Ahhh Memories!

Now that the semester is winding down, it is time to reminisce. I know I can't capture all of the great moments that I've had here, but here are a few of my best memories of Vietnam.

1. Swimming on the South China Sea Beach. My friends and I grabbed a few beers and set out for the beach after dark. The beach was absolutely deserted. The town where we stayed was very small, so there wasn't much light or activity. The stars were beautiful and the waves were intense. It was so wonderful being with my friends in such a beautiful, peaceful place. This was definitely one of those, "Wow, I can't believe I'm in Vietnam!" moments.

2. Visiting Professor Thanh's village in the Mekong. A professor joined us on our excursion to the Mekong Delta and invited us to his home one of the last days we were there. We took an hour long boat ride in order to reach the village. When we got there, we walked about fifteen minutes through a place I could never have imagined. It was beautiful enough to be a resort. The path led along the river. There were houses on one side of the path. Everywhere there were fruit trees and other large plants. Thanh's family lives on a large fruit orchard. While Thanh led us on a tour of the orchard, pointing out different plants (I also saw a spider bigger than my hand- not kidding), his family was at his home peeling dozens of grapefruits. Grapefruit is a bit different in Vietnam. It has a much thicker skin and it takes a great amount of time to peel- something I did not know at the time. When we got back to his home, there were bowls and bowls of grapefruit. The grapefruit here is also much sweeter than in the states and not at all sour. We all gorged ourselves on the freshest fruit I've ever had. We then proceeded to help cook dinner. We rolled noodles, shrimp, pork, bean sprouts and greens in rice paper. We then dipped these delicious rolls in fish sauce for a perfect dinner. The night ended with another boat ride back to our hotel. I laid out on the roof of the boat. Some people fell asleep, but I just stared at the stars and thought about life, Vietnam, the future- you know, all that philosophizing we tend to do late at night when it's peaceful and everything seems perfect.

3. Sitting on the Opera House steps with My. One of the first few nights I stayed with My, she picked me up from downtown Saigon and we drove on her motorbike to the Opera House. She had bought me some fruit (she's always buying me little, interesting snacks) and we sat on the steps talking. It was already dark, and Saigon really lights up after sunset. I love all the bright lights downtown, all of the motorbikes and cars driving past. Sitting on the Opera House steps is a common activity for young Vietnamese people, so there were at least a couple dozen other twenty-somethings on the steps. It felt really nice to be with my new home stay sister hanging out doing something she likes to do, surrounded by young, cool Vietnamese people.

4. My first delicious street-food meal that I picked out all by myself. Choosing something to eat on the street takes talent. Well, it must, because the first few times I found myself having to feed myself, the food I chose was less than yummy. Yes, I could have went into a Western-style cafe and ordered off an English menu, but I like the challenge of trying to eat what a Vietnamese student my age would eat. So, one day I was walking back from school to my home with the goal of finding some delicious lunch. I stopped and looked at several places to eat, but it either didn't look good, or I didn't have enough courage to speak up and ask for the food. But then, close to my home, there was a small alley with a friendly-looking woman selling something with noodles. So, I just sat at the little plastic stool and table she had set up and pointed to the food she had on her cart. It was delicious! It's called bun thit xao. It is raw vegetables, rice noodles and stir-fried pork, sprinkled with peanuts and served with plenty of fish sauce. I've gone back a couple of times, and the woman always recognizes me. Once, she sat with me and we tried to have a conversation. I always smile when I walk past- she's one of the many people I think I'll remember of my time in Saigon.