Vay and Armael visited last week, so I got to take a break and be a tourist for a bit. Unforunately, Vay was sick one day, so Armael and I explored on our own. We rented a motorbike, ran errands, and ended up at Thuan An Beach in Hue. The beach was basically secluded, minus some students who were enjoying a post-school day and flirty afternoon together. Armael played the Uke, and we chilled out.
I joined the guys on a weekend trip to Hoi An, where we stayed at my aunt's hotel and hung out at the beach. Here, the guys are showing off their newly clipped toenails.
We met up with Nhuanh, then headed into the town after eating Com Ga. Because it was Tet Trung Thu (Mid-Autumn Festival), the town turned off all their lights and kids were dropping off lit lanterns into the river while other kids paraded around with their lionheads.
A womyn lighting lanterns to be dropped into the river.
The homies before the rain set in!
We met up with my new friends who are staying in Da Nang, Leslie and Casey. Leslie is an English Fellow who is teaching English at Da Nang University, and Casey is her husband. She heard about me through Fulbright, and since I'm the only other person based on Central Vietnam, we got in contact.
I got to catch the tail-end of Tet Trung Thu at Hue. No lanterns on the Perfume River, but the bridge does have a beautiful light display at night time.
I was told last minute that I had to attend the opening ceremony for our college. I was conflicted with canceling class or holding class and attending after. However, I decided "when in Vietnam..." and cancelled my class to attend the full ceremony. It was quite tedious, given that there was no English translation and that some speeches were long and uninspiring, but seeing some of students receive awards towards the end made it all worth it.
Nhuanh was in town for her cousin's wedding, so we met up for Banh Hue.
This is why it's so easy to get fat in Central Viet Nam -- hella good food.
Nhuanh dropped off a gift form Vay and Armael -- a loving message written on a banana that ended with a drawing of the cookie joke. <3
The message was edible!
I came back to Ha Noi for the Fulbright 20th Anniversary Gala and to handle some visa extension paperwork. I stayed with Amelia and Vanlam for the first three nights, and we made sure to enjoy all the things that we typically don't get in our province, particularly Thach Dua (coconut with jelly inside). Yum!
14 of the 15 ETAs came through (we missed you, Justin!) and we reunited with our favorite hotel staff/friends of all time. Here, Lam and Quan are displaying how much love we have for each other.
My Fulbright teaching team! =)
(Most of) the ETA ladies at the Gala.
(Most of) the ETA guys at the Gala (and Andrew, our honorary ETA/awesome instructor/ride-or-die "doggie")
The next morning, there was a Fulbright football (in America, called "soccer") game against another fellowship program. It was great being able to return to my old habits of heckling along the sidelines and playing sports photographer (as I used to do back in high school).
Later on that day, we had lunch at Chi Diu's. Amelia and I helped prepare the spring rolls in pho rice paper (center). Also, best new discover this weekend: Taro fries. Get on it, America!
At the end of lunch, Chi Diu's son showed off his English/singing skills. He's absolutely adorable!
Probably one thing that was stuck with me for the past two weeks was how much I appreciate being able to be myself. When Vay and Armael visited me, I went back to old habits of joking around and speaking using slang that is common in the Bay Area. (Even my blogging isn't really my real form of speaking.) During my trip to Ha Noi, I got to reminisce about things I enjoyed about American Culture with my ETA friends, especially concerning hip-hop and Chappelle show skits. I can't say that I'm particularly homesick, but moments shared like those remind me of the little things I miss. I used to quote Chappelle and Will Ferrell like crazy, turn on the radio or Pandora and jam to some good ol' hip-hop, and indulge in silly comedic clips on Youtube. I do less of that in Hue because I haven't really discovered such a scene or group of friends that do similar things, but that's part of immersion in a different culture. There are things that you put on hold because it's not readily available, and that's okay. Hue -- and Vietnam in general -- has been so wonderful to me in different ways that I'm okay with holding a reserve of things that used to make me, me. Hopefully, in the near future, I can do what other ETAers / English fellows have done in terms of integrating things that I like to say into the English lesson.
I will end this post of a song Andrew put me onto. Definitely wouldn't have heard about it without his recommendation. (Thanks, holmes!) Friends, please feel free to send me some good music, because it would definitely be a nice break from One Direction's "That's What Makes You Beautiful..."
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