Oh wow, we arrived in Hanoi in a downpour last night, very tired but happy to get here(the luggage wait was even longer than Denver!). Our driver to the hotel something of a maniac, changing lanes, honking, narrowing avoiding the scooters, and more scooters, and more scooters. Greeted when we got here by Terry + Roberta who were waiting in the bar with a beer for us! The hotel is in the middle of the old quarter which is teeming with action. Lovely rooms with the requisite necessities including air conditioning and internet.
After a deep sleep, awoke to a buffet breakfast and orienation meeting with the rest of our team, 16 strong, with many amazing individuals from all over, many have done multiple Global Volunteer trips in the past so there are far more experienced than we are. Quick walk around the Lake, where preparations are in full force for next week's celebration of the 1000th anniversary of Hanoi. The streets are narow, crowded, full of people, scooters, and less commonly cars and vans. You may not be surprised(for those who know me well), that our hotel is actually on , yes, you guessed it, Shoe Street! So won't I be having a grand time?
The afternoon brought representatives from the two schools : one group will go to the Private NBK school, Phil, I and others will teach at the Foreign trade University.....they brought us each a big book with the curriculum, it was so overwhelming that after the session I had to go and take a 3 hour nap to recover!
Dinner out with the team, very efficient service considering there were so many of us. We ate inside, BUT the little plastic chairs are everywhere outside. People sit and socialize, drink and eat from the street vendors on multicolored, small plastic chairs. Quite a sight.
We were lucky enough to "Skype" with Evan & Shari(Persey too!) just now. Evan had his White Coat Ceremony today, and we were so thrilled that Shari as well as Aunt Joyce and Uncle Ken could be there and sad that we were not. Amazing to be able to see and talk to each other when we are half way around the world.
Tomorrow is a big day, with meeting our students, doing introductions and trying to figure out our roles. A tad intimidating......stay tuned,
Learning to cross the streets safely,
Barbara
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