(If you are offended by drinking, don’t read this post).
Today I was reminded that appropriately used alcohol with the right people just makes life better. As I wrote last night, I have been pretty down the past few weeks. But tonight, I had dinner with Sarah, Michael and two Vietnamese guys from London. (Michael met one of these guys when he was in Venezuela a couple years ago and he is traveling with his cousin.) We walked around the Bach Khoa area and found a buffet like place on the street perpendicular to my house. It was quite nice because you got a plate of rice and you could add whatever you wanted and you are charged for whatever you get. So I got a plate full of food for 25.000 VND ($1.25). (It made me realize, I really need to get out and walk around my area a bit more. So much awesome food!) After dinner we stopped for cake and then caught a bus up to the Old Quarter where we met Josh at a Bia Hơi. Bia Hơi’s are places around Vietnam that sell very cheap, very weak beer. It was my first time going, and I was excited because 1. I am the only person in my family who likes beer so I don’t drink it often and 2. I am a light-weight so it was nice to be able to drink more than one before having to stop. I had 3 ½ and was at the perfect stage of feeling the effects of the alcohol but not being drunk. Plus the company was excellent. A very good evening. Too bad I forgot my camera.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Frustrations
Dear Family and Friends,
I am sorry I haven’t been updating my blog as often as I originally intended. I have hit a bit of a rut in the last couple of weeks here. I am much more homesick than I anticipated. There haven’t been any major events that have gotten me down, but rather an unrelenting stream of small things.
For instance, I had been doing quite well getting myself around town, but about two weeks ago, I managed to get lost twice when taking the bus. The weather has been cold and rainy, and I caught a cold which drained all of my energy. I have gotten over most of it, but I have a cough that won’t go away because of the bad air quality. There are tons of motorbikes everywhere and people smoke all the time (at least, the men do).
I am also very frustrated with the traffic in Hanoi. Walking can be very dangerous because people do not pay attention to traffic rules. Motorbikes park and drive on the side walks or go the wrong way down the street, so I have to constantly pay attention to everything going on around me while I am walking.
I have also discovered I am not made for city living. I hate all of the tall buildings, and I miss open, green space. The lakes and rivers here are extremely polluted which I find very distressing (especially after working for the Stream Team program). I miss the infrastructures of the United States (transportation and sanitation specifically). I realized that Vietnam is a developing country, and it will get those things sorted out eventually, but in the mean time, it is frustrating.
I’ve been surprised by how much I miss the little things at home. I miss the convenience of my car and the ability to go where I want, when I want without having the limitations of a language barrier. I miss going to church with people I have known my entire life. I miss spending time with my family and friends. I hate not being there to celebrate weddings, new babies, restaurant openings, grad school acceptances and other important milestones happening in the lives of people at home. I miss movie nights and not having a curfew. Mostly I miss being with people who know me well. The people here are great, don’t get me wrong, but the fact is, I have only known them two months. That’s not enough time to get to know someone well.
Additionally, I feel inadequate for what I am here for. I have no idea how to teach, especially listening. I want my students to succeed, but I don’t know how to help them do that. I’ve also somehow completely lost my ability to initiate conversations. I used to be able to talk to anyone, but over the past two years I’ve gotten more and more tongue tied with meeting new people. That makes creating relationships with those around me rather difficult.
Even with all the bad/annoying things I am dealing with, there are many things I enjoy about living here. Spending time with students is awesome; I have had a chance to explore parts of Hanoi with them. It’s fun since many of them come from the provinces, and so they are also learning about Hanoi. I’ve gotten involved at HIC (Hanoi International Church), both with a small group bible study and volunteering with the worship service/Sunday School. So overall, I am still glad that I am here. Through everything, I have never doubted that this is where God needs me to be.
Thanks for reading to the end!
Love, Hanna
I am sorry I haven’t been updating my blog as often as I originally intended. I have hit a bit of a rut in the last couple of weeks here. I am much more homesick than I anticipated. There haven’t been any major events that have gotten me down, but rather an unrelenting stream of small things.
