Today I had to wake up early to be at the FTU (Foreign Trade University) at 9 am for a meeting with all the project members. We discussed a lot of things (for three and a half hours !!), and I think we were very productive. We'll be very busy with lots of workshops and presentations during our stay here in HCMC, but we'll also have some time to travel around Vietnam (the South) and Cambodia (Angkor Wat). Tomorrow we're going to the Cu Chi Tunnels !!
After the meeting we went to a vietnamese restaurant, where they had snakes, rats, mice, eels, tortoises/turtles, pig ears, and so on in the menu (beside the "normal" stuff of course), and the waiters really didn't speak any english, so we had to show them the fish aquarium and mime the act of drinking until they understood that we wanted a glass of water, it was really funny !! At the end we just ordered some rice, as we couldn't ask them what was in the different dishes ...
This evening I had some spring rolls with my host family, but they weren't the normal fried spring rolls we all know, you had to make them yourself, as follows : First you take a sort of flat round paste made of rice powder, you dip it into water, then you put some vegetables (they look like green branches) on it, some little fish, and some vermicelli, you roll the rice paste to a spring roll (it's harder than it looks sounds !!), you dip it in the fish sauce (they dip a lot of things in the fish sauce), and then you eat it !! I have to admit, didn't expect it to be that good. For desert we had some green mangoes (just mangoes which aren't ripe yet), which we dipped into fish sauce with sugar, and it was too surprisingly good !! If you eat the mango alone it will be too acid, so it's the perfect combination. Again, a really interesting day, you learn a lot here !!
mercredi 31 août 2011
mardi 30 août 2011
3rd Day
Today we met a bit later, at 11 am in our favourite coffee place, at Ben Thanh Market, and we discussed our first excursion outside of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) : The Cu Chi Tunnels. We'll visit them on Thursday (it's a one day trip for only 8$ !!), so more infos concerning this trip in two days =D
After that we took a cab to the best vietnamese pancakes' (banh xeo) place in HCMC, in Dinh Cong Trang street. Those aren't the pancakes we're used to in Europe : They are salty, fried and very thin pancakes with seafood and pork in them (I took mine without pork) and soja beans, and then you have to wrap them in salad leaves and dip them in fish sauce. It's delicious !!
In the afternoon we stroled around in the streets, shopping a bit. We then arrived to the Vietnamese Notre Dame (built by the french and looking exactly like the Notre Dame of Paris), it was funny to see that in the middle of the (very different) other buildings !! At around 3:30 pm we took an other cab and drove to a center for blind people, where we had a really nice one hour long vietnamese massage, by blind people, for less than 2 euros each !!
At 5 we went back to the main bus station and the traffic was even worse than today (I'll show you some photos and videos, it's really not imaginable), but you get used to it very quickly .. And then the most improbable thing happened : I saw Alain, an old class mate from Collège Rousseau, jumping from a motorcycle-taxi and looking for a bus !! I just didn't believe my eyes, we talked a bit and he told me he was staying in Vietnam for 6 months. What a small world !!
This evening I had dinner with my host family again, we had some delicious crab !! The father teached how to say "I love you" in Vietnamese : "Anh yeu em" (a man saying it to a woman) and otherwise "Em yeu anh" (woman saying to a man). He said that if I said that on the street to some one, they would be very happy (I told you the father was very funny!!) ... Later that evening the mother had some women over to make her hand and feet nails, and she invited me to have them done too, it was very nice (one of the women asked me to organize a blind date for her, because she'd like to come to Europe ... But she's married). The Vietnamese are really the most welcoming people !!
After that we took a cab to the best vietnamese pancakes' (banh xeo) place in HCMC, in Dinh Cong Trang street. Those aren't the pancakes we're used to in Europe : They are salty, fried and very thin pancakes with seafood and pork in them (I took mine without pork) and soja beans, and then you have to wrap them in salad leaves and dip them in fish sauce. It's delicious !!
