay is beautiful they wanted to challenge it with the scenery at Ninh Binh.
    The morning started at 5:30. Just getting up, didn't have to be on the road till six. But the family was running late so Hostess and I stopped for breakfast. Not an American breakfast. We were on the road by 6:30, which is when all of Hanoi is usually up and going. It was a two hour drive so I caught up on some sleep. The friend's little sister was with us. and talked all day long.
    Our first stop was a ride around the lake system there. I was stuck next to the kid the whole time who acted exactly like you would expect a kid to act. I am really not a kid person so those few hours were torture. The scenery was stunning, little temples hidden away, plenty of caves that we rode through. The whole trip took about three hours and by then I wanted to throw myself overboard just so I would have enough room to be comfortable. The rower would often hit me in the back so you cannot sit far back on the seat. You cannot sit too close to the edge or the balance will be off and stretching your legs out fully (if you're a giant like I am) is out of the question.
    We ate lunch after that. It was an all meat meal. An all goat meat meal. The province we were in is famous for it's goat meat. Depending on how it was prepared most of it was delicious. Discovered that onions are delicious since they were on the plate 3 out of 5 times. Passed out from too much food for a bit then
    After the nap we went to the temple. I think they were very happy to have a foreigner with them since many of the vendors who normally crowd around selling random items backed off when they saw me.Mostly everyone called me pretty as I walked by. The temple was far from where we were forced to park so we took an electric car up. Then came the walking. This temple is mostly stairs. Flights and flights of stairs. So many stairs. It never ended. You could touch the statues of monks as you went by for good luck. Even though the temple was new and still being built, the statues were well worn on the knees, feet, hands and bellies.
    The family made an offering to the Buddha. We prayed and wished for good things. Got lost/separated from the group. People asked to take pictures with me. One guy had me pose and then some other people joined in without asking. Turns out the first guy worked at the temple taking photographs of people for money but he took mine to put up as an example. By the time we left it was night and we had a long drive ahead of us. We were taken out to dinner by the family (I was saying thank you all day Mom) and they fed me even after I said no more.

Picture Count: 43

They Keep Feeding Me Fish!!

    Okay, posts from now on are going to be weird and shorter. I am currently staying with my host family who does not have wifi and it doesn't matter because I forgot my computer cord at the hotel. Bit of a dumb moment, but oh well. The other thing is the computer writes in Vietnamese. It's currently telling me all I have written is wrong. Getting a bit annoying actually. The internet at the hotel went out last night so I will try to write about both days.

• Thursday
• Visited some more with the students at the college. Received more gifts and free candy. I seriously will not need to purchase any souvenirs will here because of those students. 
• Ended up eating lunch with the Drexlers again because everyone left me while I was using the bathroom. They ordered me an egg sand which and regaled me with tales of Asia terms past. 
• For our afternoon field trip we visited one of the most famous pottery villages around Hanoi. We all tried to make something using a potter's wheel. Some of us succeeded. I was one of those people. For once I knew what it was like to be acceptable at art. While the creations were kilned (I really do not remember the proper word at the moment) our guides took us around the village (to a market, a 'gallery' and to the edge of the Red River. Slightly disappointed it was not actually red). 
• Then came the painting of the pottery. For those who had something to paint. I was again allowed into this elite group once again. Turns out I created one of the most interesting works there. I was originally going to make it all black but then I added a red stripe. Then some lime green. A line of purple around the bottom of the pot. Then it was perfect. Too bad it will probably fall apart before we get back to Thailand. 
• Barbara's leaving for home next week when we leave for Cambodia so we ate at the Indian restaurant one last time for a good-bye party. Found out they have lamb korma on the menu. It was a good meal, very sad to see her go since Drexler will have no adults to be with.
• Realized at dinner that I needed a host gift for the next day. The Winos were off on a hunt for flowers. Thanks to my excellent directions we found this random shop. We all bought the same bouquet and then he let three of them tie their own ribbons on. Dissatisfied with their work, he redid them. The whole time he was taking pictures of us and even took one as we were walking away
• Friday
• Tried to wake up bright and early so I could finish packing for our host stay. Instead, I woke up twenty minutes before we were supposed to be downstairs. And the guides were early. Insert potty mouth word here. 
• Our field trip today was to see Ho Chi Minh's (Thanks American education for not teaching me about this guy) mausoleum, houses, and museum. The body is there but people are only allowed to see it on the weekend and they need permission to do so. The entire area around his houses were covered in trees because he wanted his people to breath cleaner air. Whenever he visited somewhere he would plant a tree there. 
• There is an entire museum dedicated to him and trust me when I say it blew most American museums away. It was a mix of modern art and history and visually stunning. My pictures barely begin to capture it. One of the hard moments was when there was a plaque talking about the destruction to the North caused by the invading Americans. A new experience being put in the bad-guy position. 
• We were taken to a 'restaurant' by our guides. We went down a long, dark, creepy corridor, up some steps and into this family's living room which was filled with mini tables and chairs for customers to eat at. It was a new experience all around but not a very comfy one. The food they served looked like a crispy omelet (the folded in half ones, not the log looking ones) with bean spouts and some meat stuffed in between. Then we were given bowls full of greens and finally rice paper. Turns out you mixed all of these ingredients and made them into a spring roll. The bad thing was that the meat was actually prawns. Stopped my appetite (which was rather large since missing breakfast and walking around all morning) right in it's tracks. Then they brought out some brown hot dog looking things on sticks which replaced the crispy omelet. This was fishy (literally) so one bite and done. 
• Had extra time before class so Deanna, Karen, and I went back to the strange dessert place from a few days ago. Tried something else, still delicious. Had to take it to go instead because the place was so hopping. 
• A stressful lesson today. I really don't know how to explain what I learned but I ended up asking more questions than normal (which is a lot) and eventually Drexler had to explain multiple Vietnamese grammar points that make zero sense.
• Went home with our host students today for our home stay. But first, my student and I had to pick up groceries for Sunday's meal. She took me to their version of Costco, but it wasn't as big. Picked up everything for Mac and Cheese and Smores. Hopefully we won't run out of ingredients. 
• First time riding on a moped. In the crazy traffic that is Hanoi. With a super heavy back pack on and groceries. Never been more scared in my life. 
• My family seems very nice. They are going to make me gain 50 pounds before I leave here between the giant feasts at every meal and the massive amounts of sugar they keep around the house (I will never miss ice cream while I am here). They have a dog who hates girls between 19-25 and strangers. Not going to try with that one. Then there's a cat who seems scared of everything but has a love affair with shoes. They served me calf meat (I don't remember the correct name for it) for dinner. 

