Our introduction to Vietnamese street food

Happy Wednesday! 

We have been incredibly blessed to have met Nonna Chong--she is another expat living in Ha Noi who runs a street food group on most Wednesdays. Tonight there was no club, but since she is a friend of a friend, she offered to meet up with us and take us on our own personal tour. Not only is she incredibly lovely to be around, she is an experience foodie with a wealth of knowledge! She schooled us on Vietnamese street food in our neighborhood and I could not think of a better introduction to 

Vietnamese food!

She took us on a three stop culinary experience...

Stop One: BIA HOI

Bia Hoi translates to "draft beer", there are Bia Hoi stands all over Ha Noi. They make the beer in the morning with little to no preservatives(therefore no hangover--so they say) and then they serve it all day until it's done. It's the equivalent of a 3.2 beer in the US, only it costs roughly 30 CENTS per glass!

This is a picture of a typical chair in a Bia Hoi stand--notice the ratio of butt to chair. The Hubs claims that his behind fell became numb more than once. If you ask him, he will tell you it was worth it!

Here's an image of the inside of a Bia Hoi stand, most people sit on the sidewalk, but we sat inside since all of the tables outside were taken. 

As you can see, it's smaller than most Pre-K tables in the USA!

In Ha Noi, we have been cautioned not to eat any ice that is shaved--this photo proves why: pictured above is a man attempting to pick up a slippery block of ice after shoving it across the floor of the restaurant. The ice pictured will probably be shaved and put into people's drinks soon. No thanks!

After the Bia Hoi stand, we went to a Seafood street food stand, I **really** wish I had written down the translation for everything, but luckily, I can just call Nonna Chong and ask her! 

We had a delicious meal for a small price: 

Vietnamese sweet potato fries with a ketchup/aioli sauce

Glass noodle stir fried rice with crab

Steamed clams in a spicy sweet lemongrass sauce

*this was so good that we ordered another round*

Grilled oysters with fried onions on top;

these were served to us fresh originally but Nonna shooed them away and asked them to be grilled. 

I am not an oyster fan, but Hubs said they were great.

After our second course, we headed to a dessert shoppe:

Coconut jelly, taro flan, durian custard and some medley of fruit and rice goodness

We were stuffed to the gills, but we managed to finish our dessert and roll ourselves back to our apartment. What a great introduction to Vietnamese food! I am SO looking forward to eating my way through the rest of the city! 

I asked Nonna; "do you think people lose weight when they move here or gain weight?" She replied "It appears that most women gain about 7 kilos while most men lose 7 kilos." 

7 kilos is roughly 15lbs....I better get on my yoga mat tomorrow!

Millionaires & Movie Stars

Have you ever wondered what a million dollars looks like? 

Well, it looks like THIS:

Okay, so it's not a million DOLLARS, per say, but it's really fun to say things like:

 "I have a million dollars in my hand!" and "We are MILLIONAIRES!!!" 

The currency in Vietnam is "Dong." 

(Please tell the 12 year old boy living inside your head to stop giggling so loud) 

It's pronounced "Dom." While a million dong sounds like a lot of fun--and it fun to say--it's only $50 US. A little goes a long way here, but I can promise that you won't see us buying any Rolls Royce's with this kind of cash anytime soon. 

I'd like to buy a hotel on the Boardwalk AND Park Place!

I think it looks a bit like Monopoly money....don't you?

Today was our second day of work. It was pretty uneventful, just a few meetings, briefings and such, which was fun because we had the opportunity to meet more interesting people at the Embassy. The highlight of the day was going to lunch with my new colleagues. We went to a....Japanese restaurant(I swear, I will have Vietnamese food one day!) and I had a sushi lunchbox which was 80% decent and 20% questionable. As we were leaving the restaurant, one of the waitresses came up to me and said "you look.....look like....like....like Britney Spears!"

WHAT.

I smiled and said thank you and walked out. I told my colleagues outside what they said and they laughed. Apparently, all blondes look the same. I am thinking that anyway....It must be the hair....

but just for funsies, I took a picture to compare:

This is me in my new office. The fluorescent lights do NOTHING for me.

My assistant V gave me a lanyard made in Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City to hold my badge. 

She is so sweet and has so much energy! I am going to have a lot of fun with her.

I digress, back to Britney....

As you can see.....

Britney and I have similar hair....and that's it. 

I told this story to another colleague at the Embassy and she was surprised that the waitress didn't ask me to take a picture with her. Apparently this happens a lot, especially with blonde or curly haired people. We will see how long I am here before that happens. You know I will keep you posted!

That's all for now! We are slowly overcoming jet lag(slept in until 5:30 today--wheee!), we love our apartment and new colleagues, and we are slowly getting used to the madness that is Ha Noi. You will see when you come visit(hint, hint), it's a beautiful bunch of crazy.

First day of work!

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM! 

(I really, Really, REALLY like saying that)

Morning has been coming quite early for us as we are getting over the jet lag. For the last two mornings we have been up before 5am. Tonight we are rallying to try and stay up later. Hubs just looked over at me and confessed "I'm getting sleepy"--but I know, we can DO THIS!

