Venturing Out

Summary of the past few days

The other day Carolyn and I turned left out of our complex only to discover a completely new world. We came upon a street that was way busier than ours and there were sidewalks! However, despite the busy street, we did get up the nerve to cross it once...it was very nerve wracking for sure. I also got a helmet for our upcoming motorbike ventures, which is pink with panda bears! Yeah the only helmets to fit my head are the childrens‘! On this same day was our first venture into Vietnamese market. We picked up a few pieces of fruit, one of which I am not a fan of but the second has quickly become our favorite fruit here…Dragon Fruit!

This isn't the one I bought but Carolyn really wanted me to get it.

It doesn't look busy now but it was. Plus it's just a lot wider than our street.

We randomly found this market and. So many beautiful colors.

Sunday was a new day as well! An hour taxi drive into District 1 brought us to the International Church! We met many new people there and even met a girl, Janell, who took us out to Thai food. We traveled into District 2 where we stayed for a few hours, shopping in an actual mall. It was nice to see English written everywhere but it also made us long for our district, which no one in District 1 or 2 has even heard about! That is how immersed we are in the Vietnamese culture.

Back home on our street.

We are learning to love this drink Nouc Mia or sugar cane

Monday was the third day we went to the coffee shop, Trung Nguyen. I mention this because all three days we have been lead to the same table. We have become regulars! After our coffee and some time at the apartment, we ventured out for some lunch and stumbled upon the most amazing food we have had yet! Not only was the food delicious but we also met two women who were so helpful in our study of the language. They were so eager to help and were very patient with us. Carolyn had her first experience with local curiosity as well. One of the women was fascinated by her soft, white skin and held her arm for a good while. We also ventured out into the rain to pick up our curriculum books from school! (Pics of the poncho will hopefully be taken soon!) Please lift us up in the fact that we will be observed this coming Thursday!

As you can see, we are still loving our experience here but we know that day will come where we will become overwhelmed by the language barrier or when we will long for the familiarities of home. I know I keep asking and saying this but your thoughts for us mean so much. They are what’s going to get us through. Thank you all. I miss you!