For instance, I had been doing quite well getting myself around town, but about two weeks ago, I managed to get lost twice when taking the bus. The weather has been cold and rainy, and I caught a cold which drained all of my energy. I have gotten over most of it, but I have a cough that won’t go away because of the bad air quality. There are tons of motorbikes everywhere and people smoke all the time (at least, the men do).
I am also very frustrated with the traffic in Hanoi. Walking can be very dangerous because people do not pay attention to traffic rules. Motorbikes park and drive on the side walks or go the wrong way down the street, so I have to constantly pay attention to everything going on around me while I am walking.
I have also discovered I am not made for city living. I hate all of the tall buildings, and I miss open, green space. The lakes and rivers here are extremely polluted which I find very distressing (especially after working for the Stream Team program). I miss the infrastructures of the United States (transportation and sanitation specifically). I realized that Vietnam is a developing country, and it will get those things sorted out eventually, but in the mean time, it is frustrating.
I’ve been surprised by how much I miss the little things at home. I miss the convenience of my car and the ability to go where I want, when I want without having the limitations of a language barrier. I miss going to church with people I have known my entire life. I miss spending time with my family and friends. I hate not being there to celebrate weddings, new babies, restaurant openings, grad school acceptances and other important milestones happening in the lives of people at home. I miss movie nights and not having a curfew. Mostly I miss being with people who know me well. The people here are great, don’t get me wrong, but the fact is, I have only known them two months. That’s not enough time to get to know someone well.
Additionally, I feel inadequate for what I am here for. I have no idea how to teach, especially listening. I want my students to succeed, but I don’t know how to help them do that. I’ve also somehow completely lost my ability to initiate conversations. I used to be able to talk to anyone, but over the past two years I’ve gotten more and more tongue tied with meeting new people. That makes creating relationships with those around me rather difficult.
Even with all the bad/annoying things I am dealing with, there are many things I enjoy about living here. Spending time with students is awesome; I have had a chance to explore parts of Hanoi with them. It’s fun since many of them come from the provinces, and so they are also learning about Hanoi. I’ve gotten involved at HIC (Hanoi International Church), both with a small group bible study and volunteering with the worship service/Sunday School. So overall, I am still glad that I am here. Through everything, I have never doubted that this is where God needs me to be.
Thanks for reading to the end!
Love, Hanna
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
My Day
My schedule with the school worked out that I do not have class on Tuesdays. I was excited about this when I found out because I thought I would use Tuesdays as a time to explore Hanoi on my own. 15 minutes into my first exploration escapade in Hanoi (back in January), I realized exploring on my own is really boring. I also have a terrible sense of direction so walking around on my own equals a lost Hanna. So Exploration Tuesdays quickly turned into Sit At Home and Do Nothing Tuesdays. This option also did not work out well since it turns out too much down time equals bored, homesick Hanna. I have hit a rough patch in my adjustment, so this Tuesday I decided to make plans to keep myself busy all day so that I wouldn’t have time to fixate on everything I miss from home and hate about living here. So I made plans to have lunch at the Cimas and dinner with my friend Josh from church. I also decided I would spend the morning at the park by my house and the afternoon in the Old Quarter looking for postcards.
