No speak Vietnamese

"Uhhhh, what did you say?" I feel like I've said this a million times this week!

Ever since the first day I arrived in Hanoi I have been dreadfully sick which has not been fun! Imagine jet lag, being sick, and placed in a whole new world. It was all very over whelming but from today I have started to feel much better! A few days ago I went out to get some medicine, so I walked down the street to the local "pharmacy" and the women didn't speak one word of English.  I have no idea what drugs I have been taking. I was in that store for a good 15 minutes trying to figure out a way to get the proper medicine, so I ended up using google translator with the lady.

I really wish I could speak to the people that I meet on the streets because I want to learn more about the culture and how these people live. The language barrier is a hard problem and I've only been here a week! I have been trying to pick up some of the language but understanding other people speak is the biggest issue. I guess google translator will be a very close friend for the next few weeks or months.

Here is a picture of West Lake that is a miles from my aunts home. There are bats all over the lake around dusk time, just flying all around you! Here is a video! Sorry that the format is weird! Also that is one of the many shrines they have all over the city, most places have one in the store or home. They really are beautiful!

Mormon Church in Vietnam

I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint and the church is just getting established in Vietnam.  It was officially recognized by the Vietnam goverment last year.  I'm part of a branch of 14 people and it's only a two hour service instead of three. Last week I had the opportunity to go a baptism of a young adult women in Hanoi. They pulled out this portable tub that looked like a bag on wheels. It was such a great experience to see how happy she was and for everyone in the branch. They have a lot of missionaries in Hanoi compared to how many people are members here but they are all so great! I really like this one sister missionary who is from Idaho and she always has a smile on her face. It's also very nice to have Americans to talk to or people that you can fully understand! Hahaha it's kind of exhausting trying to understand Vietnamese's English all day.

Every Wednesday I help the missionaries teach English to anyone that wants to come. It was a lot of fun! We had different stations where they would practice writing, singing, and speaking in English. It was amazing to see how much they really wanted to learn English; no one was forcing them to participate. It was a very humbling experience to help them try to improve their English speaking abilities. I was at a station where we made valentine/thank you cards and its very hard because you have little kids to 30 year old adults. I found that sometimes the children are better at speaking English then the adults. I found out that English education is very hard because they will teach the kids somewhat how to write in English but don't practice speaking it here in public schools. This little boy who I had helped throughout the evening asked me to be his valentine, it was super cute! Below are some of the cards two girls wrote to me!

Getting Settled

Let's get to the basics! I have been here six days and at first, it was a culture shock!  This was especially true for the first two days, but now I feel like I have been here a long time. I just want to get to know all the people and what their life is like. I'm living with my aunt in her house that is located north of downtown or near West Lake. I also work in her house on the second floor. Last week I was introduced to the other employees that I will be working with for three months. They are all very nice and very good at their job.

Here are some pictures of my bedroom and the balcony that I have. I love having the balcony especially in the mornings when it's so busy. The maid, Sue, is very funny and speaks very little English so it's so hard to communicate.  I'm going to come back very spoiled because she makes my bed every morning, cleans my clothes, puts them away, and cooks. Can't get better service anywhere else!

Last Saturday a young man and his girlfriend from the church took me around downtown Hanoi to show me all the main sights. It was a blast! We first ate at what he thinks is the best Bun Chao, which consists of pork, rice noodles, lettuce, and a type of sweet broth. When you eat this you have to make sure to get the ingredients all in one bite. It's amazing! I do wish that I knew how to use chop sticks properly because I stink at it, and they all laugh at me. Hopefully by the end of April, I will be a pro! The restaurants, or even homes, don't have enough room inside to have tables so they have these little plastic tables and chairs. The Vietnamese have an affinity about being as close to the ground as possible.

Down town is breathtaking especially the Old Town with all of its old trees and French style homes. Some of the streets still follow their historical roots by what was sold there many years ago -- Silk Street, Steel Street and Wood Street. The roads are a lot narrower with the electric lines hanging in the open.

They also took me to this really cool, old yellow house which now consists of shops and homes. This place looks amazing and stands out from its surroundings because it is wider than most homes and they haven't remodeled the building. I also found this narrow ally way which led me into some people's living quarters.  There I found families that live in one small room, with 7-9 people living there all together. I find it all very interesting and sad that so many of the people here live like this.

We also went to a popular lake called Hoan Kiem Lake. It has shopping and activities that everyone can participate in mostly at night. It was a lot of fun to hear all the old tales of the trees, temples, and architecture around this part of the city. We mostly walked around the lake and enjoyed the games and fun atmosphere they had.

The New Year celebrations just ended, but the 2017 Year of the Rooster has just begun.  My newfriends were telling me of a Tet tradition where the Vietnamese will gather peach blossoms, a type of little pink flowers on a branch to put in their home where they let the petals fall off till the end of Tet. It's a symbol of prosperity and good fortune in the vividness of their colors, and the older generation believes in the power of peach blossoms to repel evil.