Picture Count: 38

Please Sir, I'd Like Some More.

    Bit of an awkward morning, you'll understand as you keep reading. Our morning started off with Sally the Vietnamese student coming in to get us since they showed up 10 minutes early. The field trip today was to the Vietnam military museum detailing all the conflicts that have happened in Vietnam. We started out with the Chinese invasion and 1000 year occupation of Vietnam. The Chinese fell for the same navel tactic twice which the student explaining all this to me found that fact funny. Then we got separated from the main group and went off on our own adventure. We ended up in the American-Vietnamese war section of the museum. The students asked me how much I knew about the war and what my opinion of it was. One of the students said her Grandma hates Americans because of that war and I told her my Grandma is the same about the Japanese because of WWII. Side note: I FINALLY TALKED TO THE STUDENTS TODAY!! The room filled with memorabilia from the Vietnamese-American war interestingly had no English translation of any of the signs. Everything was either French or Vietnamese. Guess they did not think any Americans would visit that room. 

    We finally caught up with the rest of the group and climbed a guard tower. Originally we were told that we could climb to the top but we could only go half-way. Then we were lead over to where there was the remains of an American ship that had been shot down during the war. This field trip did get a tad bit uncomfortable at times. 

    Then the students took us out for what they called meatballs and noodles. These were the flattest meatballs I've ever had. We were crammed into one room for the meal. After we got back to the school some of us went out for desert. Weirdest thing I have ever eaten. It was coconut milk with caramel plan and a whole bunch of jelly things thrown on top of it. There's a picture below but the weird crunchy stuff is still on top. It was good but I know I never would have ordered it if the Vietnamese students had not recommended it. 

    We had another lecture on Vietnamese art today. This time it covered pottery, paintings and singing. Interesting thing from the lecture was that the older generation of Vietnam doesn't care for artwork like the younger generation does. We watched a video of an old woman who passed away last year who was the last person in Vietnam who still performed a certain style of singing and became famous for it. She was a little too open about her story but that also came out in her songs. One thing I forgot from yesterdays lecture: Vietnamese people are more comfortable with peeing in the streets than they are kissing in public. Quite the contrast from home. 

    After school Deanna was supposed to meet with her host sister but the student wasn't there to meet her. So after a few moments deliberation Drexler  left her with enough for a cab fare back and took us home. Since it's not on the schedule but is highly recommended on every tourist site Karen, Donna, and I went to see the Vietnamese water puppets. It was completely different from what I was expecting and much better. The performance was only 50 minutes but it was very entertaining. 

    For dinner we had a cultural experience. One I am not willing to repeat again. We were wandering around looking for somewhere to grab a bite when we noticed a busy restaurant and a guy beckoning us over to him so we caved in to his call. It was a completely different restaurant style than anything we have done. You ordered up front but they put the food on a tray to take to your table and they kept trying to give you more. Then you paid. Next you located a table. Finally you got your food and we had little to no idea what we had ordered. Karen had already eaten so she nibbled on bits and pieces of dishes but that was good since they had given us a feast. The food was different from what we might have normally ordered at a sit down restaurant with a menu and time to make a good decision which was a good thing. Not going there or to another restaurant like it again though. It was pretty pricey even though we ordered a feast. 

Our first look at Ha Long Bay. 

The fishing village. Well, part of it. 

The sunset. Very lucky to get this shot, the sun disappeared less than a minute after I took it. 

The view from the pagoda we climbed to.

