On My Own in Vietnam!

Hello everyone! I am sorry for not posting in a long time but things here have been (great) but so busy! I have a lot to catch up on in my writing, including our most recent and last excursion to Cuc Phuong National Forest as part of our Northern Excursion, but first I want to update you all on where I am right now. It is now about 3 PM on Thursday and I am sitting outside my guesthouse room in Hanoi on a crammed little patio of bamboo chairs and potted plants overlooking other apartment buildings nearby. I can hear some honking and the sweeping of the woman beneath our patio, but in general, this area is refreshingly quiet. Most important to point out, I am wearing long paints and a sweatshirt, the sun is shining, it is not raining, and there is zero humidity. The weather in Hanoi is absolutely perfect (minus the flood ordeal which was devastating to the city about a week ago). The weather reminds me of early October days in North Carolina when the humidity starts to become less intense as fall puts its first foot in the door. That crisp, fall air is exactly what it is like here. Our guesthouse is about a five minute walk from a huge lake in Hanoi, which is called the Green Lake because the water is greener than evergreen trees. People walk and run around the lake at all hours of the day and there is a beautiful pagoda in the center of the lake. Last night, I went for a longer run around the lake at around 6 PM once it got dark. With a full moon overhead, a breeze, and cool temperatures outside, it couldn't have been more perfect. I have to say escaping the oppressive heat of HCMC is the biggest relief I have sensed in a long time!

Yesterday our independent study period began. I feel a strange combination of both being overwhelmed and simultaneously relieved. The few days prior to yesterday and after our Cuc Phuong Forest excursion, we had our final paper and various other academic obligations to complete before starting ISP that got a bit stressful, so in many ways being "set free" yesterday was a relief. I now have an entire month of time that I get to budget entirely by myself, without the structure of any academic program whatsoever. Granted I have a massive research project that would terrify me to complete in the United States let alone in Vietnam, but I am really excited. I have set up all my contacts at the National Nutrition Institute, will be conducting interviews with micronutrient malnourished women in the countryside, and will even be accompanying my advisor on nutrition field research in a nearby village on Saturday. I promise to explain more about my project as time goes on. Despite this sense of liberation I feel, it is a bit scary to be on my own away from the eight other SIT students I have spent intensive time with the last two and a half months. The only real contact I have with my program director is updating phone calls here and there plus my $19 a day stipend for housing and food. Although there are a few other SIT students in Hanoi while I am here, I am living on the other side of town by myself, other than these few days with Danielle. I feel more vulnerable to the hardships of living in this country, but at the same time very excited and honestly feel ready for this experience. I think about what my life would be like now in the US if I hadn't gone abroad. I would be in the library studying some concept or book or writing a paper. Instead, I am in Vietnam studying nutrition, which I've come to realize is something I am really passionate about, with firsthand contact with people here and life here. I can't even imagine how I will look back on this experience one day in the next few years when I am stuck in a cubicle in some office building. This is so energizing, real, exciting, and unique. I am not letting myself forget that, even when things get challenging!

This morning I spent at the World Bank Library, which is the most pristine academic building I have yet to see in Vietnam. The resources were fantastic for me. It was actually reenergizing to use actual books for research rather than internet articles. The library windows overlook the Opera House of Hanoi, which is a beautiful building reminiscent of Versailles in France (it was built during French occupation). I think I may be going back there to do more research because it is both a comprehensive library and an enjoyable place to work. Last night, Danielle and I (my roommate for the next few days before she leaves to Danang for her research, at which point I will move into a single at this guesthouse) went out for a nicer dinner near the American Club and ended up walking around the lake and meeting up with a few other SIT'ers in Hanoi for some $.30 beer in the old quarter. There is such an interesting mix of Westerners and Vietnamese in that neighborhood, which I far prefer over HCMC's backpacking district. As you can tell, I am just loving Hanoi and can't wait to spend the next few weeks here before I return to HCMC for the last segment of my research. This is a city that still has many of the same infrastructure problems that HCMC experiences, but the cooler temperatures and different type of people here (which is almost visibly apparent) make the day to day experience of living here much more enjoyable. In Hanoi you can use an umbrella (in HCMC there are too many people to even think about opening an umbrella). You can walk on the sidewalk and not touch anyone else if you wish not to. You can even walk around and not be harassed constantly by motorbike drivers, cyclo drivers, and fruit-selling ladies. Although I'm not sure if it's my growing confidence in the Vietnamese ways that make some of these observations true or not, but in general I am much more at ease here. I have even used more of my Vietnamese skills here and people are so entertained. For lunch today, for example, Danielle and I ate the most amazing bun bo, which is beef vermicelli soup, sitting on little red plastic stools on the side of the road. We ordered completely in Vietnamese and even had a mini conversation with the women working about how old we are, how long we have been here so far, and how delicious the food is. Obviously the content of our conversation was nothing complex, but I'm beginning to realize how necessary basic Vietnamese language skills are in order to experience the most authentic elements of Vietnamese culture, such as street food eaten off of little plastic stools. A small interesting side note – all the street vendors like the one we ate at for lunch are nomadic. By that I mean that this amazing bowl of soup we had for lunch today may not be there tomorrow or even in a few hours. Unless it is an official restaurant, the vendors just move around the streets for the most part. It's like the Vietnamese culinary disappearing act!

Even though I knew this entry would be extremely long, I did not think it would take me this long to reach the point to talk about the latest excursion. I think for the sake of your eyes and sanity, I will stop here for now and use my next post to write about the forest, tarantula experiences, Obama victory in Vietnam, and Halong Bay experiences. Miss you all! Sending love from Vietnam.