Good Morning Vietnam!

12/15/12:
During our first night/morning in COMA 6 we met our respective roommates. Anthony, a fellow American, was my roommate and he was volunteering with his wife. Kathryn was staying with Kathleen who is an Aussie (good people:) ) as well as a woman from Japan (Akita) who was very sweet.

Our first day would be filled with a tour of downtown Hanoi. The tour was led by a Vietnamese woman named "Ha" who was trying to improve her English. That being said, she was very good and informative. We experienced our first Vietnamese bus ride (pushing was included), our first street crossing ("just keep walking"), and the beautiful chaos that filled the city. In addition, we saw some tourist sights, including:  the "Literature Temple" and the Hoa Lo Prison ("Hanoi Hilton").

The prison was especially interesting and was first created by the French for political prisoners in Vietnam. It was later utilized by the Northern Vietnamese for POWs (i.e. John McCain) during the Vietnam war.

   

Here I am at the Hanoi Hilton next to replicas of prisoners who were shackled by their ankles. 

Typical sight in Hanoi--tons of motos!

A mess of telephone wires...

A graduation celebration for the high school          

students (posed pictures were quite popular). 

Kathryn and I standing next to  Hoan Kiem Lake in downtown.

Following our day long tour, our tour guide, Ha, took us to one of her favorite street food vendors for some Vietnamese "pho" and cold noodles. The food was great! After that, we went to one of the universities in Hanoi, where our tour guide introduced us to her fellow student friends. They coordinated a market in which they sold various things (clothes, food, etc).  

(The gentleman who made our lunch!)

Following the day long activity, Kathryn and I were ready to crash back at our volunteer housing. There we enjoyed a meal with our new volunteer friends in the common room--such nice people! Did we mention our cook at the volunteer house was amazing?!

Hanoi, Here We Come!

12/13:

After waking up early and having packed the night before, we set out to the San Diego airport destined for Hanoi and excited about our upcoming adventure! We chose Korean Airlines as our carrier due to great reviews by friends, and it turned out to be as good as we anticipated! The service was excellent and the food was the best "plane food" we have ever experienced (especially the "Bibimbop"). This is a traditional Korean dish literally meaning, "mixed rice." Basically warm white rice topped with seasoned vegetables, chili paste and slices of beef!

Kathryn in the Seoul airport . 

The 20+hour flight (layover in Seoul), was definitely exhausting, and by the time we arrived in Vietnam we were ready for bed as it was night time there. Luckily, we found our contact person (Kien) who met us in the Hanoi Airport and took us us in his own tiny car to our volunteer housing. Our volunteer house was named "Coma 6" (pron. "coma"-like the medical condition, "sow" like the pig), and the accommodations were  not exactly "luxury." It was situated approximately 20-30 minutes outside of downtown Hanoi in a rather rural area of town.

Our new home in COMA 6, by the light of day.

Our bunk beds (we were in separate rooms) included mosquito netting, clotheslines, and 3 inch mattresses at that!

Kathryn's first glimpse into our bathrooms (comprised of a shower head and a drain--not enclosed). We were also sure to throw all toilet paper in the wastebaskets after use (not in the toilet), as this was  customary here to compensate for the poor plumbing. 

Notice--shower head and toilet in one room. 

We quickly realized that our new accommodations would be a bit of an adjustment from what we were accustomed to...After arriving at COMA 6, we went to our separate bedrooms and attempted to get some sleep for our first night in our new home!

Headin' South...La Jolla and San Diego

12/10:

For our final destination in the States (before heading to South East Asia) we stayed in La Jolla, CA. Once again, our wonderful friends, Bill and Kim Matzinger were there to welcome us into their home. Although it was only for a few days, it was so nice staying in the Matzinger's cottage 2 blocks from the beach! It was equally as nice catching up with old friends...

Lucky to have such great hosts!

Sun and sand...just blocks away...

We even had time to visit the San Diego Zoo:

                 

During our stay in La Jolla, we also spent time packing/organizing our bags in preparation for our volunteer experience in Vietnam. Both excited and nervous, we could not have imagined what lied ahead of us on the other side of the globe. After an early morning drop off by Mr. Matzinger (thank you!!!) We readied ourselves for an experience of a lifetime! 

The other shore...California

12/3:

Following our brief and somewhat hectic stay in Las Vegas, we hit the road at the crack of dawn to make our way to Calabasas, California, where our family friends, Paul and Peta would so generously put us up. The views of the desert made up for the craziness that is Las Vegas, and finally seeing the coast of California on the Pacific Coast Highway was a welcome sight. 

We were so happy to be greeted by Paul, Peta, and Luna at there beautiful home among the mountains in Malibu Canyon. There, we finally got an opportunity to relax, go for many runs with Luna, and catch up with old friends!

a HUGE thank you to Paul and Peta (our gracious hosts)!!

                                                 Gorgeous views of Malibu Canyon with the fog rolling in!      

                        Luna hanging out on her favorite chair--what a great running partner!

We also got the chance to see some great friends: Alice Goldsmith and Laura and Andrew!! Good times had in the LA neighborhood of  Silverlake!