The Wanderful Life of Jasmine : First week in the motherland

It's officially been a week since I've arrived in Vietnam.
I feel as if I've been here for so much longer than a week.
Every day has been very eventful, visiting place after place and one relative after another.
I've lost track of who is who, where I am, and even how long I've been in Vietnam.

The flight to Vietnam was extremely tiring. My father and I spent about 22 hours in a plane and 6 hours in layovers.
Right after getting off the plane, I realized how humid it was. The humidity just hits you and makes you feel sweaty and gross instantly.
On the drive home from the airport, I had my first experience with traffic in Vietnam.
I was shocked that mopeds/motorcycles were weaving around cars, and people were crossing in front of moving traffic.
I almost had a heart attack when a guy jumped out right in front of our car to retrieve a soccer ball.
Traffic in Vietnam is seriously like some sort of challenge course where everybody's life depends on their ability to dodge each other.
It's mind blowing how people aren't getting hit left and right.
The sound of honking fills the busy streets. Some honks mean "careful, I'm about to cross this intersection" and other honks mean "get the hell out of my way before I hit you."

Before Vietnam, I had never ridden on a moped or motorcycle. I had always wanted to ride on a moped (in Italy with a handsome Italian guy.) However, my first moped ride wasn't quite as romantic. Instead, I was gripping on to my aunt for dear life with a ridiculously terrified expression on my face. I feel like I've experienced so many "almost crashes" riding on mopeds here.

Before heading home to my uncle's house, we stopped at a restaurant off the street. I had my first Hanoi beer and stir-fried pho. I was scared to eat, afraid that anything could upset my stomach. When we arrived at my uncle's house, I was ready to plop onto a bed and pass out.
Instead of a bed though, I had to plop onto a woven mat on the tile floor. It was definitely not the most comfortable sleeping situation, but I was tired enough to pass out. In Vietnam, many families still sleep on woven mats on either hard floors or wooden beds. While it's good for your back, it's not exactly comfortable. Another difference I realized my first night was the bathroom. Not all bathrooms in Vietnam have toilet paper...instead they all have a nozzle to spray water for cleaning the privates. Also, most bathrooms don't have a bathtub or a shower room. There's just a shower nozzle by the sink and toilet and a drain on the floor. The modern houses, however, have bedrooms and bathrooms similar to those in America.

My first week in Vietnam was spent visiting many relatives on my father's side of the family as well as a few on my mother's side. I've met so many relatives that I've seriously lost track of who is who. It's somewhat overwhelming to suddenly have so many people introduced into your life.

While most of my time was spent in various parts of Hanoi, my father and I also took 1-2 hour trips out to the rural countryside to visit the older generation of relatives. It was interesting see the places where my ancestors came from and where some of my relatives still live. The rural parts of Vietnam were definitely a lot different than the capital, Hanoi (obviously, right?). The good difference was that the roads weren't insanely hectic, but the bad difference was that most places didn't have air conditioner. It was suffocating being out in the countryside with no air conditioning as Vietnam is a very humid and hot country. I felt so exhausted and at times felt like I was going to pass out.

Besides the uncomfortable weather, one of the hardest thing for me to get used to in Vietnam is the dirtiness of things. Growing up, I've always been somewhat of a "clean freak." I tend to wash my hands a lot, get easily disgusted if the silverware I'm using isn't spotless and can't eat anything that flies have flown in. So...as you would imagine, it was quite difficult to push my "clean freak" habits aside. A lot of places in Vietnam don't have hand soap, a lot of times silverware isn't very clean and flies landing on food is a common occurrence (mostly in the countryside).

Eating Vietnamese food everyday wasn't very hard to get used to as most of the time, it's very delicious. I've had the opportunity to try soo many tasty new dishes here. Luckily, so far, I haven't had any stomach problems. When I first arrived in Vietnam, I was so scared to eat anything in fear of upsetting my stomach. However, now, I feel quite at ease in trying new foods. (I really hope I'm not jinxing myself...) When coming to Vietnam, eating street food is a must. It's kind of fun sitting at a street stall and people watching while eating the local dishes.

Before going to Vietnam, I was told that I should barter before purchasing anything. Coming from America, I definitely did not have much experience bartering. Even after a week in Vietnam, I still don't feel quite comfortable doing it. Luckily, I go around with my cousins and they're quite skilled at doing so. Thanks to their help, I've avoided being ripped off quite a lot. If coming to Vietnam, it's advisable to go around with a local. Because if people know you're a foreigner, they might just try to rip you off.

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I started writing this blog post exactly a week after arriving in Vietnam. However it's been more than a week now. It's somewhat difficult to just sit down for a chunk of time and write as I've been almost constantly on the travel or without Wi-Fi access. Anyways, the next post will be on my weekend trip to Sapa.

I have just arrived in Ho Chi Minh City in Saigon. The next couple of days I will be visiting relatives in Vung Tau. Then I will be traveling to Nha Trang and Da Lat. I will possibly be going to Da Nang and Hoi An in the middle region of Vietnam before returning to the North.

About three more weeks left in Vietnam. :)