Chao, for reals

I think it's pretty safe to say that anyone who reads this already knows this, but just in case I have millions of anonymous readers out there: I'm not in Vietnam anymore. So it doesn't really make sense to write here anymore. But worry not - I have a new blog. Check it out: http://dirtythievingseagypsies.blogspot.com/.

New Specs

I got new glasses the other day and wanted to blog about them for 2 reasons. First, because they're awesome.

Second, because amazingly enough the whole experience was awesome too. Usually getting something done over here is a million times more difficult than it should be. But this, some how, was so much better than getting glasses in the US. In the states it always went something like this: my old eye doctor won't release my prescription so I have to pay 20 or so bucks to get my eyes checked even though I know my prescription, pay another 100 + bucks (or 400 + bucks with out insurance) for some pair of glasses that I don't really like that much but are one of the few I can afford, and then have to wait 2 weeks until I can actually wear them. Here, I simply walked in, picked out a pair I liked, told the doctor my prescription (but he checked my eyes in case it had changed - for free), he went and got the correct lenses, and then the technician guy went to work fitting the lenses to the frames. He told me to wait 10 minutes but really it was only about 5. And the grand total for everything was 25 bucks, out the door. Amazing. And, pretty sad for America that even a third world country can do a better job at this than them.

Bun Bo Day

After living here for over a year we finally got around to trying bun bo, a street food dish made with rice noodles, beef, some green veggies and, the best part, peanuts. And we've eaten it at least once a week since we tried it. It's definately my new favorite Vietnamese dish. You wouldn't think lettuce and noodles would go together so well, but let me tell you they do. This stuff is awesomely delicious. Maybe this picture will help you imagine the greatness.

Mmm noodles...

New Look

I decided it was time to revamp my blog. So here's the new look. Tada!
Obviously I'm already failing at my blogging regularly thing, and for some reason trying to pretend that this post counts even though it's a) stating the obvious, b) has nothing to do with vietnam/asia/anything, and c) is lame. I'll have to write something super interesting next time to make up for this.

Thailand

We were finally able to do some travelling during our 2 week Tet vacation, so we decided to check out Thailand. Thailand is kind of like Vietnam's prettier, cooler, cleaner older sister. Or maybe cousin. Whatever, it's an awesome country that anyone who likes beautiful beaches, hip modern cities, excellent shopping and delicious food should check out. We couldn't help but compare it to Vietnam, and it pretty much ruled it every category save money - once you've gotten used to Vietnam's prices it's hard to handle anything else. Exactly how they stack up against each other I'm saving for another blog, but for now here's some pics.

Sorry I Suck

For some reason blogging regularly had become really difficult for me. But the Lunar New Year just passed not too long ago, and my resolution was to start being a better blogger. So look for more blogs in the very near future.

Teachers' Day

Yesterday was Teachers' Day which, unlike in America, is quite a big holiday over here. It is a day to thank and show respect to your teachers, and it's an important holiday to many people.

To celebrate the holiday students visit their current and former teachers, give presents (usually flowers), and - the best part of all - teachers get the day off to rest and relax. As a teacher I must say it makes you feel pretty special.

Things You Only See in Viet Nam

Cyclos

One of the "not to miss" things the tour guide books like to mention is taking a ride in a cyclo. A cyclo, for those who don't know, is basically a cart attached to the front of a bicycle. This is just one of the many ways that the guide books are way off. Would you want to take a ride in this?

In case you're wondering what's being loaded in there, well that's a big pile of grease. Dirt, bricks, various dirty building materials are all common cyclo cargo.

To be fair, the cyclos in Hanoi are a bit nicer, but to me there's something a little too lazy about having some poor guy cart you around town. And, strangely enough, the only people I've ever seen in them are fat, lazy looking tourists.

Snake Wine

Yummy.

Also available: monkey wine, bear paw wine, sea horse wine (just to name a few).

Lion Dancing and Fire Breathing

This was definately one of those "I am very far from America" moments...

I'm not sure if you can tell, but most of the dancers/fire breathers are about 14 - 16 (one kid, who was smoking a cigarette before he had to go on, looked about 10). There's several groups of kids like this who go around the whole city performing for money. The video doesn't really capture it, but it 's pretty wild.

Moon Cake

Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. I know what your thinking - it's not mid-autumn. On this side of the world people go by the lunar calendar as well as what ever the regular calendar is called, and according to the lunar calendar it's mid-August right now...which would also make you think it's not mid-autumn. But apparently the seasons are at different times over here and, yes, it is in fact the middle of autumn.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also called the Moon Festival, is pretty much the biggest holiday here besides Tet. People celebrate by walking down the streets with lanterns (to show Cuoi - a boy who was sent to the moon - the way back to earth), dressing up as a mythical creature called Kylin (part lion, part dragon, and part some other animals) and dancing in the streets, and of course by eating moon cake. The streets have literally filled with moon cake vendors. And although I was told it's not as fun to eat them before the Moon Festival, I had to try one.

There are 2 different kinds of moon cake. One is brown and more dense, like the pictures above and below.

The other is white and much more chewy. A student described it as the kind that old people like to eat. It looks like this:

They taste...well...gross. As you can see, both kinds have an egg yolk, or a 'moon', in the center. Which, considering they are sweet cakes, is pretty weird, taste-wise. They both come with various kinds of fillings. Some type of fruit and chicken is common in the brown ones (again, weird) and lotus seed paste or watermelon seed paste is common in the white ones (which by itself wasn't so bad, but combined with the egg and the super chewy crust it was also...weird). I've heard that there's all sorts of variations, some with no egg, some that are more of a sponge-cake with fruit, and that they're very delicious. But what I've tried so far wasn't really what I'd call delicious.

But maybe it's my fault because I ate them before the Moon Festival.

Just Another Work Party

Some highlights:

Steve was awarded staff member of the quarter...

...in addition to a lovely plaque and a rose, one of his rewards for this was a song sung by the bossman...

...and maybe the best highlight of all (yes, even better than the song), this guy's outfit:

Crap on Bikes

People here have an uncanny ability to shove more crap than you'd think humanly possible on a tiny little motorbike. Of course the best ones - say a 180 kg refrigerator (for those of you who aren't being forced to use the metric system that's about 400 lbs), about 20 full grown pigs or a real, dead cow - are always impossible to catch with the camera. Here's a few that I have managed to get.

Messing Around With My New Camera

That's Fresh

One of the many popular junk foods here is the Fresh Pie (it's now).

Fresh Pie is a soft cake filled with stawberry cream, which is clearly labeled on the box in case there was any confusion:

And, as you can see, it looks so much more appetising in real life than it does in the pictures:

More Awesome Headgear

I now have the power to control lightning...

and Steve's ready for spring break in Cabo...

More Random Pictures of Students

Shots of students pretending to their work:

these kids are actually demons

They Actually Let These People Near Children

My coworkers:

working hard

don't trust this guy

one of the Vietnamese teachers...not sure why her shirt says "girls"