Today I Murdered A Shrimp

Today was a short day: spent the morning at UEF and then had the afternoon off. We had our second culture lecture--it was over the religion and dress of the different ethnic groups of Vietnam. I love this professor. He lectured about this religion that originates in South Vietnam called caodaism, which unites believers of all the major faiths to be spiritual together. I thought it was a very interesting concept and definitely want to learn more!

After, we had another language class where we played games. They were kind of ridiculous and included me tackling someone to but a slip of paper in a box. All's fair in love and war! Anyway, per usual, my team won. Classic. I think the majority of us are getting to a state of better-than-terrible when it comes to our ability to communicate basic phrases in Vietnamese. It's really cool, because unlike other countries (*cough* France) the people here really appreciate it when you try to speak their language, even if you end up conversing in English. Just one more way they're super accepting.

We had the afternoon off, so some of us headed to tour some of the vestiges of French colonialism. Unfortunately, Notre Dame was closed, but it was still beautiful to see the outside. It's placement is so odd because it is literally at the convergence of a bunch of streets: There is only a curb around the walls of the cathedral. Kitty-corner-ish to the church is the former post office. The architecture is very intricate and VERY French on the inside and out. They have converted the old phone booths to ATM's inside, which I thought was cute. I'm really sorry I keep saying I'll post pictures and never do... it will happen... at some point.

The old French post office

I also hung out in the nearby park... the rains have made the evenings much breezier and cooler. The foliage is so pretty amidst the hustle and bustle of the city, a lot like a mini-Central Park, except these small enclaves of nature are all around. For dinner, we went to a DIY rooftop grill. All hesitance with regards to meat have been thrown out the door here... everything is tasty mystery meat. It was a bit unnerving to place my live, skewered shrimp on the grill and watch it squirm until the life drained out of it with its beady eyes still looking at me. Was that too graphic? The view from the restaurant was breathtaking--we were among all the skyscrapers of downtown HCMC and a lot of heat lightning.

Things I need to do when I get back:

• Watch Apocalypse Now
• Learn how to make pho/some other easy Vietnamese dishes
• Not throw up when I return to the rich American food... seriously, I have barely had any form of dairy in the past 1.5 weeks
• Forget this song forever