tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85621732796619828762024-03-05T06:32:09.867-08:00Off to Vietnam!Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-73099004819914134392011-08-12T03:02:00.000-07:002011-08-12T03:02:27.188-07:00Our Time in Ben Tre<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnoXDTlP0x1yzTUq1wu8yPo7sn6sAN_o1UVbm2YmIrvD5unYHmelnBN-au-FrpKfXfFnXa2Xd0b-fr7VRIQNYbQk2-nkijdmjSahmRyvkzcqEjEYMXTd9KYlXs75UAbJd0dfxURsClEQA/s1600/_MG_5184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnoXDTlP0x1yzTUq1wu8yPo7sn6sAN_o1UVbm2YmIrvD5unYHmelnBN-au-FrpKfXfFnXa2Xd0b-fr7VRIQNYbQk2-nkijdmjSahmRyvkzcqEjEYMXTd9KYlXs75UAbJd0dfxURsClEQA/s320/_MG_5184.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Dancing with the Kids</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJk6rwA3MgoQIbEPZAqeZFR-c-kpcaNlnYj0x18LC-LqRlO-gO8kLbgoiy2FqmRnxltmiTEXdLCXD-D767vvRKtIoLKBBggV5rU8wppANbrMqLF2UahfUuSsuyWWpbJs-n1oW-xhTW4wU/s1600/_MG_6025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJk6rwA3MgoQIbEPZAqeZFR-c-kpcaNlnYj0x18LC-LqRlO-gO8kLbgoiy2FqmRnxltmiTEXdLCXD-D767vvRKtIoLKBBggV5rU8wppANbrMqLF2UahfUuSsuyWWpbJs-n1oW-xhTW4wU/s320/_MG_6025.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Ca Lookin Classy</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvnd4acm9GQDg1z2QoUBWymDstiIVU0iJ-G5FUq4h4NgNejBfnrwAcXaLgtHF2HQ5pYDmAIFAxsI2EIk28MlCR6aM-8PvIf-qQuEPKDSSayqgmJPkl5PBqXjwt_x0b8eyGwlGbjQoffHI/s1600/100_6166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvnd4acm9GQDg1z2QoUBWymDstiIVU0iJ-G5FUq4h4NgNejBfnrwAcXaLgtHF2HQ5pYDmAIFAxsI2EIk28MlCR6aM-8PvIf-qQuEPKDSSayqgmJPkl5PBqXjwt_x0b8eyGwlGbjQoffHI/s320/100_6166.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The House We Built</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgelZklL5TtLOuZjiLwmTeB174dc_uVcQYrPmzORJQl7bnEgXMJeNsOEVm4047B09xl-FHNMSPswVA0BzKQmvlb7XSOnEnbCGyyAamM0ZDY8x3zYbS5i6Xm2yarY2Ie6yPdnGUiBAGKHOo/s1600/DSC02404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgelZklL5TtLOuZjiLwmTeB174dc_uVcQYrPmzORJQl7bnEgXMJeNsOEVm4047B09xl-FHNMSPswVA0BzKQmvlb7XSOnEnbCGyyAamM0ZDY8x3zYbS5i6Xm2yarY2Ie6yPdnGUiBAGKHOo/s320/DSC02404.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The Brady Bunch on a Train (6 people packed into a closet for 20 hours...yes)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyMrCWsdl69vTT0HBnO5cJVtBsIgR4O5S9JcBuYEbETMCjOI-Z6DJteG7_IplxVLeGwAy3X7kVHL6pLiRKWbNrFwRoRP8i9wPfKEdTjRZeA2k2Tr6Z25fciirSf87NJNWMisezO9FSS4U/s1600/101_1237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyMrCWsdl69vTT0HBnO5cJVtBsIgR4O5S9JcBuYEbETMCjOI-Z6DJteG7_IplxVLeGwAy3X7kVHL6pLiRKWbNrFwRoRP8i9wPfKEdTjRZeA2k2Tr6Z25fciirSf87NJNWMisezO9FSS4U/s320/101_1237.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Riding Across "Phoenix Island"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzWTSVm8tmnpiBs4TO4k_eY72UqSKCz-8JmitDnrmG8I5BcZrLToACJaQ0i_Cj4SHL_Oo7bznYSLukQQCX-nEoGwfJRtg9FipH0FiBr-mx531FiYIKTO-Vc588eMDdxOeqsfGZpizlAgA/s1600/101_1258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzWTSVm8tmnpiBs4TO4k_eY72UqSKCz-8JmitDnrmG8I5BcZrLToACJaQ0i_Cj4SHL_Oo7bznYSLukQQCX-nEoGwfJRtg9FipH0FiBr-mx531FiYIKTO-Vc588eMDdxOeqsfGZpizlAgA/s320/101_1258.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Dinner</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgXTC-etvr9SBnF2EjirHlFecSqK5Rdq55YMkqhhVsq8tqvDOZnzebqxg9zlexwt-Cbev8_NpDGDtcMDx_B4-ja2OHEdCjnAxFvThyphenhyphen_TCe_AaIciZtkJz7IxkWPIr7BE1rv9v0nGWjc-0/s1600/101_1287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgXTC-etvr9SBnF2EjirHlFecSqK5Rdq55YMkqhhVsq8tqvDOZnzebqxg9zlexwt-Cbev8_NpDGDtcMDx_B4-ja2OHEdCjnAxFvThyphenhyphen_TCe_AaIciZtkJz7IxkWPIr7BE1rv9v0nGWjc-0/s320/101_1287.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Not My Thing...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8pm7DMJj8ajKCfXZl1y21Ms0ANgn06SDvoBOp9R6QSj3FhC8x7cyLMuq-sp0B3xkcD8xgABpeuJ8Q920VEeYULNgvhafxdOOa7FVXuKwA18nnG3M23NNODLaTg5jgPG5eJau1c0C-09g/s1600/101_1182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8pm7DMJj8ajKCfXZl1y21Ms0ANgn06SDvoBOp9R6QSj3FhC8x7cyLMuq-sp0B3xkcD8xgABpeuJ8Q920VEeYULNgvhafxdOOa7FVXuKwA18nnG3M23NNODLaTg5jgPG5eJau1c0C-09g/s320/101_1182.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Last Day at the School</div>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-4533056952779299872011-08-10T05:29:00.000-07:002011-08-12T16:26:32.210-07:00You Know You've Been in Vietnam for 2 Months When...<div align="left" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"></div><ul><li><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b>You’re excited when there’s toilet paper</li>
<li>Speaking of toilet paper, it’s a treat when there is a squatter rather than just a whole in the ground</li>
<li>You don’t look twice at that one motorbike piled with 5 people, 2 live chickens, 1 pig, and a couple of bamboo mats</li>
<li>You feel like something’s missing when a fish or chicken head isn’t in dinner’s soup</li>
<li>You're hotel might also sideline as a brothel </li>
<li>Stripes and poka dots together doens't seem so off anymore</li>
<li>You have started measuring things in cement bags ex: “I’m so hungry I could eat 2 cement bags full of rice!”</li>
<li>You're use to the restaurants doubling as the family's living room</li>
<li>Your hair has yet to come out of a braid or ponytail</li>
<li>You might not like the stench of the market, but now you can at least tell the difference between some of the smells-squid, dried shrimp, durian, raw meat, fish</li>
<li>Last night you dreamed of eating a hamburger (with peanuts and salmon on top?), and the night before, a Chipolte burrito. Turns out malaria pills give you weird dreams, and we are all craving American food</li>
<li>You have replaced your morning makeup with a bucket of sunscreen and insect repellent</li>
<li>A lizard falls from the sky onto your arm as you’re eating your rice (just happened to me!)</li>
<li>Your conversations include all the American food you are going to eat when you get back</li>
<li>One minute there’s a caged live chicken in front of the restaurant, and after you order, the chicken is gone</li>
<li>You’ve taken a nap 2 feet from a national highway</li>
<li>You haven’t been on Facebook once</li>
<li>You’re use to the “more than occasional” lizard or cockroach hanging around in your room</li>
<li>You’re confused when there’s no rice on the table</li>
<li>You are no longer fazed by the yells, hollars, hoots, and stares</li>
<li>You’ve stopped comparing bug bites - we all have too many to count</li>
<li>You have no idea what the “Top Ten’ songs are on iTunes or what movies are out</li>
<li>You no longer think that all those people with masks are doctors or their patients</li>
<li>You’ve finally learned how to properly wash your clothes by hand</li>
<li>You’ve had someone drive by on their motorbike and try to snag your purse (happened to Devyn-we won!)</li>
<li>You don’t look twice at all the crazy food- scorpions, cobras, eggs with baby ducks inside, congealed blood, etc.</li>
<li>You’ve eaten enough rice to fill a swimming pool</li>
<li>You can successfully walk across a street in Saigon without flinching-imagine: NO crosswalks, no traffic rules, motorbikes and cars everywhere</li>
<li>You know how to order dog meat, although you will NEVER eat it!</li>
<li>You can take regular naps on a bamboo mat on the cement floor without getting a crick in your neck</li>
<li>You have mastered the art of the chopstick – or at least, relatively</li>
<li>After Quang Tri, you don’t think Saigon is that hot</li>
<li>You haven't watched TV-no Bachlorette or Pretty Little Liars </li>
<li>You fell in love with the country and are sad to leave the yummy food and friendly people</li>
</ul><br />
Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-3964683629181644822011-08-01T03:19:00.000-07:002011-08-01T03:19:42.033-07:00Some Pictures!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Lunch Lady's Backyard</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVTDSSkAXJ8nfh0AIFv_4-hO6yXODcfZjATw5lGUBuuZC5oOCNZfRAoPBDwm7xfX2ZIs0GLmZ0-4OXjcx4e5Byy43qA2QgZNmryuiSFE7B8jN_o0H5D5hkphbtOB5cFfUs27p9u8407yU/s1600/101_0890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVTDSSkAXJ8nfh0AIFv_4-hO6yXODcfZjATw5lGUBuuZC5oOCNZfRAoPBDwm7xfX2ZIs0GLmZ0-4OXjcx4e5Byy43qA2QgZNmryuiSFE7B8jN_o0H5D5hkphbtOB5cFfUs27p9u8407yU/s320/101_0890.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-JeIaxLRnYua0PsnL8MXMWpJP6BNDJevbBzOXfLmIEd7u8lmV-n-DgUhis_fPM57GEUCyGv0xPi2vLt2sCkeV3lWuvsq0PAQKjWU_Q-Wm32glvJdmgsFp6icSDlGgNL3WoXOjgc1dPt0/s1600/101_0906.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-JeIaxLRnYua0PsnL8MXMWpJP6BNDJevbBzOXfLmIEd7u8lmV-n-DgUhis_fPM57GEUCyGv0xPi2vLt2sCkeV3lWuvsq0PAQKjWU_Q-Wm32glvJdmgsFp6icSDlGgNL3WoXOjgc1dPt0/s320/101_0906.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Don't you have a whole family of cows and a giant python (with a live chicken no less) in your backyard!!??</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJoS_Z7NF4zgrx5Wy8B0_RrCDvQKxGEf5ACICsyTwSsNn8Q5R_WJkZrse7RUIqQgx0Ct33Z5T_BAQCjMTGuTPAqSv3nrctxG-Lz2aRBPJ3YdSgJ-kgYw-mtoJ-H7m_2tkipp2zux7Z0FQ/s1600/101_0900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJoS_Z7NF4zgrx5Wy8B0_RrCDvQKxGEf5ACICsyTwSsNn8Q5R_WJkZrse7RUIqQgx0Ct33Z5T_BAQCjMTGuTPAqSv3nrctxG-Lz2aRBPJ3YdSgJ-kgYw-mtoJ-H7m_2tkipp2zux7Z0FQ/s320/101_0900.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The gang in our SNAZY orange uniforms getting ready for lunch</div>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-51493111519102303292011-08-01T03:08:00.000-07:002011-08-01T03:08:35.973-07:00The Bike Ride to Our New Worksite<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyqyBxpGfrDHi1_RY8cVXkzpoLb4HLlGgVeGzf4guZKSw_pFmoXrumuXdEOZrlCndcXeQWbImuKe_nnWhJ2cw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">Our Daily Trek Through the Jungle</div>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-40876378721382362742011-07-23T21:48:00.000-07:002011-07-23T21:48:33.270-07:00The Family's Soon-to-be Old House<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRGbv3bOhgYtY2FRQbbtqVpB-3I3mb114wceenGHa975X4XJJ_5bv1XPtD2uO1BYRL4KeO2dqIf_BxYI3Cf7OOChJRQApmjGvgirl6vrWhAiZRwZPhyphenhyphenNwEB69OAfRakW19rswV08XkTwg/s1600/101_0866.