Okay, so right now it's 8:31pm in Vietnam, June 19, 2009. I'm at Ma Bay's store/house. Mom and I are sleeping over tonight. I think Ma Bay's been wanting us to sleep over for some time, and since we're leaving in just a few days, Mom decided we'd sleep over tonight. I'm just sitting here on one of their laptops, with Chi Thanh to my right on the other laptop. We're surfing the net while Mom and Ma Bay watch a DVD about Buddha and a local temple over here. I have to be honest and say that I'm not really understanding anything their saying on the DVD, but it's interesting nonetheless. I'm glancing up every so often to see what's going on. The last scene involved a glow of light beaming from one of the edges of the rooftop of the temple and the mysterious snowfall that accompanied it. I don't see any rational explanation for it, and I know I can be negatively realistic at times, but I think we should all be more hopeful about the existence of miracles. Don't you??
Okay, well I just checked facebook.com a few minutes ago, but seeing that it's summer and was only 9:30ish a.m., people are probably still sleeping in.
Okay, so going back to...umm...yesterday. Yesterday was Day 38, and on day 38, Mom and I went to the beach. We woke up early, took a taxi to the port, where we boarded a boat at 8:30am that took us to...umm, I don't remember the name of the place....but it was very nice! Haha, as if that helps at all. Well from Saigon, the ride was about 1 hr. 30 min. Overall, it was a smooth ride, except at the end, it got a little bumpy, and the ship kept making a sound that was oddly similar to the sound of screeching tires. I don't know, but I do know we made it there and back safe and sound. Well once we arrived there, we caught a taxi to the beach. We bought a floating tube, well because, they're fun! Then we bought some beach towels, because we only had our plain white bathing towels from home. Before heading into the water, we got 2 beach chairs where we sat for a while just relaxing. I walked around a little bit and took some pictures, and even recorded the beach for my siblings and friends to see back home. While sitting in our beach chairs, a few women approached us carrying large round platters of fruit, trying to persuade us to buy their ngot (sweet) and ngon (delicious) fruits. We did end up buying some longans and bon bon (I don't know what they're called in English). We ate, then we went and put our belongings in a locker and changed into our bathing suits. Then we headed down to the beach.
I don't know about everybody else, but for me I think I always build up the fun to be had at a beach just a little bit too much. The ocean is gorgeous, don't get me wrong, but the moment I accidentally drink some sea water, the appeal decreases just a bit. Nevertheless, I still want to go back. But hopefully next time with my siblings and some sand buckets too! We didn't get around to making any sand sculptures this time around. Partially due to the lack of proper equipment and also, now that I think of it, I don't remember seeing anybody making any castles or anything. Ok, well back to the ocean. The only other beaches I've been to have been the few in New England. I don't remember the waves there being as big as the one at this beach in Vietnam. At first, the waves weren't too big, they were a good size to jump in and be pushed along with. But as time passed, and it grew cloudy and windy, the waves got bigger and rougher. And they weren't just coming directly onto the shore, they were coming diagonally too. They got pretty big...well for somebody that's not a great swimmer, has never surfed or water skiied, or anything. They were probably small baby waves to other people. But I do remember jumping at the wrong moment at times, causing the waves to crash right into my torso, and causing me to fall backwards...it wasn't too fun at first. But then I got the hang of it, and it wasn't so bad. Once we felt we were done in the water, we collected sea shells. But seeing that I didn't have my glasses, I couldn't pick out the great shells on the beach. After this, we washed up and headed back to the port we landed at.
Once we arrived at the port, we headed into the building just by the docks and ate KFC. I ate some popcorn chicken and fries. The quality's pretty much the same, but maybe a little less flavor and a little less salt. But still good, and the employees were very friendly. Then we sat outside waiting to board the ship. It got cloudy with many ominous looking clouds in the sky. We were worried that maybe we wouldn't be able to head back when we had planned to. It did start raining, but it ended a few minutes before we boarded, ique suerte!
On the way back I fell asleep. I eventually woke up, but every few seconds I'd fall back asleep, then wake up again, and then fall back to sleep. And I kept that up pretty much until we got back. I was really, really, really tired when we got back home. At home, Ma Tam's house, I took a shower, then after I went downstairs to hang out with Anh Thinh and showed him the pictures from the beach. Then....I went to sleep! :)
Day 39: This is Suoi Tien day! Another Vietnamese theme park. But unlike Dam Sen...hmm...I don't even know if I've written about Dam Sen yet, it's much larger. I went with Mom, Ma Tam, Ma Muoi, Tien, Dat, and Diep. Unfortunately Thinh had to go to school and couldn't come along. Well we left for Suoi Tien in a taxi van about 8am. And we got back around 4pm. Yup, it was a looong day. But a long, fun, eventful day!! Well once we got there, I think the first obvious thing were the two large, massive, golden dragons bordering the front entrance. It's beautiful. I don't know if I can describe it all in words...maybe, but it'd probably take a long time. I'll probably just post pictures....if I can figure out how to do that. Well anyway...the first thing we did was ride on a cart all around the park. We recorded us going around the whole park. After the ride, we walked a little before coming across a play. I feel like we were really lucky this day, because shortly after the play, we walked right to the beginning of a parade....hmm. Well, anyway, the play was interesting, but I didn't really understand it. I thought I did, until my Mom told me what was going on, and I realized I was completely wrong. Oops! (Mom's on the phone right now...I think I'll probably have Mom retell me the story, do some research, and write a blog about it...if people want me to). Well the parade that followed was for the fruit festival going on. The parade started with these men dressed in monkey suits and others wearing pig masks (there's a monkey-like person and a pig-like person that are a big part of Vietnam's history), and they were going around acting silly with the onlookers. What came next were floats containing large fruits with women dressed in beautiful Vietnamese gowns that stood by the fruit waving at the crowd. Oh, and there were also dancers dressed in cute costumes, like butterflies and such. It was really nice. After that, we walked around some more, Mom bought some bon bon's from one of the many fruit stands that lined the walkway. I think the next thing we did was go through the animal part of the park. The first thing we saw when we walked past the curtain was a man standing with a bamboo stick and a monkey riding a bicycle. It's cute, and fun at first...but then you notice the chain around the poor monkey's neck and the threatening stares the man throws them when they fall off and don't get back on immediately. Like my cousin, Anh Tien said, "The circus seems cruel." :/ We continued on further down and saw some porcipines, monkey, birds, bears, and fish. I think the fish was the most amazing part. In the take there was a variety of fish. But the one that drew our attention for awhile was the dragon fish. It's HUGE! They were probably 5-7 ft. long. And that's not the only amazing part, some of them had scales that were golden and silver. They were so beautiful. Also, Mom says that these fish are lucky and that you can make a wish on them. Ma Muoi kept repeating something and laughing. It was when I asked Mom what she was saying that I learned she was wishing for a house. Haha! I love Ma Muoi! But this time everybody was starting to get tired, but kept on going. Our next stop was at a little exhibit of mutated animals, pigs with one eye, birds with 3 legs, deer with two heads, etc. After this we took a drinking break, I got a coconut...but it wasn't that yummy. Not wanting to be wasteful, I drank it all up quickly then moved on to the coconut filled with coconut jelly that we brought along that Ma Muoi had made a couple of days ago. Then, you can imagine where I went next after drink a whole coconut in a minute or so...the restroom. Haha! Next, we wanted to go see the dolphins, but the show had already began 15 min. ago. So we kept moving on. We were considering riding the large ferris wheel, but seeing that Ma Muoi was scared, we decided against it. But I did get Dat and Diep to ride the rotating swing ride with me (the one like at Six Flags). They held onto the bar the whole time while I swung my legs and stuck my arms out, trying to grab leaves from a tree that stood nearby. I think it was their first time, and I think I was probably scared my first time too. Then, we finally went home. Where Chi Tam and her sister were...I still haven't learned all of my cousins' names yet... :( Once they left, I headed upstairs and took a shower. Then headed over to Ma Muoi's house to eat dinner. I at rice with fish, some veggies and a fried egg topped with some soy sauce. Oh yeah, then another one of those coconut jelly filled coconuts to finish off. Then I went upstairs to play on the computer, and tried to give Anh Dat some studying tips for learning English. I told him to write the text he had to read in English and in Vietnamese....that's what I did for Vietnamese class and I think it really helped me. I know it's not fun and kind of tedious...but it helps! Then Chi Thanh came over, and soon I was at her house...where I am now, finishing up this loong blog post! Haha, ok, good night!!
