Back to Saigon, Please!

After leaving the internet cafe last night, I went back to the dorm and showered. Then DiDi and I cuddled and talked for about three hours. We jokingly planned on flying back to Saigon today, since it's not as fun here in Hanoi. The language classes are not half as good either. When we finally looked at the clock, it was 2 am. I went straight to bed and woke up at 8:15 after my alarm had been going off for 15 minutes already.

I got my iced coffee after not finding any egg sandwiches on my way to my usual coffee place. The women that I have befriended there were very concerned that I had not had my breakfast sandwich and directed me to another stand down the road. I couldn't find it and returned to my coffee without any food, much to their dismay.
Jill met me at the coffee place and we walked the five minutes to school. Our Vietnamese teacher speaks almost no English and I can't understand much of her Vietnamese since she speaks so quickly, even after I told her in Vietnamese, "Please speak slowly forever." She laughed and continued on with her incredibly fast talking. If this continues, I don't think I'll be learning much more of this language at all. It's intensely frustrating and I always come out of class with a giant headache. It definitely makes me realize how good my teachers were in Saigon. Needless to say, I miss them a whole lot.

Jackie and I left at 11 and went to find lunch at out usual spot. We ate and left to find some more iced coffee. The ladies there were very talkative as usual and we discussed how Americans are so much taller than the Vietnamese people. As we were talking, a couple of motorbikes collided just outside the store. The people all got up quickly and drive away, and the nearby traffic officer was pretty angry. Jackie and I watched in awe and the women in the store talked amongst themselves very rapidly. After everything calmed down, they gave Jackie and me some pieces of the awesome grapefruit they were eating. I was surprised, since this really means we're making headway with our friendship. I ate mine quickly and as Jackie took her first bite, it dropped down her shirt. We all had a good laugh over that and then said our goodbyes and went back to the dorm.

I napped from 12:15-1:15 and then went to our Thursday lecture for our "Vietnamese Life and Culture" class. Today's presenter was Mark Ashwill, who wrote the book "Vietnam Today" which we were supposed to read over the summer. :)
Despite his mumbling throughout the presentation, I enjoyed it. He turned it into a dialogue and this left room for a lot of introspection on my part. We discussed how the Vietnamese look at us Westerners. For example, sometimes they might see us as people to be exploited for our comparative wealth. It was very interesting to continue to think about, since I have been considering some of these ideas for some time now. I find that I enjoy breaking the stereotypes of Americans quite frequently. I love eating on the street while sitting on small stools with motorbikes whizzing past. I love speaking with people in their language, not mine, and I am very open to learning and participating in their culture, traditions.

After a couple of hours, we were set free from the lecture and I went back to my dorm to listen to music and play Text Twist. At 5 pm, I walked down to the second floor and found DiDi. We went and ate dinner at our usual spot and she asked for about five servings of rau (stringy green vegetables).

I am so predictable that I then walked another couple hundred feet and have been sipping a watermelon shake and surfing the internet in my usual cafe since 5:30. I have been able to talk to Bridget, email people, and post my blog for today. Time to go shower and watch a movie with DiDi...