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRGbv3bOhgYtY2FRQbbtqVpB-3I3mb114wceenGHa975X4XJJ_5bv1XPtD2uO1BYRL4KeO2dqIf_BxYI3Cf7OOChJRQApmjGvgirl6vrWhAiZRwZPhyphenhyphenNwEB69OAfRakW19rswV08XkTwg/s320/101_0866.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Their house is the small one in the front of this picture. The larger house belongs to an uncle.</div>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-76503616983335937722011-07-22T19:59:00.000-07:002011-07-22T19:59:42.238-07:00Hello from Ben TRE<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">First, I have been spelling our town name wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s actually “Ben Tre” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> “Ben Tri.” Oops!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second, I broke a kid’s arm….but we will get to that later!!</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">Alright so we are officially in Ben Tre and have gotten new roommates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My roommate’s name is Than-super cute, tall, and a little shy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She doesn’t speak English as well as Mushroom, but we laugh a lot, especially when we don’t understand each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of saying “huh?” or “what?” when she doesn’t understand me, Than always says “yes?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t count the times I’ve kept talking thinking she was just answering my question when really she wanted me to repeat it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>OOPS!</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">Ben Tre is pretty awesome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are totally in the jungle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s actually in an area called the Mekong Delta-lots and lots of trees, rivers, and streams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a major difference here though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every time we leave the guest house, we all have to wear these bright orange shirts (super cute…not!) and tell the government, The People’s Committee, where we are going.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oftentimes, they will follow us around to see what we are doing and stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was weird at first, but now it just seems like extra security for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, the food here is delicious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last night we had my favorite so far: sticky rice with peanuts! YUMMY! The best part of Ben Tre is the FRUIT! It literally grows on trees everywhere and you can pretty much reach up, grab something, and eat it right then and there!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are also famous for their coconuts and coconut candy-it’s everywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">We actually got to tour a one of the candy-making factories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They boil down coconut water till it’s really thick, add sugar, and then make a GINORMOUS chuck of hot taffy before they cut it all down into little pieces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all got to have some samples…BUT they were durian flavored! UGH.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know if I’ve talked about durian before BUT it’s nasty!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fruit itself is this huge, green ball of spikes and smells like a combination of garbage, dirt, and nastiness!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can smell a single durian from 10 feet away. BLAAAHHH. Don’t worry, I’m not being offensive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Vietnamese all laugh at us as we pass their durian stands!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They all know it smells terrible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to Tri, “It smells like hell, but tastes like heaven.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve tasted it, and I think it still tastes like hell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The smell is so bad that the government in China (I think) has made it against the law to carry durian on any form of public transportation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the funny thing is, the people here <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">love</i> this stuff…it’s in their candy, crackers, smoothies, anything.</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">Okay, enough about that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we are actually only going to be building one house for the next three weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t have enough time and people to build the second one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We wake up every morning around 5:30 to leave for our bike ride on time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bike ride is awesome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We ride through busy streets avoiding all the crazy motorbikes carrying pregnant pigs, live ducks hanging by their feet, and buckets of baby chickens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we turn onto this tiny sidewalk that runs through the jungle and over lots of tiny streams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After about 30 minutes, we have made it really deep into the jungle and park our bikes at this nice lady’s house before walking further back to our location.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The trail back to the family’s house is barely even marked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have to cross 3 of these things called “monkey bridges.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are bridges that are just one or two poles of bamboo or a fallen coconut tree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We actually had to have them put some more bamboo sticks in so we could cross them without falling into the water; but of course, the local people practically run over the normal without any issues.</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">The family that we are building for is one of the poorest in the whole village.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The mom and dad supposedly have some sort of mental issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They can’t speak clear Vietnamese and are unable to do normal work and usually just live off of the land with a little work here and there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were told that they will sometimes help out the other villagers with small tasks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, they can’t differentiate between different dominations of money, and some of the villagers know this and don’t pay the family what they deserve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They live in a tiny shack made of dried coconut leaves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is literally the size of king-sized bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They also have a 15 year-old sun named Ca. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is the nicest boy with a huge smile, but, when I first saw him, he looked like he was no older than 7.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He supposedly has some mental issues too (but really you can’t tell from looking at any of them that something is wrong) and was going to a special teacher until she left a couple of years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not even sure if he goes to school now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is awesome-he loves to help us build his home or show us his sweet fishing techniques.</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">Getting supplies to the house is pretty hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We either have to take it from our guest house on the 30 minute bike ride or transfer it from a boat that they bring up one of the small streams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Around 11:30, we all ride our bikes to another lady’s house in the village for lunch and to rest (we all lay out on bamboo mats on her front porch-VERY hot and lots of bugs).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The thing that makes me really sad is that Ca will come with us to lunch so that he can get a bike ride to the school later (it’s very far from his home and he doesn’t have a bike), but he doesn’t eat with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only thing I have ever seen him eat is some random fruit he picks off the trees; I’m not sure if he ever has breakfast or lunch or dinner for that matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I started bringing him and his cousins some bread and bananas in the morning to help out but they don’t like taking it.</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">Anyways, after we all chill, it’s time for SUMMER CAMP!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all head over to the elementary school for two hours of chaotic fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first day, only 20 kids showed up, so our plans to teach 8 different classes didn’t work out so well (things like PE, music, art, science, geography, etc.).