Just to see how I match up against Hanoi so far in my trip:
humidity: 45000^6, carly: 0
mosquitoes: 9, carly: .5 (really thought i got that one but it was just an appendage)
really bitter and scary tea in my office: 6, carly: 1 (only because I was trying to be polite...)
crazy gelatinous "food" that my co-workers try to make me eat: 2, carly:0
vehicle and motorbike drivers: 400000000, carly: -4000000
crazy lady selling hot bread at dawn: 4, carly: 0 (I'm not sure that throwing rocks out of my window would be appropriate)
Well that scoreboard analysis is totally reassuring for me. I guess it's good that I don't feel (aka obviously haven't) gotten a hold on this city because that would obviously be underestimating it. I'm a horrible loser but I don't think I'd be able to settle the scores without years here, actually being able to speak Vietnamese, a much stronger stomach, and some seriously effective bug spray...or just straight DEET.
In other news, it would probably be relevant for me to explain the title of this post. Apparently Vietnamese people aren't really into the idea of pedestrians having any sort of right of way. A majority of the population drives motorbikes and for the people that aren't in a motorbike, they are driving taxis. There is no such thing as an off-peak time to be on the streets. Essentially, no one ever drives over 15 mph because there are so many people on the roads. It is constant rush hour which is also great considering the extremely polluted air in Hanoi. Perfect conditions for a whiny, asthmatic girl from the suburbs of Philly.
The other really exciting part of the traffic "system" here is that lanes and traffic lights are really only suggestions. The same way that many Americans take yellow lights to mean "ehh, the people behind me will have to slow down to not hit pedestrians," red lights have that meaning here and green lights are just a free for all...a free for all to really just hit people. According to my hosts and my Vietnamese friends, the best way to approach crossing a street is to just walk and ignore anything you've ever learned about traffic. Instead of stopping to let traffic pass then walking, you just assume motorbikers who are swerving around cars will just swerve around you the same way. My personal attempt to master the traffic consists of walking out of my way for blocks until I find a traffic light...or hiding behind Vietnamese people and following them across the street. Just making friends as many ways as possible!
Aside from my rant about daily near death experiences while crossing the street, I promised to put up pictures that are hopefully more exciting than my stories would ever be about them (and mostly because I can't exactly remember what most of pictures are of....wooooops). As a forewarning, I may or may not make up half the descriptions of the following pictures...
This is a house across the street from where I live that sort of looks like mine...that I guess I creep-ed on because I was too lazy to go outside and take a picture of my hosts' home....shocking behavior for me.
HAHAHA. I feel like SUCH a tool. I promise that he asked to take a picture with me while I was minding my own business and reading on the lake. I just thought my parents would enjoy seeing that I'm okay (even though this picture is only from day 3...).
This is a floating temple in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake (essentially the center of town...or at least that's what I think based on my total lack of geography skills). I have no idea how it got there or if it serves a purpose at this point but it definitely serves as a great photo-op for tourists.
yesssssss ice cream. one track mind.
...a pagoda. but I can't remember where. It's very much in my nature to bullshit this but also probably super disrespectful to try so on a rare occasion in my life, I am attempting to filter myself.
ahhhhhh incense. one of very few things that reminds me of home here...is that weird? thank you nance pants for that cultural experience.
Sorry that I can't figure out how to put this in the right direction but I'm not technologically capable enough (and it's going to bother me forever). Either way, I think that anyone can understand the extreme discomfort that this "dessert" caused me on my 3rd day of work. Apparently, this is a dessert drink with jelly, fruit, seaweed (completely convinced that it was slugs...), and really who knows what else might have been in there. The ladies that I went to lunch with thought it was hilarious how uncomfortable some of the traditional food (or all of it) made me. I think they intentionally started ordering things just to freak me out.While the house that I live in cooks mostly "Western" food, whenever I go out, I try to eat Vietnamese food. If the drink above wasn't enough to explain the major cultural differences in food, I think it is enough to say that my grandma Ethel would not only love the food here but probably be a celebrated chef for her use of unusual items. For anyone that knows my grandmother and her cooking repertoire that includes "magic" brownies, uncooked Thanksgiving turkey, or my dad's childhood breakfasts of mint liqueur on grapefruit might be better able to understand the food that I'm trying here. The restaurants here use parts of animals that I didn't even know existed. There have been things floating in my soup that I absolutely can't identify and I'm thinking it's probably better that way. This is not to say that it doesn't taste good, but that I've been raised on boneless, skinless chicken breast and am learning to confront new "goodies." (uhhh goodies..hmmm)
okay time to go grocery shopping so hopefully this will keep people entertained for long enough until I can force myself to write another one. I also hope that no one has been bored to tears. miss everyone lotsssss
still brushing my teeth and wearing my bite-plate, nance pants.
eating lots of gross parts of chicken in your honor, teddy boy.
NP + TB-- please tell mikey I said hi and that I hope he had a great trip.