<3Love,
Quynhie
Friday, 19 June 2009
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Day 37: Thursday Morning...
I know I haven't written about all of the other days yet, but I think I should focus on the present, so I can provide some more detail and insight, because the other days I don't remember as well...I'll have to spend some time reminding myself exactly what happened, so I'll get to those other days later.
Day 37: So right now it's 10:33am in Vietnam. I just finished talking to my friend Gloria. It wasn't easy...but we did get to exchage some words before she went to bed. Well here's what happened: I started talking with her on facebook but the it kept saying that I couldn't connect to facebook chat. So then we tried Yahoo Messenger...but then I couldn't see any of the text. So then we finally resorted to facebook messages. How exhausting! Haha, but I'll get to see her soon and we can update each other on our lives later, I guess.
Okay, so right now I'm at Ma Muoi's house, with Diep sitting to my left studying. She keeps getting distracted with me, so I had to tell her that if she kept getting distracted then I'd have to leave. And well, now she's studying, haha. But earlier, as in just a few minutes ago, she was asking me if I'd want to live in Vietnam when I grew up. She told me that my mom told her that she'd like me to work and live in Vietnam. Yikes! I mean I love it here, but I can't just leave my sisters and brothers, and Dad and my other family in America there. Right? Ahh...maybe I'll just visit often. It's tough having family in 2 differnt countries...well 3, we have a cousin in Canada too! Hmm.....
More to come later...
Day 37: So right now it's 10:33am in Vietnam. I just finished talking to my friend Gloria. It wasn't easy...but we did get to exchage some words before she went to bed. Well here's what happened: I started talking with her on facebook but the it kept saying that I couldn't connect to facebook chat. So then we tried Yahoo Messenger...but then I couldn't see any of the text. So then we finally resorted to facebook messages. How exhausting! Haha, but I'll get to see her soon and we can update each other on our lives later, I guess.
Okay, so right now I'm at Ma Muoi's house, with Diep sitting to my left studying. She keeps getting distracted with me, so I had to tell her that if she kept getting distracted then I'd have to leave. And well, now she's studying, haha. But earlier, as in just a few minutes ago, she was asking me if I'd want to live in Vietnam when I grew up. She told me that my mom told her that she'd like me to work and live in Vietnam. Yikes! I mean I love it here, but I can't just leave my sisters and brothers, and Dad and my other family in America there. Right? Ahh...maybe I'll just visit often. It's tough having family in 2 differnt countries...well 3, we have a cousin in Canada too! Hmm.....
More to come later...
Monday, 15 June 2009
Day 35: Continuing Updates!
I think I finished off with Day 17....okay, so continuing on....
Day 18: Okay, so this day I spent most of the day helping Anh Thinh with his English homework. He had a big test coming up which determines which high school he'll be going to...the good one, or the not so great one. It was hard, and frustrating at times. It's really hard explaining things when I'm not even sure why things are the way they are. And what else made it more difficult was that I couldn't explain it in Vietnamese either. But it was still fun, because even though we often don't understand each other, we always end up laughing about it. And during out studying, Diep came over with ice cream!! A nice treat in tropical weather! And later in the day I spent some time reading The Kite Runner, the one my buddy Nive gave me!! (It's a great book!)
Day 19: Woke up, ate pho (Vietnamese beef noodle soup) for breakfast. Then I continued reading The Kite Runner. Then I helped Anh Thinh with some more homework, but this time it was math homework. It was interesting to see the different techniques that are taught in the schools over here. We started out with FOIL-ing, and there were some problems that I solved quicker with what I learned in America, but then there were some I had no idea how to solve that he did. Then at lunchtime we ate rice, Vietnamese soup (canh), shrimp, and tofu. Then a little bit after, Ma Tam went and bought some sweet tofu from a woman that walks around the neighborhood selling it. It was really yummy, but Anh Thinh warned me that if we bought it she would keep coming around even if you didn't want to buy any of her tofu. After that, I continued reading The Kite Runner. Later this day, Mom, Dat, Thinh, Diep, and I went to Dam Sen. We went out to the street and waited at a bus stop for a bus to bring us to the amusement park. After 3 buses that weren't headed in that direction stopped in front of us, and after a few passed us by...we decided to just take a taxi instead of wait there for who knows how long. This was a fun day! When we got into the park, we walked around for a little bit, and then we went on those boat thingys where you pedal with your feet. I went in one with Thinh and Diep, with Anh Thinh and me in the front. And then Mom and Dat went in another one. This was my first time in one of these, it was so fun! And I think I got overly excited, because I kept pedaling so hard because I wanted to go fast, haha. And I ended up making my face all red and had to keep gasping for air! But it was still fun! We also went through the zoo part of the park. We saw monkeys and birds, and crocodiles being fed by people who bought a bamboo stick with a dead fish hanging at the end. I recored it, haha. Later we had some ice cream...I think it was chocolate flavored...but I'm not exactly sure...it tasted kind of different. Oh, and the ice cream cone was soft and stale, and the ice cream a bit softer than American soft-served ice cream. But anything that would offer a little relief from the heat was appreciated. I think it was after we grabbed some ice cream that we headed over to the haunted castle. Originally Dat, Thinh, Diep, and I entered the haunted castle. But a few steps in and Diep decided to exit and sit it out with my Mom outside. Inside the haunted castle Dat, Thinh, and I took a few minutes looking ahead at the darkness before moving in further. I kept my hand running against the wall to make sure nothing unexpected would pop out from the side. The experience was actually funnier than it was scary. Anh Thinh was freaking out...and I'm still not sure if he was really scared or if he was just trying to be funny. In the castle there were rooms with barred windows that allowed people passing through to see zombie looking people shaking as though they were having a seizure, or others being spun on a round platform. What made it so funny was how Anh Thinh would yell at the "people" behind the barred windows and how he was crouching behind another group of people that were just ahead of us. I wondered if he realized they were strangers. Haha! It was hilarious! And later that day I went on a zip-line! I think that's what it's called. That was fun, except for the part where my body slammed into the cushion mat at the end. That hurt...my shoulders and back ached for days! Some time after we headed back home, but not before grabbing another ice cream. It was fun! :)
*I know that some of the details may seem tedious...but those are the bullet points I jotted down in my sketchbook to keep track of what happened each day...sorry!