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>BUT, the next day, they told all of their friends and TONS of kids showed up and kept coming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I teach PE and the kids love it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We tie these colorful ribbons around their heads to distinguish their different teams (they all look like mini ninjas) and play lots of field-day games, soccer, baseball, anything.</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">The kids are the CUTEST THING EVER!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bao and I have already come up with nick-names for a lot of them: Wisdom <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(the next leader of Vietnam), Confu (short for confused), Punk (crazy soccer dude), and baby (the tiny 4 year old that loves to come with her sister).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They do get tired REALLY quickly so that has been a little difficult, but things are going great!</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">Okay, so finally, about that broken arm…So yesterday, one of the elementary school teachers was just chillin at the school and was PERSISTANT that we play with him and some construction workers at their stadium (really just a small field).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turns out, he was completely drunk!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was falling all over the place, interrupting our classes, trying to hook Devyn up with one of his friends, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were all trying to be really polite but he was a bit of a mess.</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">Well, we decided to meet them at the field after teaching after all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all started playing a great game-the other team was really good and a lot of high-schoolers started playing too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, after about an hour of playing, this kid and I go for the ball and hit each other REALLY hard…it was a LOUD tackle and everyone was asking if we were okay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was fine, even though my shin was pulsing, but when I looked at the kid, his wrist was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">twisted.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turns out, after the tackle he went flying through the air and landed weird on his arm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I started FREAKING out and kept telling the boy I was so sorry even though he probably didn’t understand anything that I was saying!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The kid didn’t cry one-it was like he was in shock or something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The drunk teacher, of course, decided to come over and try to twist the arm back EEEEEK!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all stopped him and another adult took the kid on his motor bike to the hospital.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well…we decided to call it a game after that!</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">When I got back to the guest house, I immediately found Tri, our program director, and asked him if there was a way that I could pay for the injury-most village children do not have insurance and the cost to fix a broken arm is very high for people here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He called around and found out that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the boy had dislocated his wrist or something and, somehow, the doctors were able to pop it back in and wrap it up without any major problems or costs. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>THANK GOD! Well, at least he can always tell his friends about that American girl that broke his arm!? Let’s just say I didn’t play the next day <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">L</span></span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Quick overview of the coming weekend:</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">1. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Planning for the “FUN RUN” we will be throwing on Saturday, July 30<sup>th</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a short run for the entire community complete with t-shirts and prizes. Coca-Cola is sponsoring the event and donating money for a scholarship fund for the poorest kids in the village.</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A soccer match against the local, competitive team. (Hopefully, I won’t hurt anyone again!)</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A personal interview with a Vietnamese War Veteran</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Should all be fun and interesting!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Missing cereal, apples, salmon, salads, and chocolate!!!! </div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">xo</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Logan</div>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-80439850397929169842011-07-14T07:25:00.000-07:002011-07-14T07:25:13.447-07:00Mushroom at her best!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxS2yi52CW6GBa1uzw60XFMuXvSpcDB6pvGV2oWwiTZ3HQTp3XNq2iZRXqTNUYRGQ1c455__Oe2p9PWGYmuFw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-56598152215528962452011-07-14T07:22:00.000-07:002011-07-14T07:22:37.764-07:00The Best Roomie Ever<div style="text-align: center;">Shroomie!!! I will miss you soooooo much!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span id="goog_511627550"></span><span id="goog_511627551"></span></div>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-31964915261866737132011-07-14T04:55:00.000-07:002011-07-14T04:55:40.760-07:00Purty Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEN9BFbUyo3Hg37nB4rMsNagc_cC985sCbP5adnuwoL5Wd5Md5bKXqnJVqyrcuuroH3kDjexA0wbhPYsbgqt40wFw_9ilg1KHD8gYG023wSwuVWGirfdnLSGPTDIcRjoDz-5aESBjUlBA/s1600/100_0794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEN9BFbUyo3Hg37nB4rMsNagc_cC985sCbP5adnuwoL5Wd5Md5bKXqnJVqyrcuuroH3kDjexA0wbhPYsbgqt40wFw_9ilg1KHD8gYG023wSwuVWGirfdnLSGPTDIcRjoDz-5aESBjUlBA/s320/100_0794.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Me and Devyn on side of a mountian in Quang Bing</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Y456K_GQW77mC1WOPnwJ78Fs68XDpUKYYJjbiJ42-xyHaje5_coSQvDaQR8mF_Y_lN4cdhYrA_TDU33Gf6PIlcFEfrK51jELznDaTAcOucFZ0qg6ntBYoQtjvTtxr4gHt9kLhSfGod8/s1600/100_0746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Y456K_GQW77mC1WOPnwJ78Fs68XDpUKYYJjbiJ42-xyHaje5_coSQvDaQR8mF_Y_lN4cdhYrA_TDU33Gf6PIlcFEfrK51jELznDaTAcOucFZ0qg6ntBYoQtjvTtxr4gHt9kLhSfGod8/s320/100_0746.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The boat ride to the caves</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjss7sBg7xBUFReh7Ta4jwAYZqj3e8JvXMu_jbU-v_ZsZAtBF9rtl2pjUkjAD70Z285Zq_F9PTukirgD2DBPtT8qT-eDOn1h4vVGwVRZPQc-K7bRyl5sIFJ-0dcMu8NcY9Xjb4no3n6Fo/s1600/101_0806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjss7sBg7xBUFReh7Ta4jwAYZqj3e8JvXMu_jbU-v_ZsZAtBF9rtl2pjUkjAD70Z285Zq_F9PTukirgD2DBPtT8qT-eDOn1h4vVGwVRZPQc-K7bRyl5sIFJ-0dcMu8NcY9Xjb4no3n6Fo/s320/101_0806.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Our finished restroom</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN2hAVnyooHirfBgoSCdLW5SSSsaPn3SQSiQT21Px_RV5W0HoAQWmJw2cL2afzTzPnMomKs74mGhSnTf9j9ZOkSTw9RF-NPOyFMvs7xU0NGdAPgPoPPM_Rn4rhPAi7AWRvrCXIVPQ7_7A/s1600/101_0822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN2hAVnyooHirfBgoSCdLW5SSSsaPn3SQSiQT21Px_RV5W0HoAQWmJw2cL2afzTzPnMomKs74mGhSnTf9j9ZOkSTw9RF-NPOyFMvs7xU0NGdAPgPoPPM_Rn4rhPAi7AWRvrCXIVPQ7_7A/s320/101_0822.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The restroom team!</div>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-44496814861954355902011-07-14T04:47:00.000-07:002011-07-14T04:47:06.059-07:00Goodbye to Quang Tri<div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">The first half of our trip has come to a sad end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had to say goodbye to everyone at the youth center, the principles, constructions workers, the Vietnamese roommates, and, most importantly, my little Mushroomie.</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">BUT, before I go into all of that, let’s catch you up!</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">Okay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, we ran into another BIG issue last week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Katie, a Duke student, had her stuff stolen from her room for the SECOND time!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was robbed the first week we were in Quang Tri.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The robbers took her laptop and wallet!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time, the robbers snuck into her room while we were all outside in the front of the hotel (I was teaching the whole neighborhood cardio dance! SO fun!)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They broke her window, slashed her luggage, and stole her big, expensive camera and her ipod.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So long story short, we had to switch hotels last minute and everything was pretty chaotic.</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">Anyways, that weekend, after some of the craziness settled, we were able to go to the most beautiful site that I have seen thus far in Vietnam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went to a town called Quang Binh and went inside these GINORMOUS caves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all got into these wooden, dragon boats and went up this beautiful river into the “wet cave.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It totally looked like we were in Hawaii with the turquoise water and green, jagged mountains.