Mandy's Blog

arrival in munich and the train to budapest

2009-07-03T16:53:00.003+09:00

we had to purchase train tickets to budapest for the overnight train. we found the ticket counter, purchased tickets, and realized we had to wait for a while to leave. we landed in munich at 17:50 and the train did not leave until 23:40. ugh. at this point, we are feeling pretty gross and tired, ready to get moving and not sitting in an airport.

we found something to eat---turkish like wraps and kebabs. then sat and people watched. we also checked out the grocery store in the airport which was cool. i bought some snacks. we waited and waited. watched the people and chatted. it became quite difficult to sit and wait. paul was growing pretty grumpy b/c he was tired and i just wanted to lay down.

we had to take the subway to the main train station in munich. we did that about 10pm or so. then we found a starbucks to sit in while we waited yet some more. paul had a drink and i ate some snacks. time seemed to be just creeping by. i needed to use the toilet and made my way to find it. then giggled. i had forgotten that one has to pay for the public toilet. back to paul for some money and then off to the toilet again---80 euro cents later. :)

platform #12
23:40
destination budapest

waiting and waiting........
finally a train pulled up and we walked out to the platform to wait for boarding. we were supposed to get on car #262 and have beds 72 & 73. quite simple, i thought. upon glancing at the train car numbers, i realized there was no 262. what?!?!?! i asked one attendant and he pointed to this other guy. i walked over to the other guy and was greeted with, "parlez vous francais?" do i speak french? are you kidding? i replied, "no." then he pointed down the train. so, we made our way down the train.....the numbers were not looking good and we were both frustrated. how difficult can this really be? i found another attendant and asked him. he said to go to the last two cars and they would find a place for us. the last two cars is where the frenchman was........ugh! paul was overly tired at this point and his patience was gone. i was ok, but seriously could be on the verge of tears. back down to the end we trudged. i found yet another attendant who i inquired about our beds and car to. he cheerily replied only in german. i stood there and had no idea what he was saying to me. when i seemed to not understand, he smiled and spoke more german. ?!?!?!

after much discussion and persistance, kind german man found us beds. thank goodness. we were in a cabin with an interesting older german man. he was quiet and kept to himself. i took the top bunk, paul slept in the middle, and the interesting older german man was on the bottom. once in bed, things were better. paul and i both were fast asleep and spent most of the night that way. i woke up at 5:35ish am with an immense need to use the toilet. i did not want to go....i was hoping to wish it away, but i could not. down the stairs i went as quiet as possible then down the train car to the toilets. the scenery was quite nice as i looked out the window.

7am we were served breakfast. a croissant filled with chocolate cream and a boxed drink of orange juice. on what other continent is a chocolate filled pastry considered breakfast.......i was excited and gobbled it down. yum! paul did not eat his, but passed it up to me to hold onto. on and off we slept some more before pulling into the train station in budapest. it was fun!

we had arrived.......finally, after what seemed like forever.
30+ hours of transit to start the european adventure........
we were in desperate need of showers and felt completely disgusting......
but hey, we were in budapest, hungary!

off we go to europe.....

2009-07-03T16:43:00.002+09:00

we were running behind and had to wait for teh airport bus. it was no fun because it was hot. we were sweating and knew that we would not be able to shower for quite a while and had to get on a long flight to munich. ugh. finally the bus arrived and we were on our way.

we arrived at the airport to find a long, long line at the check in counter. we stood there for a bit and the line hardly moved. paul and i were both starting to get a little anxious since we were running behind and the time just kept ticking away. i went up to a counter and pointed out that out flight was at 1:10 to munich and the line was not really moving at all. he kindly called out to see if there were others going to munich and indeed there was. he escorted us to a new line in which we were the only people in to proceed with check in. yeah!

we were called to the counter and began the process. she then said that the flight has been overbooked and therefore we were bring bumped up to business because of our flier status. paul instantly smiled ear to ear. we were thrilled. business class to europe.....yes! it was awesome. we then proceeded through security, immigration, rode the tram to the international terminal, got some coffee, and waited at the gate for boarding. the entire time paul kept saying, "we are in business!" he was so excited.

lufthansa business is awesome. the seats are super cool and automatic. the food was great and we both got to actually sleep properly since the seat went almost flat. it was truly awesome! the only complaint i had is that it was bit warm for me. i would prefer a little more air con which was out of our control. there were no air vents above the seats. i watched three movies---the reader, gran torino, and slumdog millionaire. all on my little screen in front of me that i could pause when i needed to.

it was awesome!

European Adventure

2009-07-01T19:17:00.001+09:00

I am sure some of you are wondering where I am and wondering why I have yet to post anything. I am working on it....I assure you. For now, I have posted some pics from the trip so far. Mostly from in transit to Budapest from Seoul. Good to have a look though. Click on the 'My Photos' link at the side and it will take you to my flickr account.

Happy picture browsing!

the lazy days o' the summer......