Day 18: Okay, so this day I spent most of the day helping Anh Thinh with his English homework. He had a big test coming up which determines which high school he'll be going to...the good one, or the not so great one. It was hard, and frustrating at times. It's really hard explaining things when I'm not even sure why things are the way they are. And what else made it more difficult was that I couldn't explain it in Vietnamese either. But it was still fun, because even though we often don't understand each other, we always end up laughing about it. And during out studying, Diep came over with ice cream!! A nice treat in tropical weather! And later in the day I spent some time reading The Kite Runner, the one my buddy Nive gave me!! (It's a great book!)
Day 19: Woke up, ate pho (Vietnamese beef noodle soup) for breakfast. Then I continued reading The Kite Runner. Then I helped Anh Thinh with some more homework, but this time it was math homework. It was interesting to see the different techniques that are taught in the schools over here. We started out with FOIL-ing, and there were some problems that I solved quicker with what I learned in America, but then there were some I had no idea how to solve that he did. Then at lunchtime we ate rice, Vietnamese soup (canh), shrimp, and tofu. Then a little bit after, Ma Tam went and bought some sweet tofu from a woman that walks around the neighborhood selling it. It was really yummy, but Anh Thinh warned me that if we bought it she would keep coming around even if you didn't want to buy any of her tofu. After that, I continued reading The Kite Runner. Later this day, Mom, Dat, Thinh, Diep, and I went to Dam Sen. We went out to the street and waited at a bus stop for a bus to bring us to the amusement park. After 3 buses that weren't headed in that direction stopped in front of us, and after a few passed us by...we decided to just take a taxi instead of wait there for who knows how long. This was a fun day! When we got into the park, we walked around for a little bit, and then we went on those boat thingys where you pedal with your feet. I went in one with Thinh and Diep, with Anh Thinh and me in the front. And then Mom and Dat went in another one. This was my first time in one of these, it was so fun! And I think I got overly excited, because I kept pedaling so hard because I wanted to go fast, haha. And I ended up making my face all red and had to keep gasping for air! But it was still fun! We also went through the zoo part of the park. We saw monkeys and birds, and crocodiles being fed by people who bought a bamboo stick with a dead fish hanging at the end. I recored it, haha. Later we had some ice cream...I think it was chocolate flavored...but I'm not exactly sure...it tasted kind of different. Oh, and the ice cream cone was soft and stale, and the ice cream a bit softer than American soft-served ice cream. But anything that would offer a little relief from the heat was appreciated. I think it was after we grabbed some ice cream that we headed over to the haunted castle. Originally Dat, Thinh, Diep, and I entered the haunted castle. But a few steps in and Diep decided to exit and sit it out with my Mom outside. Inside the haunted castle Dat, Thinh, and I took a few minutes looking ahead at the darkness before moving in further. I kept my hand running against the wall to make sure nothing unexpected would pop out from the side. The experience was actually funnier than it was scary. Anh Thinh was freaking out...and I'm still not sure if he was really scared or if he was just trying to be funny. In the castle there were rooms with barred windows that allowed people passing through to see zombie looking people shaking as though they were having a seizure, or others being spun on a round platform. What made it so funny was how Anh Thinh would yell at the "people" behind the barred windows and how he was crouching behind another group of people that were just ahead of us. I wondered if he realized they were strangers. Haha! It was hilarious! And later that day I went on a zip-line! I think that's what it's called. That was fun, except for the part where my body slammed into the cushion mat at the end. That hurt...my shoulders and back ached for days! Some time after we headed back home, but not before grabbing another ice cream. It was fun! :)
*I know that some of the details may seem tedious...but those are the bullet points I jotted down in my sketchbook to keep track of what happened each day...sorry!
Sunday, 7 June 2009
Day 26: Quick Updates!!
Quick UpDates! I know! I'm really, really, really behind. I've even forgotten some of the details. But I'm going to give a brief summary of what I've been up to. Starting with Day 7 (5/19/09):
Day 7: I went out with Chi Thanh and 3 of her friends, I can't remember their names now. We went to a restaurant and ate some frozen yogurt. It was delicious! And then after that, it was night time already, we just rode around Saigon. Chi Thanh and one of her friends were talking while driving, which was kind of scary considering that her friends bike bumped into my foot a few times. And while we were riding we saw an accident...everybody was okay, but they were upset...that didn't help much with the whole scary part of riding around Saigon and talking at the same time.
Day 8: This day I went to the Sweet Home Bakery for the first time. I got something salty. It was like puff pastry with beef inside, or something. It was good!
Day 9: I went to Now Zone with Ma Muoi, Dung Muoi, Anh Dat and Em Diep. It's like a mall basically. I really like it because they have awesome air conditioning! LoL! We ate there, I had some noodles with wonton. And when I finished they went ahead and ordered me another meal...beef steak and fries. It was really good, and in Vietnam it seems they don't salt their fries as excessively as they do in America. Which is a good thing...at least for the heart it is!
Day 10: (I don't remember....) I think I wrote about this day in a blog though...hopefully.
Day 11: This is the first day out in the country. Went to see Cau Tu, Cau Chin, and Ma Sau. I spent most of the day at Cau Chin's house and walking around looking at all of the exotic plants. This night we slept at Cau Tu's house. Mosquito nets kept us from being devoured by mosquitoes, but a hard pillow gave me a bad neck ache the next day. Oh and this was the day Cau Tu caught a huge fish that we had for the dinner that night.
Day 12: Second day out in the country. Thank goodness Ma Sau's house has a toilet and shower. The other houses just have a room with a hole in the ground, and a little room over the river for #2. This day...hmm...I went out to the marketplace and ate pho with Cau Tu, Anh Tuan, and Anh Dat. This day I went around the marketplace with Chi Oanh, Ma Muoi and Mommy. Cau Tu didn't go with us because he went to get a pig for the big dinner the next day. I hung out at Cau Tu's house a lot this day, and he cut me down a sugar cane to munch on...literally...my jaw was hurting after, but it was good! This night we slept at Ma Sau's house. I think I can honestly say it was the worse night...sleep wise....of the whole trip. We slept on the porch ourside...because it was nice and cool outside...it's not like they cast us out to sleep outside the house. It was hard to sleep because there were so many animal noises going on...Ma Sau has 3 dogs, and during the day they're relatively quiet...but that night, it sounded like they were devouring on something...which was kind of creepy! It made sleeping pretty difficult.
Day 13: This was the 3rd and last day out in the country. This was the day of the big dinner...or lunch I guess...maybe linner. It was in honor of my grandpa on my Mom's side. The whole family got together...and we have a big family, so there was a lot of people! But the food was good and I had a lot of fun. On our way back home, we stopped by Ma Nam's house. I had said bye to Cau Tu earlier, but then he suddenly appeared at Ma Nam's house....I guess he beat us there on his motorbike. While there, Dung Nam and my cousin caught some fish for us to take back home. It was fun watching them.
Day 14: Ma Bay got pretty sick during her trip out to the country for that lunch. She got really sick and was emitted to the hospital. Everybody was really sad.
