Today is Saturday and and I think our rhythms are beginning to make the switch to Vietnam time! This am the girls woke up at the late hour of 4 am but this time Nina did not turn on Asian cartoons at full blast. She thoughtfully waited until 5 and tortured her sister instead for the hour in between!We arrive for breakfast at the little downstairs restauruant promptly at 630 and have our usual baguette and soup yummy breakfast!
We are trying to head out to Vung tau but the weekends are booked and we will spend one more night in HCMC then take the hydrofoil with our multitudinous luggage and check in to the Vung Tau IntourCo . Hotel for 4 or 5 nights .
Last night we met with the family of Nina's Vietnamese teacher Teresa, Teresa is one of 10 siblings born in Saigon. She and 3 of the siblings live in North America now and the rest remain in Vietnam including her 87 yr old mother.
We brought a few things with us to deliver to Teresa's sister Phat and brother in law Kuong . They met us in our hotel lobby and brought us a huge basket of local beautiful fruit all labelled with the proper names to help us in our language aquisition! Tran the youngest daughter
peeled one of each kind and showed us how to eat it properly!
Tran is in grade 12 and takes the university entrance exams this year. That means she attends school from 730 am until 1130am, 130 til 430pm and then extra night classes from 7 until 9!! She studies English and speaks really well, but said she doesn't get to practice too much. Music is not "popular " to study and no other languages are studied except in a club or if a group of people wish to study independently. All education has to be paid for and night classes are extra. Some scholarships are available at the university level for very good students. If ones family cannot pay for education their is the option of a discount or free classes run by a religious organization.
Brian is switching our bags to a new room for the night so I better go and help!!
Bye for now!
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