2009-06-28T21:22:00.002+09:00

the last few weeks in seoul have been great. i have thoroughly enjoyed just being able to hang out, laze about, and do whatever i wanted. i really do cherish the down time at home with no agenda. the campus is quiet and the weather has been tolerable so far. other than the drama with sam, the holiday has been pretty low key.

we have about 12.5 hours until we leave for the airport. it is nuts to think that we are going to europe. paul and i were talking today that is seems so surreal still that we are going. at the moment, we are getting ready. i am doing a load of laundry and paul is trying to de-ice our air con. it has huge chunks of ice on it since we love our air con so much. he chipped some off with a spoon and is now using the hair dryer to melt the ice. we have started the packing process, but it is moving slowly. it will be a late night, as usual. it seems this is a trend for us......stay up super late the night before we go anywhere. oh well.....it's us. it's how we roll. i am sure someday it will have to change when we have little ones to tow with us. for now, we are enjoying our just being married life. so fun!

we fly to munich, germany tomorrow. we are going to catch a sleeper train there to budapest, hungary. we have lucked out with accomodation in budapest. we have an apartment to ourselves for the five nights we are there in the heart of pest. so exciting. the owner speaks good english and will meet us at the train station. after budapest, we are flying to glasgow, scotland, stay for a night and then taking the train tro edinburgh. it is one of paul's favorite cities in europe and i am excited to have him share this place with me. should be a really fun adventure. he raves about how amazing the place is all the time.

i will blog regularly as well as upload pics as i am able. we are taking the wee laptop, so that paul can work as needed. i also need to announce my new toy----a new camera lens for my digital camera body. i got a tamron 18-200mm lens. it is awesome! i can get close up shots and faraway shots all with one lens. so excited. i am also proud to say that i researched, shopped and bargained myself from the beginning to end. the whole buying stuff in korea can at times be intimidating and it makes me anxious. last thursday i went to the market, went in about 5-6 shops and got prices. i needed to do some more research. we went back on saturday and i bargained my way to a deal. i was super proud of myself. paul said he was a little embarassed by my persistent bargaining with the guy. it was fun and i was in shock the rest of the day that i did it. woo hoo! i am hoping to take lots of pics of europe. i will also be taking two furry friends with us---hope bear and frederick the frog (4F's class mascot).

check back often to read about our adventure.....

p.s.--the hair dryer is working to de-ice the air con. yeah!

oh the days of summer....

2009-06-26T00:39:00.004+09:00

i have been busy resting and hanging out. it has been fun! jo and i went to the market, shopped here and there, met friends for lunch, and had fun!

i have been working on a few artsy projects here and there. finally finished the laptop sleeve that i have been working on. woo hoo! yeah for being artsy and cool. here is a pic....more on flickr page.

in other news, sam is having more pooping issues. i took him to the vet on monday. he had some x-rays, an ultrasound, and went home with some furrball meds which also works as a laxative. we tried that for a few days with no success. he is still hungry and eating which dr. yoon, the vet, says is a good sign. wednesday we made another trip to the vet. this time india came along for her yearly check up. thank goodness for our friend anne and her kiddos who were kind enough to take us to the vet. this time dr. yoon gave me a take home enema to give to sam. oh boy! india checked out ok, sam got his yearly shots, and i stocked up on cat food and litter for july. after two attempts with the enema there was still no action. today, thursday, i gave him another go with the enema. he went straight for the box and made some small pressies. i was excited. he then made a few more about five minutes later. i was encouraged and hopeful. the only issue now is that he is still stopped up. we go back to the vet again tomorrow for a check up and hope that dr. yoon can clear this up before we leave for our trip. please pray for sam. i know he is older and i am sure his body is slowing down, but i am not ready at the moment. i just cannot think about it now. pray for healing and recovery and no pain.

today i met my friend natalie for brunch. it was fun to hang out and catch up. then i piddled around the hongdae area which was super fun! it is near the art school and there is lots to see and be inspired by. i came home and then went to meet paul for dinner at on the border.

the weather has warmed up here, but there has been quite a nice breeze the last few days that make the shade a great place to be. i have enjoyed it. i got to sit outside on wednesday with my friends, anne and johan, while there kiddos played behind their building. so fun!

it is hard to believe that this time next week we will be in budapest and beginning our european adventure.

summer is here....

2009-06-16T23:40:00.002+09:00

yeah!!! i am so excited that it has finally arrived. i am having a chance to slow down, rest and relax. i think i am fighting some allergy yuck at the moment. i am sure it has been partly related to being run down with the end of the school year. i am taking cough meds as needed and trying to rest a lot too. that is not hard for me to do.....i love to sleep.

leslie's daughter, sarah, is here visiting too. paul and i have been hanging out and showing sarah lovely seoul. the quirks and quips of the city we have grown to love. it has been so fun! fish market, dr. fish, nanta, jimjilbang, namdaemun market.....all checked off the list.

today we went to a jimjilbang, a korean bath house. it was fun and we all laughed and giggled. yes, we were in the buff and we all had adjuma scrubs. this involves a korean lady scrubbing the dead skin off of you.....lots of dead skin. it is quite the experience, but feels amazing after. woo hoo!!! i feel like a new woman. i cannot wait to do it again before school starts.

i have a list of things to do now that i am out of school. i want to do some spring cleaning and also prepare for our month long adventure across europe. so fun!!!

more to come.....

i think i can, i think i can.....