Day 15: This was the day Diep graduated from 5th grade. We went in the morning and I had a Vietnamese sandwich (banh mi) for breakfast. After her graduation she hung out with her friends and Mommy, Dung Muoi and I went over the Sweet Home Bakery for some goods. And Cau Tu came over! He just seemed to be popping up all over the place, which is a good thing! Cau Tu, Mommy and I went to the hospital later that day to visit Ma Bay. It was so crowded, sad to see like 10 beds stuffed in one room for patients. We should be very grateful for the healthcare we have in America. Later that night I went out to a restaurant with Cau Tu, Dung Muoi, Anh Dat, and Em Diep to eat "bit tet", or beef steak. It was very delicious!
Day 16: This day I hung out with Cau Tu some more. In the morning we went to get tra...I think that's how you spell it...it's that meat stuff Vietnamese people put in sandwiches and stuff. Well we got that and some bread and ate it for breakfast. I also cleaned up the room Mom and I have been staying in...it was getting kind of messy. Cau Tu went back to the country this day... :(
Day 17: This day Mom and I went over to Ma Bay's house...she was discharged from the hospital and back home, thank goodness. Chi Hai called from Canada and I talked to her for a little while. This day I also went to 2 bookstores with Mommy, Anh Dat, and Em Diep. I got 1 book and 1 magazine about Asian architecture...I can't really understand it, but that's why I have an English-Vietnamese dictionary! LoL! It's a challenge...but I'm hoping it can be done!
(To be continued...) I'm going out to Saigon tonight with Dung Muoi and Em Diep for some sugarcane juice...and I don't want to keep them waiting any longer. I'll continue with the updates though...soon, hopefully!!!
Sorry everybody about the delay!!!!
I miss and love everybody back home!!!! <3
LOVE <3
Quynhie
Day 26/45....that means less than 3 weeks before I come back home!! Ahh! It's bittersweet, huh?
Day 7: I went out with Chi Thanh and 3 of her friends, I can't remember their names now. We went to a restaurant and ate some frozen yogurt. It was delicious! And then after that, it was night time already, we just rode around Saigon. Chi Thanh and one of her friends were talking while driving, which was kind of scary considering that her friends bike bumped into my foot a few times. And while we were riding we saw an accident...everybody was okay, but they were upset...that didn't help much with the whole scary part of riding around Saigon and talking at the same time.
Day 8: This day I went to the Sweet Home Bakery for the first time. I got something salty. It was like puff pastry with beef inside, or something. It was good!
Day 9: I went to Now Zone with Ma Muoi, Dung Muoi, Anh Dat and Em Diep. It's like a mall basically. I really like it because they have awesome air conditioning! LoL! We ate there, I had some noodles with wonton. And when I finished they went ahead and ordered me another meal...beef steak and fries. It was really good, and in Vietnam it seems they don't salt their fries as excessively as they do in America. Which is a good thing...at least for the heart it is!
Day 10: (I don't remember....) I think I wrote about this day in a blog though...hopefully.
Day 11: This is the first day out in the country. Went to see Cau Tu, Cau Chin, and Ma Sau. I spent most of the day at Cau Chin's house and walking around looking at all of the exotic plants. This night we slept at Cau Tu's house. Mosquito nets kept us from being devoured by mosquitoes, but a hard pillow gave me a bad neck ache the next day. Oh and this was the day Cau Tu caught a huge fish that we had for the dinner that night.
Day 12: Second day out in the country. Thank goodness Ma Sau's house has a toilet and shower. The other houses just have a room with a hole in the ground, and a little room over the river for #2. This day...hmm...I went out to the marketplace and ate pho with Cau Tu, Anh Tuan, and Anh Dat. This day I went around the marketplace with Chi Oanh, Ma Muoi and Mommy. Cau Tu didn't go with us because he went to get a pig for the big dinner the next day. I hung out at Cau Tu's house a lot this day, and he cut me down a sugar cane to munch on...literally...my jaw was hurting after, but it was good! This night we slept at Ma Sau's house. I think I can honestly say it was the worse night...sleep wise....of the whole trip. We slept on the porch ourside...because it was nice and cool outside...it's not like they cast us out to sleep outside the house. It was hard to sleep because there were so many animal noises going on...Ma Sau has 3 dogs, and during the day they're relatively quiet...but that night, it sounded like they were devouring on something...which was kind of creepy! It made sleeping pretty difficult.
Day 13: This was the 3rd and last day out in the country. This was the day of the big dinner...or lunch I guess...maybe linner. It was in honor of my grandpa on my Mom's side. The whole family got together...and we have a big family, so there was a lot of people! But the food was good and I had a lot of fun. On our way back home, we stopped by Ma Nam's house. I had said bye to Cau Tu earlier, but then he suddenly appeared at Ma Nam's house....I guess he beat us there on his motorbike. While there, Dung Nam and my cousin caught some fish for us to take back home. It was fun watching them.
Day 14: Ma Bay got pretty sick during her trip out to the country for that lunch. She got really sick and was emitted to the hospital. Everybody was really sad.
Day 15: This was the day Diep graduated from 5th grade. We went in the morning and I had a Vietnamese sandwich (banh mi) for breakfast. After her graduation she hung out with her friends and Mommy, Dung Muoi and I went over the Sweet Home Bakery for some goods. And Cau Tu came over! He just seemed to be popping up all over the place, which is a good thing! Cau Tu, Mommy and I went to the hospital later that day to visit Ma Bay. It was so crowded, sad to see like 10 beds stuffed in one room for patients. We should be very grateful for the healthcare we have in America. Later that night I went out to a restaurant with Cau Tu, Dung Muoi, Anh Dat, and Em Diep to eat "bit tet", or beef steak. It was very delicious!
Day 16: This day I hung out with Cau Tu some more. In the morning we went to get tra...I think that's how you spell it...it's that meat stuff Vietnamese people put in sandwiches and stuff. Well we got that and some bread and ate it for breakfast. I also cleaned up the room Mom and I have been staying in...it was getting kind of messy. Cau Tu went back to the country this day... :(
Day 17: This day Mom and I went over to Ma Bay's house...she was discharged from the hospital and back home, thank goodness. Chi Hai called from Canada and I talked to her for a little while. This day I also went to 2 bookstores with Mommy, Anh Dat, and Em Diep. I got 1 book and 1 magazine about Asian architecture...I can't really understand it, but that's why I have an English-Vietnamese dictionary! LoL! It's a challenge...but I'm hoping it can be done!
(To be continued...) I'm going out to Saigon tonight with Dung Muoi and Em Diep for some sugarcane juice...and I don't want to keep them waiting any longer. I'll continue with the updates though...soon, hopefully!!!
Sorry everybody about the delay!!!!
I miss and love everybody back home!!!! <3
LOVE <3
Quynhie
Day 26/45....that means less than 3 weeks before I come back home!! Ahh! It's bittersweet, huh?
Monday, 1 June 2009
Day 21: Trying to Catch Up!
Today is June 2nd, 2009.
I'm so sorry everybody!! I know I'm really behind on everything, uploading pictures, actually being online, and posting new blogs!