In the afternoon we stroled around in the streets, shopping a bit. We then arrived to the Vietnamese Notre Dame (built by the french and looking exactly like the Notre Dame of Paris), it was funny to see that in the middle of the (very different) other buildings !! At around 3:30 pm we took an other cab and drove to a center for blind people, where we had a really nice one hour long vietnamese massage, by blind people, for less than 2 euros each !!At 5 we went back to the main bus station and the traffic was even worse than today (I'll show you some photos and videos, it's really not imaginable), but you get used to it very quickly .. And then the most improbable thing happened : I saw Alain, an old class mate from Collège Rousseau, jumping from a motorcycle-taxi and looking for a bus !! I just didn't believe my eyes, we talked a bit and he told me he was staying in Vietnam for 6 months. What a small world !!
This evening I had dinner with my host family again, we had some delicious crab !! The father teached how to say "I love you" in Vietnamese : "Anh yeu em" (a man saying it to a woman) and otherwise "Em yeu anh" (woman saying to a man). He said that if I said that on the street to some one, they would be very happy (I told you the father was very funny!!) ... Later that evening the mother had some women over to make her hand and feet nails, and she invited me to have them done too, it was very nice (one of the women asked me to organize a blind date for her, because she'd like to come to Europe ... But she's married). The Vietnamese are really the most welcoming people !!
lundi 29 août 2011
2nd Day
I woke up this morning, feeling great !! My host sister brought me to the bus stop (we didn't find it at first because they had removed the sign !), and she explained to me how it works : Basically you wait at the stop until a bus passes but there are no fixed schedules and of course the bus never really stops, you have to get on while it is still moving ... So very funny !! And my host sister warned me : The bus drivers drive even more crazily than the motorcycle drivers !!
I arrived at Ben Thanh Market (all the busses have their terminal there) where I was meeting my two new friends, Melanie and Carlijn, who are also members of the organisation I'm doing my internship in, and we stroled around the whole day, looking at all the funny shops, the little markets, and trying to cross the road without being run over each time (basically you must never stop walking and with a little luck the motorcycles let you pass by). We had a very nice lunch in a vietnamese restaurant, every thing for less than
3€ each !!
At about 4 pm. we returned to the Ben Thanh Market, where I tried (!!) to get into the right bus, but as it was rush hour and the bus station is right at the boarder of a huge round about, you can imagine what kind of agitation must have been there at that moment. Simply : There were motorcycles and people e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e, and also busses letting people in and out, driving through the masses of people waiting or running, the cars honking at every little obstacle, and me trying to find the right bus. When I finally saw it, I ran across the station and wanted to get in but the driver said something in Vietnamese and pointed at the other end of the station, where the other busses were driving off. So I thought ok and I ran to the other side, but the bus didn't stop and drove off. A bit confused, I went to ask some one and they told me just to wait there - that's what I understood - so when the next bus arrived I wanted to get in but it wasn't even really stopping and the driver pointed his finger to the other direction (where I had been waiting at first), so well I didn't have an other choice but to go there and wait again, a bit frustrated ...
Luckily, the next one finally let me in and I showed the ticket collector the name of my station, and she was kind enough to tell me where to get off. But in the mean time it had started to rain, and in Vietnam when it starts to rain, it's not only a few drops, it's directly the flood !! So by the time I was home, I was completely wet, my shoes and my bag as well, and I was feeling like the only dumb person in whole Vietnam without a rain jacket or an umbrella ...
This evening I had my first meal with my host family, and I must say it was delicious !! They are really charming people, and even though they can't speak very well english (except for my host sister) they still find a way to make conversation (the father is really funny : He told me that he eats one or two raw chili peppers a day and that if he doesn't have them in front of him when he eats, he doesn't find the food very tasty) ... Tomorrow I will meet with the girls again and we will prepare some day trips in Vietnam and also a three days trip to Cambodia (Angkor Wat) and then we might have a nice asian massage !! Have a good night every body !!
I arrived at Ben Thanh Market (all the busses have their terminal there) where I was meeting my two new friends, Melanie and Carlijn, who are also members of the organisation I'm doing my internship in, and we stroled around the whole day, looking at all the funny shops, the little markets, and trying to cross the road without being run over each time (basically you must never stop walking and with a little luck the motorcycles let you pass by). We had a very nice lunch in a vietnamese restaurant, every thing for less than
3€ each !!