2009-05-19T20:11:00.001+09:00

i think i can make it three and a half more weeks until summer holiday!
i am praying for the strength and energy to finish with gusto...

tickets are bought....

2009-05-13T16:24:00.002+09:00

and we are going to europe. we leave seoul on june 29th to arrive in munich, germany. we will spend the month touring around europe. we return to seoul on july 30th. it should be a fun and exciting time for paul and i. we are looking forward to seeing some former teachers from sfs in northern england, seeing a recent teacher who is moving to the netherlands, and seeing great sights and eating amazing food.

here is the rough plan--
munich, germany
newcastle, england (actually a small village called felton)
edinburgh, scotland
amsterdam, holland
genoa, italy
budapest, hungary

always subject to change, but at some point we will make it to these cities at some point during our travels....

prayer request....

2009-05-13T16:22:00.002+09:00

i am struggling. i am tired. i feeling down. pray for strength to finish the school year without beating myself up in the process. yesterday i melted and really had a moment. even the devotion at the staff meeting was making me sad. i know God wants me to run the race to the end, to endure and focus on Him, but i am just tired. i want to quit. i want to throw in the towel.

please keep me and my kiddos in your prayers.

a little r & r

2009-04-26T13:20:00.002+09:00

things have been crazy lately. at school, i feel like i am managing a three ring circus. all is going well, it's just that things are busy and hectic. i am trying to get in all the things i have to teach my kids before the end of the year (about 7 weeks), organize my class for junior olympics (field day), work on the 4th grade play, and design a set too. all of this drains me, all of me. by the time i get home, i am totally exhausted. so with all this going on things at home are pretty low key which is fine.

this weekend paul and i wanted some r & r. on saturday we went to get massages. it was awesome! we had kebabs at the turkish place before our massages. after we went for snacks at la bocca. we had coffee and desserts while we waited for our sandwiches to go. our desserts were yummy. then we made our way back to the house.

we worked on music and songs for church. paul worked out the music and i make the slide show for the lyrics. it is fun. then we went to church. it was good. the music was good, the message was right on for me and it is always nice to see folks.

after church we came home and heated up our sandwiches. we watched the final episode of battlestar galactica, an episode of the office, and more episodes of the unit. it was a great day of just hanging out and being together. much needed!!!!

i miss texas...

2009-03-17T20:09:00.004+09:00

i came home this evening and as usual i check emails, google reader, facebook, twitter, and occasionally i check out some flickr sites that i like. tonight it was the david crowder band's flickr site. they have lots of cool pics of random stuff, pics from their lives, tours, gigs, and shots of cool things i miss about texas. i went through all 26 pages of their images this evening and i realized that i miss texas. i miss the huge expanse that i call home. the place where i am from and is a part of who i am. tonight i am also making treats for the elementary school staff. leslie and i have done it together this year and we always seem to go with a "texas" theme. here i am making my mom's banana bread and thinking about that massive state that is on the othe side of the globe.

as i write this blog...she is just waking up and warming herself in the texas sunshine (or being drizzled with rain from the latest weather reports). either way she is just starting her day. all over the state folks are being woken up by that great blue sky (or cloudy one) but it doesn't matter.

i miss the crazy awesome sunsets we have.
i miss small towns that are quaint and friendly.
i miss texas cooking---nothing like a good country style breakfast.
i miss the fresh clean air.
i miss kolaches (the little hole in the wall place near bingle and long point is the best!)
i miss the green that is texas (even though there is not much in houston proper).
i miss the incredible diversity that the state brings---people, opinions, lifestyles, music, arts....it is a crazy mix!
i miss friends and family that are warm and welcoming.
i miss chatting about the weather with random folks (especially if they are over 70 and live in the country).
i miss the landscape (modern and not so).
i miss the feeling of just being in texas...you know you are in texas when you cross the border....it just "feels" like texas with or without a sign to inform you of location.
i miss green signs with city names and populations on them.
i miss wandering through antique and junk shops with my mom.
i miss drinking coffee at all the cool shops inside the loop.
i miss freebirds!

TEXAS....I MISS YOU!!!

fun times on sundays...

2009-03-17T07:24:00.001+09:00

about two months ago i met a girl who went to a knitting group and started going to crochet. i love it and the community of ladies is awesome! last sunday, a reporter from the paper came to find out more about us, and i made it in the article.....
check it out....
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2902304
WOO HOO!!!

crocheting and knitting is cool!!!

joys and struggles....

