feel the crunch

This morning, we took a car from Hoi An to Da Nang to get a flight to Hanoi. We got in just fine and took a taxi back to the Hanoi School of Public Health. I moved into my dorm and immediately recognized the desperate need for laundry detergent. Our roommates took us to get notebooks and pens, shampoo, conditioner, soap, and laundry detergent. Once we finished shopping, the downpour started. We ran from the last shop to an alleyway to get lunch. We ate something that sounded like it was called "nuc mum." It was a sweet broth with papaya bits in it with pork and pork meatballs and, of course, rice noodles. It was delicious.

After running back to school through the crazy downpour, I did some laundry and hung it outside to dry. Thankfully, the rain had stopped, though I wonder if anything will every dry in this oppressive humidity. By the time I squaredaway my dresser and had everything unpacked, I realized that I didn't have much. It's kind of nice to not have a lot of stuff with me.

My roommate, Ngan, is very sweet. She and I understand the majority of what the other says. Sometimes I ask her to repeat what she's said and sometimes I have to rephrase things for her, but overall we communicate pretty well. I got Pho for dinner with some of my American classmates and came back to the room where my roommate was watching Glee on her laptop. She told me that her mother had stopped by to drop off food for us. I want then offered pigs' ear salad. There are various greens and shredded pigs' ear. It tasted good, but I don't know if I can handle the cartiledge crunch.

Everyone is so accommodating and friendly. Every one of the Vietnamese students that I've met is excited and engaged. They offer to help with whatever I could need.

I have a really great feeling about this semester. I'm definitely ready to start my classes. I'll try to post pictures of the school and more details of my classes soon!