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!
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!
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