Ok, so today...right now it is 1:06PM over here. I'm on facebook.com right now, trying to create a new picture album that I will title "Food for Thought!" I tried to copy and paste the pictures from my camera onto the computer, but it was taking awhile, and my camera battery is "exhausted." I'm hoping that if I just let it sit for awhile I'll be able to get some more pictures out without actually having to go and recharge the battery for a few hours. Ok, so this morning...I woke up, ate a small breakfast, just some sweet rice with yellow bean. I think it's spelt, "xoi"...I'm not sure about that though. Then I came over to Ma Muoi's house, where I am now, on their recently repaired computer. But it's still kind of slow, and when I use Explorer a pop-up keeps popping up, and it's pretty annoying. :/ So when I first got on I was chatting with my sister, Van, and some friends. Van decided she would call me at Ma Muoi's house. But she didn't have the right number, she actually had Dung Muoi's (my uncle) cell phone number. Once we finally got the number straightened out she called and I got to talk to Vi, Van, and An. I miss them!! Well when we got off the phone, I went back on facebook.com to find more friends online.
I was soo happy I was able to talk with my friends, but...the internet was acting kind of slow and the web-browswer kept freezing and saying that I was offline. Also, I was trying to help my cousin, Anh Dat with some English homework...but it's really hard to explain why things are this way and things are that way...I don't think I'd make a good teacher, I can be pretty confusing when I explain things. Like today....I was trying to explain the difference between the two adjectives, "confusing" and "confused." I told him that "confusing" is when something causes confusion...like me today. And that "confused" is more of a state of mind/emotion that only animate objects can be.....but he didn't get it for awhile....and other things, which involved me trying to draw stick figures with confusion swirls over their heads....(sigh)...But he says he gets it now...either he does...or he's just lying to me, haha. But I try...I really, really do!
And Diep, my younger cousin, Ma Muoi's daughter, she wanted to play with me today, but she ended up getting a pretty bad stomach ache...she even threw up..poor thing. She's sleeping now. I hope she feels better soon. And right now....I'm thinking about whether I should go down and eat...I'm not that hungry, but I think my family's waiting for me to eat, so I should probably go. But when I come back...more posts, and I'll try to get some more pictures up on facebook.com and some captions to go along too!!
I miss everybody, and I hope they're all having a wonderful summer!!
Love <3
Quynhie
I'm so sorry everybody!! I know I'm really behind on everything, uploading pictures, actually being online, and posting new blogs!
Ok, so today...right now it is 1:06PM over here. I'm on facebook.com right now, trying to create a new picture album that I will title "Food for Thought!" I tried to copy and paste the pictures from my camera onto the computer, but it was taking awhile, and my camera battery is "exhausted." I'm hoping that if I just let it sit for awhile I'll be able to get some more pictures out without actually having to go and recharge the battery for a few hours. Ok, so this morning...I woke up, ate a small breakfast, just some sweet rice with yellow bean. I think it's spelt, "xoi"...I'm not sure about that though. Then I came over to Ma Muoi's house, where I am now, on their recently repaired computer. But it's still kind of slow, and when I use Explorer a pop-up keeps popping up, and it's pretty annoying. :/ So when I first got on I was chatting with my sister, Van, and some friends. Van decided she would call me at Ma Muoi's house. But she didn't have the right number, she actually had Dung Muoi's (my uncle) cell phone number. Once we finally got the number straightened out she called and I got to talk to Vi, Van, and An. I miss them!! Well when we got off the phone, I went back on facebook.com to find more friends online.
I was soo happy I was able to talk with my friends, but...the internet was acting kind of slow and the web-browswer kept freezing and saying that I was offline. Also, I was trying to help my cousin, Anh Dat with some English homework...but it's really hard to explain why things are this way and things are that way...I don't think I'd make a good teacher, I can be pretty confusing when I explain things. Like today....I was trying to explain the difference between the two adjectives, "confusing" and "confused." I told him that "confusing" is when something causes confusion...like me today. And that "confused" is more of a state of mind/emotion that only animate objects can be.....but he didn't get it for awhile....and other things, which involved me trying to draw stick figures with confusion swirls over their heads....(sigh)...But he says he gets it now...either he does...or he's just lying to me, haha. But I try...I really, really do!
And Diep, my younger cousin, Ma Muoi's daughter, she wanted to play with me today, but she ended up getting a pretty bad stomach ache...she even threw up..poor thing. She's sleeping now. I hope she feels better soon. And right now....I'm thinking about whether I should go down and eat...I'm not that hungry, but I think my family's waiting for me to eat, so I should probably go. But when I come back...more posts, and I'll try to get some more pictures up on facebook.com and some captions to go along too!!
I miss everybody, and I hope they're all having a wonderful summer!!
Love <3
Quynhie
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Day 10: Past posts to come...and this morning
Okay, so today is Day 10...I think...sometimes I'm not even sure about what day or date it is. But right now I'm at Ma Muoi's house uploading some more pictures of the trip onto facebook. It's taking awhile. Earlier I tried to help Anh Dat with some English homework, I realized that I don't know that much about the English language, lol. I could give him the answers but it was soo hard explaining why the answer was what it was...that is if I even knew why. Like in this sentence "________ to a new environment is difficult for old people." And the word you're given to use is "Adapt." Anh Dat put "Adaption" but I told him it was "Adapting." Why? I don't know...it just sounds right. I don't know... Ok well the pictures are almost done uploading, so I'm gonna go and put up captions and stuff for it. But I'll be sure to update everybody on the other past days!! Ok, bye!
<3 Quynhie!
<3 Quynhie!
Monday, 18 May 2009
Day 6: Study study...học học
So I've been spending a lot of time reading through my Vietnamese textbook....I think it's helping...I'm even starting to feel a little bit more confident about talking with my family. I even read an article in the newspaper to Dung Bay. It was about some bird and rice? I think...I mean I did tell him that I can read...but I can't understand. So overall, I'd say I did pretty well, haha! Okay, back to studying.....
Sunday, 17 May 2009
Day 6: Ants in my Pants!
So it's only 10:57am right now, but my morning was filled with ants! There are ants crawling around in my clothes!! I know, right! So usually there are just a few, just flick them off and I'm good to go. Well I forgot to check my pants before going to the shower. Don't worry...I didn't put the pants on without checking them. But I did spend a good amount of time checking inside and out for ants....they were all over, tiny little ants. I'm wearing those pants right now, jean burmuda shorts, I hope I got them all....and now I'm at my aunt's (Ma Bay) store, catching up on blogs and finally posting some pictures.
Oh, and I called my brother, An, today, but he didn't answer, so I left a message. And I called Van, and we talked some, but then the phone cut off....it would seem that there are no more minutes left on the sim card. :(
I guess there's always texting....for $.35 a text.
I miss my sisters and brothers....I wish they were here with me.
Oh, and I called my brother, An, today, but he didn't answer, so I left a message. And I called Van, and we talked some, but then the phone cut off....it would seem that there are no more minutes left on the sim card. :(
I guess there's always texting....for $.35 a text.
I miss my sisters and brothers....I wish they were here with me.
Day 5: On a Lighter Note...
During our lunch I had some Vietnamese Coca-Cola....I was interested to see how it tasted. It's actually very similar to Coca-Cola in the U.S. It's just that it's flatter (less carbonated), and it tastes kind of diluted, like Coke that's been sitting out with melted ice. But not bad....
