A busy day of relaxation

Things I have learned in the last few days:

1. The Vietnamese term for potholes literally translates to chicken nests.
2. Even more terrifying than needing to sneeze while driving a car is needing to sneeze while sitting on the back of a motorcycle.
3. People here will likely think that I am from India, and Indian women are considered very beautiful.
4. In the hierarchy of respect, teachers are above the father and only below the king.

New food I tried today:

1. Quả cóc (I think) - a fruit
2. Hủ tiếu xương - Hủ tiếu is a breakfast soup with pork and noodles. Today I tried hủ tiếu xương, which is essentially the same thing but with the noodles in a separate bowl. The meat seemed to be a pork knee or shoulder.
3. A dumpling soup whose name I can't remember
4. Sticky rice cakes, one with green bean paste and one with banana
5. Hotpot with rooster meat, papaya, loofah(!), and other untranslated ingredients
6. Bánh tránh - some kind of sweetish, thin, crispy, plate sized ... thing. Cracker? 
7. A very crunchy tooth-cementing candy made of peanuts wrapped in a hard sugary flour concoction

Whenever Trang invites me to go out to eat with her, it is always to 'try something new.' That is all the information I ever get, though I guess it never occurs to me to ask what the something new is going to be. It's not like I would know what was in store for me if she were to tell me the name of what we were going to try. This morning we met at eight to have the aforementioned hủ tiếu xương at a restaurant by the lake. Today, she had me practice saying the name of the dish so I could order for myself. I spotted some dumpling-looking things and asked Trang about them. She ordered those, too, so that I could try them. The food was good, as is always the case when I am eating with Trang. 

On the way back we zipped through the central market on the back of Trang's motorcycle. I spotted some silkies, a breed of chicken that has blue-black flesh. I will definitely be going back to explore! Trang bought me some goodies wrapped in banana leaves. When I was ready for a snack later in the day, I sliced them open and found a surprise. The green bean rice cake looked like mardi gras, and for some reason the banana was pink.

In the afternoon I finally started making my space my own. I finished unpacking; I organized my things, and I even started decorating a little. I also started writing some creative fiction for the sake of having an internet-independent activity with which to occupy my time.

In the evening Trang picked me up to go have dinner with her and other members of the department. One of them goes to Ho Chi Minh City quite often, and I was supposed to bring my camera to give to him so that he could take it to the City and see if it could get repaired. On the way out, though, I tested my camera again. It worked! Hooray! I can't express my joy at this discovery. We arrived at a hotpot place and after the first mouthful my mouth was on fire. But it was delicious. Over dinner we talked about me, Vietnamese pedagogy, and whatever else was discussed in Vietnamese. A troubadour/candy salesman came over to our table and, probably for my sake, a candy was purchased for everyone. I'm not a huge fan of peanuts, but of course I accepted, and it was quite enjoyable. The candy reminded me a little of pepitoria, a Guatemalan candy. 

After I got home, I got a call from Trang, inviting me to her house for lunch tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it already.