This past weekend was a blast! My thirteen year-old homestay sister, Miu (I call her moo-moo because that is what Miu sounds like to me) and I went out with an uncle and four cousins to get pho and ice cream. All of the cousins are fluent in English, which is extremely impressive since two of them are only five and seven. At dinner I had the opportunity to practice my Vietnamese– any practice I get is very much needed. Unfortunately for me, whenever I say anything no one understands me. Vietnamese is absolutely crazy. I will blog about it soon so everyone can feel for me. I am becoming a frequent rider of the struggle bus. Anyways, the younger children are great to talk to in Vietnamese because they will correct my every mistake whereas adults/teenagers won't because they feel bad/embarrassed that my Vietnamese is so terrible. Oh well. After pho we went and got ice cream! Miu pointed at the peanut butter flavor and said who would ever get that. Me. I really haven't missed any food since I have been here (everything in Vietnam is fantastically delicious) but when I was eating that peanut butter ice cream I had a whole new appreciation for how delicious peanut butter and ice cream are. Together. So great.
Following ice cream we got back into the car, yes the car– not motorbike, and went to see the uncle's house. Three of the uncles live in the same gated community so I got a tour of the whole neighborhood. It was very nice. I also snacked on some cheerios, the first cereal I have had since I've arrived in Vietnam. It was such a fun night. Family is by far the most important aspect of Vietnamese culture. Many people live in very close proximity with their extended family and consider them as brothers and sisters instead of cousins. It really is special. I loved meeting more family members and had some very interesting conversations with each of the uncles. I am excited to spend more time with them– this Thursday there will be 32 family members over at the house!
Saturday morning after a bright and early skype session I lounged around in bed and did some homework (bleh) until lunch time when Miu finally rolled out of bed and Trinh returned from University. She has classes on Saturday morning, how horrible is that? After lunch Trinh and I took the bus into District 1, aka the hopping place of HCMC and went to a French movie that had Vietnamese subtitles. I understood very little. However, it was really interesting to have to rely on the little French I remember as well as pick out the Vietnamese words as they scrolled across the screen. Trinh is a French major so that is why we went. When we returned home we had dinner and then Trinh, Miu and I watched k-pop! which is Korean music videos. Actually the funniest boy bands ever. It is like N-Sync and Backstreet Boys only they are a decade and a half late and wear waaaay tighter clothes.
Sunday we went all the way over to District 11 to an adventure park/water park. The adventure park was so-so but the water park was awesome! It started raining but I didn't mind because I realized it was the first time in five weeks that I have actually felt chilled, and it felt good. After the water park I met another uncle, aunt, and two little cousins. They were awesome. Then we returned to the gated community for a family gathering. We had such a good dinner of pho cá (fish pho) followed by a orange/coffee dessert bread made possible by the oven in the house. Most houses don't have ovens, which at first was the strangest concept to understand but now it makes complete sense. Vietnamese don't really eat anything baked/roasted. Everything I eat at my homestay is made on a stove top. Back to Sunday night: After dessert bread I started to watch a movie in their cinema (a really really really nice t.v room) but left early because both Miu and I had school in the morning (bleh).
So that was my first weekend with my homestay. Sorry for the lack of pictures.
your host sister is a French major? she must be cool
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