Spicy noodle

After English class this week we went out for spicy noodles! They convinced me to go even though they said it would melt my face off! This restaurant has seven different levels of spicy but most people get close to level one. I got less then level one and it was still hot! I dared one guy to get level five and he did it! I tried some of his and it was way spicy! I don't know how he ate the entire thing. My throat hurt for a few days after eating my dish. I ordered the seafood mix which consisted of shrimp, broccoli, noodles, and everything else I have no idea what it was. But it was really good!

I'm going to miss these guys!

Work, Work, and Work

I work for my aunts company like I mentioned earlier and I work here at the house, the bottom two floors are offices. I work every week day from eight to five doing multiple things. Right now I'm working on redoing her website, facebook, and all social media. I was also working on designs for five pillows that will be used in her show room. These pillow are now sent to a fabric store near downtown to be made and they turned out really good! It's cool to see a design all the way to the finish product.

I'm also helping with the designs for pillows that will be embroidered by the hill tribe women. That is why I went to Sapa to give them the designs and see how they make these pillows. Hopefully we can get the pillows back soon, but it is in the middle of harvest so hopefully in the future.

 We started organizing and designing her showrooms for when customers come and see all the latest trends we are starting in the years to come. We gave the front entrance of my aunt's place a makeover and we have finished! The front door is now bright red and we will get new plants. I'm realizing that I really love to be outdoors (nothing new) and thinking of doing something with horticulture with whatever my future career will be. But then again I can’t decide anything in my life!

I love the old French shutters that we put outside with plants hanging off of them. It’s funny because Vietnamese people would be like "why are you keeping old wood?" but to us they are rustic! We put in grass, many different plants, and cleaned up the ivy that was over growing.

These past few days I have been photographing all the new samples and artifacts that need to be sent to customers or to be shown on the websites.

We have all been busy because of the multiple customers that are coming to Asia.

I have learned so much about how home good products are made and how much work goes into each piece. My aunt said this is a detailed business and she is very correct! It's interesting to see everything - from the factories where they build and paint the products, to the shipment details. There are so many steps and a lot of people involved. It has been a great experience to be here and to be able to work overseas.

White, blonde, and blue eyed

It's weird being a minority here when so far in my life, I have been in the majority. I have to say that my high school and hometown in Naperville are very diverse, but it's still weird to stand out so much, even a month into my stay.

While I was walking around the old quarters this guy was following me and pointing to my shoes over and over again, I didn't understand him at all. He then reached down and took off my sandal...started to put glue on it. It was the weirdest thing but he just wanted money for his "service". I was like no! and grabbed my shoe back.

People in public are always coming up to me and trying to sell me food or anything! I bet these people would succeed in sales! Maybe I'll recruit a few of them. I do think it's nice that the people are very friendly and that I can try to communicate with them to learn more about the culture here.

One thing that is very different here is that people just openly stare. I'm a foreigner with blonde hair, so I really stick out. Anytime I go in public it's like I'm a runaway, and people stare me down from my head to my toes. It something that I don't think I will get used to, and it has made me be less friendly to strangers. I'm use to saying hello and smiling to every person I come in contact with from my past job experience. And now, I have to hold back since it causes more problems for me!

I was talking to one girl who came to church and she was asking me about America and the culture there. I found one of her questions very interesting.  She asked "how do you know when walking down a street in America if someone is a foreigner?" I didn't know what to say to her because it's something I have never had to think about. Here you really can tell a foreigner from their race or what they wear.  America is full of some many cultures and ethnicities that there is no way to know if someone is a foreigner unless you hear them speaking a foreign language.  My answer to her was you just ask them, then you know!

Praticing English

My aunt and I went to a little shop in downtown Hanoi to get some clothes made. She is getting me a dress for my birthday and it’s going to be gorgeous! I'm very excited to see how it turns out! We also ate at an Italian restaurant that is owned by three men from Italy. Their food was to die for! We had pizza and a calzone -  it’s a must if you come to Hanoi.

The following weekend, I walked around Hanoi for a bit in the old quarters enjoying all the old buildings and the small streets. I was so sad that I forgot my camera but I will get some good pictures next time! I walked around Turtle Lake and I couldn't go ten steps without someone coming up to me. There were a lot of school students asking foreigners questions so they could practice their English. I thought it was fun to talk to them and I was able to ask them some question in return. There was one creepy guy who came up to me that was like trying to be cool by swearing...he was a little weird. We started talking on the sidewalk and I kept on trying to keep distance between us and by the end of the conversation I was in the road. There is going to be a Ted talk here in Hanoi with 20 different speakers. I love Ted Talks so of course I got interviewed!  I found the video that I am in, so check it out on my facebook page! Here is the link, https://www.facebook.com/annemarie.collins.18

A girl named TU came up to me and we ended up talking for two hours, of course she was practicing her English. She was super nice and answered a lot of my questions about the culture here and about the college she attends. Also she bought me ice cream:) She goes to school two hours away and lives in a dorm there because she is from the country. Most of the young people I know who are in school or working still live with their parents. It is mostly because the cost of getting your own place is too expensive. I'm glad that I'm able to go across the country to school to have my freedom.

Guess what I ate!

This past weekend was filled with a lot of fun with some of the members from the church. On Saturday I had the opportunity to go out with Thang and the bishop of my branch. We went down to the old quarter to eat dog meat. Now I know that a lot of foreigners are like "I will never eat dog meat!" In America dogs are sweet pets and not food. I understand that completely with having my own dog at home. But it was an experience I had to have to experience the culture in Vietnam! I feel like I really need to accept everything the culture has to offer while I’m here. We drove up to the restaurant and there in a case was a dog all grilled up. It was black and just sitting there. I couldn't make myself look at it, it looked very different from the chickens or pigs outside in the streets. I ate so many new foods today...very adventurous! I had dog cooked two ways steamed and grilled. The steamed looked just like chicken and tasted just okay. I really liked the grilled meat the best even though it was a little bit chewy. They taught me that you can eat it by rapping the meat in a leaf to make it taste better.

The Vietnamese eat the meat with the fat attached to the meat which is something that I'm not used to at all. Because it's so fatty they eat pieces of ginger, leaves, and this other type of vegetable to keep yourself from getting full. And you can eat more food!

They gave me one food that was pieces of dog meat, peanuts, and it was rapped like sushi in the stomach lining. I'm writing this and can't believe that I ate that - haha - but I did! It really didn't taste bad. The one thing about dog is that you eat this meat with a special sauce that has shrimp in it. It has a very strong smell to it and is purple. You can’t have this meat without having that sauce especially for dog meat.

I feel like eating dog meat is just like eating a chicken. People have chickens as pets yet we still eat them. I learned so much about the culture and the food that I wish I could remember it all. They both told me so much I just want to record and take as many photos as possible.

Later that night I went out again with a few young adults and the bishop family. He has the cutest little four year old and a wonderful wife! We walked around in the rain down to the night market in the old quarters. It was fun to learn from the people who live here about their insights and places they go. They showed me where people sell and eat many different snails...this will be this week’s adventure! I was shown what eel and little baby ducks that are just cooked are like; I have a picture below. We then ate ligament...seriously I don't know what came over me to try all these new foods! Honestly it was pretty good and is one of my favorites so far. Ligament is very chewy and is served with a type of jerky, noodle, and peanuts.