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The caves are up for becoming part of this year’s “7 Wonders of the World” and were featured in National Geographic a couple of months ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went really deep into the cave (over 20 minutes) and it was awesome-lots of stalagmites thingys!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we hiked up tons of stairs to the top of the mountain where there was a “dry” cave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all kept saying how crazy it was that we could just walk around the cave and go wherever we wanted-if this was in America, there would be guards everywhere, fences, ropes, etc.</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">That Sunday, we had to head back to the restroom to finish everything up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the end of our stay in Qunag Tri, we ended up building an entire new restroom (with a sweet mural on one side) and renovating the old one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s pretty amazing to see that all the hours we worked and sweated through finally made something that this community and school really needed.</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">On Monday, we woke up early to visit each of the sites that our Duke Engage team built-the restroom and the parking structure-to take pictures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That night, we had a closing banquet with all of the people that worked with us at this completely open restaurant right along a lilly pond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After dinner, we all headed over to the final cultural show at the youth center.</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">There were over 20 performances-lots of kids dancing, singing, doing ballet, rapping, break-dancing, and karate- all filmed live on Vietnamese television!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My cardio dance skills really came in handy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I taught our entire group the dance to “Waving Flag.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had to practice A LOT before the big show, but it ended up going great!</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">Alright, so as soon as the show ended, things started to get very sad very quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was pretty much going to be the last time we would ever see these kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I totally lost it and started balling when one of my favorite soccer buddies came up to give me a gift and started crying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then more and more of my high school soccer boys started crying!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was SO sad. For over an hour and a half, we were all crying, hugging, and taking tear-filled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The worst was when we all had to board the bus and drive away <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">L</span></span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">The next day just got worse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had to say goodbye to my best friend, my Mushy, Mushroomie, Shroomie, Shroom aka Mushroom! She is the happiest, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">craziest</i> person I know, and is so determined to be the best that she can be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will never forget her or her crazy-good rapping skills! "What's up dog!" Hehe</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">Saying goodbye to all of the roommates that we had grown so close with over the past month was terrible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We spent so much time with these kids-- getting to know all of their quirks, sweating and shoveling alongside them for hours on end, teaching and dancing, and laughing through all the funny times and translation confusions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s just say it was one, big tear fest!</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">After saying goodbye, we boarded a train for a 20, yes TWENTY!!!!!, hour ride back to Saigon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know those pictures of the trains in places like India with people piled into them, stacked in every corner and crevice, even riding on the roof…..well, this wasn’t <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that </i>bad, but it’s definitely a close second!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were told that we would have 2 private cabins for our group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sounds nice right??? Well, turns out that the “cabins” are tiny rooms the size of a large pantry with SIX beds inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was hilarious, suffocating, fun, and terrible all at the same time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all ended up getting a good laugh from it all, but geesh…it was scary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And don’t even get me started on the bathroom situation on that train!!!!!</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">Okay, so anyways, now we are in Saigon and have only 24 hours until we meet our next set of roommates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s actually really tough because it feels like we just broke up with our best friends and have to turn around the next day and make new ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s hard to think that I could ever get a roommate that will be as great as Mushroom, but I still have to remember that this new group is so excited to meet us and there is no reason why it shouldn’t be as great as the last group experience.</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">After we meet our roommates tomorrow, we will have 2 days in Saigon to plan for our trip to Ben Tre, the southern part of Vietnam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will be monsoon season there so there will be TONS of rain in the afternoons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alice told us that this place will be even more rural than the place before, which I am actually really excited about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Ben Tre, we will be building 2 different houses for needy families in the morning and then teaching subjects of our choosing at the local elementary school in the afternoons!</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Time for round 2!</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Xo</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Logan</div>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-39837481889249363162011-07-07T04:23:00.000-07:002011-07-07T04:23:31.686-07:00Hue and the Perfume River<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEWAPDhz5PyCCFjQEuTaJA3xYMB5ViyFDBt5c2ksCQG5Nw0t4PKqMle7kO5oEST53sFWmzbW3tEQT9Z-qLYOLpzCxFnoOVAegBpO4arUPAERrMInJwU9O_Z0c6BSv_0k2b_rn8lU1BiKk/s1600/101_0654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEWAPDhz5PyCCFjQEuTaJA3xYMB5ViyFDBt5c2ksCQG5Nw0t4PKqMle7kO5oEST53sFWmzbW3tEQT9Z-qLYOLpzCxFnoOVAegBpO4arUPAERrMInJwU9O_Z0c6BSv_0k2b_rn8lU1BiKk/s320/101_0654.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Me and Allison</div>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-55201134716138099092011-07-07T04:18:00.001-07:002011-07-07T04:18:44.391-07:00Hi again!<div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"> Alrighty, here it goes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So this past weekend we went to Hue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the city that all of our roommates go to college in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is super pretty and definitely my favorite place thus far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surprisingly, there are TONS of tourists there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of them are French, and in all the markets they kept calling me “Madam.”</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">The city is super pretty (cool jungle)and has the Perfume River that running through it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the first day, we visited lots of different monuments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went to this place where all of the Kings lived (VERY similar to the “Forbidden City” in China).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also went to a bunch of the Kings’ tombs/burial areas-super ornate carvings and statues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each “tomb” was this HUGE area that looked like a giant, decorated park.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also went to this thing called a Pagoda which is some sort of religious temple and got to see all of these monks chanting and singing.</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">Then we ate at this AMAZING five-star restaurant right on the river.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all got to eat this cool, crunchy rice that is cooked in little individual clay pots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They also had all this stuff that had been steamed in leaves (I call them Asian tamales).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ummmm….some kids tried the fried, frog skin but I was NOT one of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sorry I’m not sorry!</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">That night we ate at this Italian restaurant because Alice thought that we might all be missing American food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had weird pizza and desserts….it was HILARIOUS to see the Vietnamese kids pick at and push around their food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mushroom was not a happy camper, and neither were most of the other Vietnamese kids. HAHA ! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was so funny to see them act like we usually do around all the strange Vietnamese food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also tried to tell them that this isn’t really “American” food (aka-the food was pretty bad and we didn’t want to give them the wrong impression).</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">That night we got to take a boat ride (on a sweet dragon boat) up the Perfume River.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Traditional musicians and singers in these beautiful Kimono-like outfits performed for us!</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">We ended up spending the night in Hue so that the roommates could give us their own personal tours of their city on Sunday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mushroom and I had a ball!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got to ride everywhere on her motorbike which is totally the best way to see Vietnam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We drove through markets, rice patties, farms, the countryside, gardens, everything…</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">First we went to this village known for its arts and crafts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got to go into this lady’s house and use this black ink to smear onto stamps and then press onto hand-made paper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we got to paint them and roll them up into bamboo holders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we went to this old man’s house where he makes these beautiful paper flowers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We each got to make a petal by wrapping paper and a string around this wooden thing and then hammering it…mine came out terribly!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But my little Mushroom decided to buy me a whole bouquet! </div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">Then it was off to the market to buy supplies for our lunch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mushroom and I joined Joey and his roommate Hien at Hien’s house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hien’s mother made us this amazing salad thing with super thinly sliced vegetables. It took her all day to make it and it was yummy!</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">Then Mushroom and I went to this beautiful garden and looked around before hitting the neatest market ever (we spent about 2 hours there).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, we ended at this huge place called the Co-op Mart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s kinda like a multi-level Walmart with a food court.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We decided that is would be fun to sit down (finally!) and paint pottery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were the oldest kids by at least 10 years but it was worth it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the kids kept laughing at my pink, poka-dotted elephant and would ask Mushroom if I was crazy! Ha!</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">This week has been UBER tiring!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bao’s soccer tournament started on Monday and I have been playing soccer nonstop since, LITERALLY!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We play morning, noon, and night!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My girls’ team has lost every game so far, but I am still so excited that they were willing to play against all of these boys!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They all started off really scared and nervous, but really started to get better towards the end of the tournament.</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">Tomorrow is the final day of teaching...so sad!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am going to miss them all so much!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They all keep coming to the guesthouse to play soccer with me, look at my pictures, and listen to my music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The kids have ALL asked for my email address, yahoo messenger account (I don’t have one), and just recently told me that they can’t find me on facebook!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel like a celebrity!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just kidding??<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My class is super excited about the letters I am having them write to students in America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’ve brought in pictures to attach and most have written over 3 pages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should be fun for them to have American pen-pals!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To celebrate the last day tomorrow, we are going to throw a big party with movies, music, and All-American pb&js!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">The restroom we are building is coming along as well and should hopefully be finished by tomorrow (fingers crossed).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We doing all of the finishing touches and are even painting a sweet mural on one wall.</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">This weekend we are heading to Quang Binh, Mushroom’s hometown, to see neat sea caves and more tunnels!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should be fun!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can’t believe we leave for Saigon on Tuesday (20 hour train ride UGH).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will miss these roommates and all of the great people I’ve meet along the way (we get new roommates for the second half of our stay here).</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;">Ahhh, can’t think about that now….gotta go play badminton with the school girls.</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Xo</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Logan</div>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-73468550813099697522011-07-07T04:08:00.000-07:002011-07-07T04:08:38.577-07:00Our Typical Bike Ride<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz1sCoxKkc95CUHXQp7FEEod2Cn1FDx3TlLZ_AhkMPU2dTinPnO0Orh-lA3fe3NRncaF9z7eardh2ZMKZ6bcQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-19981956731052381752011-06-30T22:37:00.000-07:002011-06-30T22:37:21.561-07:00Presenting: Mushroom and Logan aka Best Roomies Ever! (Plus Joey)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwHqDX2b2Cn0hXJc8DiGatUob8NOkKOGYZEbSnhDh3YFnsKwWwxjlWAnmZWk4XqG_1ULYkipel1TABN30GXXw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-14542263792113523822011-06-30T22:24:00.001-07:002011-06-30T22:25:22.020-07:00The Gang at our Work Site<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvBILBxPpX_bm9u0wfBV45RplmPD4OVmKSbRqC06ZwzyQORruI0-p3-nliTbLMSIrSqU32f2C0L73AQjwwNTGugz5kNWYnUEmpEXxe_Mk0gRbrzcG3V1tWVd8cLZLr8U9nR5OoCTgoaE/s1600/101_0423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvBILBxPpX_bm9u0wfBV45RplmPD4OVmKSbRqC06ZwzyQORruI0-p3-nliTbLMSIrSqU32f2C0L73AQjwwNTGugz5kNWYnUEmpEXxe_Mk0gRbrzcG3V1tWVd8cLZLr8U9nR5OoCTgoaE/s320/101_0423.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-44337281976907368212011-06-30T22:21:00.000-07:002011-06-30T22:21:02.493-07:00Some of My Soccer Buddies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnyNIPhPeSnM-I768YZ0SNM29PxBwVgqEUhDnhSE8xEhOyh9y1LpqT8WJDvmZzZp0P1HMRGTll8r7t_IZTFMhm_E1zr9LSG4JE2NJu8WABryZgTiNN1geuWn3Hd_L57de-umQE7q6z50c/s1600/101_0440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnyNIPhPeSnM-I768YZ0SNM29PxBwVgqEUhDnhSE8xEhOyh9y1LpqT8WJDvmZzZp0P1HMRGTll8r7t_IZTFMhm_E1zr9LSG4JE2NJu8WABryZgTiNN1geuWn3Hd_L57de-umQE7q6z50c/s320/101_0440.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-64286636834008663072011-06-29T02:48:00.000-07:002011-06-29T02:48:24.873-07:00The last picture I took of the beach before my camera died<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcxR_1qPFQjJS5FmxcTu6F5xOtQD_l9tMIooSJwAJBNzA2s7TsEuHgny-VtOxyzTYYc52RdnVT2Ocbm7CyxhQ0mQnrm1Be8ghImokmcpxdApyw8vCcyp1z7SPfgZmHBcRuADweV_xH1Q/s1600/101_0554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcxR_1qPFQjJS5FmxcTu6F5xOtQD_l9tMIooSJwAJBNzA2s7TsEuHgny-VtOxyzTYYc52RdnVT2Ocbm7CyxhQ0mQnrm1Be8ghImokmcpxdApyw8vCcyp1z7SPfgZmHBcRuADweV_xH1Q/s320/101_0554.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Yes, those are cows in the background!!!</div>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-88939749117911667282011-06-29T02:42:00.003-07:002011-06-29T02:42:05.814-07:00Where to Begin....<div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Okay, so a LOT has happened since I lasted posted….sorry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They just keep us sooo busy it’s hard to find time here to ride my bike over to the coffee shop to get on the Internet.</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Anyways, our project is really coming along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other group (they are building a parking structure at the youth center) should actually finish their project this week (a week early!)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have already built up four walls of cement bricks and pretty much finished the foundation of our restroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will have to put the roof up soon and do the plumbing part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh and by the way….we found out very quickly that toilets in Vietnam are VERY different from the ones in the States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have these things that we have been calling “Squatters.