Day 5: A Visit to Bác Năm and Grandma
Day 5...it was a loong day. We rode out to Bac Nam's house, which is about an hour or so away. She lives more out in the country, which is nice and quiet. We (me, Mom, Ma Nam, Ma Muoi and Anh Dat) rode in a taxi van over there. The ride there was nice, kind of. It was nice in the sense that Anh Dat was trying extremely hard to talk with me. I brought my dictionary along in hopes that that might help us communicate, it did, kind of. Seeing him try so hard was making even me feel exhausted. Also, I'm the type of person who can't read in the car or else I'll get car sick, so talking and looking through the dictionary was making me feel nauseous. I had to eventually say "Em nam day chuc xieu(sp?) tai vi em bi oi." --> Translation: I'm going to lay here for a little because I feel nauseous. When we got there Bac Nam quickly and hospitably brought us into the house. She showed us where the picture of my late grandma sat on a shelf with pictures of others who had passed away. My grandma passed away in September of 2006, in Vietnam. It was kind of hard to actually face her death being on the other side of the world, it didn't seem real. But when my mom and I saw her picture there, we couldn't help but cry. After our eyes had dried, our family sat down to eat lunch. Bac Nam looks a lot like grandma, her face and just being there made memories of my grandma (Ba) rush through my head. She told us that Grandma used to ask about us, and that made me regret not calling her more often. After lunch, we went to visit her grave...there were more tears needless to day. There was a prayer, incense, and crying. Saying bye to Bac Nam was hard, especially when she started crying too. The drive back home was long and quiet.
Day 4 (cont): Cau Hai's house
So in the evening we (me, Mom, Ma Muoi, Ma Tam, Anh Dat, Dung Muoi, and Ma Nam) rode in a taxi van over to Cau Hai's house (my oldest uncle, on my mom's side). Of all of the homes I've been in over here, he by far has the nicest and biggest. Before you get into the house, there's like a garden courtyard out front. It's really nice!
He has some little dogs roaming around, but they're quiet and small. The house is very nice, I don't know how to describe it without going into too much detail, so I'll post some pictures later. Here are those pictures I promised!
But while over there we had dinner, which was bò kho, I think that's how you spell it, it's like a beef stew. It was yummy, but I think I like my mom's better, this one was kind of sweeter than I would expect. Then after some time we went back home. I can't recall exactly what I did that night, but I know that lately I've been sleeping pretty early over here, like 10 or 11pm, and waking up early, like 6am! No alarm clock or anything! Okay, well I think I will go on to Day 5...while it's fresh in my memory.
He has some little dogs roaming around, but they're quiet and small. The house is very nice, I don't know how to describe it without going into too much detail, so I'll post some pictures later. Here are those pictures I promised!
But while over there we had dinner, which was bò kho, I think that's how you spell it, it's like a beef stew. It was yummy, but I think I like my mom's better, this one was kind of sweeter than I would expect. Then after some time we went back home. I can't recall exactly what I did that night, but I know that lately I've been sleeping pretty early over here, like 10 or 11pm, and waking up early, like 6am! No alarm clock or anything! Okay, well I think I will go on to Day 5...while it's fresh in my memory.
Friday, 15 May 2009
Day 4: Riding through Saigon
So it's only 10:15am over here. But I just got back from riding around Saigon with chị Thanh (my cousin, for those who don't know). She's a great motorist! The streets are sooo different from in the U.S. First of all, it's mostly motorcycles on the streets, lots and lots of motorcycles. And there are far less road rules, there may be a light that people obey at huge intersections, and I mean like a 6 way intersection, but other than that, you just kind of go. It's kind of like the ultimate driving game; slipping and sliding through people, dodging cars, bikes, and crossing pedestrians. If you're easily scared..then don't drive around in Saigon.
Oh, and it either rained last night or this morning, but I was sleeping so I'm not sure. So the weather now is really nice, very mát (I think that's how you spell it).
And this morning...I showered, went over to má Bảy's store and had breakfast. I don't exactly know what I ate, but it was good. I figured it might be best just to not ask what food is while I'm here...but today's breakfast didn't look too suspicious. And once I got back from riding through Saigon, I returned to the store to find one of my favorite Vietnamese sweets waiting for me. I don't know the Vietnamese name..I think it's something like mít ít, but it's made of sweet rice surrounding a yummy coconut filling, all wrapped up in banana leaves (you remove the banana leaves though). And now I'm writing this blog, but I think I'm gonna go bowling with chị Thanh in a little bit. I actually thought we were going bowling while we were out earlier, but I guess not. Sometimes I just have no idea about where we're headed, I just kind of jump on the motorcyle, which is so much fun to ride. There's kind of that rollercoaster thrill when you ride...which is funny, because I don't love rollercoasters (it's the whole falling without any control part that gets me).
And then later today, I think during the afternoon, Mom said we're going over to cậu Hai's house (my oldest uncle), who supposedly lives about an hour away. I'll be sure to bring along my camera and take pictures. I've been wanting to take pictures while I ride through Saigon, but I'm scared I'll drop it, or while I'm holding it there will be a sharp turn or something and I'll fall right off!! But I may just need to take that risk to get some nice shots of the city, which is beautiful! Ok....until next time, that's it for now. Bye!
~Quynhie~
Oh, and it either rained last night or this morning, but I was sleeping so I'm not sure. So the weather now is really nice, very mát (I think that's how you spell it).
And this morning...I showered, went over to má Bảy's store and had breakfast. I don't exactly know what I ate, but it was good. I figured it might be best just to not ask what food is while I'm here...but today's breakfast didn't look too suspicious. And once I got back from riding through Saigon, I returned to the store to find one of my favorite Vietnamese sweets waiting for me. I don't know the Vietnamese name..I think it's something like mít ít, but it's made of sweet rice surrounding a yummy coconut filling, all wrapped up in banana leaves (you remove the banana leaves though). And now I'm writing this blog, but I think I'm gonna go bowling with chị Thanh in a little bit. I actually thought we were going bowling while we were out earlier, but I guess not. Sometimes I just have no idea about where we're headed, I just kind of jump on the motorcyle, which is so much fun to ride. There's kind of that rollercoaster thrill when you ride...which is funny, because I don't love rollercoasters (it's the whole falling without any control part that gets me).
And then later today, I think during the afternoon, Mom said we're going over to cậu Hai's house (my oldest uncle), who supposedly lives about an hour away. I'll be sure to bring along my camera and take pictures. I've been wanting to take pictures while I ride through Saigon, but I'm scared I'll drop it, or while I'm holding it there will be a sharp turn or something and I'll fall right off!! But I may just need to take that risk to get some nice shots of the city, which is beautiful! Ok....until next time, that's it for now. Bye!
~Quynhie~
Thursday, 14 May 2009
Terse Versions
Oops...I forgot to keep it short and concise!
Here, let me try again...
Day 1: 12:30pm, first flight's take off, flew Korean Air: The flight was 14 hours long, the pilot said we were a little bit delayed, so in order to make up for it, we'd fly faster. Then we landed in Seoul, Korea. As my mom and I walked towards the gate for our next flight, we realized that we only had 29 min. before take off! But regardless of our time constrait, mom wanted us to change into some nicer clothes. The next flight was only about 4-6 hours...I don't exactly know. Oh, and on both flights, we had to fill out papers about our health, I think it's because of the Swine Flu. Once we landed in Saigon, Vietnam...well technically, Ho Chi Minh City, it was May 13, and almost midnight. My aunts, uncle and cousin came to pick us up in a taxi. We sat around and talked some, and then I took a walk with my uncle down the street to grab some late night pho from a food stand. It was goood!
