vietnam: day 2

we got up pretty early and had breakfast at home.  then we went to daewoo hotel to change money, and then to hanoi towers for lunch.  after that will's cousin and wife dropped us off in the old quarters of hanoi.  we walked around a bit, but it was super hot and humid. we went to the ho chi minh mausoleum and tried to go to the museum but it was closed.  so we went back to the old quarter, had ice cream at fanny and then went home.

vietnam was really a shock for me that day.  it is a pretty poor country, so it is very cheap for americans. it was such a change from seoul that it took me a day to get used to it.  also, there's no subway here, so we take the taxi everywhere, and we usually negotiate an amount ahead of time so as not to get cheated.  and the hardest part for me, is that it's really really hot.  i cannot emphasize how hot it is here!  and humid.  it completely drains me of energy.

anyways, after that we went out to dinner with will's cousin's wife and two daughters.  will's cousin works for hyundai out here and his kids go to international school.  i've learned there is a small community of koreans and other internationals in similar situations.  the kids are fluent in korean and english, and the older daughter (12) is very curious about america, and also about bi-cultural identity.  we had a good time talking with them as they opened up towards the end of the evening.  oh yeah, lots of seafood and stuff at dinner - like frog legs and turtles.