I woke up around 6:30 and puttered around getting ready and finally made it out the door around 9:00. It was misting, and I almost considered turning around since I didn’t think there would be any dry benches at the park. I decided to continue on because I didn’t want to be cooped up in my room anymore. I stopped to buy Banh Bao for breakfast, and then continued on to the park. When I got there, I was pleasantly surprised to discover the benches were dry enough to sit on. I picked a bench and spend a few minutes journaling. It started raining harder, and I did not have my umbrella with me so I had to move to a different bench. I found one that was sheltered from the rain by a tree and continued writing. After a little while, I was interrupted from my writing by a Vietnamese man who was about 27-30 years old. He asked me a question in Vietnamese to which I responded, “I am sorry; I don’t understand Vietnamese.” Momentarily surprised but not deterred, he sat down next to me and proceeded to ask me more questions in Vietnamese (only one of which I understood). To most questions I answered, “I am sorry; I do not understand Vietnamese.” (Usually I said this in English. I did try in Spanish once, but he didn’t understand that either). I hoped he would eventually get the message and leave since I clearly couldn’t understand him and (I thought) obviously wanted to write in my notebook. He stopped talking to me for a while to text someone, and the next thing I know he says, “Welcome to my home.” I said “Thank You,” thinking he meant “Welcome to Vietnam.” But he kept repeating “welcome to my home.” I stopped listening to him after about four times since he had no idea what he was saying. He was frustrated again but still determined kept on texting whoever he was talking to. The next thing I know, he says “I love you” about 3 times. I gave him a ‘you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me’ look, said, “I don’t think so,” and returned to my writing. He interrupted me again to ask for my phone number (at least that is what I think he asked…). I was getting aggravated with him at this point because 1. he actually thought I might be stupid enough to give a strange man my number and 2. what did he think he could do with it since I don’t know Vietnamese and he doesn’t know English? I tried to tell him to leave because I wanted to write in my journal, but he didn’t get the message and continued sitting next to me on the bench, texting to someone. (This someone must have been looking up the English sentences for him to say to me. A tiny bit flattering; a large bit annoying). I finally had to get up and move after he invited me to come to his house. (I mean really? How stupid does he think I am?) I wasn’t very happy about having to move since I was there first, and I didn’t want to have to sit in the rain again. But such is life.
After my eventful morning at the park, I went to the Cimas for lunch. It was delicious and afterward I got a chance to talk to Aimee about some of the frustrations I have with living here. And I got to play with this cutie for a while.
It started to get very dark as we were playing outside, so we had to retreat back into the house. The wind started to blow very hard and soon there was a downpour of rain. I changed my original plan for the day and decided to go to Sarah’s to watch a movie instead of going in search of postcards. The rain abated for a short time, and Aimee drove me to the bus stop so I could go to Sarah’s. I was a little concerned when I got on the bus because the windows were so foggy, I couldn’t tell where I was. I got off the bus at what I thought was the correct stop, but when I looked around, I didn’t not recognize where I was so I changed my mind and decided I had gotten off to early. At just about this time, the rain started up again. So as I was walking towards (I thought) Sarah’s house, I was pelted with cold, hard rain drops and blasted with a cold wind. After about 10 minutes of walking, Sarah called me to inform me that I had gotten off where I was supposed to and that I had been walking in the wrong direction away from her house. I was very frustrated about that because it is the second time I have done something like that recently. I have been doing so well getting myself around, but I have managed to get lost twice in a 5 day period.
I finally made it to Sarah’s, and enjoyed watching Prince of Persia while my clothes (sort-of) dried. We had plans to meet some friends for dinner at Vincom (a shopping center near my house but a 25 minute walk from Sarah’s). We left early to try to grab a taxi, but our efforts were fruitless. The taxis were all full because of the rain. We decided to walk since it wasn’t raining anymore. We made it just on time and enjoyed a lovely meal at the Pizza Hut with Josh and Lisa (two friends from Church). I had hoped to catch the bus after dinner but ended up walking home since the bus left the stop just before I got there. It was cold, and I knew it would take longer to wait for the bus than to just walk.
So now I am safely at home, recuperating from my day and feeling the beginnings of a sore throat which means I am about to come down with a cold. Please pray for a swift recovery!
