First things first. I have received the address for my dorm in Hanoi, where I will be staying from September 22nd until December 1st. It is as follows:
Caitlin "the Great" Seadale :)
HWS College
Nha Khach A2
Bach Khoa (student residence)
Hanoi, Vietnam
Feel free so send me mail at the Hanoi address! It takes about two weeks to reach me from the states, while it takes a bit longer for you all to receive my mail.
Last night, Brian and I took the bike to Acoustic and got lost for a bit. We finally got there, listened to some live music, and then came back to the guest house around 11:30. I went to bed immediately because I was insanely tired.
Upon awakening at 6 am, I checked my email and did some Vietnamese homework. We ventured out to find some of our usual breakfast items- iced coffee with condensed milk and eggs in a baguette. Breakfast was delicious and I finally got it across to the gg lady that I wanted two eggs and nothing else in my sandwich. She always looks a bit confused but is polite nonetheless. I walked the rest of the two or three blocks to school, where week two began of my Vietnamese language class. Our teacher told us right away that we had a test and our class was adamant that we not take it until we had reviewed a bi more, since we were not told about it beforehand. She relented, and we studied and reviewed almost the whole time. I did pretty well on the test and was happy with how it went.
After our short break between classes, we switched to our fun teacher. She played snakes and ladders with us. You have to roll the dice, move to that spot, and answer a question in Vietnamese in order to stay on the spot. We had a lot of fun and our team won. :) Today we learned a bunch of words for drinks and tableware.
Afterwards, Sarah and I went off to find the food court inside the youth center across from our guest house. I had a nice, cheap lunch of beef and rice. After speaking some Vietnamese to the waiter, we paid and walked across the street to our rooms.
After about ten minutes, Jill, Mike and I left for the post office. On the short walk there, it started to get really cloudy and the locals all donned ponchos. In other words, the sky was about to open. It did so as we left the ATM and headed for the post office. I sent out a few things and then we tried to stay inside until the rain stopped. We got bored and hot inside so we walked back to the guest house in the puring rain. My camera and dong were in ziploc bags, so I didn't care.
I sat in my air conditioned room and dried off for half an hour while I used the wireless internet in my room. Everyone back in the states was being boring and sleeping. It figures. Then it stopped raining and I found about seven people who wanted to go to the Binh Thanh Market (also known as Smelly Market) and the Backpacker's District. We set off for our half hour walk and did a bunch of shopping (aka bargaining in Vietnamese). They're always surprised we can speak the language, since we have the American outfits and white skin. One Vietnamese man described it as "seeing a dog talking," because you don't expect it to happen, but when it does you smile. Maybe that's why they laugh at us sometimes.
We walked a bit more and found the Backpacker's District, which is filled with more adventurous travelers. They tend not to know the language and live day to day out of their backpacks. We sat down and had some American food (B.L.T.'s and french fries, thank god). The waitress was more than surprised that we spoke decent Vietnamses, since she always deals with Americans who only speak English. I was talking through the window of the restaurant, which looked out to the street, to a girl selling me gum for the equivalent of about $4. I told her "mac qua" (too expensive) and she was more than surprised. We joked around for a bit on the street until she got fed up and walked away. We also crossed busy streets in front of mopeds and soon realized that tourists from the district were following in our wake. It was an odd dynamic, since we knew what we were doing but were not quite locals either.
It was about a half hour walk back to the guest house, and we did a bit more shopping and bargaining on our way back. I have been talking to people online as they have been waking up to start the day I am just finishing. It's time for me to shower and get ready to take the bike with Brian to Acoustic!
Like what you see? Leave comments. Yippee! That rhymed...
3 comments:
Dear Caitie,
When you say you "took the bike" with Brian...is that a bicycle? and how do you fit the 2 of you on it? I hope it is not a moped. Uncle Gregg was concerned about you buying food from the vendors on the street as their standards may not be up to ours. Anyhoo, have you seen any large, chunky freshwater pearls yet? Oh, Jeryl said Linda,who is Vietnamese, at Florida Nails in PVB was asking "How is your friend whose daughter was going to Vietnam, is she there yet?" If I have the time, I wil call and see if she has an email address so I can refer her to your blog. She probably would enjoy the pics the most. I am off to bed as up early to walk at 615 with F and M.
Love you,
MOM XOXO....
$4 gum??? damn you should have bought some, that night have been the best piece of gum you have ever had. either that or iit is laced with some kind of drug
fyi, it's Bryan (the other spelling)
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