A different view from the pagoda

Yet another view from the pagoda!!

The boat we spent a night on

I swear this will not kill you. The students had us decorate a mask and after we left the students... added to it. It's getting painted over. Right now it's hidden from sight to prevent children crying. That's Karen wearing it. She didn't want to take it off.

A mural with Ho Chi Minh in the middle that depicts the major battles the Vietnam has been in.

Tried to take a picture of this mural. Oh well.

American pilots carried this with them in case they were shot down in battle. It basically says "I am an American soldier and cannot speak your language. Please take me somewhere safe and you will be rewarded by my government."

Some of the planes in the museum. Not sure if they were shot down or what happened to them

The remains of a US fighter plane after being shot down

The crazy desert

The water puppet stage

A picture during the performance (I now understand why American theaters don't allow flash photography, it's really annoying)

Some of the puppets up close.

Donna and I with our feast. I'm still not sure how we were able to eat so much of it. We had stir fried beef (I think), cold chicken, those things that look like egg rolls tasted kind of like yellow cake batter but not as good, and stuffed tomatoes.

Picture Count: 32

Vietnam For Dummies

    The first week here the hotel had amazing Wifi. Every floor had it's own connection and if yours failed you could connect to another one in a few clicks. Last night the internet went on a holiday to Russia and just came back today, good as new. That is why I could not post last night.
    The last two days have been the same, which makes this post easier to do. Our day has been divided between culture classes done by the Vietnamese students in the morning and language classes in the afternoon.
     I have learned about traditional Vietnamese art (painting, pots, silk, edible rice sculptures, and masks) and have received a traditional painting (which is more like wood block printing) of a child riding a water buffalo. I also have a New Years envelope with lucky money in it, a creepy as hell bunny mask (it didn't look creepy when I was done with it but then a student randomly painted on it with orange and I'm repainting it as soon as possible), and an adorable wind chime. Really love the wind chime the most, hoping it makes it back to America in one piece.
    The students gave us multiple presentations on Vietnamese New Years, which happened a month ago. We were given traditional New Years food and shown what to do if we were ever in Vietnam for New Years. This is the biggest celebration of the year for them. When asked what people do for New Years I replied "Get drunk." Because that is really what New Years seems to be about in America. Another question was "What traditional songs does America have?" My answer was we don't really have traditional songs (minus children songs and Happy Birthday) but songs that have lasted like Michael Jackson's or The Beatles's or/Elvis' songs. Or Britney Spears because her old songs are very popular here. Another student was offended when I said I hated Justin Bieber.
    The students all seem really nice but while everyone else in the group is connecting with them I really am not. I was looking forward to meeting new people but they kind of attack like a hoard and it's more than a bit intimidating. So I have asked to have a student take me around to some of Hanoi's temples to work on my independent project.  Hopefully this helps and I don't fall off the back of their motorcycle to my death. Just a worst case scenario.
     Distracted our Vietnamese teacher for a half hour today by asking questions about Vietnamese culture. Things we learned

• They eat any meat. This includes dogs, snakes, horse, monkey, and cats. This does not sit well with me.
• On the other hand, they do not eat insects. 
• If anyone has seen Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, that scene where they bring the monkey heads out, that is an accurate portrayal of how monkeys are eaten here. 
• All Vietnamese believe in ghosts to some degree. When I asked the teacher if she believed she said she did not, but after telling a story about a ghost she looked unsettled. 
• The Vietnamese have their own zodiac. It's like the Chinese one but the rabbit has been replaced with the cat.
• Many of the trees around Hanoi are painted white near the base. Turns out it's a insecticide. I thought it was some sort of religious thing.
• Villages do revere big trees as having spirits inside them.

    We had dinner at a friend of Drexler and Barbara's house tonight. Drexler has raved about her cooking since before we left Thailand and he was right to. She showed us all how to make egg rolls and then served us the ones we made. They were pretty tasty except for being stuffed to the brim with shrimp. Then we were served beef and noodles. We thought dinner was done after that but no, we had another course of beef and noodles after that. We were all so stuffed by that point., I had to take off my belt. The couple wanted us to stay late but the Drexler's wanted to head back and we waddled out to the taxis. 

There's a basic summary of the past few days. We had some drama from Lilith, ate so much food, answered some really difficult questions about how America works, and had pictures taken a lot. 

Picture Count: 30              This is a rough estimate since I lost count with all the sneak photographers. 

Stair Master

    Spent last night on a boat. Never realized how much I missed being on the water till then. The break from Vietnam was rather nice, although I'm noticing a huge difference between the Thais and the Vietnamese: If you're learning Vietnamese language the Vietnamese try to teach it to you and get you excited about Vietnam. One of the phrases our tour guide insisted we learn was "I love Vietnam." Thai people think you're adorable for learning a few phrases of their language.
    Thank you all for the 1000 pageviews. Reached it while I was gone but it means a lot to me, especially since I thought only my mother would be reading it.

