Notes/Observations/Reflections

Life in Hanoi is much different from Can Tho. It is a tourist city. Therefore, it is more expensive, there is more variety of food options, and there is plenty of shopping. I wasn't interested in buying much until I learned that we could have clothing made. I had a silk robe, night dress, pillowcase and linen overalls made. I've been getting some exercise, mainly from swimming. I also went running around the lake one morning. I miss my bike. We are all tired of Vietnamese food. Therefore, we go out for Western food as much as possible. My favorite restaurant is the Good Day Cafe. I always get a grilled vegetable sandwich with goat cheese and balsamic dressing, and a mixed vegetable soup. I also visit a grilled pizza place often and Matcha Paradise almost everyday. I either get a green tea or a mango smoothie. The trees are beautiful here. They look like an amalgamation of several thin trunks. Incredibly, they all belong to one tree. The branches hang all the way down to the ground. General Giap died last week. He was much loved by the people. So much so that locals queued up to pay their respects at his home the day before his funeral. It was the longest line any of us had ever seen. It stretched back several kilometers. The folks in the back had probably waited all day long to drop their flowers and send a prayer. I've been drinking a lot of water. Up to 7 liters on some days. I'm not sure why I am so thirsty but I feel great. We have plates full of fruits at every meal and only a couple of people have been sick so far. We had our first female lecturers of the entire program two days before leaving the country. The only women we hear from are translators. When there are multiple people who can translate, the men are always the first choice, even when it is clear that the women speak better English.