At about 4 pm. we returned to the Ben Thanh Market, where I tried (!!) to get into the right bus, but as it was rush hour and the bus station is right at the boarder of a huge round about, you can imagine what kind of agitation must have been there at that moment. Simply : There were motorcycles and people e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e, and also busses letting people in and out, driving through the masses of people waiting or running, the cars honking at every little obstacle, and me trying to find the right bus. When I finally saw it, I ran across the station and wanted to get in but the driver said something in Vietnamese and pointed at the other end of the station, where the other busses were driving off. So I thought ok and I ran to the other side, but the bus didn't stop and drove off. A bit confused, I went to ask some one and they told me just to wait there - that's what I understood - so when the next bus arrived I wanted to get in but it wasn't even really stopping and the driver pointed his finger to the other direction (where I had been waiting at first), so well I didn't have an other choice but to go there and wait again, a bit frustrated ...
Luckily, the next one finally let me in and I showed the ticket collector the name of my station, and she was kind enough to tell me where to get off. But in the mean time it had started to rain, and in Vietnam when it starts to rain, it's not only a few drops, it's directly the flood !! So by the time I was home, I was completely wet, my shoes and my bag as well, and I was feeling like the only dumb person in whole Vietnam without a rain jacket or an umbrella ...
This evening I had my first meal with my host family, and I must say it was delicious !! They are really charming people, and even though they can't speak very well english (except for my host sister) they still find a way to make conversation (the father is really funny : He told me that he eats one or two raw chili peppers a day and that if he doesn't have them in front of him when he eats, he doesn't find the food very tasty) ... Tomorrow I will meet with the girls again and we will prepare some day trips in Vietnam and also a three days trip to Cambodia (Angkor Wat) and then we might have a nice asian massage !! Have a good night every body !!
dimanche 28 août 2011
1st Day in Vietnam !
Hello every one !!
So after three days in Bangkok I finally took the plane this afternoon for Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam !! I arrived at 5pm and there was a group of smiling and shouting girls to welcome me, I was very touched. My host sister was also there and so we took a taxi to her home, about fifteen minutes from the airport, well located, in Phu Nhuan district (you all know where it is right ?).
The house is relatively big and the family is really nice and warm, I think I am going to enjoy my stay here very much ! After having unpacked my things, I was picked up by a "taxi driver" (not in a car but in a motorcycle !!) and he brought me to one of the intern's place, where the first meeting had already begun.
Now let me tell you about the ride : It was one of the scariest and funniest rides I had ever experienced !! Every one, but really EVERY one has a motorcycle, they are usually two people on them, but there can be three or even four (!!), a whole family on just one little motorcycle, it's juste insane ! Luckily, they don't drive too fast (about 40km/h), but the problem is : There are no rules, no signs, no speed limits, no crosswalks, and almost no red lights. It's total chaos, but they all manage - with a lot of honking - to find their way through the very dense traffic. But I must say : I was scared !
So when I finally arrived at the meeting's place, I found a group of 7 people, all very nice (two other foreign girls like me) and we had a very productive three hour long first meeting about fundraising. We will meet on next Thursday, and until then - the Vietnamese have to go to university - we have a lot of time to discover the city, I'm very excited about tomorrow already !!
So after three days in Bangkok I finally took the plane this afternoon for Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam !! I arrived at 5pm and there was a group of smiling and shouting girls to welcome me, I was very touched. My host sister was also there and so we took a taxi to her home, about fifteen minutes from the airport, well located, in Phu Nhuan district (you all know where it is right ?).
The house is relatively big and the family is really nice and warm, I think I am going to enjoy my stay here very much ! After having unpacked my things, I was picked up by a "taxi driver" (not in a car but in a motorcycle !!) and he brought me to one of the intern's place, where the first meeting had already begun.
Now let me tell you about the ride : It was one of the scariest and funniest rides I had ever experienced !! Every one, but really EVERY one has a motorcycle, they are usually two people on them, but there can be three or even four (!!), a whole family on just one little motorcycle, it's juste insane ! Luckily, they don't drive too fast (about 40km/h), but the problem is : There are no rules, no signs, no speed limits, no crosswalks, and almost no red lights. It's total chaos, but they all manage - with a lot of honking - to find their way through the very dense traffic. But I must say : I was scared !So when I finally arrived at the meeting's place, I found a group of 7 people, all very nice (two other foreign girls like me) and we had a very productive three hour long first meeting about fundraising. We will meet on next Thursday, and until then - the Vietnamese have to go to university - we have a lot of time to discover the city, I'm very excited about tomorrow already !!
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