Day 2: I thought I had beaten the whole jet-lagged thing, but despite my efforts to stay awake until night time, I ended up taking two 3 hour naps in the middle of the day. On this first day in Vietnam, I met lots of family. My aunts, Ma Muoi, Ma Tam, and Ma Bay, my uncles, Dung Muoi, Cau Hai and Cau Thu, my cousins, Chi Thanh, Anh Dat, Anh Thinh, and Chi Bap (sp?). I rode on a motorcycle for the first time that day, with Dung Muoi (on our way to Ma Bay's jewelry store), then with Chi Thanh (back home). It's really fun!! And in the morning I ate some banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) and some other stuff....let me try to remember later. Oh, and in the morning there was a procession of music playing outside, which my mom tells me is what is done when somebody passes away, they play music in the streets for 3 days.
Day 3: Today. I'm at Ma Bay's store, I'm trying to write quickly, because I feel kind of rude just being here using their laptop. So sorry if lots of this sounds choppy and fast. I'll make sure to take some notes on paper, so then later, whether it be when I'm back home, I can elaborate on the whole trip! But this morning Dung Muoi, Ma Tam and Ma Muoi sat around asking me what I wanted to eat, and I told them, so Dung Muoi went out and bought some of the food that was on my list. So this morning I had banh bo, banh bao, and some wonton thingy. It was all very delicious! And then Cau Thu came over again, and mom made me ask him why he had left me this morning, so he said it was because he went to get coffee. Then Chi Thanh came over, and I went on the her motorcycle back over to Ma Bay's store. And now I'm here...but now I should probably go. Ok, until next time! BYE!
Here, let me try again...
Day 1: 12:30pm, first flight's take off, flew Korean Air: The flight was 14 hours long, the pilot said we were a little bit delayed, so in order to make up for it, we'd fly faster. Then we landed in Seoul, Korea. As my mom and I walked towards the gate for our next flight, we realized that we only had 29 min. before take off! But regardless of our time constrait, mom wanted us to change into some nicer clothes. The next flight was only about 4-6 hours...I don't exactly know. Oh, and on both flights, we had to fill out papers about our health, I think it's because of the Swine Flu. Once we landed in Saigon, Vietnam...well technically, Ho Chi Minh City, it was May 13, and almost midnight. My aunts, uncle and cousin came to pick us up in a taxi. We sat around and talked some, and then I took a walk with my uncle down the street to grab some late night pho from a food stand. It was goood!
Day 2: I thought I had beaten the whole jet-lagged thing, but despite my efforts to stay awake until night time, I ended up taking two 3 hour naps in the middle of the day. On this first day in Vietnam, I met lots of family. My aunts, Ma Muoi, Ma Tam, and Ma Bay, my uncles, Dung Muoi, Cau Hai and Cau Thu, my cousins, Chi Thanh, Anh Dat, Anh Thinh, and Chi Bap (sp?). I rode on a motorcycle for the first time that day, with Dung Muoi (on our way to Ma Bay's jewelry store), then with Chi Thanh (back home). It's really fun!! And in the morning I ate some banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) and some other stuff....let me try to remember later. Oh, and in the morning there was a procession of music playing outside, which my mom tells me is what is done when somebody passes away, they play music in the streets for 3 days.
Day 3: Today. I'm at Ma Bay's store, I'm trying to write quickly, because I feel kind of rude just being here using their laptop. So sorry if lots of this sounds choppy and fast. I'll make sure to take some notes on paper, so then later, whether it be when I'm back home, I can elaborate on the whole trip! But this morning Dung Muoi, Ma Tam and Ma Muoi sat around asking me what I wanted to eat, and I told them, so Dung Muoi went out and bought some of the food that was on my list. So this morning I had banh bo, banh bao, and some wonton thingy. It was all very delicious! And then Cau Thu came over again, and mom made me ask him why he had left me this morning, so he said it was because he went to get coffee. Then Chi Thanh came over, and I went on the her motorcycle back over to Ma Bay's store. And now I'm here...but now I should probably go. Ok, until next time! BYE!
Day 2: Food and Family
By the time we landed it was May 13 in Vietnam, it was about 11:30pm. We went to the baggage claim area and saw that many people, like us, had brought along cardboard boxes all taped up, worried that the inspection people would steal their belongings. Once we grabbed our luggage and boxes, we exited the airport building. As we left the airport we saw a mass of Vietnamese people outside waiting to pick up family and/or friends. Mom was worried that our family didn't know to pick us up that night, so I stood with our luggage as she went to look for our family members. They were nowhere to be found. When she came back, a security guard asked her what was the matter. When he learned that we didn't know if our family was there to pick us up, he let mom use his cell phone to call them. And just as mom thought, they thought we were coming the next day. After the phone call was made, they came about 30 min. later. There was Ma Muoi, Dung Muoi, Ma Tam and Ma Muoi's son, Anh Dat. They arrived in a taxi van. Once we loaded the car, we headed over to Ma Tam's house.
As we drove, it was obvious that we were no longer in America. As the taxivan rolled through the streets, the driver didn't bother to even slow down, let alone stop, at intersections. Instead of looking for other vehicles in the road, the driver just honked his way through intersections as to warn others that he was coming through! Another thing I noticed were the electrical wires, which exceeded those in the U.S. greatly, quantity wise. They were like huge bunches of cords running along the streets. If I had to guesstimate, I would say that these bunches were 1.5 ft. in diameter.
When we had arrived, we unloaded the car and brought the luggage in to má Tám's house. When we entered I thought it was pretty small, but soon later I learned that there were many floors more to the house. When all was brought inside, we sat around and talked. Well I didn't talk much, I just kind of sat there and listened, trying to make sense of what everybody else was saying. Then, although it was late, I think 2 or 3 0'clock in the morning, dừng Mười took me out down the street and around the corner to get a bowl of late night phở. It was delicious!
After hours of being in flight and a bowl of phở, Mom and I finally went up to the room we'd be staying in and went to bed.
In the morning I awoke to a procession of music going on outside. I had no idea what was going on, but according to my mom, this is what is done when someone passes away. Then I brushed, the bathroom was a bit smaller than I'm used to, but it did what a bathroom needed to do. When I went downstairs there was a bánh mì waiting for me (that's a Vietnamese sandwich). It was really good! But I did end up picking out a lot of the fat in the pork meat...which I think was kind of weird to my family in Vietnam. I just really don't enjoy eating all that fat!
After breakfast, I rode a motorcycle for the first time! It was awesome! I rode over with dừng Mười and then back home with chị Thanh.
Honestly, I don't remember too much about this day and have very little notes to refer to, but this was the day that I met má Bảy, cậu Hai, cậu Tư, chị Thanh, anh Thịnh, and chị Bặp (sp?).
As we drove, it was obvious that we were no longer in America. As the taxivan rolled through the streets, the driver didn't bother to even slow down, let alone stop, at intersections. Instead of looking for other vehicles in the road, the driver just honked his way through intersections as to warn others that he was coming through! Another thing I noticed were the electrical wires, which exceeded those in the U.S. greatly, quantity wise. They were like huge bunches of cords running along the streets. If I had to guesstimate, I would say that these bunches were 1.5 ft. in diameter.