2009-03-02T20:40:00.002+09:00

joys:

paul and i have found a church community that meets on campus. paul has been leading worship for the last four weeks and the pastor is from the baptist church in town. so far, so good. an answered prayer for us!
sam is doing ok. his kidney function has lowered (he is 80 in human years, so goodness he is old), but he is doing ok. we are just making sure he is happy and well loved.
i have made some great friends at knitting club every other week. so fun to meet up with ladies who are here in seoul and have so many talents and loves.
i am still going to ceramics which has been fun and exciting. quite the creative outlet for myself.
i am healthy and not major sick.
i did get to 10 pounds down, but i am probably up now from the crazy last two weeks or so. i did make myself a ten pound star reward which was fun! i also treated myself with a haagen dazs bar.
we got an espresso machine which is super fun....nespress le cube. love it!!!
we are going to hong kong for spring break!
we both have jobs and are secure in them....praying for all our friends who are struggling at the moment.
i have some great friends at school that i have been spending time with!!! :)
i have been more creative lately.....YEAH!

struggles:

did not get the art job....i know that it is all in God's timing and i need to trust Him with the plan. hard to do though. we are staying in seoul another year and then plan to potentially try to move to another country.
eating better and trying to lose weight...the last few weeks have been a roller coaster for me.....all this "not knowing" and feeling totally disappointed has made it hard to stay on track with eating and getting shape.
being a better communicator at school.
trusting God and not being cynical....heard a great message at church last week about cynicism....psalm 37....gosh, it was so good for me to hear!

february is around the corner....

2009-01-27T23:04:00.003+09:00

and i cannot believe it. really....it just feels like a week or so ago we were in vietnam. oh well....

school has been busy. i had to write reports last week which made going to the gym impossible for me. i wait until the last minute to do them, so i am usually up late and intaking loads of caffeine. i did manage to not eat horribly, but the gym did not happen. they are finised and done with for now....will have to write them again in about nine weeks or so.

i am down seven pounds. WOO HOO!!! i am quite excited. i have big rewards for myself when i hit 20 pounds down, 40 pounds down, and goal. i cannot wait. so far it has been easy although i was quite bored with tracking last week. it gets annoying. i am still doing it though and will weigh again in the morning.

i am posted more pics on the flickr page (click on link on the right). the rest of the vietnam pics are up and then some random ones from since we have been back. be sure to have a look.

only three teaching days this week which is nice. we just had a long weekend with the lunar new year holiday. it was fun and i enjoyed the time off. i think we have quite the haul until the next break which i think is spring break at the end of march. ugh. i hope the times goes quickly. paul and i are planning to go to hong kong for the holiday. woo hoo!!! i hope to do some shopping there.

no news on the art job. my prinicpal just left for two weeks of recruiting state side on saturday. he hopes to be able to let me know when he returns. i hope that God will continue to give me the sense of peace about the whole thing and make his will happen.

paul and i have been attending a church service here on campus on saturday evenings from 5-6pm. it just began two weeks ago by some of the parents on the SFS school board. it has been great so far. the pastor is from the international baptist church. the groups is small and the service is simple. we like it so far and hope that it will continue to work out. we have missed being in community with church. it is in the SFS chapel which is about a five minute walk from the apartment. yeah!!!

Snowy Recess Duty

2009-01-16T10:39:00.002+09:00

It's 27 degrees out and snowing! Of course, it's my day for recess duty. The bell rings and we all bundle up to go out into the winter wonderland. The kids love it. They slide down the hill as their teacher takes baby steps so she does not bust it. They spend the entire time rolling in the snow, making balls, flinging bits into the air, pushing it into mountains, covering each other with it, making trails with their feet, and just standing taking it all in. It was great to watch them so genuinely thrilled about the snow. It made the snowy recess duty much more tolerable.

Woo hoo.....it's snowing!!!

update....

2009-01-10T00:15:00.003+09:00

week #1 is over and went really well. i did make all my goals this week. i walked three mornings for at least 30-40 minutes, woo hoo! i wrote down all the food that went in too. my weigh in day is wednesday morning when i first wake up....i am happy to report that i was down three pounds this week. YEAH!!!

school was good too. even though my students and i were all pretty tired most of the week adjusting to be back at school. funny story......one of my students, brian, was helping another student, bridget, look up the work appetizer in the dictionary. they found it and were discussing endings.....appetizing and appetizer. brian kindly looks at her and says, "you just take the -ing off and add the -er." he said this with a slight french accent and a bit of sarcasm that had me rolling. they are so funny. i love working with kids.

paul and i tried a new church this week as well. it was good, but in total we have four hours of travel time.....two there and two back. ugh. that is the down side and we are currently trying to decide if it is truly worth it on a school night.

taking the bull by the horns.....

2009-01-04T23:34:00.003+09:00

monday is the day i am taking the bull by the horns and i am going to win. i am done, finished, through......all of the above. i feel like garbage, get winded climbing the stairs at school, and just plain tired of looking at myself this way. so.... monday i am doing it.

my goals for this week....

go to the gym and walk for about 40 minutes or so for at least three times.
write down ALL the food that i eat regardless of what it is.

paul and i went to the grocery store this evening and got some fresh fruit and veg as well as some necessary staples (i.e. detergent and rice for ms. lee). most of the afternoon i read articles and other information on weight watchers dot com.

we came home and we picked up the apartment. then i began making my lunches, prep for my egg omelette in the morning, and made snacks. i wrote down all the point values of the snacks in my lunch bag so i am prepared.

it is good and i feel motivated. 2009 is a year for change in my health. :)

a quote i read on someone's site recently---

"failure to plan is planning to fail"

one from my friend leslie is..."there is no food more important than becoming the person God wants you to be."

babies, babies....everywhere....