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You literally squat over this hole thingy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one particular placce, it was just a flat, cement floor that you were suppose to go on and then wash away your stuff with the water bucket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s just say that held it that day!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luckily, our hotel/guest house has the kind of toilets that we are use to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure what kind of toilets we will be putting in ours though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we finish all the construction, I am hoping that they will allow us to paint some sort of mural on the side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It sounds like the people here don’t really care for that sort of stuff, so we will see…</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">This weekend was really interesting and fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a tour that started at 8 in the morning (late for us!) and took a bus to a bunch of different religious and war relics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We actually got to see an old church that had been completely bombed but was still standing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">We then went into a Vietnamese cemetery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know, it sounds kinda strange that we would be going into one, but they are actually very beautiful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the Vietnamese culture, people really worship their ancestors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They all have these different shrines in their houses and spend TONS of money building the grave site that will hold most of their family members (think <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mulan</i> only a little different).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our leader, Alice, told us that her parents use to fight over sending money to help build the grave or getting their son braces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each grave looks like its own mini Asian temple with intricate colors, dragons, and details.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">After that, we went to this bombed chapel where Mother Mary was said to have been seen (even the Vatican confirms it).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also went to the DMZ (De-militarized zone).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was the dividing barrier between the North and South of Vietnam and acted as the boundary and MAJOR war zone during the war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alice told us that the equivalent bomb power of 7 Hiroshima Atomic Bombs had been dropped here. </div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Then we were off to the tunnels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was SUPER cool!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the war, about 400 people lived underground for 6 years!!!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They dug these MASSIVE tunnels that spanned miles and miles and housed hundreds of families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They even had a school room, bathroom, baby nursery, and meeting area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tunnels protected these people from the bombs that constantly fell from the sky (America never even knew these people were living underground).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got to walk around throughout some of the tunnels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tunnels weren’t super tall, but I couldn’t get over how deep in the ground they went!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have now had 1<sup>st</sup>-hand experience digging through the concrete-like soil, and I can NOT imagine digging tunnels more than twenty underground!</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Finally, we ended up in my favorite part of all: the beach!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was the most gorgeous beach I have even seen, and, of course, my camera decide to die just as we were pulling up (luckily others got some good shots).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were VERY few people on the beach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lots of small, “Asian”-style boats had been pulled ashore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Devyn and I and a few other boys got our bathing suits on and ran into the water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the perfect temperature and not too salty either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dev and I went on a walk as the sun was setting, and then Max and I went on a run as the food cooked. SO fun!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, the place we were eating was RIGHT on the beach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They literally pulled these bamboo mats up onto the beach and we all sat on the ground and ate fresh crab and shrimp! YUM</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Of course, on the ride home, Mushroom and I HAD to start rapping!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s our thing now!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We sing everything….every time we talk, we rap or sing (aka: I’m going to the bathroom la la la)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span> </div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Anyways, the next day we had a free day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A bunch of us rode our bikes 45 minutes (VERY LONG and that’s only one-way!) to Tien’s house!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She lives in a small village and her family was SO excited to see us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have this cute, little house that has chickens and a small cement pond in the backyard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all got to catch the catfish in her pond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her dad would hit them on the head with a mallet (sorry Kayla) and then we would slide them onto skewers to roast over this cool oven/fire thing, and eat them with our lunch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her mom and sister made us the yummy meal and we all ate in the traditional fashion: all sitting cross-legged on the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her dad is an Oriental Medicine doctor and had all these viles and glass containers full of bizarre, dried up plants and fruits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was really funny when he should us this one leaf that he makes a tea with and is the natural “Viagra!”</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">This week has already gotten off to a great start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After work last night, we all rode our bikes to Phong’s house after buying food from the market.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had this WAY TOO SPICY noodle dish with pig ears and then this stuff called sticky rice (my new favorite-it’s just like the name sounds only it is a different plant than normal rice and that’s why it’s stickier).</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Everyone is really excited for this weekend because we will be traveling to the city where they all go to college.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mushroom is going to show me her dorm and take me around on her motorbike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are also supposed to go out “boozing” (what they call drinking).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should be fun….</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">HERE ARE SOME OTHER RANDOM THINGS:</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">For the past week and a half, me, Bao and Juan Pablo (Duke kids), have been playing soccer with the local kids every night at 5.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is totally the coolest place I have ever played soccer, and it is SO much fun!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We ride our bikes to the town square that has a really open area where lots of boys play soccer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lots of people come out to watch us play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On one side of us is the river and on the other side is this huge Asian-looking temple!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It turns out, I’m actually pretty famous!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In our school teaching, I have had different boys come up to me and know my name and ask if I am playing soccer that night, and I’ve never even meet them!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It turns out that no girls here would ever play with the boys, so they all think it’s cool (I hope) that I play!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">On another note, I have started going on runs during the down times at our work site.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are starting to get to more of the technical stuff while building the restroom and sometimes find that only two of the ten people are actually needed for some particular task.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I have started running down the village roads, through the jungle, with anyone that wants to join.