brain to mouth coordination

Let me begin by saying that Vietnamese is a challenging language to say the least. I had my first lesson yesterday, a good hour and a half one-on-one, and I barely got through the six tones and the alphabet. To my credit however, there are three different types of "a's", three "o's" and two "u's" to deal with. Luckily, my teacher is patient and good natured, and I have a very easy time laughing at myself! What have I gotten myself into anyway?

This week was filled with getting my feet on the ground in Hanoi, setting up language lessons, and meeting with people about my dissertation research. So, after all that, I was very happy to spend the day today taking in some of the sites of this wonderful city. In the morning I went with some of my Vietnamese friends to the museum of ethnology. This museum celebrates Vietnam's incredible ethnic diveristy - 54 distinct ethnic groups. After the museum, they took me to a delicious traditional Vietnamese lunch where I impressed them all with my super amazing chopstick skills (insert here my sarcasm and their ever-present alarm at my being left-handed).

Now listen up you pottery-loving craftoids! After lunch my friend Da took me to Bat Trang, ceramic village. This place is seriously FILLED with ceramics of all kinds. Just 10km outside of Hanoi, this village was founded in the same year as the thriving capital (1o10 AD). Pottery studios have been here forever and they now export their goods all over the world, though mostly to France. It was awesome. Also, I got the chance to make a (crappy) pot on a wheel for the first time!

Travelling alone has been awkward and awesome and always interesting. Hanoi is filled with people who are interested in what that lonely foreign girl is up to. Some want me to buy something, some want a chance to practice their english, and some, like my friends from the university, are genuinely interested in helping out a stranger in their city while making a friend along the way.

Somehow it was hotter today than yesterday. So, since the AC in my room started working last night, I might make it out alive after all!