Hue, Employment and Pictures

Sorry for not writing sooner. I've been in Hue now for about three days, and I have to say it's amazing- definitely my favorite place in 'Nam so far. It's a pretty small city/ big town, and feels a lot like a college town- Vietnamese style. Actually, I shouldn't say that. Hue has such a heavy French influence that it almost feels like a combining of the two cultures. Although I've never been anywhere in France, the layout of the whole town is much different from anything I've experienced in Vietnam so far- it looks and feels much like how I'd imagine an old French town.

But where you really notice the French influence is the food! Hue has many specialty foods that are seldom found elsewhere in the country, including crepes, special French-Vietnamese pastries, and best of all, Banh Khoai. Banh Khoai is a "pancake" pastry filled with bean sprouts, shrimp, pork, sometimes cheese, and usually a bunch of other delicious goodies. It is also served with homemade peanut sauce. MMMMMMMM.

Anyway, the job situation is looking pretty good. I've started working for a semi-boarding language school across the river called Cilios. It's a really great place to work. All of the teachers, along with the director, have been extremely helpful and friendly. Unfortunately, they are not allowed to provide us with accommodation until our work permits are official, but they are helping us find a cheap house to rent in the mean time, and they have been preparing us with a bounty of helpful links and resources for ESL teaching. I've also been told that Vietnam's "Teacher's Day" is just around the corner- November 22nd- wooo!

Alrighty, so, like the last entry, I figured I would put up a bunch of pictures for the remainder of the post. (Good news- I figured out that I can upload pictures from my camera without the USB chord simply by putting my SD-card into Ben's camera and uploading them from his.) Enjoy, and comment!

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A small bay in Da Nang where we swam and snorkeled



Restaurant/ bar built over a river in Hoi An



View of Da Nang while riding up Monkey Mountain



Da Nang from the very top of the mountain



Monkey Mountain



Doing a little thinking on the very top of Monkey Mt.... very, very high up!



One of over 300 Pagoda's in Hue



The first Christian Church we've seen in Vietnam (Hue)



A nice garden leading up to the previous Church



French Influence in Hue?



More to come!