Farewell Hanoi, Hello Hue

It is hard to believe that I have been in Hanoi for nearly three weeks and that tomorrow will conclude the training portion of my placement. Looking back to when I arrived on the 11th, I feel as though I have been here for a few months rather than just a few short weeks.

Tonight my current roommate and I took a bus into the city, had dinner at a nice cafe by one of the many lakes in Hanoi, and walked around a part of the city we had not yet experienced. We felt very comfortable getting on and off the buses, exploring the city, chatting with locals and crossing the streets. This is a far cry from the nervous and slightly hesitant persona that I brought with me just a few short weeks ago.

I feel as though I have grown tremendously already since I arrived (it is amazing what can unfold when you do not let fear stop you!). In my time here in Hanoi, I have begun developing great friendships, picked up a little bit of the Vietnamese language, eaten some truly fantastic food, tried my hand at Vietnamese karaoke and card games, and explored just the tip of this fantastic city. I certainly look forward to coming back and visiting in the months to come!

While I will certainly miss being in Hanoi, a city that is extremely vibrant and alive with energy, I am looking forward to getting settled into my placement in Hue. After my wrap up Vietnamese lessons tomorrow and a going away party tomorrow night, I will be headed for Hue by plane on Saturday morning.

A few final pictures of Hanoi below including yummy Vietnamese street food and downtown Hanoi at night time:





My next posting will be in Hue! Xin Chao!

More Hanoi Pictures from the Weekend

Some Things Familiar, Some Things New

The second week of in country training has flown by and I cannot believe that next Saturday I will be leaving for my placement in Hue!

While I am enjoying drinking in the culture here, this past week I found myself drawn to things that remind me of home. For instance, one night two other volunteers and I decided to try and find our way to downtown Hanoi using the bus system and our limited understanding of the Vietnamese language. It was certainly an adventure as we got turned around quite a few times and the heart of downtown Hanoi was bustling with motorbikes going every which way and shop owners trying to offer their merchandise to us. However, the highlight of this particular night was when one of the volunteers and I spotted a KFC and excitedly started running toward the restaurant (without even bothering to ask the other volunteer -- who happens to be a vegetarian -- whether or not she cared if we stopped in!).

Also, last night I went to see a theatre production of Beauty and the Beast which was performed by an international theatre society, largely composed of expats. The play was very entertaining and funny! It was nice to be able to see this production of a story that has been familiar to me from childhood while living halfway across the world from home.

Even though I have thoroughly enjoyed my brief encounters with things familiar, I have also been delighted with my new experiences as well -- like my home visit to a Vietnamese family today. I got to spend the day with one of the VSO staff members and her family. This included getting to ride across town as a passenger on a motorbike, learning about cooking a Vietnamese meal, practicing my Vietnamese (I still have a LONG way to go!), conversing with the family, visiting a pagoda and visiting extended family members of this particular staff member. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and can certainly better understand how important family is to the Vietnamese culture. They take the time to eat together, talk together, etc. They were also so welcoming to me and truly treated me like an honored guest in their home!

As I encounter things that remind me of home as well as accumulate new adventures, I am beginning to learn how to better weave my own cultural background and comforts with my new adventurous life in Vietnam. I am sure it will be an ongoing process as I begin my placement!

Second Week in Vietnam

So, I have begun my second full week in Vietnam and it is going well so far. My Vietnamese is progressing and I am finding that the structure is fairly simple once one better understands proper pronunciation and starts to build a vocabulary. I have been practicing whenever possible and I think many of the vendors and restaurant wait staff are beginning to understand what I am trying to say. When I first began to try and speak what I had just learned in Vietnamese lessons to the locals, I would often receive blank looks in return. Therefore, I would say that being understand a little bit is great progress :)

I had my first experience on a motorbike yesterday which was quite exciting. I rode with one of my new Vietnamese friends at the office, Ngan (or Money as I have been calling her -- the literal translation -- since I have trouble pronouncing the "ng" correctly) , and she took me around for a little while. It was nice but a little bit scary (although she was driving especially slow for me, so I can only imagine what it will be like when someone is going full speed!).

Also, I have had the chance to experience a few bia hois or a Vietnamese version of a local pub. They serve fresh beer made daily and light snacks. They are quite nice, although we have received a few funny looks as most of the people who frequent these types of establishments are men.

This weekend, each new VSO volunteer will be spending a full day with a local Vietnamese family, so I am excited about that. We are also planning to go to the theatre to see Beauty and the Beast and possibly go bowling.

All in all, I am really enjoying my time here and cannot wait to see what unfolds over the next year.

Below are a few recent photos taken in Hanoi:


On the motorbike with Ngan


The other VSO volunteers with face masks, a common practice in Vietnam when riding on motorbikes

Ha Long Bay

The incoming VSO volunteers had this weekend free from training sessions so Pat, my current VSO roommate, Zulekha, my future VSO roommate in Hue, and I booked a travel tour to Ha Long Bay as everyone has been talking about how beautiful it is. We booked a tour that included transportation to and from Ha Long Bay, boat travel, lodging on the boat and meals -- it was very nice to not have to worry about where we were going or what we were going to eat next!

The journey to Ha Long Bay took approximately three hours from Hanoi. Ha Long Bay is a big tourist destination in Vietnam so it was somewhat strange to see so many tourists and foreigners when we arrived (I am beginning to become accustomed to being a minority in Hanoi). There were about ten passengers aboard the ship and six crew members. The boat itself was fairly nice and included about ten cabins, an eating area and an upstairs deck.

