I Love Food!

I know I just posted a few days ago, but this deserves a post!

DING DING DING!!! We have a winner... last night I had THE best meal I have had in Vietnam so far. Now understand that I really love all Vietnamese food. I look forward to meal times more than I look forward to anything else while living in this country. I rarely have a bad experience (other than some mild food sickness or.... loose stoolage).

Ok, so understanding that I really love the food here, now get this- the meal I had last night BLEW every other out of the water! It was delectable beyond words, so good that I'm writing an entry about it. And the best part about it- it was free!

I was on my way out of my apartment building. The entrance/ exit door leads out into a garage sort of space where the maid and the two security guys usually hang out. This time they were sitting around a hot pot eating dinner and drinking beer. When they saw me leaving, one got up and moved his chair so that I could pass by him. The other offered me a bowl, but it looked very soupy and I'm not very big on soup. In fact, I could probably count the number of times I've eaten soup here on one hand.

I went out and bought some street food for dinner from a food stand that I regularly order from. I was reentering my building when the security guy again asked me to take a seat and offered me a bowl. I really don't care for soup, but I sat down this time just because I saw some seafood in the pot and I love seafood. So I sat down, and the three of them got very excited just as most locals do in the presence of foreigners. He poured me a beer and filled my little bowl with noodles and some of this meat and seafood stew. Holy crap- it was AMAZING. I can't even describe the taste, it was something I had never experienced. A perfect blend of sweet, sour, veggies, seafood, beef, chicken, and lime, followed by an intense spiciness- but not a painful spicy. It was more of a tingly sensation in my mouth that I think is typical with fresh hot peppers. I'm sure they knew I loved it, cause every time I took a bite, it was followed by a loud "mmmmmmm!!!" Haha...

They kept serving me more stew and noodles before I could even get to the bottom of the bowl- it was impossible for me to finish! I just kept eating and eating. And the same went for my beer- I'd take two sips and they would fill it back up to the top! Loved it.

Needless to say, I went back up to my room about an hour later full from the best meal I've had in Vietnam so far.

Ughh... so good.

Pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As promised... enjoy!

A bat found sleeping in my school

Merry Christmas!

Traffic

Mue Ne- Beach side bar

 Street food

Church in Saigon

View from hotel in Mui Ne

Bar in Mue Ne

Mue Ne beach

Lot's of fishing boats

Kite boarding at Mue Ne

Hotel pool in Mue Ne

Saigon traffic- the big building in the background just opened. it's the tallest in the city

More Mue Ne- sorry for the random order

First time eating Barracuda

Praying Mantis!!!!

Happy New Year in Mue Ne!

Now THIS is street food- what i will miss the most about Vietnam. This meal cost about $1 and you get pork, sausage, spinach, stuffed tofu, and steamed rice.

More street food- stuffed tofu and stuffed squid

Vietnamese culture- they like to sleep in the office sometimes

My kids!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! (This is actually for the lunar New Year next week)

comment!

Happy New Year!

My NY resolution is to fast from fast food. haha...

Anyway, it really is to stop eating fast food, not that I eat it a lot. But it's been my resolution for the past three or four years and every time I give in sometime around June when I come back home to Long Valley and pass by the Hackettestown White Castle. MMMMMM!!!!!!!!! This time I'm sticking to it!

Nothing much new here in 'Nam. There are still lights and "Happy New Year 2011" signs everywhere. Seeing as when I arrived in August, there were "Happy New Year 2010" signs still up, I expect these wont be going anywhere soon. The Tet Holiday is coming up soon in a couple of weeks- the Lunar New Year and the biggest holiday in Vietnam. I've never celebrated Tet, but since they gave me ten days of paid vacation, I am more than happy to do so!

Oh yea... and backing up a few weeks, I spent the New Year in Mui Ne which was great. New Years Eve I spent at a beach party at a bar on the shore with a huge bon fire, it was sweet! Everyone was dancing around the fire, jumping in the water, and having a "good time" if we're keeping this PG. New Years day i spent laying on the beach. It was a relaxing day, and since Mui Ne is apparently world-renowned for kite-boarding, it was fun to watch the hundreds of kite boarders surfing along the coast. I wanted to try it, but lessons were 400 bucks. I'd rather buy a boogie board....

I had parent-teacher meetings this weekend at one school I teach, Tran Hung Dao. They weren't bad, the parents there are known to be very nice and understanding. This weekend will be a totally different story at Le Ngoc Han. I have a total of fifty-eight individual meetings with hot-headed parents who all know for a fact that their child will be the next man (or woman) on the moon. And to be honest, they’re not too fond of us native English speaking teachers for some reason. We've allotted each parent with 5-7 minutes to speak with me along with a translator, and I just know it'll  be 8 at night and I'll still be sitting there answering their questions! I am so sorry for anything I ever put my primary school teachers through!!!

And on another note, I'm stressed about Grad school starting in August. I'm not stressed about actually going, I'm EXTREMELY excited to go. I'm stressed about paying for it! Tuition's gone up and it's really, really expensive! So I'd like anyone who can give me any advice/ ideas to either email me (mkubert1@gmail.com) or leave a comment. I've already applied to at least 10 independent scholarships (and still finding more every day), filled out the FAFSA, investigated work study and assistantships, etc etc etc. Anyone have any innovative ideas? And, yes, first thing my mom said was, "maybe you should take another year off." I really don't want to do that! I'd have to reapply to school, there's no guarantee I'd be readmitted, and a year is a long time.... I just wanna go! First thing my dad said was, "maybe you should go somewhere less expensive." I suppose that's an idea, and I was looking into a few places, but I got into SU and I'd hate to pass on such an awesome opportunity. So any ideas!?

That's all for now. Keep posted- I'll put up a more pictures in a couple days.