The past weekend

yellow my people!!!!

So how are we all? I am getting some feedback but pls feel free to leave a comment to keep up the encouragment.

Ok so, well let me start on Wednesday, a little while ago, but things happened so i must take you back to them. Wednesday we met up with this group of Vietnmese who are learning from an american teacher, but he is currently away and thier looking for a substitute and they found us! (Bridge and i) ok, so they very generously took us out to one of the only cafe's in Song Cong town - its basically nothing there so i was surprised about the cafe facilities accoumpanied by Karioke which is a HUGE hit with the VN - We new two of our Gap friends from Thai Nguyen were comming on thursday and we wanted to show them a good time, so we asked what Song Cong has to offer and what could we show them and they offered to take all 4 of us on a tour on motor bikes. We didnt really think it would work but we agreed and Thursday came and so did both groups of friends. It was really kool. So Song Cong doesnyt have anything to offer, but we were basicall "in a motorcycle gang" riding spread across the road with our cameras and helmets and it was just really cool. We saw a really cool - photos to come soon - and we went for a drive down the industrial part well, Song Cong is the hub of industry work, so we just had a veiw of what there factories look like. There was one sweat shop which was HUGE and blue, and alot of industries like steel and i forgot the others. The sweat shop was pretty distracting. What eles is distracting is the senery (sorry bout the spelling t... :P) It is the true VN look. The rice fields with the cows and the ladies wearing the grass hats and them slowly waving thier way through the fields. its just breathtaking how large and far they streach. there are also photos, but pls be patient, they are comming. i have an idea...

So our new VN friends took us out and our Gap friends had a good time in the end. It was all free too so that was almost a bonus! then Thursday night arrived, and we have been told to go to the school canteen for acheap meal. Very cheap it was - after we met sooo many VN guys who got me absolutly "trollied" and decided to pay for us. Thanks guys!!!! that was very generous. Nah, but before i fell off my chair, i did manage to chow down on some cow stomach, octapus, rice, spinach and other loverly delights so it was worth it. Firday i was sposed to be teaching at 7 am and after like 15 rice wine shots i was gone, so we eneded up in bed at like 10:30. The great place about here is that you can drink to oblivion, and not get a hang over! its great, though as i think i have already said, i have drunk more since i have been here in my ENTIRE life! which is so long i know, but you guys know i dont drink!

Friday morning i was stood up. Thats right my teacher didnt turn up at 7 am unlike myself! not happy jane, but what can you do??? Friday night i had my first private tute with Ms Yen - have i introduced you? Head english teacher and contact for the school - well not with ms yen herself, with half the children in the neighbourhood! there were 11 of them to one of me and they ate me alive. But for 2 hours i kept my head and it all turned out ok. I got paid and the next morning came and so did Hanoi. B and i tend to travel around alot. weather its to Thai Nguyen (lets call it T N) or Hanoi. This means that we are now pretty familiar with the Xe om and there prices and also the buses. Saturday the Xe om dropped us off, we saw a bus comming but thought it was going somewhere other than Hanoi so dissmissed it. The whole bus was basically screaming at us to get on and then we realised why. Our Gap friends from TN were already on there!!! Now let me fill you in on the road. Its pretty major, despite being the size of a match stick and busses travel up and down there like nobodies business. There are like 50 in a n hour. So the likelyhood of us meeting our Gap peeps withough a plan is just CRAZY! We ended up on the same bus and heading into hanoi with a good solid plan on were to get off that puts a most central to Hanoi and were we want to be without paying more money to a Taxi to get us into the city. After our arrival we were walking through this huge Hanoi and we just keep seeing other gappers doing the same as us. It was like "bump into as many people as you can" day like 5 DIFFERENT groups of people, no joke, all ending up in the one place. Silk street. As the name suggests, it is a street dedicated to silk traders. Up untill now, i have struggles to by things, just becuase i can never bring myself to ask. I now have in my possesion: 1.Silk wrap-around skirt. 1.Pure silk sleeping bag and1. absolutly stunning feel good silk dress. Now all i need is shoes... but there are non in my size funnily enough! :D

Saturday night it was one of the gappers birthdays so we all went out to celebrate at something called the Water puppets. Now you ask a VN about this and they say "ahh yeah, there umm... yeah... i saw it when i was like 5... yeah" and you sit there filled with encouragement, but it was something most of us really wanted to go to so we were excited about it more than anything. Afterwards i think that the VN ppls comments are right. There isnt much more you can add... After puppets experience we had a group dinner with all 20 northeners and then headed off to one of Hanois many bars. Dragonfly. mmm. Good times. Crap fooseball. Crap pool. Random sometimes good music (nosebleed section) and a massive smoke room upstairs. I didnt realised it was up there untill i was leaving so dont worry, i still havn't smoked anything dad - despite cheap prices of cigaretts. We got to bed at around 2 and all was sweet. A good time had by all.

Sunday - today - is the moon fesitval. believe it or not there is a full moon, but it also is a day were they celebrate children. There is also moon cake. Now despite my trying some today, i dstill dont know how to describe it. The consistency of unbaked dough, sweet like a cube of sugar and filled with all sorts of stuff. Beef, raw egg, fruit, you name it, it'll be in them. They are generally white, and you are not allowed to eat one unless someone has dought it for you for a present. We had a, well we would call it an end of school class party, but they called it a picnic. More of Ms yens students and they were really shy. There was all sorts of fruits and lollies and jelly cups and moon cakes and soft drink and it was just really awkward to start off with. Then i started some games. We played slaps, Bang, Buzz and this new game i drunkenly learnt called claps which they all loved greatly! it was a huge hit and the 2 hours went very quickly.

That brings you all up to speed, even starting from wednesday. and now i think i will have some late night Pho bo before i head off to bed...

Hope everybody is well and kicking and i will keep you updated!
if anybody wants anything really cheap liek CDs or DVD series pls let me know and i can pick you up something. A big happy birthday to my brown bear :D and my mum.
Love for now
Peace!