Ha Long Bay itself was absolutely breathtaking! I have posted some photos below for reference, but I am afraid they do not quite do the bay justice. Words cannot describe how magical this place seemed. Once we got into the bay itself, we were able to tour some of the caverns and kayak around the bay. Kayaking was really neat as we got to experience the bay up close and also better see the community of Vietnamese people that live aboard house boats in the bay.

Apart from viewing the bay though, one of my favorite parts occurred when Pat and I began playing cards with all of the crew members after dinner on Saturday. They taught us how to play some popular Vietnamese games and we taught them how to play Go Fish. Even though there were some language barriers, we were still able to connect with them through laugher and fun -- it was also a great time to practice our Vietnamese, especially since we just learned the Vietnamese numbers last week.

While this weekend was very fun, I am now pretty worn out and plan to take it easy tonight before another busy week of training begins tomorrow.


Our boat in Ha Long Bay

Some of My First Vietnamese Experiences

So, I have now been in Hanoi for two full days and am starting to get over the jet lag. I haven't really noticed though as I am really enjoying taking in the culture here and my excitement level is high.

The program staff has been very accommodating and so friendly; I am enjoying getting to know them much. Yesterday, they helped us obtain local SIM cards so that our phones can work here (although I am unable to call/text through to the US) and we are going to open bank accounts tomorrow. We also began Vietnamese lessons today. Our teacher is very patient and kind although I think progress will be a bit slow as the language is so tonal; if a work is pronounced slightly differently it becomes a different word altogether. However, I am determined to keep trying to improve even if my pronunciation isn't perfect at first.

The traffic seems very chaotic as there are motorbikes, buses and cars going every which way at all times of the day. It is very different from the US, but it seems to work quite well here. As a pedestrian though, it will just take some getting used to as people just begin crossing the street and the traffic simply goes around. It definitely takes a leap of faith at first!

I am loving all of the food here a lot, even though it is very different than what I am used to. Vietnamese food is so fresh and I am getting along ok so far with chopsticks. I have had shrimp and potato pancakes, crab spring rolls, Vietnamese soup and lots of fresh vegetables. The restaurant at the hotel serves noodle soup for breakfast which I really like, even though I never imagined having noodles at breakfast time. Also, many of the Vietnamese restaurants here have set prices for a given amount of people and they then just bring out dish after dish to share rather than one dish per person.

Tomorrow we continue Vietnamese lessons are planning to begin practicing our language skills in the city with our teacher on Friday.

More to come soon!

First Day In Vietnam!

I just arrived in Vietnam late last night after two LONG days of traveling. While I am still very tired and recovering from the long journey, I absolutely love it here so far! The people are so friendly and hospitable and the city of Hanoi is so alive and beautiful -- I cannot wait to go exploring!

I will be based here in Hanoi, the capital city, for the next three weeks as I complete my training at the Vietnam VSO office. We went to visit the Vietnam museum this afternoon which was a very neat and fascinating history lesson and are going to dinner with other VSO volunteers based in Hanoi this evening.

Before are a few photos I have taken so far:


View from the hotel restaurant at breakfast


Vietnam museum we visited today


My roommate in Hanoi and I at the museum


View from my hotel window

I will post more soon!

Tomorrow Is The Day!

So, tomorrow morning bright and early is the first official day of my Vietnam adventure!

I am getting up at the crack of dawn (or more like WAY before the sun comes up!) to begin my journey to Hanoi, Vietnam. I will be traveling from Orlando to Newark, Newark to Beijing (14 hour flight!) and then finally from Beijing to Hanoi (another 5.5 hour flight!). I will finally land in Hanoi at 10:00 pm Monday night.

While it is definitely hard to believe that the day has finally arrived and that I am actually getting onto the plane tomorrow, I am so excited to see what my life will be like in Vietnam after I have spent several months just dreaming about it.

Thank you all for your incredible support and encouragement! I feel so blessed to have such a great network of family and friends.

I will plan to post later on this week once I arrive in Hanoi for my in country training. Thanks for coming along for the journey by way of this blog.

Final Preparations

I just learned on Monday that there was a bit of a miscommunication with the Vietnam Program Office concerning my expected arrival date. So, that means I will now be leaving early morning on January 10th rather than tomorrow.

While I am anxious to get there and learn more about this adventure that I signed up for, I am actually glad for the few extra days in which to get everything in order. There are so many little details involved with leaving the country for a year -- notifying my banks, making sure all of my accounts are in order before I leave, my tax forms, phone, etc, etc. Not to mention the HUGE task of packing the right items for this journey, especially when I am only able to bring ONE suitcase!! For those of you who know me well, you know that I am the world's worst packer -- I tend to prepare for any instance that might occur on a trip which usually results in me taking the largest suitcase possible.

For this trip, however, I have had to approach the task of packing a little differently. So, I am trying to fit as many clothes as possible into my not-large-enough suitcase (I've heard rolling helps, right?). This trip is also different in that I also have to prepare for a large array of medical "emergencies" that could arise on my travels as well -- vitamins, antibiotics, antimalarials, etc. etc. which also makes packing everything into one suitcase quite a feat. And let's not forget the motorcycle helmet I am also bringing since motorbikes are a common form of transportation in Vietnam.

Oh well, I guess I will manage. One thing is for sure -- packing for this trip has certainly made me grateful for all of the blessings that I have here in the US. I am sure I will learn to be grateful for many more things along the way as well!