• Saturday
• Left by eight to get to the bay. Instead of the usual vans we rode in a huge comfy bus for three and a half hours. The road had plenty of pot holes and the driver would randomly slam on the brakes but most of us slept the whole way there. Except for this rest stop which was more of a tourist trap. The outside was littered with the most random statues, some realistic ones (like fish, bears, children), others abstract, and some religious ones. By religious I mean Buddhist. Really wanted to buy one and send it home. While it was neat to see the people making the paintings in front of you, everything there could be bought for much less in Hanoi. Still didn't stop me from purchasing some ice cream. 
• Our guide met us exactly where our bus stopped. A bit creepy. We almost immediately got on the boat and were served lunch. This was no ordinary lunch, this was a five course lunch. I can't even remember all the things we had but a food coma was pretty imminent. I ate fish for a meal and since it was so fresh it went down well. I normally can't eat fish because of the smell/taste of it and because it still looks like a fish. This was disguised well and 
• Instead I went kayaking. Around a fishing village. And almost kayaked out to sea. Then ran into a rock. It was fun but I was so focused on keeping the kayak moving I didn't get to see much of the village. Except to notice they had a lot of dogs there. 
• When we got back on the boat we headed to a good swimming spot. All of us had some trouble getting in the water at first but once you jumped in it wasn't as much of a big deal. Minus the fact the salt water was freezing and Niko got stung by something on his butt, but the crew swore there weren't any jellyfish in the bay. After we got out my hair dried into River Song hair. I was tempted to go around saying "Hello, Sweetie" but no one would have gotten my reference.  
• Another huge meal for dinner. Our guide never ate with us but served us.
• Went fishing after dinner. No one was successful with the hooks (except me because I got a nibble from a squid which was more than anyone else got and Donna caught a jellyfish which proved the crew wrong!) but a few things were caught in the net. 
• Donna and I took a break from each other for a night. I roomed with Karen while she and Deanna were together. Things seem to be better between us, probably just too much togetherness. 
• Sunday
• Another early morning. The night before we had decided to go to a pagoda overlooking the bay instead of descending down into a cave. What no one said was that it was 424 stairs to the pagoda and even then it was a nice view. All of us made it to the top, even though we were in dresses and flip flops. Again. It was the waterfall all over again except this time there were actual stairs. 
• Did a polar bear dip after clambering back down. Barbara took a picture of us. Watched Drexler try to talk to Lilith about some issues that she has been causing but we watched their body language get more and more closed so it was probably not successful. 
• Jumped back on the boat to check out of our rooms and grab brunch. Their bacon was so juicy and wonderful!! After breakfast we tried to have a discussion on the book but our tour guide kept interrupting Papa Duck to talk to him or us about stuff. Never seen someone get on Drexler's bad side so quickly. Then he hitched a ride with us back to Hanoi, even though Drexler tried to leave him behind. 
• When we got back Donna and I spent six hours lounging around our room. We have yet to regret it. Made up for it by going to a random sit in restaurant and ordering something different. There was a chihuahua there who was very nervous about all the people. When we got back we found the elevator out of order. More stairs!! My thighs are telling me how out of shape I am!!

    I would have uploaded pictures but they will probably be on next time's post. They are mostly landscapes with mountains barely discernible from the fog surrounding them. Kinda boring. 

Picture Count: 11 

A Gray Day

    Really getting tired of these early morning field trips. A new batch of perky Vietnamese students who started in on their usual questions right away. "Can you count to ten in Vietnamese?? Can I take picture?? Can I have your Facebook?? Have you eaten any Vietnamese food yet??" It would be nice if they had different questions every once in a while. We visited the Ethnology museum which was very museum like. On the inside. There was a huge park filled with various Vietnam minorities houses which were donated to the museum.The first one was huge and required us to climb a ladder/stairs hybrid to the porch. The way up was easy, the way down was difficult. The next one was a long house with another interesting ladder. Breasts are not considered sexual in most Asian cultures and that held true for this hill tribe. The long house came from a matriarchal society so the male ladder was off to the side of the porch while the women's ladder was in the middle. In case you couldn't figure this out, the female ladder had a pair of breasts on it which were somewhat helpful when getting on and off the ladder.