2009-01-04T00:42:00.002+09:00

it seems like the new year has brought many babies.....
so many friends have just had their babies, about to deliver, or are due this year.....
so exciting and fun! i pray that each of them are blessed with amazing joy and healthiness.

paul and i are waiting another year or so before we talk baby plans. my goal this year is get healthy and in better shape. this includes making better food choices and moving more. starting monday, i am going to try my best to go to the gym at least three days a week and start journaling my eating. i want be in shape and healthy.

a quote i keep on the fridge from my dear friend leslie....
"there is no food more important that becoming the person God wants you to be."

New piece of art....

2009-01-03T22:25:00.002+09:00

In Vietnam, we got the piece below that was made by the hill tribe people in Northern Vietnam. This one in particular is a baby carrier. I just loved the colors and the patterns. I saw it once, commented on how much I liked it, and then went on. I could not remember where I saw it, so I just blew it off. Then we ended up in this alley accidentally and there it was. Yeah....got it on the spot. I hung it up tonight in the area near our dining table. The wall is covered with a light limey green paper similiar to the color of my kitchen in the treehouse. The colored paper brings out the colors in the hanging and really looks great. I am so excited that our apartment is slowly (very slowly) becoming a home. :)

Back in Seoul....

2009-01-03T22:04:00.002+09:00

We made it back to Seoul late Tuesday night and caught the last airport bus to our neighborhood. We slept a whole lot of the day on Wednesday before going out to dinner at On the Border. We came home to ring in the new year with a bottle of red wine and freshly made brownies while we watched Prison Break. The last few days have been full of rest. I have probably slept more of the time than been awake. Nuts I know, but the truth none the less. Paul and I have been spending loads of time in front of the TV as we watch many, many episodes of Prison Break. We got hooked before the holiday and have watched all of season one, and are now in season two. Paul will load up four to five episodes in the playlist and the hit go. I also got to watch some of the episodes of Ace of Cakes which were a Christmas gift from Paul's mom, Sally. This show is awesome!!! She introduced me to it while we were in Houston and I got hooked. The only problem is that we do not get the food network here in Seoul. Thankfully, Sally gave me the first season DVD set for Christmas and now I am set.

In the show, the pastry chef who now makes crazy cakes is named Duff. He is not your typical guy for this kind of job. He has a goatee and his staff at the bakery are his friends. Most of which have tattoos, crazy hair cuts, piercings, and dress eclectically. My kind of bakery for sure. They like to challenge themselves by making cakes that are crazy and different. I love it. It is inspiring.

Today Paul and I slept in late again. It was an accident since the alarm did not go off. Ugh. Oh well, we went our for a late lunch/early dinner at an indian place and then went for coffee. We came home and Paul has been working on setting up my old laptop with the TV and I have been really creative. I hung up the wall hanging we got in Vietnam. It looks great. I also made an installation for pictures with string and these pre-cut paper frames. It looks cool....I just need to print pics to put in the frames. Then I straigtened some things up a bit and still felt artsy. I decided to put the base coat on the canvas that has been sitting blank forever, it seems. It is now drying and then I can gesso up another one. I have had an idea since we were in Vietnam and I am anxious to get it on canvas. I just have to wait for the easel to be free.

I love being artsy!!! I feel so in touch with my inner self when I indulge my creativity. :)

The last day of HCMC....

2008-12-29T22:47:00.003+09:00

Wow, what a day! We woke in time for breakfast and then came back to the room for a nap. We napped for about an hour before getting moving for the day. We had lunch at Pho Binh which is a noodle soup shop that was a front during the war for the Viet Cong. This is where the Viet Cong planned its attack on the US Embassy and other places during the Tet Offensive in 1968. It was not that jazzy or anything, but the pho was decent. I took a few pics and then called it a sight visited. There are a few signs in Vietnamese that might say something about the pho shop's history, but I have no idea what they said.

After lunch we got a taxi to the War Remnants Museum. It was interesting and quite depressing really. Paul noticed that things were left out of the story here and there. So the history of truths exhibit did not really tell the whole truth. The next exhibition was probably the highlight for me which was a tribute to all the journalists from many countries that died during the war. The exhibition showed many images and stories from these journalists and photographers. It was interesting to think about their lives and how many of them were freelancers here for the AP or UPI. They were putting their lives in danger for the sake of the story or the images. It was really interesting. Again, I must say that this is the highlight for me. Something I have always thought would be a cool job to work as a photographer for some big news circuit. Not sure I would want to jump in the line of fire or anything, but it would be an interesting job to be able to share life with others. I took a picture of a quote that sums it up for me. I have always wondered if it is hard to take pics of extreme tragedy or hard things in history. His words said it all for me. He felt his job was an opportunity to contribute to sharing what others are going through, not to necessarily capitalize on grief, pain or tragedy.