.....I digress, I think A.D.D. is a byproduct of jet lag.....

Today was our first day of work! Hurrah! 

In classic family tradition, we took our pictures to send to our mamas:

HI MOM!

This is me wearing my first business suit, it felt pretty good. 

We got up bright and early with two hours to spare to catch the bus to work. Hubs opted to exercise while I decided to organize the massive stack of Ha Noi information we received this weekend and made breakfast.

We made our way to the Embassy and the security is TIGHT(this I am very grateful for). I apparently was not on the list to get in that day so it took some time to get me in. Then the woman who was my first meeting missed her bus this morning and was late for the meeting. She was very apologetic, but I just hung out and read material in my welcome packet. Everyone was very welcoming, per usual.

Then I headed over to another section to meet the man who is filling in for my "real" boss, who is out of town. My "acting" supervisor has the same name(first and last) as my dad, which I think is a very good sign.

Afterwards, I went to meet my new assistants; I will call them M & V. V is a Vietnamese full-time staff and M works part-time and is an EFM like me. (EFM stands for eligible family member: a family member of an Embassy employee; spouse, partner, child, etc). Both of them are AWESOME and I am really looking forward to working with them. M took me out to lunch to her favorite place.
Was it Vietnamese food, you ask? Well.....no....it was Taiwanese:

Green beans, chilis, garlic cloves, peanuts and some unknown crunchy objects that we thought might be bacon fat or something of the like--yummy!

Club soda with lime and the cutest stir stick of all time. Note the bendy straw; these are BIG in Ha Noi, almost every restaurant we've been to has had some kind of cutesy straw.

Pan-fried vegetable dumplings. Mmmmmmm.

After lunch, M left and V gave me a tour of the Embassy grounds. She introduced me to a lot of people by saying "This is my new boss", it sounded so strange, but it also felt pretty good. I have a LOT of work to do and I am really excited for it.

The Hubs met me later that afternoon because we had appointments to meet the Ambassador and Deputy Chief of Mission. It wasn't until I was sitting in the Ambassador's office on his couch that I realized how blessed we are to have the opportunity be working at such a great Mission; serving our country and countrymen. Both the Ambassador and DCM gave us great advice about our careers & life in the Foreign Service. I have only been living in a foreign country for three days, but already my gratitude and pride to be an American has grown tenfold. (I could write a book about this, so I'll save this thought for another post.)

At the end of the day we were both energized, exhausted, slightly overwhelmed and SO tired. We decided to order in and pop open a bottle of Vietnamese wine. We ordered Indian food...again....we ordered different things this time, but I spared the food photo to avoid repeat photos.

We have not yet tried local Vietnamese food, but the wine was decent! 

The price tag says it was just over $5 US, it was definitely worth it!

That's all for now, I am signing off to go find something to keep me awake for at least two more hours. More tomorrow....goodnight, or--since it's earlier where you are--should I say: 

Good Morning USA!!!(nope, not as fun to say)

Our first Sunday FUNday

We went to the clinic three times to see the opthamologist yesterday. Three times. The first time, we were told he would not be in until 5. Then we came back at 5:20 and he had just left. We then returned at 6pm, he looked at Hubs for about 5 minutes and confirmed that he had a mild case of pinkeye. It was almost comical at that point.

We got three prescriptions, were told "come back on Tuesday, that's the best day for me", and cabbed it back to our apartment. We opted to stay in last night and ordered in. Naturally, what people do in Vietnam is order Indian food. Not really, but from the list of menus given to us in our move-in packet, it sounded delicious.

IT.WAS.AMAZING.

This is how our food was delivered: in plastic bags and foil, it worked surprisingly well. Clockwise from 12:00 we had samosas, chicken tikka masala, garlic naan, palak paneer, samosa sauces and white rice. I spent most of dinner being jealous of Hubs' tikka masala. The spices were incredible.

Look at the COLOR of this Palak Paneer! It was pureed spinach, which I am not a huge fan of, 

but it was still pretty good.

We felt jet lag creeping in and went to bed before 10pm. 4:30am came very early and we were wide awake by 5am. Therefore, we did what any regular American would do: watched several episodes of the West Wing. I am convinced that if I would have watched this in high school Social studies, I might have actually been interested in American politics. 

After several episodes, we confirmed brunch plans with a friend from my language class in DC and cabbed all on our own(winning!) to The Old Quarter, a place in Ha Noi filled with tourists and things that tourists like. We had brunch at Southgate and it was .....can you guess? Amazing. 

Brioche french toast, carmelized bananas, sausage, bacon & caramel sauce

....perhaps the best french toast that I have ever had. 

The dudes enjoying bbq buns

After brunch we headed to a "craft fair with local artists" which turned out to be four tables with some crafts. We met up with our sponsors and a few other new friends, checked out a bookstore and tried to decide what to do with our day. I was quizzing the ladies on what I should wear to the Marine Corps ball(it's less than a month away!) so my lady sponsor volunteered to take me back to the Old Quarter and show me around. She and her husband have ruined me for any other sponsor we may ever have, they have really gone above and beyond to help us get acclimated.

