Independence Day

Today is Vietnam's Independence Day.  It's the first time I've slept past eight in a while.  I felt like 8:30 was pushing it, so I got up decided to get up this morning and take some pictures with my new Canon Rebel.  I explored some back-alley ways and ended up in unfamiliar territory.  Unfortunately, I forgot to bring a map.  I should have learned by now.

Bryn and I started language class and work on Tuesday.  Language class is on one side of the city while work at Tha Gioi is on the other side.  To get to either, we have to bike in congested traffic and heavy humidity.  We both forgot to bring our maps on our first day.  We made it to language class and work on time.  Unfortunately, were very lost on the way home from work.  What should have taken half an hour ended up taking an hour and a half.

Luckily, today I found a tourist station with a map.  I made it back in time for lunch.  Later, Bryn and I decided to explore Hanoi's Old Quarter.  We looked at various shops and checked out a bootlegged DVD shop.  I found tons of box sets (such as 40 Hitchcock films packaged together, and the entire collection of James Bond movies) for the price of 20 US dollars. However, I decided to hold off on buying films for the moment.  

Language class and work at Tha Gioi has been going well.  Our language teacher, Miss Linh, is very nice.  We have been learning vowels, tones, and personal pronouns.  Personal pronouns are very important in Vietnamese.  You need to know which to use in order to show respect.  Unfortunately there's more than a dozen or so different combinations.  Learning vowels and tones is just as difficult.  On the bright side, most any language after this will seem like a walk in the park.  Work at Tha Gioi has been interesting.  Our boss, Long, is a very cheerful fellow.  I'm currently editing a document describing the different tourist attractions of Hanoi.  

I'll move in with my host family on Sunday.  Until next time, Happy Independence Day!