8/25 Monday in Vietnam
E said people say District 7 of Saigon is like Southern California, so I wanted to get a taste of home, not that I was missing it.
Similarities to SoCal – streets are wide with little traffic, minimum honking, tree-lined streets, individual houses with dogs barking when we walked past, Pizza Hut, Carl’s Jr., Dominoes, Subway (no Starbucks or McDonald’s in Vietnam.)
Not similar to SoCal – sudden rain storm, haircuts for 60,000VND (=$3USD), boba for 15,000 (=$0.75USD), nachos made with what tasted like fried wonton skins, lasagne with one thin piece of noodle, and a giant Lottemart department store with a bowling alley, arcade, market, and a 3-D motion simulator ride.
I realized today that traveling for me is not about the places I see, but the people I’m with that makes it fun and special. In the company of fun people that I love, an ordinary place becomes a place of lasting memories.
Each of the special people with me contributed to the experience with their unique personalities. I wanted to see what an apartment/condo looks like in District 7, so E directed our course to the new Crescent [apartments]. His enthusiasm to walk encouraged me to walk more than I would’ve attempted on my own (about 4-6K). Just when we sighted the Crescent, we saw storm clouds rolling towards us. It was a sight to watch the open sky of [fast] moving dark clouds as we felt huge gusts of wind and the beginning rain drops. I would’ve ducked for cover, but A loved it, so we continued walking/running in a futile attempt to outrun the storm. T is a good sport, always positive and keeps us laughing. I know dear hubby would rather be home watching TV but he comes along for the ride without complaining, and keeps us practical like “It’s getting late, time for dinner.” Me? I am the one with opinions of what I want to do, and depend on others to fuel the adventure. Our individual personalities made it a fun day in the storm.
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We had lunch with E’s pastor at Al Fresco. He’s an American who has pastored in Africa for 25 years, back teaching in the US for 2, and now in Vietnam pastoring an international church this past year. What I liked about Pastor J: After being in Vietnam for 3 months, he started driving a motorbike. That takes guts. His kids were/are homeschooled. I believe in homeschooling as the best option when possible. His older son is a medical doctor, considering coming to Vietnam, his second son is getting an advance degree in psychology, his youngest son is being homeschooled in Vietnam, I think he’s 14 years old, studying Mandarin first, and will take up Vietnamese this coming semester. I love how they are internationally focused.
Also with us at lunch was E’s friend V from Russia. They met in language class, he lived in the US for about 12 years, been in Vietnam for a year, and he had just returned from Russia. What I liked about V: He has a cute accent, good stories to tell, and friendly overall. Got some insight from him as a Russian, that Russia is not a nice place to live. He was happy to be back in Vietnam.
There were still 2 things we needed to do in Vietnam – get an avocado smoothy and have ice cream at Fanny’s. We got both in and got home past 11pm.
This was one of the best days of the vacation. We didn’t do anything exciting in particular, and I liked how we weren’t doing “touristy” things. Being with friends, walking around new places, looking at things in stores, no time limit, no agenda, no hurry.
I wish I can live here and do more of this.