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are such beautiful, long runs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I run on this relatively flat, dirt road with the mountains in front of me, a river beside me, bare-foot farmers tending to their wet, green rice patties, and roaming chickens and cows chillin around me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The village people usually stare or wave, and I really can’t blame them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Ummm…another thing that I thought was so interesting was when my roommate, Mushroom, was put in charge of bringing the first-aid kit to the work site each day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That night, she read the entire first-aid manual/handbook and checked all the supplies inside of it to make sure they were there and to know what they look liked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess I thought that this was so strange because no American would sit down and read that thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, I would just assume that when the time comes, I would just open some things, rub em on, and put a band-aid on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think this really points to the Vietnamese’s strong work ethic and desire to do their own assigned tasks correctly.</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Also, something else that I find a little strange is that on the works sites, almost all of the Vietnamese kids and ALL of our on-site, Vietnamese construction workers wear flip-flops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, we are hammering away at things, mixing cement, carrying bricks, and all this stuff, and they all do it with practically bare feet! Pretty impressive, especially since no one seems to ever get hurt!</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Off to play soccer now! More to come…..</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">xo</div>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-89010438250537225562011-06-20T23:13:00.001-07:002011-06-20T23:13:20.516-07:00New Updates! Check Them Out!2 new blog posts and a video (the market)Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-47983475280729272132011-06-20T22:57:00.000-07:002011-06-20T22:57:51.014-07:00Funnies<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">So, are roommates are SUPER EXCITED and fun all the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every meal we have with them turns into this shouting and laughing extravaganza!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They love to tell us funny stories and jokes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Half of our laughs are just from having no idea what they are actually saying!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here are some funny things that some of the roommates have said/done:</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: .25in; text-align: left;"></div><ul><li>Today, at lunch, one roommate told us that “Lots of times, people eat mushroom and then laugh all day”</li>
<li>Last night, we were all in tears because the girls were showing us their inappropriate hand gestures….just imagine them trying to explain them!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was great, especially when an American, Bao, on the other side of the table started making the signs without knowing what they meant.</li>
<li>Today, at the work site, they kept asking us to help them pronounce “Cement.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They kept saying “Semen” and we all had a good laugh trying to explain to them the difference between “Cement” and “Semen”</li>
</ul>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-39451137709855465042011-06-20T22:47:00.001-07:002011-06-20T22:47:17.749-07:00An update...finally!<div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">HIIIIII</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Right now, Devyn and I just found the coffee shop with wifi that is about a five minute walk from our guest house…We had to go in a couple of different ones while everyone looked at us like we were crazy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had to buy a coffee to use it but it is SO worth it! Also, their coffee here is really cool-it sits in this metal container above your cup and drips down sort of like a mini coffee maker, filtering itself---totally tastes like chocolate.</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Time for the update! </div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">On Saturday we took a 1 hour 30 min flight (who knew Vietnam was so big?) to the central region.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are now in city called Quang Tre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is very different from Ho Chi Minh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unlike the huge city before, this is a pretty small town next to a river and it is UBER, UBER hot and dry!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are staying in a guest house similar to the one before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have learned now that a guest house is sort of like a hotel but the government owns them. </div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">At the airport, we got in a bus and went to pick up our new roommates at their school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was super nervous but my roommate is AWESOME! Her name is Nhung…but she tells everyone to call her Mushroom HAHAHAHA (She is SUPER tiny and very cute).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far, we have gotten along very, very well!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She loves the picture book that I got her and keeps saying how “beautiful” my family is (I haven’t told her how crazy we actually are yet).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She takes me around the markets and helps me to bargain with all of the ladies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She even gave me this really cool wooden book mark that her dad gave her and a necklace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, after she saw me picking at my nail polish to try to take it off, she went out and got me some remover! </div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">It’s a pretty big deal that she gave me things because most FAMILIES make only about $1,000 a year, and even though all the prices are much cheaper here for Americans, it’s still expensive for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her dad is a police man and her mom works on their farm where they grow peanuts, rice, corn, and some other stuff that I didn’t really catch lol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">The market here is SOOOO crazy and neat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are SOOO many things to see and buy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is set up right along the river and there is some pretty gross and strange looking things in the food market part---tons of raw meat, fish heads and parts, baskets of dried sardine heads and maggots, strange looking fruit, HUGE piles of salt on these open baskets, and lots of NASTY smells haha.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">But it is really cool and everyone LOVES us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They want us to take pictures with us; they follow us around; and they tell our roommates that we are “so pretty and beautiful” Well duhhhhh <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> <!--[endif]--></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Last night we had our opening ceremony with all of our roommates and local officials at this really cool restaurant in the jungle that was directly over a lilly pond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They even had these 2 monkeys just chillin in a cage!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We at this huge 10 dish meal (family style) and people would get up on stage to perform.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was sooo funny because ALL of the Vietnamese officials stood up to sing songs and give speeches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was like our own Karaoke bar….we kept saying how this would NEVER happen in America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People were pretty much fighting for the mike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the Americans got up to sing a Vietnamese number song we learned in class and then started shouting the YMCA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we had a huge dance party…super fun!</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Our full schedule starts this week. We have to wake up at 4:30 in the morning, work till 11, eat lunch, then from 2-5 we teach English to middle schoolers, dinner at 6, and then we are supposed to plan with our group the next day’s teaching lesson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>WHEEEEEWWWW! It’s a LOT!</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">There are two separate projects: one at the local youth center in the middle of town to build a parking structure and one in the rural village to build a restroom at an elementary school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Devyn and I are working on the restroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is an AMAZING ride into the village.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We ride down the small town’s main road and then get off on this dirt path and ride along a river, through rice patties with mountains in the distance, and cows just chillin in the fields.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The elementary school for the village is actually pretty nice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is very, very open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are no doors and a few windows to let the breeze in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">So this morning, we had to wake up at 4:30!!! To get to breakfast by 5 (I had my favorites noodles: Beef Pho) and then we rode our bikes about 25 minutes to the site. I couldn’t believe it was actually hot and the sun hadn’t even come out yet.