The Old Cathedral, built in 1886, is on the outskirts of the Old Quarter, it's so majestic!

I didn't want to be too touristy and take a million photos, so this was a "drive-by" picture, as you can see, the sidewalks here are used to motorbike parking--and sometimes driving!

I did find a Marine Ball dress, but it was too pricey for my liking, so I am opting to have it made. It was hot and balmy outside and after a lot of walking, window shopping, street crossing(Old Quarter street crossing is the SCARIEST), we decided to go to a coffee shop with a rooftop overlooking another lake in Ha Noi.

Our view from the top of the coffee shop, this was on the 4th floor--can you see the pagoda on the Lake? I left our nice new camera at home, so this is iPhone quality. Sorry!

After our adventure, I took a cab(BY MYSELF) back to the apartment. I was feeling really good about myself and my Vietnamese, until we pulled up to our apartment and I had to pay. The cab driver "didn't have the right change"--or something, I didn't understand him--so I let him keep the change(which was about 50 cents). 

We spent the evening making dinner and getting ready for our first day of work tomorrow. I am almost glad we have jet lag because I know we will be able to sleep. We are both pretty excited to begin our new jobs! 

I think our first Sunday FUNday was a success. It was really a great weekend and everyone we met has been really welcoming. 

How pretty is this cake?! One of our new co-workers brought this to the party on friday, we are overwhelmed by how incredibly nice everyone is!

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>

It's Adventure time!

East Coast Adventure #1: Philadelphia, PA

Recently I went to my homeland, the Heartland, tropical Des Moines, IA. As I was transferring planes in Memphis, the dad next to me was contemplating the contents of their layover and asked:

"What time is it?"

His youngest son perked up and said:

"It's ADVENTURE time!!!"

I giggled, the family laughed and as I walked away I could only smile at what adventures they were going to have in sunny Omaha for their family vacation. I want to live my life like that, one adventure at a time. If I can look at life as an adventure, I think it might be a lot more joyful. I am trying that on for the moment and seeing how it fits. I encourage you to do the same:)

100 days until Ha Noi...

My name is Nicole Schirm and I am a lazy blogger. I am not sure if "lazy" is the most accurate. Perhaps I am the most creative at making up excuses NOT to blog. Regardless; I am recommitted to blogging after a swift kick in the pants from my favorite sibling(shoutout to my #1 fan JSwoll!)

We have 100 days until we leave for Viet Nam. There is a part of me that is jumping up and down and one part of me that wants to puke. This is normal. My favorite professor Meredith Alexander would always say to us "If you are scared and excited; you are in the perfect place." Therefore, here we are. Perhaps it's just me, my partner in crime is quite pumped.

Part of me wants to recap the last 6 months in a blog entry, but then again; most of you know what has been happening via the book of faces, so I'll start with the happenings of the last month.

We recently received our housing assignment. In Denver we shared a 400 square foot studio apartment(yes, we were newlyweds); in NoVA we upgraded to an 800ft one bedroom with a balcony overlooking a cemetery(our neighbors are so quiet!); and now we are preparing to move to a FIFTEEN HUNDRED square foot 3 bedroom, 2 full bath, 2 balcony apartment overlooking a lake in the middle of Ha Noi. Lucky for us, the yoga teacher/Public Diplomacy coned FSO couple who we have been chatting with live in the exact apartment we will be moving into and the yogini sent me pictures and I wake up every morning pinching myself that our apartment will be so nice.

I know what you're thinking "You diplomats are SO spoiled!" Haha! I'd like you to say that to the hundreds of people living in our current apartment complex who have been without power for over 60 hours. Somehow, the people across the street and the shopping center behind us has power but we are still one of the 161K people in NoVa without power. Apparently 832K people have been serviced already. Saturday night we had dinner with another diplomat couple--we sat on their balcony and drank a nice sauv blanc paired with peanut butter & jelly. We're so spoiled, I know. The best part of it all is we are in high spirits and have been laughing a lot. They say we will have power by friday at the latest. Chris's workplace is closed today but mine is across the moat in Georgetown so I'll be teaching this afternoon.  

I suppose this is just preparing us to live overseas....

In our preparation to move across the world, we have compiled a list of all of the things we need before we move, the list is almost 200 items! Since Ha Noi is considered "hardship"--mostly because US goods are not accessible--we are preparing ourselves to purchase a lot of toilet paper, ranch packets, peanut butter and wine and much more things. The importance is not in that order:)

Chris has been studying Vietnamese language and culture full time since February and I begin my training on July 16th! That is providing the State Department reopens by then. I am sure it will, and I am looking forward to immersing myself in Vietnamese. I love going to FSI, it reminds me of college. Only without the binge drinking and there is high security to get on campus. 

That's all for now, I will be blogging again soon, until then, this is Nicole Schirm, former lazy blogger rehabilitated, signing off from Panera Bread; the closest place with power and food and AC!