30 DAY BLOG CHALLENGE!

I read once that the best advice to "new" bloggers is to begin by blogging EVERY day. Therefore, I found it only fitting on our first full day in Ha Noi to begin a 30 day blog challenge.  This of course means that once I put it out into the world, then I have accountability:)

So here I go.....

We landed yesterday after a 14 hour flight to Taiwan, followed by a 6 hour layover, then a two hour flight to Ha Noi. Needless to say, we were a bit tired when we landed. We were both incredibly excited and running on adrenaline. Our lovely social sponsors picked us up from the airport and we headed back to our apartment. It's a 40+ minutes ride into the city and we enjoyed the countryside as we drove in. We learned that at this time of year it's incredibly smoggy thanks to the harvest (the farmers all burn their trash). I commented on how beautiful it is and my sponsor laughed at me....but I wasn't kidding. It was smoggy and smelly, but there was so much GREEN. People were working in the fields with oxen by their sides and it was a truly beautiful contrast from the airport-to-city motorbike/taxi chaos that we were a part of.

the Vietnamese countryside

After we got back to our apartment we had two hours before we had to go to a party. We HAD to, isn't life rough?! ;) The Hubs and I hauled our 4 suitcases & 4 carry ons upstairs to discover that the pictures of all the nice, modern furniture in the pictures that were sent to us had been replaced by colonial pieces circa 1972. They are really sturdy and nice, but alas, mint green is not really my color. 

are you swooning yet?

**on a side note our apartment is really awesome and all are welcome to come and visit us!**

We unpacked our suitcases, showered and gave each other pep talks that we really DID have the energy to go to a party. Our dear friends from DC threw a shindig in our honor. It was So good to see them and really wonderful to meet a lot of people from the Embassy community. We made it to 9:45pm where I told the Hubs that I was close to turning into a pumpkin, then my (future) assistant shared a taxi with us back home. We were in bed by 10pm and woke at 6am. Take THAT jet lag!

After we got out of bed at 6:30ish, I looked out the window of our apartment and HUNDREDS of people were already out and about....on a Saturday. My mind was blown. Our balcony overlooks a small park and there was a group of young men playing hacky sack, girls playing badminton and a group of older ladies doing what I think is known as the Ha Noi Boogie. <--take the time to watch this video, I saw several people "performing" versions of this today.

We decided our friends may not be up, so we ventured out into the "wet market" across the way in search of coffee. We walked around the block and ended up shopping at the mini mart across the street. When we got home, we realized that we bought instant coffee--Nescafe Viet nonetheless--and proceeded to go downstairs to the convenience store in our building and bought regular coffee. I made several trips to our little store and made friends with the nice man who works there. Every person who works in our building is very kind. We ran into both of my (future) assistants because there was a field trip today, but we decided to pass and get more settled in. 

We called our sponsors at 10ish and they came and picked us up in a taxi. They took us to lunch at a cute place that they like in the expat part of town called Joma Bakery & Cafe. I had the BEST bagel sandwich that I have ever had in my life and a chai tea latte. The Hubs had a breakfast burrito. <Yes, we are in Ha Noi and no longer in the States.> My mind was blown--again. Why was I drinking a chai tea latte every day before I left the US?! It was delish, but in reality, I probably won't go back for awhile. Tomorrow I plan to be adventurous and go to a Vietnamese restaurant.

After lunch we went grocery shopping at the "Organic" grocery store, which is stocked in US goods. I was once again floored by all that is available here, but after we bought two baskets full of food and saw the grocery bill.....I decided that we will not be going back there for awhile either. It's pretty pricey, but now we have some basic goods for when we are really craving US food.

The Hubs may have contracted pinkeye in Taiwan, so after shopping we ventured to a clinic. The "Specialist" was not in, so we are going back later today. The Hubs discovered that our TV not only has ESPN but that we can watch American baseball here! Even though he is under the weather, he is feeling pretty good about THAT.

All in all, it was a good day. 

Fascinating finds of the day: 

-A LOT of people are awake and rockin at 6:30am

-Our jet lag isn't that bad

-the amount of US goods that's available is good

-I watched the street vendor across the street kill & drain a chicken(sorry Kate if you are reading this!)

-I saw 4 adults on a moped

-The traffic here is loud, no one follows any rules, but everyone drives slow and it works

-We crossed the street several times and were not afraid or hurt

-A lot of my Vietnamese is not coming back, but I think it will once the jet lag blows over

***

Below is the view from one of our two balconies. What you cannot see is that in the fog/smog is another lake behind it that is 12 miles around. The park below is a happening spot that I might venture down to tomorrow. The lake you SEE is the same lake that John McCain parachuted into after his plane was gunned down in the Vietnam war. 

**As you can see, Ha Noi is a lot like us, a bit foggy right now, but so lovely**

<hehehe>