I was pretty sad after the museum. At the end of the exhibits there are many images on the people and kids who were affected by the chemical warfare here in Vietnam--agent orange. I know this affected both the Americans and the Vietnamese. It just makes me think there has to be a better way that putting innocent people in harm's way. They did not ask for it or volunteer to be in the center of a conflict yet they were there and suffered. Paul and I had some good conversation about war and politics on our walk to the park for coffee. After this trip, I am really not sure where I stand on many things that have to do with this subject. I don't know what I know or how I feel. I just know that right now, today, I have many questions and want to learn more about this time period and what really happened. I want to read and find out. I want to be able to come up with some explanation, if possible. I am not sure that I can or will come to that place, but I do know that the history of this war, regardless of what story you hear, makes me sad and reflective.

We had coffee in the park before it began to thunder and get really gray. We decided to needed to head to the hotel and get an umbrella. Halfway there, the sky opened up and the rain came down. Thankfully we were near some covering where we waited for a bit. Then we somehow managed to wave down a taxi and get back to the hotel. So fun! We had two more stops to make before being finished with errands. The first stop is this cool shop with art work and all sorts of goodies. I got a fresh, new t-shirt to wear home tomorrow. All of the ones I have are not so fresh anymore. :) Then we got some dinner at the gourmet grocery store.....so good. The sandwiches are AMAZING!!! I could get used to having them more often for sure. After dinner, I went to the Dong Du Salon about the Qing bar for a manicure, pedicure and 70 minutes foot massage. It literally was the best part of HCMC for me. I left the place feeling so relaxed. Wonderful!!! Paul had gone to Gloria Jean's Coffee around the corner to play DS and sip the good stuff. My total bill for my treatments were $22. It was great!!!

We had evening beverages at a little place across the street called Mojo before making our way back to the hotel for the evening. We have to pack and sort ourselves out for the return trip to Seoul tomorrow afternoon. So fun!!! We heart Saigon!!!

Here is a website that honors some of the work of the photojournalists that were killed in Indochina.....
http://members.tripod.com/hovasse/fotos/apfot/apphoto.htm

12.28.08 HCMC

2008-12-29T01:01:00.001+09:00

So somehow today we slept until 2pm. I know this is not completely out of character for us, but usually I am up earlier and moving then go back to bed. Not today…..we must have needed the crazy amount of sleep b/c when we did get up it did not feel like 2pm. WOW!!!

Upon attempting to get ready, there was no hot water. Ugh. Oh well, I took a washcloth bath, cleaned up my face, then put on a hat. I am sure I will live and Paul says that I don’t smell. C’est la vie! We went back to the gourmet grocery store we found last night for lunch. So good. I had a parma ham and gouda sandwich in fresh baguette. Paul had an Italian chorizo with some kind of cheese that is like camembert on a baguette. We were in heaven and savored every bite. J We could so easily live here. No worries.

Then we tried to go to the War Remnants Museum which was kind of far, so we got in a taxi. He took us way past it and then told us to get out. As soon as we got out and started to walk in the right direction it started to pour. Go figure! Paul’s patience went from 10 to zero in no time. There was no place to stand under either to at least regroup and figure out a plan. We walked a few blocks and then we were done. We stood under a taxi umbrella and got one back to the hotel. We will try tomorrow. We got back to the hotel, changed shirts, and headed out for a small coffee shop called Java just across the street from the gourmet grocery store. Paul is playing his DS while I blog and journal. Heineken, my favorite beer, is cheap here too. Most are about $2USD. CHEAP!!! I also went across the street to a little rattan and bamboo shop……love it. I love the stuff here! I found a vase, tray and small bag there. I did not buy anything yet, but I think Paul has banned me from buying anything else. We just cannot carry anything else. I love Vietnam and the artsy stuff here is great. SE ASIA ROCKS!!!

The other cool thing here is that they use both Vietnamese dong and US dollars. It is weird to me that they accept and use both, but they do. We only have dong, but we could easily just US if we had it. It makes things easy though.

When we got hungry and it became dinner time, we headed back to the Japanese place. Wow, wow, wow. We had two plates of tuna sashimi that was AMAZING!!! We also had a roll, gyozas, and beef tataki. It was phenomenal and so cheap for the quality. Only $30!!! Nuts. Then we headed to the Lion Brew House which is a German like beer house. We had beers while we watched the soccer match of Vietnam vs. Thailand. Thailand scored in the first half and I was worried and began to lose hope. In the last minute of the game Vietnam scored to become the champions of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2008. It was crazy when they scored. The bar went nuts. Some of the waitresses were banging pans on the bar and people were shouting. We paid the bill and then went into the streets. It took some time, but the streets were crazy too. People on scooters yelling, honking their horns, and waving flags. I took some video of the madness. We went for coffee at Gloria Jean’s before making our way back to the hotel. We did have to cross the massively nuts streets. It was fun and we even shouted with all the locals. It was crazy, but totally fun!!!

