Today I Ate Frog

Skin and all. (Pic below.) And squid. And flowers. And moon cake. And date tea.

Our assignment today and for the next few days is to play as much as possible.

There are going to be inevitable stresses in the coming months. A week from tomorrow we begin teaching full time at the university as first-year teachers. At times we will certainly experience homesickness for the familiarity and comfort (not to mention ease of communication!) of the U.S. And we know basically nothing of the Vietnamese language for navigating in everyday life. Yes, these are bound to cause some stress.

So while we have this opportunity, we’re trying to fall in love with the people and place. To find joy and fun in it, while also being humble learners of the lifestyle and culture. Gratitude and rest are important for longevity in anything we do; we’re taking this time to cultivate that.

 

If you're wondering how the frog and squid bit all fall into that, today we had the wonderful opportunity of being chauferred around part of the city by some of our lovely coworkers. It was a ball. After visiting a museum and having our plans of seeing the old city-center disturbed by rain, we went to an awesome 5-story tea shop. A sit on the ground with low tables, draped fabric ceiling, soft music, beautiful paintings, etc kind of place. For dinner we experienced the "hot pot." Basically a broth with a number of different seasonings/veggies in it, that you then cook meat and other foods in. Think fondue. Yeah, that's where the frog and squid came in. If I could get over the texture and thought, they weren't bad. :) Oh, and did I mention we experienced our first motorbike rides, as well?