Happy Birthday, America!

 

We ate hamburgers and I wore red, white, and blue. And that was about the extent of our celebrating, I'm afraid. But we love America! And we are constantly reminded of our blessings as we remember our home and the things we miss.

But let's not jump too far ahead! Monday was an interesting p-day that we spent with 2 other senior missionary couples and a Vietnamese couple from Ba Dinh Branch here in Hanoi. This couple is very active in church and with missionary work, and they invited all of us to do a tour with them to Bac Giang, a place about 70 miles from here, which took 2 1/2 hours to drive to.

Near the opera house, where the van picked us up for the tour, there is a tree that was uprooted in the typhoon that hit last September. An artist decided to turn the tree into a statement of Resurrection, and they plated it with stainless steel. It was really unique and impressive. The original tree is underneath all the steel plating.

At 7:30 am, we loaded into an 8-passenger van and headed out. We experienced a flat tire on the way but didn't even have to get out of the van; it was fixed within 1/2 an hour. 

We traveled to the Luc Ngan Lychee Orchard where we wandered among the trees and were delighted to see how lychee grow (lee-chee), and were encouraged to eat all the lychee we wanted. So I did.

They have a hard shell on the outside that you peel off, then inside it's very soft and sweet, and the white insides surround a single pit in the middle. I'm addicted.

It's a beautiful place.

We couldn't figure out what these other little fruits were. The folks picked them and ate them, but Allen said they weren't really sweet and didn't really taste like anything. We still don't know what they're called.

And then they fed us a very Vietnamese lunch--chicken and pork and noodles and veggies and rice...

The next stop was a grape vineyard--with HUGE grapes! We were NOT encouraged to walk around and eat these, unfortunately, or I would have done so! We did buy a bunch (as a group) and they were delicious. The grapes in Vietnam are better than in the U.S., in my humble opinion.

Grapes that would be sold as organic were kept bagged up so no spray could reach them. I wonder what they looked like...?

...because THESE were amazing!

Our next stop on the tour was a noodle making village. Unfortunately for us, the weather was bad and it had rained that morning, so the noodles factory was closed down because they couldn't lay our their homemade noodles to dry! We did see the frames they laid the noodles on...

And they cooked some of their noodles and fed us one more time. haha

We drove back to Hanoi in a downpour, which made an incredible pool of water that the scooters were riding through.

You may have wondered why we weren't with our district missionaries! Or you may not, but I'll tell you anyway. It was transfers, as I mentioned in the last blog, and so we usually are left alone, with our young ones traveling here and there, picking up new companions, or traveling south. This week we decided we could go on our own trip, but we met up with them all in the evening to bid another farewell to the 2 who would be leaving us on Tuesday. We had a nice Japanese dinner...

And had an encounter on the way home...                                                                                               

Tuesday was game night. I always go upstairs with a friend at the beginning of game night and we read from one of the training books that the missionaries learn from in the MTC because she wants to learn gospel English so she can converse in English with people. She is really trying to improve herself; it's a privilege to help her learn. 

Here is Allen's tutor in Vietnamese, still trying hard to convince Allen how easy Vietnamese is

Rosie is a good artist; she drew this.

And then Thursday was English activity. We just couldn't think of a song about the topic of clothing...besides "The Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini". And that just wouldn't do.

Wednesday, Allen went for a walk while I worked on the computer. (Or slept in? Who knows?)

And on Friday, we both walked together. I wanted to take more pictures on Friday. We feel like some of the excitement and amazement of Vietnam has lessened, so I tried to look at things through fresh eyes. So if I post a lot of pictures here, look at it through fresh eyes!

Rambutan, or "hairy strawberries" except they're nothing like strawberries. White and sweet inside, more like lychee.

Passion fruit(?). I think...                                                                                                    

Dragon fruit. I DO know this one!

                                                                                            Plums are in season, along with the lychee!

Mangoes are also ripe and in season--or not ripe and in season. They're everywhere. People peel off just the outer skin, then slice them up into long strips and serve them that way. If they're ripe, they're sweet (yellow will be ripe); if they're not ripe (more green), they'll be tart.

These are Qua Na--Custard Apples. They're creamy white inside and very sweet. And full of seeds, like a watermelon.

Oranges. Yep, oranges.                                                                                                                  

Somebodies dinner; not mine!

                                                                                             Lychee...

Fish, shrimp...

Chicken, eggs...                                                                                      

Ducks, pigeons...

                                                                                   Leftover New Year decorations...

The street looks ready for a parade...

I love the bikes and the carts...                                                                                                              

A seamstress in her home/shop.

These streets are so fun to walk down!

Notice the narrow street...

That turned into a spectacular traffic jam.

And then we ended with Book of Mormon class Friday night.

Saturday we spend all afternoon and evening at the church, so we've learned to be brave and eat street food. Tonight it was banh mi sandwiches, made with grilled chicken. This woman on the corner is very popular and needs a bigger grill!

Sorry for the overload of pictures! I wanted to share more of the feel of Vietnam today, and it took the form of pictures. I want to remember the sights and sounds of Vietnam forever, and I especially want to remember the people forever.

Love you!

Have a great week!