it is crazy hot here. i sweat literally 24 hours a day. surprisingly there is almost no BO. in Tanzania and Kenya i would say that roughly 70% of the people were pretty stinky and it was way cooler there.
everyone in vietnam takes a 2 hour lunch which includes a nap!!! i had to leave the revolutionary museum today because it was lunch and nap time. when i finally get to teach next week i can't wait to take my first nap a work. the west could learn from this tradition.
the food is great, but who knows what is in it. i saw a small round cage full of cats in one ally and a cage of little dogs in another. i caught a woman catching big goldfish in a bright green filthy public pond. when i was at the market i saw lots of meal worms, eels, and all kinds of mystery food. makes me super glad i'm a vegetarian.
the best and cheapest food is literally on the streets. you sit on a little 8 inch plastic stool and a lady gets you a bowl of soup with your choice of fixings. great food, once you get past the dirt on the ground, sitting on a little seat, and the flies that seem to be on everything. i ate a delicious bowl of tofu and noodle soup this morning for 10,000 dong (59 cents!!!!).
everyone owns a motorbike. i really mean everyone. there are hundreds of thousands on the road and you can't walk on the sidewalks because they are parked for blocks on end. there are no real crosswalks or stoplights, so everyone magically merges with each other. crossing the street is crazy. i'm a pro already, i'll try to take a video soon. you can also use the motorbike cabs called xe om. i took one for the first time today. it was so fun. you strap on a helmet, argue out a price, and hop on the back. they weave in out of each-other so fast. i am gonna use them all the time from now on. in vietnam cars are for suckers.
every girls is beautiful. well not every girl, but most of them. they all have super long black hair and adorable features. lots of the girls wear doctors masks so they don't get a tan on their faces. one of my city tour guides used an umbrella on a cloudy day so the "sun" never touched her. very weird. the girls here also seem to be constantly giggling which is also super cute.
since i have been here it has rained all night, every-night. it cools it down a little, but it also floods everything. we had water running down the stairs last-night, and on my xe om ride home we rode through foot deep puddles. the lighting is constant and looks like a strobe light.
those are just a few things off the top of my head. i'm going to halong bay tommorow and teach all day monday so i should have much more to post soon.
Taoist and Confucian temple in Hanoi
two of the Volunteers for Peace city guides
island temple
dragon fruit (tastes kind of like kiwi)
having my pineapple cut up (best pineapple i have ever tasted)
yum, fish heads
traditional Vietnamese clothes (some of the local volunteers put on an amazing cultural program for us last night i have tons of videos of traditional songs and dances as well)
a beautiful picture of me with a weird fruit in my mouth (i think it is called a rubicon but i'm not sure. you have to peel it and kind of tastes like a grape).
2 comments:
For the record I am WAYY cuter than any Vietnamese girl. I Ghost World style walk around with an umbrella too, so the sun doesn't touch me. And I can start giggling and eating dog meat if you really want me too, but I wont like it.
Hey its your sister, still pregnant just counting down the days : ) you sound like you're having a blast sure do miss you. that crazy fruit (Rubicon) i had that at wedding a while ago they were weird and i didn't have a clue what it was LOL well hope things are going good love Ya!
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