I'd hoped to do a New Year/ One Word 2013 post before the trip, but that didn't happen so I may be well into 2013 before my first 'official' post of the year.
I'm not sure how much time I will have to blog while I am in Vietnam, but I know that the more I write in the moment- the more I will remember! And this way the kids can follow along at home.
My flight was uneventful. I would HIGHLY recommend the book Love Does by Bob Goff if you have not yet read it. I arrived in Hanoi last night and got checked into the hotel around midnight. I was so excited to be able to Skype with Jimmy and the kids right away. SB and Davis saw me on the computer and said "mommy!". I could hear Gabre come running and saying "Mommy's home". She soon saw- I was not home, just on the computer. But she seemed pleased by that.
We started at the market where shopping is done daily. The meat from the market averages about 3-4 hours from slaughter to table. It is delivered fresh here in the morning, where these women chop it and sell it. Around noon, it is all gone and the women take a siesta. They then come back for round two around 2:30.
We also saw lots of other produce, seafood, and frogs for sale!
The Vietnamese food in the north differs from the middle and southern regions by it's Chinese influence. It also tends to be heartier because it is much colder here in the North. The dishes are simple with only a few ingredients, but elegant.
After our tour around the market (where it important to watch out for scooters) we went back to the cooking centre to begin preparing the dishes. Paige had to depart for a meeting at this point, so Jane, Elizabeth and I were prepared to cook with 4 others from Australia. We had a great time, and the food turned out quite well. My favorite was a chile sauce for the spring rolls. I pretty much dipped everything in it. Can't wait to make it (aka- give Jimmy the recipe to make it) when I get home!
I'm not sure how much time I will have to blog while I am in Vietnam, but I know that the more I write in the moment- the more I will remember! And this way the kids can follow along at home.
My flight was uneventful. I would HIGHLY recommend the book Love Does by Bob Goff if you have not yet read it. I arrived in Hanoi last night and got checked into the hotel around midnight. I was so excited to be able to Skype with Jimmy and the kids right away. SB and Davis saw me on the computer and said "mommy!". I could hear Gabre come running and saying "Mommy's home". She soon saw- I was not home, just on the computer. But she seemed pleased by that.
This morning Paige (founder and director of Global Foundation), Elizabeth (audiologist from Utah State University) and I walked to the Hanoi Cooking School where we met Jane (Audiologist and AVT also here on the trip). The school was started by a chef from Australia who came here with her husband to do a 2 year sabbatical. They helped start a school for the street children here in Vietnam in order for them to learn a successful trade. She has now begun a cooking school for tourists to have some fun and learn about Vietnamese Cusine.
We started at the market where shopping is done daily. The meat from the market averages about 3-4 hours from slaughter to table. It is delivered fresh here in the morning, where these women chop it and sell it. Around noon, it is all gone and the women take a siesta. They then come back for round two around 2:30.
We also saw lots of other produce, seafood, and frogs for sale!
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| Quail Eggs |
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| Cleaning Frogs |
The Vietnamese food in the north differs from the middle and southern regions by it's Chinese influence. It also tends to be heartier because it is much colder here in the North. The dishes are simple with only a few ingredients, but elegant.
After our tour around the market (where it important to watch out for scooters) we went back to the cooking centre to begin preparing the dishes. Paige had to depart for a meeting at this point, so Jane, Elizabeth and I were prepared to cook with 4 others from Australia. We had a great time, and the food turned out quite well. My favorite was a chile sauce for the spring rolls. I pretty much dipped everything in it. Can't wait to make it (aka- give Jimmy the recipe to make it) when I get home!
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| Making a tomato sauce (the chef did not approve of the size I cut my tomatoes) |
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| Enjoying what we cooked. |
After lunch we walked back to our hotel. I had a couple of hours of down time and then a mother and her two year old daughter came to her hotel. Bi has had a cochlear implant for almost a year and is doing quite well. She has over 300 words, and was so fun to play with. Wish I had some pictures of her to post!
One of the faculty from Hanoi University took us out to dinner tonight. The food was good, but my jet lag set in and I knew it was time to get back to the hotel. Tomorrow we will start at Hanoi University at 8am (which will be 8pm on Wednesday evening at home).
Love the market pics! You are in the trenches! Enjoy :)
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