    Next we were subjected to a test of balance by walking across a bamboo stick with a string at one end so it shook very often and was incredibly difficult to get across. Karen and Lilith got the farthest and received Mentos as a prize. I got style points for getting my feet on the opposite side of the bamboo they were supposed to be on, almost like an anti-split.
    We were ushered back to school by the students. Had lunch with the ducklings minus Alessa. Lilith was her usual charming self while eating. It resembled the Beast during the breakfast scene from Beauty and the Beast. Actually made me forget what I was talking about mid sentence. The Winos hung out in the school hang out spot till class started. Some of us read, one used her book as a pillow and a played pinball on my iPod. Started to rain a bit but it was still nice to just sit outside. There was a dance practice going on around us which was very fun to watch.
    Forced back to Vietnamese language class. The only good thing is that we only have a few more lessons with her. She is making me really dislike Vietnam and miss Thailand more and more. She seems like a nice person but her teaching style is really hard to follow because of the high context culture that Vietnam is. She assumes too much and understands English too little.
    After returning from the school I received an angry message from my host student saying that I needed to respond to her when she messaged me. She thought that we were coming to live with our host families this Sunday and needed to know when to pick me up. However, we are going there next Friday and her supervisors were trying to schedule something with her. It has made me wary of going there in a week. Might be staying for only a few nights instead of the week I was planning to.
    Went out for dinner and ice cream with Donna. Almost went for a walk around the lake but we decided against it. Our exercise was to cross the busiest street by us multiple times. The people here automatically assume every foreigner here is American or speaks English. They call out "Hello!" when we pass by. So I am pretending to be a French tourist and not understand hello. So far it hasn't worked.
    Just received some bad news. The people I thought I might live with next year asked someone else to live with them. This ruins my plans for next year and leaves me in an awkward homeless position. Plus it's 2 AM and Donna just got off the phone with her brother after an hour long call. I really wanted to yell at her or throw her phone out the window.
    Not been the best day of the trip for sure. Hopefully tomorrow will be better since we'll be on a lake for our first weekend trip here. There won't be a post tomorrow but there will be one Sunday for sure. Hopefully with pictures, I can't find someplace here that sells batteries.

Picture Count: 11

When We Met Sally

• Wednesday
• Slept in because we had nothing till 10. The only time in the next few weeks this will be possible. As much as I love being here, I miss being able to have a morning or two a week to sleep in. We discussed our book. Technically it's prose poetry but it's still an interesting read since most Westerners would have no idea what the characters are talking about most of the time. 
• We were invited to have lunch at one of the teachers houses. I was really scared that we were going to be served dog but instead we got shrimp cakes made out of sticky rice (they call those cakes over here), beef salad, pork noodle soup and grapes. We all wanted to slip into a food coma afterwards but we had to go on a field trip. 
• Our guides met us right by the teachers house and we rode in the van with them. Most of us started talking with them, Niko was very excited to find out one of them was studying German since he speaks it 'fluently'. We went on a tour of the old district in stretch golf carts and part of the way through the trip the Winos' cart got a flat tire and we had to wait for a replacement vehicle to show up. The girls we were with were very friendly and liked to take our picture. And then get in the picture. Move a few feet and take another picture. It got somewhat tiring. Then we went back to the beginning of the 'tour' and they took us out for cake. Most of us got something in addition to the cake so we were there for some time. One girl just rubbed me the wrong way from the moment I met her and since I can't remember her name I've taken to calling her Sally. 
• Sally found out we had no plans in the evening and made the group take us out for cheese sticks. We were stuffed from lunch and whatever we had consumed at the cafe but the cheese was so good we all got one down. Then our guides convinced us out for karaoke. We went in a cab to a close by karaoke bar and had a bit of cultural shock. Your group gets your own room and you can scream or dance your heart out for as long as you want. I got to show off my Gangnam Style dance skills and sing "Beauty and the Beast." Lilith spend the whole time sitting on the couch glaring at us all.
• After we left the bar they wanted to take us out for food. They didn't give us a choice in the matter. Again we took a taxi to the really close by restaurant where most of us ate these delicious rice pancakes with chicken inside them and shaved shrimp on top. We were finally released but then they suddenly wanted us to split the day long bill. Sally is trying to plan more time with us but I was glad to get away from her. For now.
• One thing I did edit out was how completely disgusting and rude Lilith was today. She actually belched at one of the Vietnamese students. Her behavior ranged from obnoxious to 'I was raised in a cave by monkeys'. The students were very concerned that she wasn't having fun.
• Thursday
• We were dragged out of bed super early to go on yet another field trip. This group was the opposite of yesterday, they didn't want any pictures and at points we were divided into the English speakers and the Vietnamese speakers. They didn't explain where we were going and after we left the first place we visited I was told it was the palace of the King before the French came in and knocked it down. The coolest part was the bomb shelter. Other than that it started raining and all of us were tired and somewhat anti-social. 
• The second place we visited was called the Temple of Literature. One of the landmarks of Hanoi was there, along with many girls in the traditional Vietnamese costume taking pictures. We ran into some other native English speakers and realized how much of an accent different parts of America have. 
• We were brought back to the school and had lunch. Interesting cultural experience: Donna and I ordered ovaltine milkshakes and we got this weird yogurt drink back. Going to avoid that drink next time. Ate all of my meal using chopsticks. Mine was chicken that was still on the bone and steamed rice but I rose to the challenge and completed it. 
• We thought our teacher was a half hour late but we were a half hour early. I have to chug two cups of coffee to stay awake during class because of her teaching style. She seems really nice but I will be glad to be done with Vietnamese as soon as possible. 
• Came back to the hotel and napped for a few hours. Yesterday was definitely more interesting. 

Woman selling goods in the street.

Our lead guide, Deanna and Donna in the backseat of our stretched 'golf cart'.

Caught the Princesses posing in a perfect as we drove by. The girl in front is Sally. 

The ducklings on top of the cafe. It was super bright out so I'm not sure why it looks like the sun is setting. 

Some of Hanoi from the top of the cafe. 

