I guess it isn't pulled pork

On Thursday, Maeve and I went for a run in the afternoon around the nicer lake. It was bustling with older people exercising, kids playing soccer, men fishing and couples hanging out in the shade. The lake had a culture all its own, and Maeve and I were lucky to be able to both experience it and get some exercise. There was a young boy walking with his family, and, when we ran up beside him, he took off running ahead of us. I let him go for a little bit, but then I opened my stride and overtook him in seconds. He walked off pouting, but I got a kick out of it.

For dinner that night, we went to this random street restaurant that Maeve, Kim, and Allison had discovered. You sat down at these tables lining the sidewalk and the road and watched them make everything right at this giant grill. We ate chicken wings (the whole wing not just the middle part), ribs, this sweet potato-like root vegetable, and flattened sweet bread. Since they made everything on the same grill, everything had this similar smoky taste, but, at the same time, everything was individually delicious.

Dr. Bennett gave me a movie for us to watch called Hollywood to Hanoi.  It's about this woman who is Vietnamese, but immigrated to the U.S. after the American War. She ran away from home as a teenager to go to Hollywood and get famous. She was not a very impressive actress, but you can tell that she has a lot of spunk and doesn't give up easily. The movie didn't flow super well, but it still had some great things to show. It followed her journey back to Hanoi to find family and talk with people about their experiences in the war and its aftermath. It was an interesting watch.

Yesterday's lecture was given by a man working with PEPFAR through the CDC here. He grew up in Lake Norman, NC and went to NC State, so we bonded over some good Carolina times. His lecture was about monitoring and evaluation as well as some explanation of PEPFAR and its longevity. Vietnam's HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment is largely funded by PEPFAR and other international programs and agencies. As that funding begins to phase out, Vietnam will need to find alternate sources.

Friday night, we went to a Bia Hoi. There are loads of them around. They sell super cheap, local draft beer. By the time we got to the one we would stay at, they said that they were out of the local draft. We sat down and got different beer (which was coincidentally more expensive). Some guys sat down next to us, and it turns out that they were from NC as well: Smithfield and Raleigh. They had just graduated from ECU.  We talked about North Carolina and their travels thus far. It was nice to meet someone from so close to home!