my incredible host family.

dinner time with the fam! [from left to right: the very reason i'm in this home - my host sister mai, her little sis chang, my host mom, an extended host uncle, my host father, and cousin little mai]

our feast of a special dinner! in our hot pot we enjoyed: beef, prawns, squid, green onions, muslces, mushrooms, chicken, vietnamese rice noodles, pineapple and tofu. there was also peanuts, pepsi, whiskey, orange fanta, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and of course... rice!

CHEERS!

uh oh, this can only mean one thing... KARAOKE!

belting out their best tunes!

sing it!

don't be confused by little mai's clever placement of the mic, i definitely wasn't loudly singing 80's vietnamese hits in the comfort of my own (temporary) living room... ;]

host mother and host sister. along with some beautiful roses.

my host sister with my hilarious host father. [in english, he knows how to say "white rice, wife, thank you, WHAT IS YOUR NAME?!, as well as one, two, three and four" he cracks me up.]

my adorable host cousin, little mai. they had a huge dinner for all of us simply because she has been learning english for about five years (and hoping to get accepted into the city's best high school), and was eager to talk with her very first native english speaker -- ME!  :D ps. it even was her idea to do the heart pose. this girl knows me well.

great times at the hoang household. [this was right before our beloved korean dramas came on! ^.^]