Day 2

The night is BEAUTIFUL here tonight. It did not rain as much today- only early morning so I was out and about for a while. Not sure if I am adapting too well to the heat yet. Yesterday I ended up not calling Anh as it rained so much and I realized my idea of all day lags about a half day behind this city.

I slept on and off yesterday, perhaps adjusting to the time zone or maybe just groggy from the heat. It wasn't as hot though as it was on the first night I arrived. My first night was a tough one. I was bitten by a few bugs even though I had the doors and windows closed most of the night. Last night I slept much better and with the window and door open (don't worry Mimi, I am on the 3rd floor and no one seems to bother anyone). No bites to report today.

I did wake up several times during the night because I would hear some noise or just because I wasn't sleepy anymore. I was on the ball by morning though- up at 4:30am getting ready to catch up with the city. By 5am I was out on the streets, wandering the lake, walking around and getting the feel for the day. It was sprinkling but I had my $12USD umbrella to save me, tee hee. I circled around a few blocks and took in the sounds and smell of the morning- mmmm it smells like food everywhere at that hour. Almost every other building sets up out on the sidewalk to serve food- mostly pho, mmmm! After my walk I came around near my hotel and stopped at a place next door to it to have some pho ga- mmmmm!!! All of this took only 2hrs of my day. I went back up to my room and realized it was only a bit after 7am- what?!? Wow!

I took a little nap and was back out roaming the city for a while. Oh I did call Anh and between my funky speaking Vietnamese and her bits of English we decided to meet at my hotel at 2PM. At least that is what I thought she said when I asked, Anh di Bao Khanh hai gio? and she said hai gio. I have to tell you something about the Vietnamese I took at SJSU that I noticed quickly here- the language I practiced seems to be from the south. I noticed the difference asap with variances in the letters G and R. Here in the north there is more of a Z pronunciation.

Anyway enough about that- I am still here at the same information booth. No luck yet finding a place that will let me upload pictures. But I am taking lots and will go back and add as I can. I caught some people doing the morning exercises in the rain this morning- that was cool! Mostly elderly people are the ones gathering at the lake. The streets are filled with teenagers on motorbikes and I haven't seen too many children yet. Perhaps because this is more of a business type area? Anyway crossing the street is a very difficult task- there are bikes, taxis, cars, people with baskets on poles across their backs, and lots of other vehicles all sharing the road. Somehow in all of what looks like chaos it works out- as long as you aren't trying to cross the road and are just going along. A trick I've learned is to keep walking until I see someone trying to cross then run up and tail them. I did have a man turn around and stare at me a bit ago as I stuck right behind him- hee hee. I just smiled and kept on him. I figure if the locals can survive across, my chances are good- but it is still a gamble!

Tonight I am going to explore to the northern area of the lake. Anh and Hung did come at 2pm by the way. They just wanted to check up on my and apologize for not having too much time to spend with me since they are busy organizing that international event I told you about earlier. However they said tomorrow after 3pm they would come by and take me to see the WATER PUPPET SHOW! YAAAY!!! I read up on them a bit when I had to do a presentation for class last semester on some type of history or custom. I wanted to do it on this but our group picked a holiday. I'm excited and cannot wait to see it in real life. I have watched a few youtube clips on it in the past.

Tomorrow Scott and Thomas will arrive to Ha Noi as well. I'm not sure what time but Anh said she would check and get back to me. I have to check out of my room and move to a bigger room that the 3 of us will share to cut costs. Scott and Thomas arrived in Ho Chi Minh City yesterday and were planning to tour the city today before making their way up here tomorrow. It will be nice to see a familiar face and be a little bit more excited about roaming around and getting to know the place a little better. Anh says we are scheduled to depart for Thanh Hoa Province on Saturday to prepare for our classes. Hung says the area is way more humid than it is here in Ha Noi. I said OH OH! She said the mountain ranges block the wind that Ha Noi receives from the North. She said the humidity only gets worse the further south you go, except for Da Lat which is one of two cool weather places- the other being Sa Pa way north. I hope I can adapt quickly because I'm going to be such a baby if I feel like I can't breathe-

That reminds me, my mother is in D.C. for the week and I hope she does well with the humidity there. If not, I do hope my brother will look after her because she can neglect her health sometimes just so she isn't a burden on others- not good! Take care of yourself mother of mine!

Back to Thanh Hoa, Hung says it is one of the poorest provinces in the country but not the poorest. She said we will notice right away that it is a very different place but they will try their best to accommodate us- eek. I just need some running water and a toilet and I think I can handle the rest...oh and maybe a mosquito net- yes! We'll see how it goes or if I will have internet access at all. Anh says the children we will work with come from the province cities only and that next year she will try to get something going in Da Lat. She already wants me back and I haven't even taught yet, sweeet! I said maybe. I would definitely come back if money wasn't an issue but it is so I'll have to see what the year brings about and decide later- anyone interested though??? Start saving now :o)

Ok I really do hope I find a place to upload pictures soon especially if Thanh Hoa province will have less cyber services. Maybe when Scott arrives tomorrow he can help me figure it out- although in my head I can see him telling me, well why didn't you bring your laptop!?! haha... it would've melted days ago, I'm sure, tee hee.

Well the city lights are bright and there are lots of people hanging out at the lake and gathering in groups on sidewalks to eat so I'm going to wander around and check it out. OH- I found a grocery store by accident today. Bought some bottles of water that I stuck in the freezer of my mini fridge, yessss!! I think today I did a lot better in keeping to my budget too- I'm learning how the money works now.

Til next time, xin chao va cam on ban nhieu!