Good news: on one of the days I was really sick I turned on my TV for the first time (its been broken until now) and ESPN Live was playing the red sox game! Watching them win made me feel better, if that makes any sense. So now I can watch the whole ACLS Series! And (hopefully!!) the world series!!! It starts pretty early in the morning, but sometimes you have to make sacrifices for things that matter!
My vacation was amazing. I don't even really know where to start because I came down from my vacation high pretty quickly after I got home, getting sick immediately. But it was such a great trip. An & I went to Hanoi for an orientation for TfV. It was really nice to spend time with the other TfV girls. There are just some people you can just connect with and not because you have to. I miss that feeling being here. Anyway, we had a lot of fun and Hanoi was beautiful. I am definitely a city girl. It was amazing how Westernized the city was. Coffee shops and restaurants, huge tourist destination. It was nice to meet other tourists though. So many people just taking off time, and just traveling everywhere. Amazing. I had some really great conversations about a lot of different things, it was just a nice change of pace. In Hanoi we went to see the Water Puppet Show which is very popular in Vietnam, but it originated in the North so I'm glad we saw it in Hanoi. It was pretty cool, but I enjoyed listening to the music. It was the first live performance I've heard and it was really amazing! I love the different instruments and the way the music fits together in a way that would never be accepted in Western culture. It was really beautiful and tells the story. Sort of like how music use to be.
Then we took the overnight train to Sapa. We figured that since we were already in the North we should see something else, and I could afford to take a few days off so we did! I've already put up all of my pictures so I'm sure you've seen how beautiful it is (links on the left!) But I just can't really explain that feeling... literally at some points the view took my breath away. On the first day An & I rented a motorbike and drove up the mountain my ourselves to a waterfall. The waterfall was less than exciting, but the ride was amazing. First of all it was terrifying, riding a motorbike on the side of a mountain. I literally said "An, I trust you with my life right now." and she said "Well, you don't have any other choice!" Which was totally true haha. But it was just one beautiful spot after another all the way up the mountain. Then we drove back and walked down Cat Cat Village. Basically all of the surrounding villages are inhabited by different ethnic minorities, the biggest one being the H'Mong. It was really nice we walked all the way down the mountain, and we were by ourselves, and we went through the village and saw some of the children and their houses and where they all lived and worked and then we found this scary bridge & beautiful waterfall. It was really nice because for some reason we were the only two people there. THe walk back up through the village was VERY uphill, so we took a motorbike back the rest of the way, which I do not regret at all. The next day we went on a guided tour because I wanted to hear about the H'Mong and other minorities that lived in the villages. The children are beautiful, and some of the stories were really interesting. Anyway on that tour we went through three or four other villages, the whole time trekking through (up & down) the mountain, through streams, a bamboo forrest, waterfalls, and more scary bridges. It was amazing. I've never hiked a mountain like that before. (In flip-flops nonetheless!!) After we were done (it was about a 5 hour trek) An was having a hard time, and yeah I was exhausted but I was like wow I could go running right now! I couldn't have, obviously, and I didn't try.. but what an exhilarating feeling! An adrenaline rush, at the very least. I felt like I could do anything. To get home we took motorbikes back to the other side of the mountain. This was terrifying. The guy that was driving me was going way to fast and not slowing down for the turns. But I was in another world and I was so happy and grateful to be there at that moment I didn't even care. The moment I realized I officially was "rolling with the punches" My crazy motorbike driver drove really fast through a huge puddle and my legs and feet got soaked. The first thing that went through my mind was "Well, I needed to wash my feet anyway!"
Besides climbing a mountain, other important things I did were: eating duck & pigeon and liking them both. Throwing my camera half way down a mountain and screaming as I watched my life disappear and my heart stop beating. My trusty little Vietnamese tour guide hopped right down the mountain and found that it had stopped just where he could reach it. I was SO thankful. Did I say my camera? I meant Rob's camera. I have to worst luck! I think I'm going to sew it to me when I go backpacking. Anyway.. Learning how to ignore cute cute children begging you to buy something from them. Sometimes giving in and buying something from them. Taking the overnight bus home in the "hard seats" section to save some money. I don't completely regret this decision, as it wasn't mine and I didn't have a choice, but it was a great experience. It was like those trains you see with a lot of guys drinking and playing cards and being really loud while the two foreigners try to sleep. (ok An isn't technically a foreigner, but that's another story). Overall it was really a great experience. We then went back to Hanoi and spent time with some different people An knew and some people we met at an Irish Bar, and then went out dancing with. It was just a nice time overall, not something I was ready to come home after. Hope you enjoy the pictures!!
The one thing I hate about going away is that it gave me the travel bug. I need to see more, I need to keep having exciting experiences. Hopefully I adjust myself to this heat before I am stuck in my house forever. It has also been making me think A LOT about next year and I am driving myself crazy. I think that is what started my headache that started the rest of the downfall that was my health. I made a vow with myself to not think about the future for the next few months. Just for once to be here, now. I'm always thinking of the next step, sometimes satisfied, but still always once step ahead. A good quote from Whitney:
"I need reminders of why I think anything is possible, and why I think convenient and okay just isn't enough."
I heard a song the other day that had a really good line. You know how everyone always uses the phrase "When in Rome!" Well I was definitely saying it a lot on vacation, and I say it here in Can Tho sometimes also. And I was just reading my friends blog who is studying abroad in Barcelona and she said "When in Barca!" and then I heard this song and it made me think:
"But I'm gonna bet they never really feel at home, If they spend a lifetime learning how to live in Rome."
In interesting way to look at things, I think. Then last night Julia, Alice and I had a long conversation about where we wanted to live when we get back (and when that might be) and how scary that is. Such a crazy decision. Can't say I see myself staying in the next place very long, but ever since all of this has been going through my head I can't imagine not just picking a place to stay. What's so wrong with wanting to stay somewhere? I convinced myself once that it wasn't, and now I can't remember why.
I don't mean to be so deep but this is what I can't stop thinking about and this is what drives me crazy sometimes. Always has, nothing new. I do miss my friends though. It's a hard time for a lot of people and it sucks not being there for them, thats probably the bottom line of what all of this is about. Anyway, it's about time for me to go to bed. Tomorrow morning I am playing football with my students! They invited me on their team and I have NO idea what to expect. It should be fun though! I'll let you know how it goes!! xoxo-
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