Hue, How You Livin'?

I realized that I haven't posted about Hue yet, so I'll post a little about my first day here.

I left Ha Noi to go to Da Nang. I spent the night there with family and got ready to leave for Hue the next morning. My uncle, Cau Dai, and my cousin, Em No, drove me across the countryside to arrive in a quaint part of Hue. The school is about 2 miles away from the city center, which is quite nice since I won't be too distracted by city life, yet will have a getaway if I need one.

My school!

 When I arrived, I had my boss's assistant, Chi Nhi, help me get settled in. I have to say, given that I'm a city person and had just arrived from Ha Noi, it took me awhile to absorb my setting and get comfortable. Also, upon coming into my room, there was a lot of dust and insects (dead and alive) crawling around. However, with a positive attitude, bug spray, a broom, and careful eating around the room, my room has grown into a nice home for me after coming back from class.

Here's some views from and of my room:

View directly in front of my room. I park my bicycle to the right, and I walk across the road and to the right to get to school. (White building to the very righthand side)

View to the right of my room

View to the left of the room

View coming into the room. (Don't be fooled by the TV -- there are no English-speaking or subtitled channels.)

Room with furnishings (desk to the left hand side). The shower, toilet, sink and clothesline are in the back, with a door separating it

Separate shower with water heater

Separate toilet

After getting a tour of the room, I realized I had a lot to clean and set up. My uncle must've read my reaction well, and he offered to take me to Big C after lunch, which is like the Target of Viet Nam. 

First lunch in Hue this year! (That's pork, not dog meat. Mama Nguyen said I'm not allowed to eat dog meat anymore due to sanitation reasons. Haha.)

After we ate a delicious meal, we went to Big C. Em No took me around and gave me advice on what to get while Cau Dai waited outside. Poor guy thought we were just going to get clothes hangers -- we ended up getting everything we thought was necessary -- from that, to emergency Western goods in case I get homesick. (I anticipate diving into some Pepperidge Farms Sausalito cookies today to celebrate my birthday!)

Em No with our shopping cart, hiding from the camera.

We came back to my dorm, dropped off the items, and from there, Cau Dai and Em No bid "see you later" -- literally, since I planned to take the bus back to see them for the weekend.

For the rest of the day, I caught up on e-mails, set up my room, then went searching for some Bun Bo Hue (Hue beef noodle soup), which is one of my favorite Vietnamese dishes (Mi Quang is my ultimate favorite). I walked into the city a little past sundown, and I ended up walking along the streets to avoid the fire and ashes since Vietnamese people tend to burn offerings for their ancestors outside their house on the sidewalk. I let my eyes and stomach guide me as I walked around searching for "Bun Bo Hue." A lot of "Bun Bo, Bun Gio, Bun Ga," but no Bun Bo Hue.

I reached a point where I got to a Jesus statue outside of a church and realized that I was hungrier than I thought. As if He helped me reached a revelation, I turned around, saw the sign "Bun Bo," and realized that I was in Hue... so it would be a bit redundant to advertise "Bun Bo Hue" if I'm already in Hue. Duh, Anna.

I plopped down in a chair, ordered Bun Bo, added the necessary amount of chili, and got down with the delicious bowl of soup. My hunger may have amplified my tastebuds, but it was that point that I decided that I love Hue food -- and that I better find a way to work out to fully enjoy everything I eat here while maintaining my shape. Oh, and did I mention that it was only about $1 per bowl? (Probably less in other places, too.)

I continued my journey through the night by walking towards the downtown area (probably 2-3 miles away from my college). I found the Westerner area and plopped into a spot where I played pool with the local servers and some other Westerners. When 10:15PM rolled around, I called a taxi to made sure that I made it by my 11PM curfew, because the gates of our dorm lock by that time. No exceptions.

Since then, I've been able to meet with other teachers (local and foreign), people working with non-governmental organizations that I look forward to volunteer with, and I have been getting better acquainted with the city. Since Amy's been here for a year already, she's been taking us to a new place for dinner every night and has been really helpful with her advice about going about town and working with university students. I also have a bicycle now, so I look forward to riding it about town as well.

I'll be sure to update on my birthday activities (with more pictures!) this weekend! =)