Home again (well not home-home... my Vietnam home)

Okay, I realize my last blog post was slightly depressing, but I am over that stage; I was just super sad to see the end of an epic semester– the memories will last forever though! I am so so so happy to have moved back in with my homestay family! I actually didn't move in until today, I decided to stay one more night in the hotel because eight of the SIT students were still there. But, now it is only me and Linh (who is also staying in Vietnam until mid-January). People will be coming back through Saigon in about a week to gather their luggage and catch flights back to America. I think most of them have one night in the city, so I will get to say goodbye, again!

The past 24 hours were really fun and very busy. Yesterday morning Mikala, Lindsay, and I did some last minute gift shopping (Sadie get ready for the most epic t-shirt) remenisccing on all the amazing times we have had. Later that night, Lindsay and I got delicious stir fried instant noodles with eggs and then her homestay sister and friend took us for icy che, followed by a motorbike ride to a beautiful part of Saigon where we just parked the bikes, sat and talked. This morning, I woke up and said goodbye to more people as they departed for other Southeast Asia destinations and then hung out with Simon all morning. Over the semester Simon has volunteered a lot at the U.S Consulate, so he brought me there and set me up with some volunteering work for the next few weeks. Hopefully every day I will get to go hang out in the Consulate's American Center and help Vietnamese students with their homework, practice English, play games with them, etc. I really hope this all works out according to plan because I need to have something to do all day long besides work on summer internship applications. Anyways, back to my day... I moved into my homestay this afternoon– I decided to use the bus and save 100,000 dong. I am glad I did, but man it was not easy to maneuver my bag on the crowded bus (which is usually never crowded, but of course today it was). It reminded me of my bus days back in elementary school when I tried to juggle my ski bag and glockenspiel (if you don't what that is google it and then picture me rocking out on that in band class. Oh yeah). Okay following unpacking at my house I took a bus back into the city and went to the movies with Simon, Linh, and Vy. Then we had dinner and I said a final goodbye to Simon and voila– I am now back at my homestay sitting in my comfy bed.

Tomorrow I am headed off to Hanoi, (the capital, Northern Vietnam, very far away, 1138 km far away to be exact) with my homestay sister. One of her cousins is getting married so I get to attend my second Vietnamese wedding. I am really very excited to go back to Hanoi, I feel like last time I was there I was exhausted and didn't take it all in. Also, the weather is relatively cool there, I was told to pack a sweater because it has been 18º Celsius at night. Boo-yahhh.

I realized I never posted pictures of my homestay like I promised to do... better late than never. Here are some pictures, I plan on taking more within the next few weeks– especially some good family photos.

This is my room, on the fourth floor.

The kitchen, first floor. Underneath all the plants is where
the housekeeper does the dishes every night– not in the sink.

Dining room/living room, first floor. In the background is
the grandfather, the middle is Co Minh, the mom. On the right
is the housekeeper who I call Ms. Yes.

This is Moo-moo (that is a nickname), my 13 year-old homestay sister being a
dedicated little student and doing her homework. The room behind her is the
bedroom that she shares with her sister. This is the third floor.

Two cousins in the stairwell. They are so cute and
their English is so good. I am excited to see them again!
Anyways, I wanted to put in a picture of the stairs because
they are sort of an essential part of the house with it being
five stories and all. Also, they are not like stairs in America, they
are really twisty-turny.

The view from the top (fifth) floor's balcony.

A completed semester

The semester is over. If it weren't for the Philippines I would actually be on a plane right now flying back to America, strangely enough with one of the girls from my program– we had the same itinerary. Anyways, today is a sad day. I woke up early this morning with Alex to go to our favorite street food vendors for a last feast of che and pineapple for breakfast. One by one all my friends are leaving me! It is so strange to say goodbye to all of my classmates as they depart for America or for some last minute traveling around Southeast Asia. Last night at our farewell dinner I was filled with so many emotions while saying goodbye, wrapping up our program, and reflecting on the experiences we have had. Every time I have to say goodbye to one of my friends I feel so sad and like it isn't real, that we aren't really leaving each other (well more like they are leaving me since I'm going to be in Vietnam for another month). Our group was so random and quirky, there were definitely times when all I wanted was some space but generally speaking we always have so much fun together and we have shared something that many other people will never understand, I truly am going to miss them. I recently came to the realization that this is the last time until April that I am going to be surrounded by Americans– or I guess just be in a group of Americans (I am never "surrounded" by Americans in Vietnam). That is a really weird concept to try and swallow... it'll just be me from here on out. I will probably meet up with some people over the next month as our Southeast Asia travels overlap, but generally speaking– I am on my own.