</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">We had to pull out and rake up TONS of weeds and lots of creepy bugs, frogs, and lizards in them!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then some of the group set off to bend and cut the steel for the frame of the building.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I went to start digging the holes and it was THE HARDEST WORKOUT EVER!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For 4 hours we swung, hit, and tried to dig holes in the driest, hardest land ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took us the whole time to just make 4 separate, square holes that were each a foot deep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was really, really tiring but everyone had a good time too!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Afterwards, it was off to lunch where everyone CHOWED DOWN!! We were all starving from all the exercise and ate EVERYTHING in silence hehe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our bodies were so sore, all we could do was eat (I was too hungry to even bother using the chopsticks)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">In the rural areas, all of the meals are served family style.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, unlike the US where there are big spoons in each dish to serve yourself, everyone just sticks their chop sticks in whatever they want and sometimes puts it in their own bowl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>UGGGHHHH….this is a little difficult for me seeing that I am a GERMAPHOBE, but so far, I’ve been too hungry and had to get over it (don’t expect me to stay this way once I get home though!!!!)</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Now Dev and I are in the coffee shop just chillin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have a 3 hour break to eat lunch and rest before we have to ride our bikes 20 min to the youth center to teach the kids….over 120 kids from all over the local villages signed up for the class but we have no idea how much English they already know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should be interesting…..</div>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-16461111932828400882011-06-20T22:45:00.000-07:002011-06-20T22:45:02.130-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyOT9kCVzC_K1NhNwbxniIcYz8TC6KiZVybdYTZt6ov6-cKE0uYUyvxn5Y3ZvJiHkUcTRRejnn0_KVN5EfFXQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">The local market! So neat!</div>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-40899613197825272022011-06-16T05:00:00.000-07:002011-06-16T05:00:17.820-07:00Street Food Video!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzllqEcJTz5GcIaMNhhWUVy2z6MJ5z-tK61j074wlwHWJWoTQB3hKTxqlSB9K-hywBO-1iu71IDYK8WuwIh3w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">Video of the restaurant that we ate at. Anthony Bourdain (Travel Channel Food Guy) featured this place on his show. They serve these HUGE crepes filled with shrimp and veggies and who knows what else! Super good!</div>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-67260064477897219652011-06-14T22:53:00.000-07:002011-06-14T22:53:43.390-07:00Some Pictures!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2xT8XmHjmy3LWs6ffFrTgYH6VCdYMI9bQf64a2ccJrGIrJjERSQSWCu3q9h__XRY8zTjS5vJ8ZJc5OA4R3drcsqrrmb5D3HAbIZ0fWAmyzwn1o97TLLmKp11X3AHIJ1KHVrgRmA2O6Yw/s1600/101_0072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2xT8XmHjmy3LWs6ffFrTgYH6VCdYMI9bQf64a2ccJrGIrJjERSQSWCu3q9h__XRY8zTjS5vJ8ZJc5OA4R3drcsqrrmb5D3HAbIZ0fWAmyzwn1o97TLLmKp11X3AHIJ1KHVrgRmA2O6Yw/s320/101_0072.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The ally where our "guest house" is!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz_zXW_Yg_OOpvOoEDiqMgoVNorudIa6NRE1Mw616iwcbUcS5LB99qii4_ZjUhiAJ6yzpXO1jKzEdT-7r-bKXOmr9MAv9j_xNvCUh6BQNA_PJ0cQU8pj2G6aOZgAV8rf02qunqbBLY9S0/s1600/101_0175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz_zXW_Yg_OOpvOoEDiqMgoVNorudIa6NRE1Mw616iwcbUcS5LB99qii4_ZjUhiAJ6yzpXO1jKzEdT-7r-bKXOmr9MAv9j_xNvCUh6BQNA_PJ0cQU8pj2G6aOZgAV8rf02qunqbBLY9S0/s320/101_0175.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">One of my favorites, Beef Pho!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JZujOYgJ_lsAsD7BoZHhRQ0z4L2_nMBa0K2n1GesM-duqUzse77BR7fd6Jt02beKIVET1hMQd555TpdXOMYu0RvYXBe6RZoCKBWnG1ZxqW3KXHoo0s-0PnEumi4yoc5xswtyBFlvlMc/s1600/101_0195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JZujOYgJ_lsAsD7BoZHhRQ0z4L2_nMBa0K2n1GesM-duqUzse77BR7fd6Jt02beKIVET1hMQd555TpdXOMYu0RvYXBe6RZoCKBWnG1ZxqW3KXHoo0s-0PnEumi4yoc5xswtyBFlvlMc/s320/101_0195.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Me and Devyn</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzS4zKzWYJAM1WFRsRYH1zLNDWCSVcTx72nJGhhOsV3f_YWVllKYBtGS1YyfrgzV6cHLjn52Ka7m3SiQBFPkcu2UAVwky6ZDzf1yG-VDlPA0LL6SkJ5iJWzGXBwWo66eWrEct8WsnWJOU/s1600/101_0192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzS4zKzWYJAM1WFRsRYH1zLNDWCSVcTx72nJGhhOsV3f_YWVllKYBtGS1YyfrgzV6cHLjn52Ka7m3SiQBFPkcu2UAVwky6ZDzf1yG-VDlPA0LL6SkJ5iJWzGXBwWo66eWrEct8WsnWJOU/s320/101_0192.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">A typical street</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Logan Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312363460035711084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8562173279661982876.post-5985859333832259402011-06-13T02:18:00.000-07:002011-06-13T02:24:32.705-07:00New ExperiencesSo it's only been 2 full days here in Ho Chi Minh City, and already we have had some very interesting experiences:<br />
<div><ul><li>I have eaten some good/bad/strange things including:</li>
<ul><li>Fish meatballs and fish patties (not my thing!)</li>
<li>Octopus</li>
<li>Crazy mushroom things</li>
<li>TONS of rice noodles (YUMMY!)</li>
<li>ummmm very interesting looking pork,chicken, and beef (strange, often fatty cuts-you don't really know what you are eating and don't really want to know)</li>
<li>An awesome "Hot Pot" lunch (it's like fondue at the Melting Pot, but instead of cheese, you cook all these different meats, veggies, and noodles in a spicy broth right at your table)</li>
<li>fruits that look like eyeballs, tye-dyed sea urchins, and red garlic cloves </li>
<li>Fish sauce (actually DELICIOUS and doesn't taste like fish at all--you use it like soy sauce on rice, meats, and noodles, and it actually tastes <i>better</i> than soy sauce)</li>
<li>Spring rolls (famous Vietnamese rolls filled with veggies and shrimp-kinda like eggrolls but not fried)</li>
<li>One kid ate a fermented egg (An egg with an actual DUCK EMBRYO-a crunchy duck skeleton-inside......uhhh ewww, could barely watch!)</li>
</ul><li>Animal Encounters:</li>
<ul><li>Rats </li>
<li>Cockroaches</li>
<li>Ants (all over my purse!)</li>
<li>Dogs</li>
<li>Our lizard friend, Kim, and MANY of his buddies</li>
</ul></ul><div>Although some of this sounds pretty gross, it has actually been an AWESOME adventure thus far! I have pretty much LOVED all of the food thus far, but I have really struggled with the whole chopstick thing. I even carry around a silver fork in my bag from home, but I haven't pulled it out yet because I'm afraid that it would be rude. So, every meal I try some new technique-prodding, poking, twisting....it takes a lot of effort but I guess it's good in that it forces me to eat slow. Another strange thing about going to restaurants is that there are no napkins. They do have these wet wipes on the table, but you have to pay if you use them...we learned this the hard way!</div><div><br />
</div><div>Yesterday we had a lot of free time. We went to this awesome palace, ate our Hot Pot meal, did lots of looking around, and ended up walking in the SCORCHING heat for well over 4 hours! </div><div><br />
</div><div>Today we started taking our intense Vietnamese language and culture classes. For 6 hours each day for the next five days, we will be trying to learn as much as they can force into our brains! This language is CRAZY DIFFICULT! There are all of these weird symbols and squiggles above every number. It's been hard, but fun and interesting at the same time.</div><div><br />
</div><div>We are also learning a lot about the Vietnamese culture as well. I was a little scared coming here because I was worried about how these people perceive Americans after the war. We did kill hundreds of thousands of their people and, being Confucius, the Vietnamese worship and greatly respect their ancestors. I was pleasantly surprised to see them all look at us with smiles, especially as we completely butcher their language (one kid was trying to say he was volunteering here and was actually saying that he was making love while in Vietnam!) They have a saying that they truly seem to live by: "Let bygones be bygones" (MOM-They must be watching Aly Mcbeal! HA!)</div><div><br />
</div><div>On another note, all of us Dukies keep talking about the Vietnamese culture. These people are so relaxed, and it's a really nice change of pace from our typical lifestyle. Everyone seems to have some sort of shop on one of the busy roads. There are no doors--it's like those garage doors that they just lift up in the morning. The families live upstairs. Throughout the whole day, everyone just sits outside their stores on the streets, just chillin. They oftentimes sit around tables that look like our "kiddy tables," playing cards, sleeping, people watching, or eating a pile of rice. </div><div><br />
</div><div>It's been so exciting and super exhausting, and so far...no complaints or food sicknesses! </div><div><br />
</div><div>xo<br />
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