Continuing on with Thursday night, Mrs. Sno came to the guesthouse to take Riley and I dancing. However, first we had to stop at a photography studio. Why? Mrs.Sno wanted professional photos with her new friends. None of us were prepared! We were soaking wet from the rain on the way there, we looked tired and sweaty. Mrs. Sno wouldn't have no for an answer. While we waited in the studio for the photographer to prepare, we were looking through professional wedding albums that displayed his work. I now understood why there were so many prom dress shops everywhere in Vietnam. They are for weddings and wedding photos. Mrs. Sno called a random guy over and made him get in our photographs as well. It was actually quite fun! We were all just striking stupid poses. The pictures are hilarious. The photographers daughter was in the 9th grade and came to chat with us. She spoke perfect english! She never learned it in school. She tught herself! It sounded like she had an American accent she was so good! Her parents can speak little or no english.
On Friday, there was a little birthday party for one of the workers at New World. There was so much delicious food!! There were fresh rice paper springrolls, pancake (pronounced bank sale in Vietnamese), pork, chom choms and birthday cake! Then Mrs. Sno took Riley and I to the vegetarian restaurant again! While we were there we taught the boy english as he was our waiter again. He took notes and expressed how happy he was that we were teaching him. Mrs. Sno ordered another feast (pumpkin flower, tofu, rice and veggies, a tofu soup..it never ended). She invited a friend of hers who was a teacher out in the countryside. We knew we were taking a trip to the country with her but it turned out we were also going to visit her friend's classroom. He was a really nice man and spoke english pretty well. After we ate I hopped on his motorbike with him and Mrs. Sno with Riley. The countryside was beautiful as always. Coconut and Banana trees zipped past us. I marveled at the pretty little concrete houses nestled in the jungles with their colours of aqua, pink and purples.
The school was in a small concrete building, It was only one room with the back wall open for the traffic and the public to look in. These children had benches for tables and little plastic stools for seats. There was a chalkboard in the front. This was completely different to New World. These children couldn't afford to go to New World. The teacher explained that they know how to read and write but never get the chance to practice with a native speaker. They were a young bunch. Riley and I taught them easy things. Twinkle Twinkle little star and Head Shoulders Knees and Toes were among the topics. We also went over animals and the noises they make, It was completely enjoyable and a great experience.I wish we would have gone there earlier and more!
When I got back to My Tho I finally figured out my life for the weekend. I decided to go to the mountain town of Dalat, which is French inspired from when the French used to occupy it. I went to Ho Chi Minh City with the others on Friday night and early that morning I boarded a sleeper bus that would drive me 7 hours to Dalat. Asians are so tiny! I am thin and I could barely fit in the little beds. The bus was just basically made of bunk beds. The scenery was absolutely amazing! As we got closer to Dalat we drove by rice fields, French homes, bulls in the middle of the road and rolling green mountains!
Dalat was absolutely gorgeous. It was a mixture of French and Vietnamese buildings. There was a radio tower shaped like the Eifel Tower. It was dotted with beautiful flowers and lakes. The temperature was much cooler than the Mekong Delta. Therefore, the Vietnamese wore knitted hats and beanies, scarfs and jackets. Basically a tad warmer than they usually dress. The street stalls were ones that cooked corn on the cob and pancakes over an open fire. It was a very warm and welcoming place. I stayed in a beautiful villa just outside the town called the YK Home Villa. It was so nice and the area was scenic and peaceful.. Just what I wanted. The receptionist was so friendly and spoke good english. Her father didn't but he was the owner. When I arrived she said: " I am sorry. We have a problem with the room you booked. So the problem is you have to stay in the VIP room." That was a nice problem! I had a massive room with a really comfortable bed and a massive white, fluffy doona. I had a living room that opened out onto a massive balcony overlooking the country. It was amazing! That night I ate at a really delicious place called the Chocolate Cafe and had amazing lemongrass and chilli tofu and garlic eggplant and green onion.
...to be continued
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