Day 56: Half Way Point

Today was just a very typical day and not a whole lot to mention. I woke up and went to history class and then afterwards had lunch in the canteen at Open University, where I had macaroni noodles and beef. I ate with Alex, and we both agreed that we thought this was a very Westernized Asian meal. Basically we meant that if we had this at home it would probably classify as Asian food. Having it reminded me of home just a little bit, but maybe that's because of all the sodium I could taste.

After lunch Alex and I decided to walk to the Vietnam Center since we had a whole bunch of time on our hands. It only took us half an hour but we were pretty sweaty when we arrived. It's more fun and (obviously) cheaper than a taxi, and in all honesty I would be up for it again. Our plan after class was to take bus 50 back to the dormitory, but because it was raining we decided just to take a cab.

I got back to the dormitory and did some homework before having a Loyola-paid for supper with our OU partners. Thao picked me up on her motorbike and we went too the restaurant, only to arrive and realize that we were the only ones there. Turns out that there is the exact same address in two places in this crazy city, and we just happened to arrive at the wrong one. So we got back on her taxi and headed to the other place, where we were greeted by basically everyone else. The place we ate was the same place we ate at after going to the orphanage one day so I knew what to expect for food. We had noodles with crab, shrimp with crab, soft shell crab, and fried spring rolls. I enjoy fried spring rolls way too much, and I probably had close to 6 tonight. After hanging out with everyone else for awhile more I ended up back at the dormitory for the night.

The crazy thing about today is that it marks the half-way point of the semester, which is so hard to believe! It feels like I just got here but also like I've been here forever. There's so much I've already done but so much more I have yet to do, and our excursions haven't really begun yet. I've been thinking a lot about how I would explain Vietnam to people back home, and I've decided that there's really no way to explain it. It's the things you do and the experiences you see that make Vietnam an experience. I've started to create a list of these things and this is what I have so far. Vietnam is...

• when it downpours and the streets become flooded and you end up walking through calf deep water.
• having local people shout "hello" to you or say "motorbike?"
• meeting Vietnamese at street vendors and being able to see their excitement when you talk to them.
• going to English clubs to meet people and share your experiences with them.
• venturing outside to eat food and pointing at what somebody else is having to signal that you also want it.
• the moment when you can successfully order a meal without pointing.
• sticking out like a sore thumb and having people compare their height to you.
• trash on the sidewalks and traffic jams but also cheap food and some of the nicest people you will meet.
• bartering with just about everyone you meet who tries to sell you something.
• practicing your Vietnamese with the taxi drivers.
• sitting in the park on weekends and listening to the music around you.
• trying to listen in on Vietnamese conversations but realizing you literally can't understand anything.
• taking your partner students out to Dairy Queen so they can see what people eat in America.
• friendships made with everyone you meet, whether you talk to them once or live with them, and knowing that you will always have something to connect you.
• embracing the culture and trying everything that comes your way.