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!