Hoi An

The past few days have been an absolute whirlwind. Saying goodbye to my host family was just as hard as I expected it to be, even though I know I will be seeing them multiple more times in December. But just the fact that I no longer have a home to return to like that anymore was a little bit sad.

With that being said, what we have been doing the past few days has for sure helped me get my mind off my family that I miss so dearly (oh ya, I miss my biological family too, I guess).

We traveled from HCMC to Danang, where we ate dinner and drove through the city briefly, and then proceeded to Hoi An, which is probably one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited. The pictures I am posting will not do it justice, so I guess you will just have to visit yourself.

On Saturday night we walked through the Old City, which was one of the first times I got to experience cultural Vietnam. Yes, Ho Chi Minh is an awesome city, but it is not the typical Vietnam one might think of. It is too modern. Hoi An is what people think of when they hear Vietnam: Lanterns, dragons, people in boats, floating candles on the river. It was an extremely touristy town, but rightfully so. It was so incredible and beautiful, and showed Vietnam for what it truly was. Just walking around Hoi An was peaceful and humbling.

On Sunday we traveled an hour and a half outside of Hoi An to the ancient city of My Son, which is a series of ruins that was once inhabited by the Cham people, and was later destroyed by the Vietnam War. It was very moving to be able to see a tangible piece of the war, and how the American side destroyed an extremely important part of the culture. With that being said, I really did wonder how preserved it was before the war, and how much damage was actually done by the American army. Nevertheless, there were still craters in the ground from bombs and visible wounds of the ancient Hindu City.

After we returned to Hoi An, we took a bike ride down to the beach. Unfortunately, there have been a lot of typhoons in the country, so the weather was not great, and we couldn't go swimming because the tide was too strong. But it was still really nice to be on the water, and biking there made it worth it as well.

After the beach, we came back to have dinner on our own. I was really excited to walk through the city by myself or with my friends and have a meal at a restaurant I could choose. I ate dinner with my two friends and then met up with our other friends to walk around the town, something I found to be my favorite part of our time in Hoi An.

Monday was a very uneventful day. My friend Maddie got sick with food poisoning, so I missed class that day to be able to be with her to make sure she was okay. Vietnam has taught me the value of health, and what it really means to feel good. I feel as though I never quite feel 100%, and so when I do, I really take advantage of it. So when Maddie was sick, I wanted to stay home to make sure she was okay. So I spent the day watching movies and taking care of my friend.

Yesterday, the morning was extremely rainy, but nevertheless we persisted. We put on our ponchos and then headed out to the river, where we got into basket boats, in the pouring rain with a guide in each boat. I was in the boat with Maddie, who was thankfully feeling better, and we all went off in our basket boats with our guides in the river. We were a little miserable in the pouring rain, but at some point we just embraced the cold and the wet and enjoyed ourselves. Our guide seemed to have no problem with it, as he was having the time of his life it seemed, spinning us in circles and splashing, and he also made us different animals and decorations out of palm trees. It was a really cold but really fun morning that encapsulated our trip.

After that, we headed to a restaurant where we did the cooking. The chef taught us how to make one of my favorite Vietnamese dishes, Ban Xeo, which is chicken, shrimp, bean sprouts, and oil in a egg flour pancake. It is so delicious and I cannot wait to go home to tell my homestay mom that I learned how to make it!

Once we were done cooking and eating, we headed back to Danang for the night. I spent the rest of the night exploring the town of Danang and eating dinner with my group. Our abroad program is always very busy, which in the long run, I appreciate so much, but for now, it is exhausting! So sleep is an uncommon but always desired thing.

Today, we took one of the most beautiful costal trips to Hue, where we will be for the next few days. I will share what we do in this beautiful city tomorrow!