SOS Village and a day on the town

So it's been a few days. We still only have three computers, but there are now eight people, which means that computer time is at a premium. I had a couple of lovely, lovely days, and the time is going by so fast. I can't believe I only have one more week of teaching and then we're heading back to Ha Noi. Time has really flown. Granted, last night when we went to dinner I thought to myself, "How many more nights do I have to eat noodle soup of some kind?" Those of you who know me know I'm not a huge fan of soup in general and noodle soups in particular. Pho' is the exception to the rule, but I can even get tired of pho'. Last night we had bun, which is pho' with a different kind of noodle, but don't let the Vietnamese hear me say that.... Anyway, food and homesickness things aside, I can't believe that the time has gone by so fast, and I wish I had more time here.

Day before yesterday - that'd be Tuesday - we went to the SOS Village, which is the orphanage in town. It's a series of group homes, and we visited before, but this Tuesday, we were able to spend more time with the kids. We played cards and soccer for a bit while they warmed up. Eleisa, Aimee, and I even did the hokey pokey to much laughter. We played the game where you hold hands and get all tangled up and then have to untangle each other from the knot that our hands have formed. We weren't very good at that game, but it was fun anyway, and the girls just laughed and laughed.
The two girls in my class were hanging out in the group with me and Eleisa. Once they warmed up, the girls were so adorable. Those two girls, a pair of twins, and two other girls gathered around me and the girls in my class served as my main interpreters. We all kind of separated out into different groups with different kids, and I was with those girls. We took pictures, then I let one of the twins have my camera and she took tons of pictures for me. Her sister stuck by me and held my hand, which is what people do in Vietnam when they're friends. One of the girls wants to be an interpreter, and she speaks English very well, so she'd be great at it, in my opinion. The girls were fourteen and thirteen and their lives have been too hard for them to be anything but sweet and appreciative. I felt so - full - spending time with them. We talked, they laughed at my Vietnamese, and we hung out.
It was really great and reminded me how much I want to work with underprivileged children. I could totally imagine myself living and working in a group home like the SOS Village. The kids really are well taken care of. They are bright and beautiful and bubbly. The girls invited us to come back, and I think I will go on Saturday so I can have at least one more day there.
Classes that night went well, and I enjoyed them greatly, especially my Starter class. My students and I decided we would meet for breakfast the next day and then I'd have lunch at Linh's house. I was floating on cloud nine after that.
After that, we went out for pho' (Night 2 of pho') and then hit a kem shop for some sua chua. (Don't you love my Vinglish?) I had a deck of Uno cards, and there were six of us. We had six flavors of frozen yogurt, so we decided to play yogurt Uno. You draw a two, take two bites of your yogurt, switch yogurt, draw an eight, eat eight bites, draw a reverse, switch yogurt in the opposite direction... If you're being stared at, you might as well give people some entertainment, right? ;) Anyway, we sampled all the yogurt and it was a good time.
Yesterday, I met my students at the school at 7 am. I took Anna, one of the teachers on the Ha Noi team, with me.
Three of my students were there, and one brought a friend. We rode motorbikes to the restaurant where we had some great food: rice cake type things with herbs and fried onions which you dip in nuoc mam (fish sauce). There were two types of meat involved, one of which was delicious, the other was just okay. I don't know what kind of meat it was, but the rule of thumb in Vietnam is "DON'T ASK". They ordered coffee for Anna and me; it arrived in a glass in three perfect layers: condensed milk; thick, black coffee; and a layer of creamy froth served over ice. I prayed so much that the caffeine wouldn't make me jittery, and so did Anna. Fortunately, there were no jitters and the condensed milk sure made the coffee go down without any trouble.
After that, we went to the market. I got some souvenirs because Linh is a master bargainer, and I even got a pilón for my mom. We bought food at the market, and Anna and I were so excited to see bins of spices and baskets of fish and whole chickens sitting out on tables... It was almost sensory overload, but we loved it and got pictures of some of the saleswomen; they were so excited to see their faces on the camera screen.
We headed back to Linh's house where she and Ninh prepared the most delicious lunch I've had in Vietnam while Anna and I chatted with the professor (one my students) and Ninh's friend (who speaks excellent English). The professor left early, but we stayed and ate crosslegged on a wooden bed that also serves as a table. Seriously: delicious.
After lunch, we watched tv and talked, then headed back out because Linh wanted to buy us bracelets. She's sixteen and the only daughter - one of three children - in a family that is very well off, but she's not spoiled at all. I was astounded by her generosity. She's a sweet, sweet girl, as is Ninh (she's 23). Oh! They also made us fresh passion fruit juice, which was as good as my grandma's. :)
We made plans for che and karaoke on Saturday, so I'm excited. We had good conversation and they're great people to hang out with. Besides, who doesn't like karaoke?!

Anna and I spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in Ho Chi Minh Square talking and taking pictures of Uncle Ho's statue - it's pretty awe inspiring, that giant statue in the square...

My classes went well, not wonderfully, but well enough. I had to give one class a mid term exam, and that kinda sucked, but it's over, so that's good.

I'm planning to head to the market again today to finish up my souvenir shopping. I can't believe I'll be back in the States so soon... I almost don't want to go, because things are falling into place; I'm settling in, I'm understanding more of the language and the culture and the food... But man, I would love some rice and beans PR style and a nice pizza... ;)