I woke up around 6:30 and puttered around getting ready and finally made it out the door around 9:00. It was misting, and I almost considered turning around since I didn’t think there would be any dry benches at the park. I decided to continue on because I didn’t want to be cooped up in my room anymore. I stopped to buy Banh Bao for breakfast, and then continued on to the park. When I got there, I was pleasantly surprised to discover the benches were dry enough to sit on. I picked a bench and spend a few minutes journaling. It started raining harder, and I did not have my umbrella with me so I had to move to a different bench. I found one that was sheltered from the rain by a tree and continued writing. After a little while, I was interrupted from my writing by a Vietnamese man who was about 27-30 years old. He asked me a question in Vietnamese to which I responded, “I am sorry; I don’t understand Vietnamese.” Momentarily surprised but not deterred, he sat down next to me and proceeded to ask me more questions in Vietnamese (only one of which I understood). To most questions I answered, “I am sorry; I do not understand Vietnamese.” (Usually I said this in English. I did try in Spanish once, but he didn’t understand that either). I hoped he would eventually get the message and leave since I clearly couldn’t understand him and (I thought) obviously wanted to write in my notebook. He stopped talking to me for a while to text someone, and the next thing I know he says, “Welcome to my home.” I said “Thank You,” thinking he meant “Welcome to Vietnam.” But he kept repeating “welcome to my home.” I stopped listening to him after about four times since he had no idea what he was saying. He was frustrated again but still determined kept on texting whoever he was talking to. The next thing I know, he says “I love you” about 3 times. I gave him a ‘you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me’ look, said, “I don’t think so,” and returned to my writing. He interrupted me again to ask for my phone number (at least that is what I think he asked…). I was getting aggravated with him at this point because 1. he actually thought I might be stupid enough to give a strange man my number and 2. what did he think he could do with it since I don’t know Vietnamese and he doesn’t know English? I tried to tell him to leave because I wanted to write in my journal, but he didn’t get the message and continued sitting next to me on the bench, texting to someone. (This someone must have been looking up the English sentences for him to say to me. A tiny bit flattering; a large bit annoying). I finally had to get up and move after he invited me to come to his house. (I mean really? How stupid does he think I am?) I wasn’t very happy about having to move since I was there first, and I didn’t want to have to sit in the rain again. But such is life.
After my eventful morning at the park, I went to the Cimas for lunch. It was delicious and afterward I got a chance to talk to Aimee about some of the frustrations I have with living here. And I got to play with this cutie for a while.
It started to get very dark as we were playing outside, so we had to retreat back into the house. The wind started to blow very hard and soon there was a downpour of rain. I changed my original plan for the day and decided to go to Sarah’s to watch a movie instead of going in search of postcards. The rain abated for a short time, and Aimee drove me to the bus stop so I could go to Sarah’s. I was a little concerned when I got on the bus because the windows were so foggy, I couldn’t tell where I was. I got off the bus at what I thought was the correct stop, but when I looked around, I didn’t not recognize where I was so I changed my mind and decided I had gotten off to early. At just about this time, the rain started up again. So as I was walking towards (I thought) Sarah’s house, I was pelted with cold, hard rain drops and blasted with a cold wind. After about 10 minutes of walking, Sarah called me to inform me that I had gotten off where I was supposed to and that I had been walking in the wrong direction away from her house. I was very frustrated about that because it is the second time I have done something like that recently. I have been doing so well getting myself around, but I have managed to get lost twice in a 5 day period.
I finally made it to Sarah’s, and enjoyed watching Prince of Persia while my clothes (sort-of) dried. We had plans to meet some friends for dinner at Vincom (a shopping center near my house but a 25 minute walk from Sarah’s). We left early to try to grab a taxi, but our efforts were fruitless. The taxis were all full because of the rain. We decided to walk since it wasn’t raining anymore. We made it just on time and enjoyed a lovely meal at the Pizza Hut with Josh and Lisa (two friends from Church). I had hoped to catch the bus after dinner but ended up walking home since the bus left the stop just before I got there. It was cold, and I knew it would take longer to wait for the bus than to just walk.
So now I am safely at home, recuperating from my day and feeling the beginnings of a sore throat which means I am about to come down with a cold. Please pray for a swift recovery!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Football
On Saturday, Sarah and I joined students to watch the ‘powderpuff’ football (soccer) game between the female foreign language students. The football matches were part of the activities being held this week at Bách Khoa in honor of International Women’s Day, March 8.
Enjoy the pictures! See more from my weekend here.
Enjoy the pictures! See more from my weekend here.
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