Teacher, Tailor, Solider, Spy?

This year for Christmas, Jeff and I decided to get some clothes tailor made for us.  Buying off of the rack in Vietnam is, well, impossible for us.  Even if I could shoe horn my way into clothes, they would be too short. Neither of us fit in the mold here.  No worries though, there are enough tailors in this country willing to outfit us in style.

Before we went on our Christmas vacation, we ventured into the Old Quarter.  In the past, the Old Quarter has usually resulted in tears (for me) and general unhappiness (for Jeff).  The Old Quarter is a rough place.  It is jammed packed with people, motor bikes, and a heap of backpackers.  We typically get lost, hungry, and dehydrated.  Never the less, we sallied forth to Hang Gai street.  Hang Gai street is a street devoted to silk and tailoring.  Jeff was the first to be outfitted.  He ordered a suit and three shirts all for $320.  We picked them up today and the suit and shirts fit Jeff perfectly!

We picked out every part of the suit, from the cloth on the outside to the silk lining on the inside.

Every girl is crazy about a sharp dressed man!

My tailor adventure was less successful.  I ordered three dresses and I was really excited about all three of them.  Unfortunately,when I showed up at the shop only two dresses were made.  They were two simple dresses and the tailoring quality just wasn't there.  The dresses cost about $28 each.  Not too bad but I won't go back to that shop.  I think my next tailoring adventure will be at the same shop that Jeff got his suit made at.  

Overall, our day in the Old Quarter was a success.  No tears on my part and we actually knew where we were.  A huge improvement over almost every other trip! 

Dog Days of Summer and Personal Growth

Yesterday it was SO SO hot!  The sun even burned the smog out of the air and there was a heat haze around the city.  Blue sky is a rarity in Hanoi.  It typically has a grey tinge.   All the locals say that it is now Autumn. WHAT? It is blazing hot but I guess it is all relative. Autumn marks the time of year when they have the Moon Festival. Everyone eats moon cakes and tries to atone for a Vietnamese lady who long ago peed on a very important Banyan tree.  Bad luck for that Vietnamese lady.  Peeing anywhere you want is not limited to long ago Vietnamese people.  I see men, women, and children peeing in the street everyday.  I guess I'm lucky they aren't pooping? AMIRIGHT?? Bright side and all that.

This weekend is a long one because of a Vietnamese national holiday that falls on Monday.    Apparently, it is the day Vietnam declared independence (from the French?) and formed the Republic of Northern Vietnam.  Everyone has their Vietnamese flags flying.  Our guard has had his family in the foyer every day feasting and yelling at each other.  By yelling, I mean just talking at their normal volume starting at 4:30 in the MORNING.  

Jeff was off to Ho Chi Minh on last Friday night.  We met our co-workers for Friday after work drinks at a sports bar near our house.  Jeff drove us up and then took a taxi to the airport.  After he left, I realized he took my bike keys with him to Ho Chi Minh!  In the US, I probably would have cried, called a locksmith, and paid way too much for an extra set of keys.  Vietnam Janet remembered she had an extra key in her bike seat.  After talking to co-workers, they suggested we ask the garage attendants to break into my bike to get the extra key.  I explained my predicament with sign language.  Got my point across and watched in fascination as the guard stuck his hand into the seat and fished out my extra key.  Easy!  Eye opening!  I need to change the way I go about solving problems.  First world fixes vs. third world fixes are two very different things. 

-Janet

Absolutes-a new personal philosophy

Before we moved to Hanoi.  I used the phrase, "I never...." to describe all of the things I wouldn't do here.  I said things like "I'll never ride a motor bike."  I broke that absolute statement on the third day of being here.  I said that I would only take taxis.  That is simply not possible or sustainable. A major life lesson I have learned is to avoid absolute statements.  Let the circumstances dictate the outcome.  You can't always control or predict what life hurls at you.

P.S.  I ran over two rats on my motor bike commute to work this morning.  DISGUSTING!