The past 14 weeks have gone by so quickly– it honestly feels like it was just a few days ago that I arrived in Vietnam and met the whole group, I can remember it so clearly. In the past three and a half months I have experienced so much– I can't believe how many things I have seen, heard, and tasted! I know I am not leaving Vietnam quite yet, but just discussing and reflecting on everything we have experienced this semester was very powerful and emotional. I am so glad that I still have about a month left in this beautiful country, I just am not ready to say goodbye to Vietnam. I also wasn't ready to say goodbye to all my friends, but that actually had to happen. It is a little daunting that I am now on my own, if I have a problem there is no academic director for me to call. In the famous words of Co Thuy, my Vietnamese teacher, "Don't be worry" I am not roughing it by myself here in Nam. I move back in with my homestay family this afternoon and Co Thanh will be in touch with me in the next few days about teaching English at some center so I can do something productive with all my free time. Plus, I will see a lot of my friends in about a week when they come back to HCMC after their  excursions to Cambodia, Thailand, and Hong Kong so we can have one more bout of fun.

More to come later on final presentations but for now I am just going to sit around and feel so fortunate to have had such an incredible semester (but also I am going to do a little bit of moping and feeling sad that it is over).

Goodbye, Hue

I leave for the airport in thirty-five minutes. Here is my farewell post to Hue– some of my favorite spots. I really should be working on my ISP right now since I'm presenting tomorrow morning. But, I am blogging. And my blogging is actually not serving as a study break since for the past forty-five minutes I have been working on a little arts and crafts project. Send me your address if you want to receive a little something-something in the mail. Next post from the sweltering hot Saigon.

Something I really like about Hue is with one turn you are
out of the city. This street is home to my favorite bun hen place.

The Huong River (Perfume River)

Collecting little snails

These are all over ever city.

I don't know what this says.

Another rainy day in Hue.

This is the bookstore cafe where I did a lot of work. It reminds me a lot
of Bowdoin's Student Union so I always found myself being productive.

The city is divided by the Huong River. This is the southern part of the
city, home to a lot of hotels and stores. The northern part is where the Citadel is.

Tran Tien bridge

Famous scenery of Hue– the mountains and the Trang Tien bridge.
The bridge was built by the French. At night time it is lit up
with colorful lights.

One big dowry

A few days ago I was invited to go the temple of King Tran Nhan Tong. Even though I have lots and lots of work to do I figure I may as well take advantage of Hue's amazing temple and tombs in my last week here. I am glad I went because it was absolutely beautiful, full of history, and also there were no tourists there! The temple is for both King Tran Nhan Tong and his daughter, Princess Huyen Tran. The Princess was married off to a Champa king, the dowry being two of the Cham provinces. Obviously, receiving two provinces was a huge deal and greatly contributed to the expansion of the nation, making Princess Huyen Tran a heroine in Vietnam. Two whole provinces– this Princess must have been pretty amazing! Only one year after their marriage the Champa king died. According to Champa tradition, the Princess was supposed to be burnt alive but her family sent a servant on a clandestine (and successful) mission to rescue her.

Recognize the crane and tortoise statues...they symbolize yin & yang

Going to the Princess's temple.

The inside of Princess Huyen Tran's temple

Rawr.

King Tran Nhan Tong lived quite a different life than his predecessors and successors, he renounced his claim to the throne after fifteen years and became a monk, devoting the remainder of his life to Buddhism. So there is this really big happy Buddha on site:

so big, so happy!

After a photo shoot with my new, big, happy friend we continued the ascent up Ngu Phong Mountain (yup, a mountain because it is a whole 108 meters above sea level). At the top is the Hoa Binh bell. I had the chance to strike the bell, symbolizing, "Peace for the world and happiness for humankind." I guess usually the view from the top is amazing, one can see all of Hue. But the weather has been rather miserable for the past few weeks– honestly it has rained every day. So I only saw fog at the top. Oh well.

The foggy walk up.

I think this man's job is to strike the bell all day.

Then we made the treacherous trip back down. I was wearing flip-flops and the stairs were very slippery. I managed to stay on my feet the whole time but had some close calls. Need I say that since then I have chosen to wear my trusty (but smelly) tevas around. I don't even know why I was wearing my flip-flops, I usually only use them as shower shoes. I learned my lesson.

Fancy dragon banisters.