Now we are back in the hotel, settling in for the night and watching movies on the TV. Paul and I have had a great holiday in Vietnam. We have really grown to love this country!!!

12.27.08 HCMC

2008-12-29T00:55:00.001+09:00

I had the hardest time getting moving this morning. I just felt sooooo tired. I have no idea why, but I did not want to get out of bed. Paul went to breakfast at the hotel without me. I just could not do it. Then when he returned I kept sleeping for a while longer. He is such an amazing guy…..So patient to wait while I continued to sleep. Thank goodness for the Nintendo DS….he main staple of entertainment. J He has been playing a new game which he really likes. It is called Chrono Trigger which is the #1 rated game for the DS and since we both have the R4 deal we can download heaps of games for free from the web. J

Once I finally got moving we ate lunch at the Green Leaf Café and I had eggs benedict for lunch. YUM! We walked up and down the main shopping strip in town on Dong Khoi road. There are many cool little shops. Thankfully it was not raining. Then we ended up at Ben Thanh market which is crazy. Stuff everywhere along with people. Rows and rows of stuff----lacquer ware, bamboo stuff, shoes, clothes, rattan stuff, buffalo horn stuff, food stuff, anything and everything can probably be found here. Paul even found a stall selling the deodorant he uses. At the back end of the place there are tons of food stalls with all sorts of things. Paul checked them all out and made a mental list for reference. He is so cute when it comes to food.

After the market, we were both totally pooped out and shopped out. We went back to the hotel to regroup and rest. We ended up taking naps for about an hour or so. Totally what we needed, but when I woke up though I was grumpy and easy to be upset. I don’t know why, but it is me. Paul made the decision on dinner, thank goodness. We ate Indian at a place called Tandoor. Then we walked down the road, Hai Ba Trung. I had seen this cool lantern shop I wanted to go back to. They are the assembly lanterns that are made of many smaller plastic pieces. They are put together like a puzzle and can be made into many different shapes and sizes. They are really cool. We bought some pieces and they were reasonable. For all the pieces we got it all cost only $8 USD. Fun times! I cannot wait to put them together. I was feeling much better after having food in me….surprise! So we ended up walking around the area---street after street of stuff. It was fun and we found many good restaurants and shops. We finished the evening out at Sheridan’s Irish Pub for Kilkenny beers…..so yummy! I love the stuff! Paul had never had one and he liked it. We walked back to the hotel and ended the night watching the movie, Inside Man, on cinema before calling it a night.

Today was a great day! We know that we could live here. We went in a few local like grocery stores then even found a couple gourmet ones. We have come to the conclusion that it would be much easier t o live here than in Seoul. We had found many things that we would need or would be nice to have for food stuff and other things. The best part is that HCMC is a cheap place. The meals we have had are cheaper in general and the quality is great. So depending on what life brings, we might be looking into the schools here when the time comes to decide where to next….

Here we come Vietnam!!!

12.26.08 Hoi An to HCMC

2008-12-29T00:54:00.001+09:00

We woke up super early to get moving for the day. We had many things to do before we could leave Hoi An. First, we had cao lao at the first best place in Hoi An. Again the spa owner showed us another spot. It was good, but Paul and I both agreed the night before was better. Again the whole meal was about $2. Totally nuts the quality of food you can get for such a cheap price. After morning noodles, we had another massage. I went for a foot massage that was more foot reflexology than massage. It was good though and relaxing. Paul had a massage. We had to stop at the tailor to pick up skirts before making our way back to the hotel to get a taxi to the airport.

Again, we found ourselves sitting on bus #152 waiting to go to the City Center of HCMC. No smoking driver this time, but it was warm here. So far it was not raining, but that would soon change. Ugh. We got off the bus and hailed a taxi to take us to the hotel. Now it was raining….ugh. Why??? Paul and I both are tired of the rain. It just makes exploring difficult and not as much fun. Not to mention that Paul does not have as much patience in the rain, but I on the other hand am not patient when hungry. So I guess it all works out. The hotel is nice. A step up from the last place and is located in a great place in the city. We were both hungry and went around the corner to Pho24. This place is a chain, but in all the books it says the pho is good. We figured we would try it since it was close and it was raining. The pho was ok. Nothing crazy good or anything, but better than the normal I guess. We also got spring rolls which were also just ok. All the ones we have had have been just ok. Most of them have been the fried ones. The best fried ones we have had were the ones in Hanoi at the place we had bun cha. The fresh ones in Hoi An were the absolute best so far. Totally yummy!!! After dinner we went to Gloria Jean’s coffee to hang out. They do have decaf coffee here which is a nice change to Seoul. J As we sat there Paul and I realized that last Christmas in Melbourne we sat in Gloria Jean’s when it was raining hanging out and having coffee.