The Winos at the cafe, finishing off some sweets. 

Us at the cheese stick restaurant. They gave you sticks to put the cheese on along with ketchup (a word some of the students didn't know) and chili sauce. Ketchup was more popular.

The first place we went to. This is just the first part, there was more behind it. 

I greatly enjoyed this pot. 

A landmark of Hanoi. The king would sit in the gate and read poetry and philosophy to the people. It was the first school in Vietnam.

They used to write the names of doctors on these tombstones which are on the backs of turtles. The problem is the names are written in Chinese so the young people can't read what it says.

The traditional dress of Vietnam. 

A wishing wall. You write your wish with your finger. I hope it understood English. 

Picture Count: 9                    They may have taken pictures of us today but I didn't notice. 

Teaser

    Today was an intense day. We went so many places, tried new foods and old favorites, finally interacted with some of the Vietnamese students. There was drama, holding hands, high heels, cakes made out of sticky rice with shrimp, and cheese. But I didn't manage my time tonight and now it's almost two in the morning. So no real post tonight, just a teaser of what's to come. There will be pictures tomorrow along with a double day post. Really sorry but I promise a good post tomorrow. On another note this blog is reaching it's 1,000th page view so check in tomorrow so that milestone can be met!!

Picture Count: 9             The students really liked to take pictures of us/with us.

I Don't Do Mornings

    This is the story of how I died. And came back as a zombie. A morning zombie. Recognizable by it craving coffee instead of brains and it's love of beds. I managed a miracle by getting out of bed before 7:30. Even managed to get breakfast before we left. In Vietnam they have this noodle soup called fueng they eat for any meal of the day but we eat it for breakfast. 

    Piled into the three person taxi with Karen and Barbara today. Arrived a good fifteen minutes before the others. It keeps raining/misting here so investing in an umbrella is sounding like an excellent idea as the days keep threatening rain. We started out today with a cultural lesson. Vietnamese people are very touchy, are a high context culture (they believe you know things, even when you have no way of knowing them. America is a low context culture, we provide details to make sure you know everything), and they avoid eye contact most of the time. It explains a lot about when we first met them. Since Americans normally don't like much physical contact (Donna and I almost hate it) we tested out some of the lower levels of Vietnamese contact. It was really awkward to even stand there holding hands for a few seconds or to put our arms around each other. 

    Got Papa Duck to pay for lunch. Lilith and I ordered the same thing but she couldn't eat it because her chopsticks had too much wood peeling off. She was hinting that people should switch chopsticks with her even though we were short on utensils already. Drexler decided to mime an evil beast stealing people's food which Barbara did not approve of. Been having a craving for ice cream the past few days but didn't order any for lunch so Donna and I went to find some somewhere else. Instead of getting a scoop I was given a packaged cone. Helped dull the craving, but satisfaction was unattained. Most of the way there we were stuck behind this group who freaked out a bit when they realized there was foreigners behind them. Then they started staring at us. I am going to start waving at people when they unabashedly stare from now on. Not very Vietnamese, but it breaks the awkward ice. 

    More language class. Today went better since she just focused on numbers for two hours. Better, but not smooth. She started out the lesson by teaching to say where we came from, then gave us a quiz on what we had learned yesterday and during the last five minutes. Deanna and I spent most of our time staring at it. Everything was in Vietnamese and most of us filled out the example problem because of this. The main problem is the teacher doesn't speak much English. She wasn't much better today so I will be heavily relying on help from my host sister to pass this final. Lilith actually passed out multiple times during class. Contemplated throwing my bag of tissues at her. I had almost fallen asleep during the morning lecture but had chugged some coffee and asked plenty of questions to make up for it. She was out cold for about fifteen minutes. Maybe I should do a "how many times does Lilith fall asleep in random places count". 

    Our taxi ride back was awful. The driver took the scenic route (which is over an hour in the traffic at the time) which is longer than the regular route - and  ran the meter for longer. A hundred thousand dong more (don't look shocked, it's 20,000 dong to a dollar) which Drexler wasn't about to pay and led to a show down in the lobby of the hotel. The Drexler's are learning Vietnamese with us because they don't know any and the hotel staff had to be a translator and middle man. From what I saw the hotel worker said to pay him and he did. 

    Donna and I went to an Indian restaurant for dinner. Walked in and there were the Drexlers and Alessa. We decided to sit upstairs so things wouldn't get awkward. They use more tomatoes in the Indian dishes here than at home. My butter chicken was more like chicken tomato soup. Finally got some real ice cream, savored every bite. Since there are no mosquitoes here I can eat as much sugar as I feel like as long as I don't mind the weight gain and acne. 

    A while after getting back Deanna came in for some ranting time. She had gone off with Alessa and Karen during lunch. Alessa took this opportunity to talk. And talk. And talk and talk. Her main subject seemed to be her hunt for white, heelless boots to finish one of her costumes. Donna said that's like the holy grail of boots. 

    I've decided to count how many times people take pictures with/of me. A bit selfish since Deanna and Karen have gotten stopped multiple times already but this will be easier to track.

