V2-2010

Today was a great day in Hanoi. I'll give you a quick run down of our busy day and then the team can tell you their thoughts.

We started off the day with breakfast at the hotel. It is on the top floor and has a balcony with an amazing view. We enjoyed the birds eye view for awhile after breakfast. Afterward we walked around the area and took pictures.

Late morning we met up with our friend Tim (went up North with us on past trips) and our translator for this trip, Mihn. We took a tour around the French Quarter of Hanoi on an electric powered tourist cart. We saw so much it is hard to put it into words!

We followed that by eating lunch at Highlands Coffee overlooking crazy Vietnam traffic.

After lunch we headed over to the GVI Office for a Health and Hygiene meeting and prep time and then met with Sherman from GVI about Vietnamese culture. It was great to meet Thao, our GVI staff that will travel with us. Sherman also had really in depth great helpful information regarding the culture here and the differences between American and Vietnamese culture.

We ended our busy day with meeting with Vietnamese friends at a seafood restaurant eating wonderful Hanoi styled cuisine. All I can say is that it was probably the best meal I have had in Hanoi.

At the end of today, I (Angela) have to say this is the best day I have ever had in Hanoi. The weather was very comfortable, there was not a lot of traffic at the beginning of the day, and it was so wonderful to be with Vietnamese friends and not just feel like a tourist. I really feel comfortable here! Another blessing is that this is the first time I have not been jet lagged on a trip here!

Brian: Today was the most relaxing day I have had in Hanoi! What made it so relaxing was not the perfect weather, great food, or site-seeing (although all these were awesome). But rather it was friends. Both the friends that came with me and the friends in Hanoi. It was peaceful just being with our Vietnamese friends and spending time talking and enjoying the city, together. I have been so busy with life that it is such a welcome change to chill. I highly recommend spending chill time with friends, especially Vietnamese ones.

Christin: This morning I woke to the sounds of a busy city! Some sounds very familiar like cars and radios and some not so familiar like hundreds of scooters speeding through the streets. After a breakfast of Pho and a look over the foggy city skyline I enjoyed a chaotic and wonderful day meeting some new Vietnamese friends, touring Hanoi, and preparing ourselves for teaching up north. Today was a perfect way to start our work here! It was loud and busy, full of smells and sounds straight from a movie set. I feel like today Hanoi rolled out its red carpet for us Americans so…thanks Hanoi!!

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