So, 3 years ago today is when it all started for Paul and I. Our first date was on Dec. 26, 2005. We went to Pei Wei for lunch and then to see a movie which was Family Stone. It is nuts to think it has already been three years. The next year I was in Houston for the holidays, we were engaged, and went to lunch at Pei Wei then to see the movie The Holiday. Last year, we were in Melbourne. We had lunch at a little place called Lamb on Chapel (greek food) and then saw the movie Darjeeling Limited. Now, this year we are in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We had lunch at Pho 24 and then saw the movie The Day the Earth Stood Still. It is our little tradition that we try to eat asian (if possible) and then go to a movie. Greek was as close as we could get in Melbourne. This year we kind of did our little tradition twice b/c we were not sure if we would find movies. So on Dec. 23rd while in Hanoi we had dinner at Restaurant Bobby Chinn and then saw an indie film at the cinema downstairs from our room, Owl and a Sparrow. We did end of finding English movies here in Ho Chi Minh, so it did work out. We just had our date two times this year. Fun times!!!

After the movie, we were walking back to the hotel and we decided we were hungry. We had walked by quite a few Japanese restaurants. We walked into one, and the food was great. Not the best, but definitely doable. Much better than Seoul, Paul says. J Paul had tuna sashimi, a spicy tuna roll, and we shared beef tataki and I had gyozas. Paul was also excited that the place had oolong tea….he loves this stuff. The best part was the entire meal with my beer included was only $22 USD.

The crazy thing is that we have both decided that we really love Vietnam. HCMC is a great place---good food, great shopping, history, and an amazing vibe! After much talk and discussion, we would seriously consider living here. I would love to go back to Hoi An to volunteer at the shop, Reaching Out, which they do. If we lived in HCMC, it would be possible since it is only a one hour flight. There are coffee shops everywhere and tons of free wireless internet. From people I have talked to, the school here is a good one and is part of the big Eastern Asian school organization. J

12.25.08 Hoi An Redemption Day.....

2008-12-29T00:50:00.000+09:00

To be quite honest, paul and I were not feeling the vibe here in hoi an. We had heard from many people that it was great and a wonderful place to visit. At this point, we weren’t so sure. It had been raining since we arrived. Although not constant, just constantly kind of drippey. The food we have taken the time to find had been a letdown. Paul was ready to move on and was really struggling to be here.

Paul arranged for a hotel in Ho Chi Minh city and then we went out for lunch at Light Candle Restaurant. We had cao lao which is becoming my favorite thing to ear here in Hoi An. We made a pit stop at the tailor and then went shopping in old town. So fun! We walked the streets and looked at lots of things. I had wanted to stop back at this shop called Reaching Out. The shop helps disabled locals learn crafts and then sells the good in the shop at fair trade prices. It was so cool. Paul and I did almost all of our Christmas shopping at this place. The best part is that they even ship to America, so we already shipped the goodies to the US. Fun times! We had so much fun shopping here and supporting a wonderful cause. We even got to walk through the workshop and see artists in action. Some were making lacquer ware pieces; others were doing embroidery, some making metal works, and others working on stitching table runners and things of that sort. It was a really great experience.

On the walk back to the tailor, Paul and I took pictures of textures on walls and other patterns. It was fun! We also took some fun pics of each other. When we got to the tailor I got to try on the clothes she made for me. I am not overly impressed with the pants, but they will work. My favorite piece that she made was my new wool coat that is dark olive green. It is gorgeous and fits great. I cannot wait to wear it in Seoul. Paul had two pairs of long shorts made…he does not really care either way. He was just happy to have some shorts to wear since the weather has been so wet and drippey.

We went back to the Hoi An day spa again. I had a deluxe manicure and pedicure with the works which was nice. It was nice to relax and sit there and be pampered. J Paul had more neck, shoulder, and head massages. He was in heaven. It was great.

The best part of the day was the place we had dinner. The owner of the spa recommended it, and even had two ladies from the spa staff take us there on scooters. It was little cart in a dark alley with small plastic stools (a foot off the ground) with matching plastic tables. It was dark and very local. We were surrounded by local folks all of who were friendly and smiled as we sat down. Paul and I both had cao lao as the spa guy said this was the second best place in Hoi An to have it. The napkins on the tables were small squares of paper on a stick that you just pulled from the top. The cao lao was amazing! It had great flavor and a lovely amount of green including coriander that was fresh. Yum! It was so good that I had a second bowl while Paul tried the pho. He says that this bowl of pho is the best he has ever had and I do have to agree with him. I tried it and it was phenomenal. Not to mention the fact that we were eating in a very local joint…..so local that there was a rat sharing the alley with us. I know this sounds gross to most, but it did not bother us. It did not seem to bother anyone or the rat seemed to not care that we were there either. To be honest, it was one of the top three meals that we had in Vietnam. The coolest part yet was the whole meal---3 bowls of cao lao and 1 bowl of pho---was only about $3. Crazy!!! Total made the trip to Vietnam for us.

We went back to the Light Candle for evening beverages and snacks before going to bed. I tried Dalat wine which is made in Vietnam and I was not impressed. Paul had fresh spring rolls which were totally yummy and I tried a banana pancake. It is more like a crepe than a pancake that is filled with fresh banana. It was good. Then for dessert we got fresh cut mango. Gotta love Vietnam!!! We do.