a [very] condensed version of vietnam.

Things I saw and/or did:

1. Hanoi Hilton

the view out a window from upstairs in the prison.

down a hallway at the prison. looks out onto the same tree.

2. Celebrated International Women’s Day - March 8, 2011

we were each given pretty flowers from the program volunteers in honor of women's day!

aren't they beautiful?!

3. Ethnology Museum

*Which included a difficult, but fun test of balance:

after many, many tries i was eventually successful in making it the entire way across!  :D

4. Halong Bay [which you already read about!]

5. Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

going inside to visit uncle ho was definitely worth it, but i'd suggest going early in the morning so as to avoid the crowds before they get too crazy.

the ho chi minh mausoleum looked very pretty at night. the other lights are cars whizzing by us!

 6. Cat Café with my Host Sister Mai

fast asleep on the shoe rack!

this cat was experiencing a slight identity crisis....

the cats at the cat cafe were incredibly lazy AND sleepy! this one was a particular favorite.

this naughty cat was trying to steal a swig of my pineapple juice!

  7. LOTS of yummy Vietnamese food with my Host Sister Mai

phở - a signature vietnamese dish, oftentimes eaten at breakfast or for dinner. i enjoyed this particular bowl at 7 o'clock in the morning :]

oh so good! here we have rolled phở, french fries [who knew the vietnamese were a fan of french fries?! but they are!], and fried corn [another surprisingly popular dish]  :]

a "doner kebab," otherwise known as a delicious meat and vegetable sandwich. these were very popular in hanoi.

8. Men getting their hair cut on the side of the street

a nice, old man getting his hair trimmed up.

9. Ate at the delicious Joma Café

fate placed us at a guesthouse right around the corner from this place! haha

the bagel egger... yum!

10. Saw lots of different items for sale on the back of bicycles

11. Went for ice cream on the lake [Westlake] with Barbara!  So delicious.

all three of our asia term guys went for the banana splits.

my ice cream!

12. Saw lots of Saint Joseph’s Cathedral 

they lit it up beautifully at night.

13. Learned about the magic of the “twisty straw!”

these were all over vietnam and i loved them!

14. Performed the “YMCA” (or “free dance”) with Aaron Oppregard, Erin Salisbury, Noah Banchy, and Erin Brandt at the COE-ULIS gala.

costumes weren't the easiest to come by, especially due to the fact that all of us [especially the guys] are much larger than your average vietnamese individual. from the left we have: a cowboy [me of course! the trip's resident texan :], a sailor, a construction worker, a real vietnamese cop, and what we decided was an escaped prisoner!