The title refers to the ridiculous amount of mangoes (and fruit) ever since coming to Vietnam. Summer is the best season for fruit - I'm so lucky! I don't remember loving mangoes so much back home (well maybe mango salsa in shrimp burritos from Cafe del Sol in Menlo Park) but it will be a sad day when I leave here. I don't think a day goes by that I don't consume at least one mango. The nuns at the shelter always make sure I get enough food which usually means I stuff my face with mangoes and home-made peanut brittle (so good by the way I can't wait to try to make it at home!)
This past week I've been teaching English to two kids (ages 10 and 11) in the morning and then to the women at the shelter in the afternoon. Man it is much more difficult than I thought it would be! It's so hard to explain some of the weird exceptions or words in English and it's especially hard for them to say "s" or "is". It's been helpful to have Fiona (Swiss woman) because she had to learn English herself so she remembers what worked and what is difficult to understand. I also have Vu as a translator...wow I feel so bad for him that he follows me around every day but I guess that's his job!
Monday I went to my first yoga class at my new gym! I was the only foreigner out of 50 people in the class. Our instructor was Indian but had such a strong accent that I didn't realize he was speaking English till 5 minutes into the class. I don't think I've ever sweated that much in a workout EVER. And I didn't have a towel so that was lovely.
After class I went to the supermarket to buy some breakfast items since I'm not interested in having noodles and meat in the morning (typical Vietnamese breakfast). The supermarket was a mad house - I thought it was Black Friday or something! After spending 10 minutes trying to figure out which milk was soy milk using my phone translator, I realized that the back of the containers had English on them. Jokes on me hahha.
Tuesday morning I was supposed to go to the hospital to shadow Dr. G but after not sleeping all night due to loud music (who knew Monday night was such a raging night?), I decided to take it easy for the morning. I've been trying to check out a new guesthouse (same owner) that is the in alley near my current one but the owner only comes late at night but hopefully tonight I will catch her so she can show me a new room that's hopefully quieter. I used to be a hard sleeper but now I'm so sensitive to sound as I'm falling asleep. You'd think living next to Jimmy John's (sandwich place/drunk hangout that's open till 4am every day) in Ann Arbor would prepare me for this! Every night I have to wear earplugs, then my noise canceling headphones and THEN play meditation music on a timer on my phone. Ridiculous.
On Wednesday I traveled to the shelter with Fiona and Jeremy and as we got off the bus, they told me they recognized this guy who had followed them around a couple days prior. He looked pretty disturbed and then all of a sudden he started pulling eggs out of his pocket and throwing them near us! It was so bizarre...
After safely eggscaping (ha - sorry I'm exhausted), Jeremy wanted to take a picture of this tiny alley next to the shelter that motorbikes speed through. Every time you see two motorbikes going down the alley in opposite directions you think "Oh yep they're going to crash they're going so fast!!" and then some how they both maneuver around each other. It's truly amazing how these motorbikes squeeze around everywhere. As Jeremy was taking the picture, Fiona was holding the camera case and a motorbike whizzed by, snatched the case, and sped off! She was in such shock and then realized that he will be extremely disappointed there is no camera in there! Boy were they lucky!! I am super vigilant about my purse and such but now I will be extra careful.
I bought a movie ticket for tomorrow night for the movie "Maleficient" even though I was trying to see a different movie but I guess I got the theaters wrong. Luckily the movie is in English with Vietnamese subtitles but I'm excited for the experience!
Not much planned for this weekend. I'd like to work out a lot (wishful thinking to think I would want to work out after volunteering all day and being in this heat!) and maybe a massage...I'd also like to check out some markets.
Next weekend I'll probably plan a trip to the Mekong Delta though that is just a day trip. I'm thinking about planning a weekend to fly to Hoi An, a colonial town in Central Vietnam. We shall see! Just a month left in Saigon till Stacey arrives!
Keep praying for me and miss you all!
Love
Whit
This past week I've been teaching English to two kids (ages 10 and 11) in the morning and then to the women at the shelter in the afternoon. Man it is much more difficult than I thought it would be! It's so hard to explain some of the weird exceptions or words in English and it's especially hard for them to say "s" or "is". It's been helpful to have Fiona (Swiss woman) because she had to learn English herself so she remembers what worked and what is difficult to understand. I also have Vu as a translator...wow I feel so bad for him that he follows me around every day but I guess that's his job!
Monday I went to my first yoga class at my new gym! I was the only foreigner out of 50 people in the class. Our instructor was Indian but had such a strong accent that I didn't realize he was speaking English till 5 minutes into the class. I don't think I've ever sweated that much in a workout EVER. And I didn't have a towel so that was lovely.
After class I went to the supermarket to buy some breakfast items since I'm not interested in having noodles and meat in the morning (typical Vietnamese breakfast). The supermarket was a mad house - I thought it was Black Friday or something! After spending 10 minutes trying to figure out which milk was soy milk using my phone translator, I realized that the back of the containers had English on them. Jokes on me hahha.
Tuesday morning I was supposed to go to the hospital to shadow Dr. G but after not sleeping all night due to loud music (who knew Monday night was such a raging night?), I decided to take it easy for the morning. I've been trying to check out a new guesthouse (same owner) that is the in alley near my current one but the owner only comes late at night but hopefully tonight I will catch her so she can show me a new room that's hopefully quieter. I used to be a hard sleeper but now I'm so sensitive to sound as I'm falling asleep. You'd think living next to Jimmy John's (sandwich place/drunk hangout that's open till 4am every day) in Ann Arbor would prepare me for this! Every night I have to wear earplugs, then my noise canceling headphones and THEN play meditation music on a timer on my phone. Ridiculous.
On Wednesday I traveled to the shelter with Fiona and Jeremy and as we got off the bus, they told me they recognized this guy who had followed them around a couple days prior. He looked pretty disturbed and then all of a sudden he started pulling eggs out of his pocket and throwing them near us! It was so bizarre...
After safely eggscaping (ha - sorry I'm exhausted), Jeremy wanted to take a picture of this tiny alley next to the shelter that motorbikes speed through. Every time you see two motorbikes going down the alley in opposite directions you think "Oh yep they're going to crash they're going so fast!!" and then some how they both maneuver around each other. It's truly amazing how these motorbikes squeeze around everywhere. As Jeremy was taking the picture, Fiona was holding the camera case and a motorbike whizzed by, snatched the case, and sped off! She was in such shock and then realized that he will be extremely disappointed there is no camera in there! Boy were they lucky!! I am super vigilant about my purse and such but now I will be extra careful.
I bought a movie ticket for tomorrow night for the movie "Maleficient" even though I was trying to see a different movie but I guess I got the theaters wrong. Luckily the movie is in English with Vietnamese subtitles but I'm excited for the experience!
Not much planned for this weekend. I'd like to work out a lot (wishful thinking to think I would want to work out after volunteering all day and being in this heat!) and maybe a massage...I'd also like to check out some markets.
Next weekend I'll probably plan a trip to the Mekong Delta though that is just a day trip. I'm thinking about planning a weekend to fly to Hoi An, a colonial town in Central Vietnam. We shall see! Just a month left in Saigon till Stacey arrives!
Keep praying for me and miss you all!
Love
Whit
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