Week in Thailand

On Sunday we flew to Bangkok for a week long seminar.  It was great to reconnect with friends we have made over the years there.  There were 83 people from over 25 different countries in attendance.  There were five of us from Vietnam.  We were lodged in a really nice hotel in town. Bangkok is an hour and 15 minute flight from Vietnam.  We were tired after the trip and taxi rides so Mark surprised me and ordered room service.  I think that is a first for us.  The seminar went from 9 AM to 6 PM each day.  We went to the Mall down the street from the hotel twice for dinner, once to a Sizzler, yes, even in Bangkok and then Mark wanted his pizza fix so the second night we ate at a Pizza Hut.  I really wanted to shop but was too tired, can you believe that, me at a mall and no shopping?  The conference ended after lunch on Friday and we arrived back in Vietnam around 6:30 PM, right in the middle of rush hour traffic.  That was not fun.  We again saw a motor bike accident that was right in our path.  This time the gentleman did not look happy but the other guy helped him pick up his bike and off they went.  I am now on countdown, only 15 days until we leave for the US.  I talked to my grandson Gavin on the phone this morning and he said, Grammy you are coming home on my birthday.  I said yes we would be home on his birthday, the 13 of April and how old will you be, he said three, then stopped and said no I will be four when you come home!!  Then he proceeded to tell me all about the flower he planted and it really is not a flower yet just a leaf but will grow to be a flower.  We are going to have so... much fun with them.  

Graduation Day

This was the third graduating class from the College.  We were invited to attend the graduation and enjoyed it very much.  The youngest girl was 25 yrs old and the oldest was 67 yrs old.  Mark was able to spend some time with them and enjoyed that very much.  Everyone was dressed up and then put on their gowns and caps.  Asian custom requires that you leave your shoes at the door even on graduation day.  Notice the striped socks on many of the women.  After the ceremony they were all presented with flowers from friends and family.  Then they all wanted pictures with us, individually and with their families.   I felt like I did on our wedding day after having to paste that smile on for all of the photos.  Last night my jaw actually ached.  We then were invited to have lunch at a Singaporean restaurant.  The only difference I found was the way they cooked the rice in chicken broth rather than water.   The fish, pork and chicken were all tasty.  

Graduation Day

The Traffic

When we were in town last week I noticed that the traffic police, who use to stand on the corner of the street and just point at people to pull them over and never attempted to direct traffic are now standing on a white box type object trying to direct traffic.  Fascinated, I watched for awhile to see if people were actually going to obey them.  Some did and most did not.  They are quite brave to stand in the middle of the street like that.  People here are in a great hurry to get where they are going and don't seem to care about people in there way.  I saw one lady yesterday trying to fight with a guy twice her size and a younger man, probably her brother was holding her back, by the neck.   I did not see what happened but she was MAD.  

They need to do something drastic about the traffic here !!

Traffic Police

Happy Women's Day

On Saturday I was invited to attend a Women's day celebration.  I thought it was just something that this group of ladies was doing but I guess it is a special day here in Vietnam and other countries.  My ride arrived with a beautiful rose and wished me a Happy Women's Day.  It turned out to be a great day of celebration and sharing.  In my picture is a group of ladies performing a dance in their traditional outfits.  I love the hats.  You will see them daily on women on the streets, they really do help keep the sun off of you if you can find a way to keep them from falling off.  My tie was just not tight enough.  They also had a few games they played, one was putting a puzzle together and finding the verse and sharing what they thought it meant.  I think the lunch was in my honor because I have never seen spaghetti served here.  Some of the women were not sure about it.  Many ended up putting some type of Soy or Fish sauce on the noodles.  I enjoyed it and ate the whole thing with my chopsticks, they did provide a spoon but I managed just fine, a little messy but easily taken care of with the toilet paper they use as napkins.  Mark joined us at the end of the day for a special word and we were able to give each a special blessing before the time was over.  It had rained hard during our stay and on the way home we had a beautiful opening of blue between the clouds.  A perfect ending to a blessed day.

Woman's Day