I Think I'm Forgetting English

So we've only been here for 3 days and it's been a whirlwind. Currently, we are in Can Tho (Dan just corrected me on the proper spelling of a Vietnamese word- I originally wrote To), which is a beautiful city in the Mekong Delta. We are waiting to get on a floating ship for dinner, and tomorrow we will wake up to see the floating markets by 5am. We are hoping to post up lots of pictures within the next few days, but for now, my words will have to do!

This morning we went to one of the four islands off of My To, where we saw monkeys, went on a kayak, saw a coconut candy factory (except that it was less of a factory and more of an outdoor work area) and the land of the Coconut Monk, who ate only coconuts for years and founded the Coconut religion, which died along with him in 1990.

I can't begin to explain how helpful my relatives have been, as they've taken time off of work to take us on personalized tours that would cost foreigners much more. Actually, I don't even think expensive tours can provide the caring insight that my extended family is giving us and I am extremely grateful. Oh and their English is even better than my parents!

Yesterday, we ate so well in My To- a 7 course meal for 7 people cost a whopping $35. Seriously. Then, we went deep into the Ben Tre Province, where my parents grew up. The guidebook mentioned the area, but we dove much deeper into the thick of things. There was an outhouse covered in rice paper for privacy and I peed with a tree frog right in front of my face. TMI much? It poured rain for maybe 10 minutes, which was fun- offroading in mud. We visited my grandparent's graves and my uncle's house where we watched people climb ladders made of bamboo to cut down coconuts- something that tourists in Hawaii pay money to see (my relatives were really amused by that fact). We ate fresh caught crawfish and rice porridge with banana flower, a very unique rarity.

Vietnam has changed incredibly since I came here 10 years ago. There are less beggars (due to government control), and much MUCH more development. It is especially interesting to explain America to Vietnamese people. Just as most Americans cannot imagine Vietnam, the Vietnamese are in awe that American stores all have private doors and that American freeways prohibit pedestrains and do not have people selling food on the sides, etc. It makes me wish I could take everyone back home with me to show them.

Lastly, I cannot even begin to explain what the streets are like. It's constant- there are no stoplights, no stop signs, and absolutely no flinching when people cross the street. At first we were terrified, but now I feel like a natural. There are little kids on motorcycles hanging on their parents that are totally calm. Dan took a ton of pictures so that we could post them. Our first day in Saigon, my cousin took us to a fancy coffee shop downtown (I felt like I was in Paris- more on that later) and when he went to parallel park his car in a tight spot, a policeman came and literally pushed the car in front of us so that he could fit. Awesome.

More to come within the next few days- we will be returning to Saigon to do all the touristy things there. By then, my English will probably be much worse off. Dan is totally making fun of me because I'm having such a hard time translating things into English for him (even my cousins are correcting me) because I've been using my Vietnamese so much. Until then, chao!