Sunday, December 23, 2012

Happy America Day to Me!

On Thursday, my friend C took me on an American adventure/educational tour of Hanoi places that I haven't been...



New York Crispy--the closest thing to Krispy Kreme that I have encountered in Hanoi. YUM. Beware--if you try to go by taxi, you really need to know where the Garden Mall is! I tried to send two friends there and they got lost yesterday:(



The Garden Shopping Mall has a new store: The GAP! I was shocked...



Doesn't this look like America? Save for the Vietnamese banner....

After my Garden Mall experience, my friend took me to Indochina Plaza, which is not a far drive from the Mall...



Yes, that's Burger King, Pizza Hut and KFC...the ONLY Burger King in Hanoi
There is also a Body Shop inside and more!



My friend C ordered the Whopper....




..and I ordered the Spicy Chicken crispy, which I don't think I have had in over ten years, but the nostalgia made it worth it. I did add the chili sauce though, which made it even better. At BK in VN you only get the choice of a small coke and small fries; there is no other soda option, it was delish!

After my American retail adventure, I went back to work. Hubs and I went out on Thursday night to say farewell to a dear friend leaving back to the States for good. It was near the The Metropole, a fancy hotel surrounded by luxury shops....




Where are we? Feels like Georgetown...



Are we in America? Well, no because you will not see local people taking TONS of pictures around a hotel in America. If you drive by the Metropole during the day, you will see at least 3 couples getting wedding pictures being taken, at night it's teenagers taking each others photos on their iPhones.
Notice: the Hubs striking a pose, do as the locals do!



Gucci and Christmas lights! Feels like home!

We went for Happy Hour at The Press Club to sendoff Miss Jenny right: we miss you already!


We had some pizza and other goods, and then the Karaoke began....




"I will survive" by Diva D



Our happy crew




The Hubs singing "Summer of 69" with Miss Anna
Such a fun night! We have the most fun friends!



On the way home, we saw an impromptu circus show in the road!



The next day, my office handed out stockings(with contents contributed by our community) to our Marine Security Guard. 
Thank you for your service gentlemen!



On Friday we received some more Christmas cheer: packages from our families! One of them was a box full of my Grandma's homemade goodies! It feels like Christmas, and TASTES like Christmas too! YUMMMMMM!

Saturday morning we woke up to an email notifying us that Mr. Barack Obama has given us Monday off, then later in the morning Mrs. Hillary Clinton sent us an email thanking us for all that we do to advance our nation's interests and values. I am pretending like she sent it just to me, when in reality, I know that it went to all State employees. Either way, I thought that it was pretty rad. Although I am feeling a bit homesick for the holidays, I am also feeling very grateful to serve our country, very blessed to be working at such an awesome Mission in Hanoi and very proud to be an American. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! 
HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY HOLIDAY!




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