Vinh, the beach, and how I learned to like seafood

Well, we made it to Vinh. The train ride took about nine hours. I'm sure most of you have heard about my Nicaraguan ferry ride - you know, the one across Lake Nicaragua, when there were only three women on board and we woke up to a circle of men peering at us curiously, when it was palpably hot and humid... Yeah, multiply that by about fifty, throw in a lot of beer, a heavy dose of sweat and general BO and an Asian squatty potty sans TP, and you've got a good approximation of what the train ride was like. But you know, everything is an experience. I remember testing out my tentative Vietnamese asking where the vay sinh (restroom), and then opening that door, considering holding it for another five hours, and then taking a deep breath and going for it. If I wanted this to be home, I would've stayed home, right?

Yesterday we spent the day at Cua Lo beach - about twenty kilometers from Vinh. Lovely warm water - though a bit cloudy, gentle waves, nice breeze, fine sand... What can I say? I love the beach. I am however, the darkest girl in Vietnam. LOL Everyone is trying to cover up and stay nice and white, while I am loving the sweet golden tan I'm picking up. They all think I'm Indian, as in from India, because of my eyes and my "bright brown skin", which is fine because I think Indian women are knockouts. But let's just say that I am an anomaly here in Vietnam.

Anyway, the food is amazing here. I've had a few things I'm not too fond of, eggplant seeds and eel, but other than that, I've been eating it all. Calamari, shrimp which I get to dissect myself (did you know that shrimp have heads?), crab, clams, frog legs (taste just like chicken wings and I am not kidding)... I actually really like the calamari, clams, and frog legs, who knew? They do seafood RIGHT here. Yesterday at the beach, I sat in front of a whole plate of seafood and it did NOT smell like fish. Talk about fresh. And delicious.

Ah, and we also went to Karaoke. The famous Asian karaoke craze... It's quite different. You get a room for you and your friends, a big screen tv, food and drinks, and a couple of microphones. Before long, you are doing your version of Aretha Franklin's "Respect" with the other Americans and realizing that you don't actually know the words. There was also a whole lot of singing in Vietnamese, while I tried to read along and connect sounds with letters.

Vietnamese lessons begin on Wednesday and God knows I need them. :)

Eleisa and I walked a couple miles to the local grocery store yesterday during the siesta - now we know why people stay in. We were able to stop at a post office and ask for directions. I also bought mangosteen from a street vendor (seriously, best fruit ever). A mangosteen looks like an eggplant met a persimmon but it tastes like... I don't know, heaven, perhaps? Oh, and my new favorite drink (wonderfully nutritious, no doubt) is sugar cane juice. They basically press the sugar cane and mix it with lemon and I don't know what else. It's the perfect pick me up after afternoon classes.

We finish observations tomorrow, and then the team teaching begins. I did a little teaching today with a starter level class. We talked about the seasons and the weather before their regular teacher took over for the listening activities. Lots of fun. Cute kids. :)

Anyway, that's all for now.