Me & my pet dragon. If you noticed, I am wearing
pants, a sweater, and a scarf because it has been rather
cold here in Hue. And by cold I actually mean hovering
just about 60, windy, and rainy. Brrrr.

Okay back to work on my paper. My presentation is in three days and my paper is due in five. Ay, ay, ay. But looking on the bright side– Mikala came to Hue today! Yay fellow Mainer :) We have been motivating each other all day long. Or something like that.

Some faces of Hue

Saturday night was spent at Hang's house making che and banh loc. All of the Vietnamese students in the pictures below are in the English club that takes place every Friday night. They have all helped me with my research; everyday I had one of them in the classroom with me, or if they couldn't go they would ask one of their friends or classmates to help me out.

We went over to Hang's house around 4:00 and didn't leave until around 9:00. After we had finished eating dinner we played some games like two truths and a lie, telephone, and then I taught them mafia, which they all loved! It was so much fun to sit around in a big group of friends, share stories, be happy, and laugh.

I am so fortunate to have made friends with local students. It's a win-win situation because they get to practice their English with a native speaker and I get a local's perspective on Hue plus I get to see and do things that wouldn't be available to me otherwise. And of course, everyone gets new friendships out of it! I have grown really close with a few of the girls, and I truly will miss them when I leave Hue in only four days (ahhh where did the time go??)!

Making banh loc with mung bean filling

Hang played hostess all night!

Filling the dough with the mung beans

The start to the che. No one had ever made it before so we weren't really sure
what we were doing. When it didn't come out like it was supposed to they decided
it was best to blame it on the American, aka me. I mean, it still tasted delicious, it
just wasn't the right texture.

Ta-da! The finished banh loc

Family style dinner on the bamboo mat.

half the group with me...

and the other half with Erika.

Playing telephone.

Someone said something funny I guess.

Some Hue Specialties

In Vietnam each region or province has their own specialties, and the locals in that region are convinced that this food is the best in all of Vietnam. Every new city I go to I am asked if I have tried their specialty. If I have the next question is– "It's delicious, no?" and if I haven't tried the said specialty I hear, "It's delicious." Hue is no different, in fact I think  the people here are the most proud of their food, especially when it comes to bun bo Hue versus pho. Pho is very well known all over the world as the Vietnamese food to try, but people in Hue think bun bo Hue is much better. It is actually pretty entertaining to listen to people rattle on and on about bun bo Hue. Anyways, in the past few days I have brought my camera to meals to document the specialties. Enjoy!

Banh canh ca loc. Big fat thick noodles made from rice and tapioca
flour with really delicious pieces of fried fish. It only cost
10,000 VND, about 50 cents. What is interesting is you don't
use chopsticks with this dish, only a spoon!

Quail eggs are always served along with banh canh. At first
I didn't really care for them, but now I love them!

Bun bo Hue. I got the version with the meat in balls so I could
pick around the stuff I didn't want to eat. Bun noodles are
made from rice.

My friend Tue got the real bun bo Hue with chunks
of meat all over the place. This cost 25,000 VND
(just over a dollar.)

I don't really know what the real name of this dish is but I am going
to call it bun cua because it is the bun noodle with balls of crab
meat (cua). So bun + cua = bun cua.A little more expensive
though, a whopping  30,000 VND ($1.50)

Erika eating her bun cua

Bun hen. These are the bun noodles with little freshwater
clams, hen, on top. There are also vegetables, peanuts, and
broth that you pour on top. Usually it costs 10,000 VND
but I know a place where I can get che & bun hen for 10,000.

My (or mi, I have seen it spelled both ways) hen, the same thing only
instant noodles replace the bun noodles. There is also com hen (rice).

Dinner a few nights ago.

MO! One of my best friends here in Hue. She is
eating banh flan.

And I was eating purple che. SO GOOD! <- Just for you Alex :)

What have I done?

 I just did the unthinkable. I ate this:

What is that, you ask. Well, take a closer look.

Okay still no idea? Now I break it open...

Oh look a little webbed foot:

Look very closely. What does this resemble?

If you still don't know let me spell it out for you:

 

don't look at me like that Daffodil

I ate the whole thing.

 This is what I was thinking of the whole time. My little baby ducklings. Forgive me for I have sinned.

RIP ducklings of summer 2010

Truong lon= fertilized duckling egg. I didn't really like it, but it wasn't terrible. Maybe I will try it again. I think the worst thing is just looking at the little duckling. Ohhhh who would've thought that I would eat a fertilized duck egg. What is Vietnam doing to me?????