Pictures taken: 1                      A student stopped Donna and I and asked to take a couple pictures for her video. Not sure if this should count as one photo encounter or three separate photos. 

Aquafuma

    Another first day of school. Thought those would be over once college started. This school doesn't have uniform so we have to figure out outfits every morning again. A difficult task when done before eight in the morning. Sometimes they pick us up early but we still have to be ready to go since they can't just sit around waiting for us. This is going to be our schedule most mornings. Missing Thailand like crazy.
    There are about twenty students for the seven of us from Coe but each of us have a host sister/brother we will spend a minimum of two nights with. My girl's name is Mai, I think. They knew who they had before we arrived and we went in blind. The first girl I talked to said she had me but it turned out to be Alessa. Another girl scared me a bit when she started telling me how much she loved my name and named fictional characters in her video games it. This girl then bonded with Alessa over their weird obsessions. My host sister seems very sweet, she bought me sweet things to snack on during the day (a burrito with coconut and sugar cane inside it and then tofu with sweet water. The first one was better) but also very touchy. This may be an aspect of Asian culture that makes me uncomfortable as an American. It's common for Asian men and women to walk around holding hands but I freaked out when anyone of them invaded my space. Then I observed Mai literally hanging on her friends and calmed down a bit.
    Their campus is imtimidating. University of Chiang Mai was big but it was easy to get around and there was room. This campus is actually multiple campuses in one area, including a high school. We are supposed to eat in the cleaner cafeteria even though 1) the food really isn't that good and 2) there is a cat I've named D.R. Scoundrel. Get it?? I tried petting it but it decided I was a chew toy and scratched up my hand so bad I still have marks almost twelve hours later.
    First lesson of Vietnamese was awful. During our break most of us put our heads down on our desk to take a quick nap because we were falling asleep in class. The teacher doesn't know how to speak English very well and has given us all Vietnamese nicknames because she doesn't want to learn our real names. She lacks a sense of humor which makes this class basically unbearable. Add the fact she freaks out if you mess up the tones (which are different from Thai tones and much more complicated) and I see me asking my host sister for help because I don't want to spend much time with this woman. The Drexler's have never understood Vietnamese so they're no help for the next few weeks. Maybe she was just stressed out because this was the first lesson, or maybe it was because the lesson was three hours long, so I will try not to fall asleep tomorrow but it may take a shot of espresso to help.
    Wandered around with Karen and Deanna for a couple hours after we got sandwiches for dinner. They sell sandwiches everywhere here, usually with pork. This sandwich did not have pork. Deanna guessed it was imitation crab and some other ingredients I didn't want to know what they were. Bought a dress while we were out. I don't really need it and I don't have money to throw around but after today I felt some retail therapy was in order. After I bought it I realized I will be spending some time on motorcycles here and wearing a dress on one is not a good idea. Put a band aid on Donna's and mine relationship, I really have a hard time staying mad at people even when I have a legit reason to be. Found a very interesting children's cartoon which I definitely want to watch again and find out the name of. I believe it was a Canadian cartoon but I'm not 100% sure.
    My host sister gave me some homemade chocolates as a welcome gift. She is the most talented individual I have ever met since she told me the fillings were cream but the first one I bit into was half chocolate half green tea powder. The second one had bits of cherry in it and the third was coffee flavored. All of them are delicious but I will probably be up late now thanks to that third one.
     I'm testing out the "Lost Count" in place of the lizard count. Or I may start counting how many times I hear jing jocks (which is twice). Or how many times I fall asleep in class, though I don't think my mother needs to know that number. For now it will be the number of times I get lost.
    The title comes from the complementary water bottles we get here. It's a play off Aquafina and the label has the Vietnamese flag and the American flag crossing.

Random chicken outside the cafeteria. He was just hanging around, doing chicken stuff but I was so interested in it the girls I was with laughed at me.

I thought this was a dish washing area. Turns out the green liquid in the container is soup. I got laughed at again.

Some of the students I will be spending time with over the next few weeks. 

The tofu in sweet water. Probably going to avoid this in the future. 

Awesome tea set I found during the evening walk. 

This was only a small part of the store's inventary. 

The biggest difference between here and Chiang Mai: you feel like you're in a bustling city instead of a friendly neighborhood. 

The chocolates from Mai. "Welcome to VN"

Lost Count: 1                

I've Missed You So Much Pizza

    Here's to our first day in Vietnam. Very different from Thailand, kind of missing where we were very much as I wandered the streets today. We had begun mastering the language, we knew where to eat, we could cross the street without feeling like we were committing suicide. Now all that's gone. So are the banana pancakes for breakfast. Going to be really happy to be back there in about a month. But here's the weekend update!!

