Groceries, Gloria Jeans and Cockroaches !!

Now I bet you think that I went into the grocery store or Gloria Jeans and found a cock roach ! Wrong, we went to town yesterday to do some looking around.  Mark was looking for an airline office that had moved three times since posting its old address on there web site.  In our looking, my blood sugar was getting low and when I looked up there was a Gloria Jean's Coffee shop across the street.  I told Mark to go ahead and I would catch up.  I had an iced Cappacino and an apple tart and sat down to listen to all of the tourist that were there from around the world.  The place was full but only one couple was Vietnamese.  After checking out the second address Mark and I met up and of course I had found a small little mall area to look around in.  Since he had not eaten we found a place that actually had Pita bread sandwiches.  I, not being very hungry, just had a chicken sandwich, most of which he ate.  It was good and not very expensive.  After finishing our meal, Mark headed out to the third address he had been given but by this time it was 6:30 and of course they were closed.  I headed to an area where we were told they had a western grocery store and sure enough I found two of them right next door to each other.  I checked them both out, I opted for the one that seemed to have there prices a little lower, but ended up having to go to both because one did not have everything I wanted.  We now have some Cheetos, salsa, hard taco shells, a cake mix and frosting and one brownie mix.  The cake mix and frosting cost me almost ten US dollars.  This will not be something I do all the time but it is great to know that it is there if a craving hits.  We also found some Kettle Corn popcorn that we have on movie nights.  It almost feels like home.  Well I bet you are thinking that I forgot the cock roach, who could forget this guy, he was the size of a small mouse and greeted us as we walked in our front door.  Mark had to corner him and then step on him around six times before the thing gave up !!  I probably should have offered him to our neighbors for a meal !

Valentine's Day

On Saturday the 14th we invited our friends to go on a dinner cruise.  We wanted to do something special for them since they help us out so much.  We got to the river in District 1, which remember is the tourist district and it was more crowded than usual.  We did not realize that they celebrate Valentine's day here though we had seen many people selling flowers on the streets.  We arrived around 7 PM and had our choice of three different boats.  I felt like we were on that game show Let's Make A Deal.  My parents were actually on that show and won a washer and dryer.   We decided to try boat #1 since we were there and there was no line.  We should have realized that there was a reason for no line.  We were politely told that they were sold out, they still had unfilled seats but I guess those people were still coming.  Boat # 2 was the same and so we approached boat # 3, I liked it because it had a fish face. It was also a huge boat that  seated 1,000 people.  They still had space so we went up to the top deck and found a table for four.  I love how casual they do things here like coming to our door to collect for the utilities ect. and if we are not home they come the next month and no service charges.   We asked, when do we pay and they said after dinner.  We thought how trusting they are.  Sure enough as they came around collecting from each table for dinner the couple that sat behind us had disappeared without paying.  We were expecting to pay around $100.00 for the evening but when the bill came it was only $50.00 for the four of us.  Where can you get dinner and a cruise for that.   Boat #3 also had a  trio of musicians from the tribal area and they were good.  They also had a girl that had a hula hoop with fire on it and then a stick of fire that she put in her mouth, all done to music.  All the men were up front trying to get a better view and blocking ours when I realized that this girl had on a bikini. Unusual for Vietnam.  Fire and a bikini, hum, how smart is that?  After dinner the cruise took us down the river and around the port.  It lasted a bit long 1 1/2 hours.  My mosquito repellent worked for which I am thankful since my bites turn into welts and last for well over a week, not to mention the itching.  All in all it was a nice Valentine's day.  Our friend's have been dating for several years and have never been able to go out on Valentine's day due to work obligations.  He asked Mark if he usually bought me flowers, Mark's answer was yes,of course, sometimes !! 

Valentine's Dinner Cruise

Birthday's of the Month

Sunday evening we were able to share with a group of students.  After the meeting they had a gift for all who have a birthday in Feb.  Mark's birthday is Feb 20th so he stood up with the others and got to pick a gift.  All were cards except on person got $5,000 Vd, which is about 40 cents.  The girl that picked it was so excited.  Then they all had to share what they were looking forward to in the next year of their lives.  It was great fun.  We even got to go by motor bike, which is always exciting.  I just love those times of squeezing between the bus and taxi or when the cars come right at you thinking that surely you will stop, but no these motor bike drivers just dare them to run them over.  One of the young men who helps us out was in an accident a week ago and ended up with stitches in his hand, I think they were more like staples.  Just another case of someone driving on the wrong side of the road and not being able to stop in time.  The usual stuff !

Birthday's of the month

One Man Band

We never know what we will see in this country.  Our camera has become my constant companion.  We went to town last week to our favorite cafe, SOZO, for lunch.  After a meal of cheeseburgers and fries, our order being taken by a deaf boy, the cafe hires those that society has cast off and helps give them back some of their dignity, we proceeded down the street to the barber shop.  On our way we saw a blind young man standing in the street playing music.  He was pretty good.  Some tourist were even donating to his cause.  Mark was able to get a decent haircut for around $4.00, deal of the day,  We then went to the Western market, which is not a deal and bought some of the things we like to indulge in, M&M with peanuts for Mark and tortilla's and chips.  No pancake mix again, this is the fourth week without.  Must be a shortage.  I would make my own but you see they do not sell flour here or at least I can't find any. They do have bakeries but none near us.  I can't wait to stock up when we get back to the states.     

One Man Band

From Monthly youth group meeting

Dinner and a FIGHT ???

On Thursday night we were invited to another New Year's celebration dinner with the owner of our apt. He moved to the fifth floor of our building. We arrived to find about 10 other people all sitting on the floor, of course, and eating. We were not late but I guess they had been doing this most of the day as is the custom. I am so amazed that these people are so small, they love to eat.
We had the usual Vietnamese fair of chicken soup with rice, chicken salad, shrimp, oysters, spring rolls and fruit for dessert. Then our host proceeded to bring out a bottle of 30 year old wine that he had saved from the war. He had been sent to the US for training during the war and they have been so helpful to us bringing us meals and fruit so he wanted to share this wine with us. I am not much of a drinker but this was a very mild wine and we enjoyed our time with them.

NOW for the FIGHT... On Friday night we thought we would try to find the KFC which is about 15 minutes from our apt. We headed out at 5 PM on foot and found it and had an ok dinner, Mark loves their soft serve ice cream. After dinner we proceeded to walk back to our apt, most people were still out of town so the streets were pretty quiet. We saw a group of people ahead of us and just thought they were waiting to get into the Karoke Bar. It was not until we were in the middle of the group that we discovered it was a fight. By this time there was only guy left and as I walked past him I saw that he had blood all over his shirt and that his face was a mess THEN I noticed the machete type knife in his hand. I tried to push Mark along to move faster not knowing if he realized what was going on but the crowd was just wanting to look and not move. We finally made it past the group and as I looked back I saw his motor bike laying in the street. Mark thought it might be a case of road rage, whatever, I would hate to see what the other guy looked like since this one had the knife. I think taxi's are looking better and better !!