When we had arrived, we unloaded the car and brought the luggage in to má Tám's house. When we entered I thought it was pretty small, but soon later I learned that there were many floors more to the house. When all was brought inside, we sat around and talked. Well I didn't talk much, I just kind of sat there and listened, trying to make sense of what everybody else was saying. Then, although it was late, I think 2 or 3 0'clock in the morning, dừng Mười took me out down the street and around the corner to get a bowl of late night phở. It was delicious!
After hours of being in flight and a bowl of phở, Mom and I finally went up to the room we'd be staying in and went to bed.
In the morning I awoke to a procession of music going on outside. I had no idea what was going on, but according to my mom, this is what is done when someone passes away. Then I brushed, the bathroom was a bit smaller than I'm used to, but it did what a bathroom needed to do. When I went downstairs there was a bánh mì waiting for me (that's a Vietnamese sandwich). It was really good! But I did end up picking out a lot of the fat in the pork meat...which I think was kind of weird to my family in Vietnam. I just really don't enjoy eating all that fat!
After breakfast, I rode a motorcycle for the first time! It was awesome! I rode over with dừng Mười and then back home with chị Thanh.
Honestly, I don't remember too much about this day and have very little notes to refer to, but this was the day that I met má Bảy, cậu Hai, cậu Tư, chị Thanh, anh Thịnh, and chị Bặp (sp?).
Day 1: Day of Departure
After security and all, my mom and I had about an hour or so before take off. We ate some McDonald's nuggets and fries, then sat in the waiting area just outside our gate. Gate 27 I believe. I sat there alone while my mom went off to buy herself a magazine. As I sat there I practiced my drawing skills by drawing one of the buildings visible through the large glass windows.
Once we boarded the plane, we found our seats, 49E and 49F, right in the middle of the row. To our left sat an elderly Taiwanese woman...or maybe she was Thai, I can't remember. But I do remember she was wearing a forest green dress with a red cardigan sweater and a purple flower pinned on top of the left side of her chest. We had some confusion about who was sitting where and had to rearrange ourselves. Nevertheless, all of the scrambling around helped to break the ice. She was one of those sweet older women. We learned that she was on her way back to Thailand/Taiwan to see her daughter, one of her nine children. She apparently had 5 boys and 4 girls. I believe her name was Khoune, and throughout the flight we exchanged casual conversation.
On my right sat a girl, maybe early 20s or so, never got her name though. It seemed like we were both very introverted. But she looked like she was a mix of Caucasian and oriental descent. It also seemed that she was with a group of people, maybe she was doing a study abroad or something. And although we did not strike up much, or any, conversation, she was nice about when I had to get out to go to the restroom (which was very tiny by the way).
With the long flight ahead, I had made sure to take out some things from my carry-ons before putting them away. This included some books to read and my sketchbook, in case I got inspired. Being on the plane for 14 hours, I felt certain that these things would come in handy to help pass the time. But little did I know, there were touch screens in front of every seat! There were movies to watch, music to listen to, and games to play. Of course being a product of this generation, I was drawn to the pixelated screen. So I started off with a few rounds of blackjack, minesweeper, miniature golf, and memory. I then shortly moved on to the movies. I was really excited because these were newly released movies, many of which I had not seen yet. I first watched Paul Blarke: Mall Cop, then followed that with Yes Man. I then took a look at the music, there was American music, including Coldplay, The Fray, Norah Jones, The Ting Tings, David Cook, David Archuleta, and so on. There was also a World music category, Classical as well as Korean. I compiled a playlist and listened to that for some time. I made sure to include a Korean song, Nobody by The Wondergirls, since we were headed for Seoul and flying via Korean Air.
So between games, movies, music, sleeping, and eating airline food (which wasn't horrible, I'd place it around the same level as school food, oh and I had sushi for the first time! Just a piece of raw salmon, it didn't taste bad, but its slimy touch to the tongue was...different) I didn't get much, or any, reading done.
After 14 hours in the air, we landed in Seoul. The airport was very nice! There was butterfly decor hanging from the ceiling.
While at the Incheon airport, Mom and I both changed our clothes. When we boarded the next flight, I ended up in a window seat, which I love, but it was cloudy and dark, so I couldn't see much when we took off. But that's okay, by the time we were preparing for landing in Saigon, which took about 6 hours or so from Seoul, I saw some lights. In the obscurity of the night, it looked to me like a winding string of Christmas lights.
Once we boarded the plane, we found our seats, 49E and 49F, right in the middle of the row. To our left sat an elderly Taiwanese woman...or maybe she was Thai, I can't remember. But I do remember she was wearing a forest green dress with a red cardigan sweater and a purple flower pinned on top of the left side of her chest. We had some confusion about who was sitting where and had to rearrange ourselves. Nevertheless, all of the scrambling around helped to break the ice. She was one of those sweet older women. We learned that she was on her way back to Thailand/Taiwan to see her daughter, one of her nine children. She apparently had 5 boys and 4 girls. I believe her name was Khoune, and throughout the flight we exchanged casual conversation.On my right sat a girl, maybe early 20s or so, never got her name though. It seemed like we were both very introverted. But she looked like she was a mix of Caucasian and oriental descent. It also seemed that she was with a group of people, maybe she was doing a study abroad or something. And although we did not strike up much, or any, conversation, she was nice about when I had to get out to go to the restroom (which was very tiny by the way).
With the long flight ahead, I had made sure to take out some things from my carry-ons before putting them away. This included some books to read and my sketchbook, in case I got inspired. Being on the plane for 14 hours, I felt certain that these things would come in handy to help pass the time. But little did I know, there were touch screens in front of every seat! There were movies to watch, music to listen to, and games to play. Of course being a product of this generation, I was drawn to the pixelated screen. So I started off with a few rounds of blackjack, minesweeper, miniature golf, and memory. I then shortly moved on to the movies. I was really excited because these were newly released movies, many of which I had not seen yet. I first watched Paul Blarke: Mall Cop, then followed that with Yes Man. I then took a look at the music, there was American music, including Coldplay, The Fray, Norah Jones, The Ting Tings, David Cook, David Archuleta, and so on. There was also a World music category, Classical as well as Korean. I compiled a playlist and listened to that for some time. I made sure to include a Korean song, Nobody by The Wondergirls, since we were headed for Seoul and flying via Korean Air.
So between games, movies, music, sleeping, and eating airline food (which wasn't horrible, I'd place it around the same level as school food, oh and I had sushi for the first time! Just a piece of raw salmon, it didn't taste bad, but its slimy touch to the tongue was...different) I didn't get much, or any, reading done.
After 14 hours in the air, we landed in Seoul. The airport was very nice! There was butterfly decor hanging from the ceiling.
While at the Incheon airport, Mom and I both changed our clothes. When we boarded the next flight, I ended up in a window seat, which I love, but it was cloudy and dark, so I couldn't see much when we took off. But that's okay, by the time we were preparing for landing in Saigon, which took about 6 hours or so from Seoul, I saw some lights. In the obscurity of the night, it looked to me like a winding string of Christmas lights.
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