• Saturday
• Another day of traveling. Woke up an hour before the alarm went off because I was so stressed out over packing. Ran around like a chicken with it's head cut off till it was time to go. Went out for a rather silly errand: eye-brow waxing. In middle school I sorta resembled this famous female artist named Freida Kahlo because of my facial hair. I made a promise to myself after that issue was resolved: never again. Drexler found out about it and has been making fun of for it since. 
• Left for the airport in a songthaew. Our last ride for a while. Got to the airport fine and then had some pre-flight DQ. That's when some drama started. I made a comment about getting the bigger sized Moo late (they use ice cream instead of ice here which gives it a very different texture) and feeling fat because of it. Donna then started picking on my weight, a pretty sore subject with me. If you sensed a disturbance in the force around midnight on Friday, that was it. 
• The flight was amazing. The seats have pillows, are multicolored and have foot room. Plus, if you go over the weight limit, they usually don't say anything unless it's a lot over the weight limit.  They play music when you enter the plane and when you leave. It was one of the best flights I've been on.
• When we landed in Bangkok airport all those weeks ago it didn't seem like an awe inspiring place. It is. The distance from our landing gate to our departure gate was a good half mile or more away from our departure gate. The airport was set up a bit like a Target: put the stuff you don't need but want on the way to the things you came in for. They sold everything there from alcohol to make up (they had a nicer selection than most department stores) to mango sweet sticky rice. And then some. Would have gone shopping but we were in a rush since we found out that instead of an hour and a half between flights we had a half an hour. 15 minutes of which were already gone. So most of us booked it to the gate. Karen, Deanna and Drexler were the last ones to arrive because they grabbed all the free samples (minus the alcoholic ones). There was a statue on the way there that I snapped a few pictures of.
• Another happy(ish) flight to Vietnam. Except I had to sit by Lilith who dressed herself as a hooker. If my grandma saw the way she was dressed, that would be the first word out of her mouth. She bought some platform high heels that don't have a heel. I will take a creeper picture when I get the chance because they are so outrageous. They look like Lady Gaga shoes as a better description. Kind of like these. Methinks she does not travel often. 

• Watched Wreck it Ralph on the flight over. Definitely a good movie (once you get past the annoying little girl) and I'm getting it once I come back. You can look up the plot yourself and I highly recommend you watch it. It's got a Monsters Inc feel to it. 
• Met up with some Vietnamese people we will be working with while here. They seemed really nice (mainly because of the cookies) and they allowed us to sit in the back seat while the three of them crammed into the front. The ride was pretty scary (as mentioned previously, we almost got side impacted by a bus coming at us head on) and we ended up at the wrong hotel. Then we couldn't find the correct hotel. Some people were enjoying the tour and wanted to keep driving around. I needed a bathroom pronto and felt ready to smack the people who wanted to go around the block one more time. 

• Sunday
• Slept in till 10:30, slept through a phone call an hour earlier and only got out of bed to go downstairs for a book meeting. I failed to mention this meeting to Donna so I had to go up and get her. A couple other bad feels moments happened yesterday between us, one of which was partially my fault. But instead of voicing my feelings, I have stuck to my passive-aggressive Midwestern roots. Because Donna, being from the South, knows what I'm doing and how to respond to it.
• Went to Joma's (this Asian cafe chain Drexler is obsessed with) and discussed our current book The Tale of Kieu which is like The Tales of Huckleberry Fin for Vietnam. It's not actually a book because it's prose poetry. So far this girl got engaged to this guy after one night (Romeo and Juliet anyone??) but her father and brother were kidnapped and tortured before she could tell them. In order to pay for their freedom she sold herself to an older man to be his wife but he was working for a brothel and actually bought her to work there. Very interesting premise so far. 
• Went to the Vietnamese Alcatraz after the coffee house. It was built by the French to contain Vietnamese rebellion leaders and torture them. They played creepy music everywhere you went and had dummies so you could see how people were treated. After the French left it was used to hold POWs during the Vietnam War. This was the prison that John McCain was held in, they even have his uniform there. The American POWs were treated ten times better than the Vietnamese prisoners. 
• I have been to Alcatraz and I think the biggest distinction is how commercial Alcatraz is. You can buy Alcatraz themed merchandise all over San Fransisco while this prison didn't even have postcards with it on them. 
• We went to this Italian restaurant for dinner. Some of us had pizza for the first time in months, mine was half-way gone before most of the others had finished their first piece. I discovered that ham on pizza is delicious. That's a really important thing to learn when you're in Asia. 
• The Drexlers think I'm crazy for wanting to get a hedgehog. You probably feel the same way now. 
• Found my way back to the hotel with help from Niko. I've come to realize he's actually a pretty cool and really sweet guy during the last few weeks. He had noticed I was not in a good mood earlier and asked me why. 

    We have an early day tomorrow and I can't wait to try out the buffet in the morning. I think I need to purchase an alarm clock or something so I can get up on time since I am not waking up to anything right now. Ah well, tomorrow is another day. 

The pictures uploaded themselves in no particular order today. 

Those are some colorful seats.

The women with children cell

One of the most famous pictures in Vietnam. 

Torture devices used on women. Yes, the bottle was used for torture. 

Probably my favorite picture from today. This was a sculpture of some of the Vietnamese prisoners. The girl was in there by accident but I really love how it turned out.

How prisoners spent their days.

The statue from the airport.

This was a French prison and this their favorite way of killing people.