'SpongeBob' Mushroom Discovered in the Forests of Borneo

What lives in the rainforest, under a tree?  

Spongiforma squarepantsii!
 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110615142629.htm

Beep

I am convinced that the first thing a Vietnamese person would think after injuring their left thumb is: "Oh no! How will I honk my horn continuously and for no reason with this damaged appendage?"

Only then would they cry: "Ouch!"

Balloon Animals

On the way to one of my teaching gigs the other week I came across a vendor selling balloons and stickers. Since I teach a bunch of kindergarten and pre-school classes, I figured it might be worth checking out. Besides scoring myself some sweet SpongeBob stickers, I found some 260 balloons that you can twist into various creations. So I bought a few bags and started making balloon animals at the end of some of my classes and giving them to the best behaved students. They went crazy!

Here's my first try:

How to Die in Vietnam (Method #73)

I think I'll write a book on the many ways to die here. Here is:

#73: Drive your motorbike into an open manhole. In desperate need for the few dollars they can get for the metal, people continually steal manhole covers. Eventually, someone rips down a bunch of big branches (or whole small trees) and shoves them in the hole to warn oncoming motorists. Then the city will eventually come down and replace the cover. Which will then eventually be stolen. The circle of death continues... (cue Elton John sound-track). My advice is to dodge all manholes, covered or not. It's good practice for your life-saving motorbike swerving skills.

Drunk Koreans

One of the interesting things about living in this area of town is the large number of Koreans. My favorite(?) is the drunk guy that walks by at night (or sometimes in the morning) drunk as a skunk and singing in Korean at the top of his lungs. And boy does he have some lungs!

Wedding in Lạng Sơn

I went to the wedding of one of my co-worker's yesterday. She is the teacher that usually goes with me to teach in Hưng Yên on Saturday. Her hometown is Lạng Sơn, over a three-hour drive from Hanoi. It's in the mountains and virtually on the border of China. A large part of the population there are of the Nùng ethnic group, including the bride's family. They were very surprised to see an American show up, that's for sure! But it was an interesting experience and we all had a lot of fun.
The bride's uncle has a daughter who teaches English in a school there, so he was excited to introduce me so we could talk. Her name is Ngọc and she, along with her husband and son, live there with her parents. After we got back to Hanoi the bride's in-laws invited me out for dinner, so by the time I got home I was exhausted. Fortunately, my first class today didn't begin until 1:30pm, so I slept til noon!

Be's Wedding

Here comes Tết

I can't complain, I get a week off work! However, I awoke to, or rather was woken by, the sounds of pigs screaming in their death throes. Also, there are a lot of roosters crowing lately... though I imagine not for very long. Let the butchering begin for the festivities of the Chinese New Year!

Picnic

Back on the first of January we took advantage of having the day off and headed out to a big field near a friend's house out in the countryside. It was chilly, but it didn't start to rain until the early afternoon, so we got to have several hours of fun playing games and hanging out together before the weather chased us away. Some of us went to our friend's house to play cards and hang out for a little while longer before heading home. Here are a few photos that Thủy took that day.

2011-01-01 Picnic

It's a bit chilly...

Being a bit north of the equator, Hanoi is blessed with a change of seasons. Right now it is a bit cold, though not freezing and no snow. Right now it's about 12 C (54 F). However, when there aren't any stoves or heaters warming the houses, and everyone gets around on motorbikes instead of cars, you do feel the cold. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain. Cold and rain is not a pleasant combination when you're on a motorbike. Especially not when you wear glasses!