Rawrrr!

Hi again,

My new friend Carolyn. We went out for a nice walk close to Akunk.

I went to mass on Sunday.

  I was hoping to send some thank you cards, but I don’t think it would be feasible at the moment: Thank you Mandy, Cara, and Rachelle for throwing me an awesome tea party! I loved every second of it! Then again for the surprise bon voyage party. Thank you Jeriel and Amanda for hosting! Shoutout to the people that came (Anayensi+guest, David Babayan, Cally, Zeschia, Hayden, Rob Diesel, Allen, and of course Cara, Chelle, and Mando----laissez faire much?). Thank you to Allen and the Munoz family for making that lovely dinner and inviting my friends to come to your beautiful home. To the TRiO family that came out to celebrate with Yensi and me. It was so great to see you all one last time before leaving the states! Thank you to the Noetzel family for the gift of relaxation at Massage Envy. Thank you Lena Salter for coming down from Irvine to see me!! Grassyass, Maria Jimenez for showing me around D.C. You were right, that burger place was delish. Thank you a thousand times, Rachelle, for giving up your laptop for me; it will be such a valuable teaching tool/ keeping in touch apparatus. Thanks Amanda for the last minute stuff. Cara for the photo album, it really helps whenever I get homesick. Ben, thanks for being a fabulous listener. Lastly to my mom, she’s the best. She’s been so supportive and encouraging. I can’t wait for my box of goodies en route! I love you all! Thanks for everything!

I’m doing great. I feel like I’m getting more into the routine of things.  I am glad to get to know the other trainees in Akunk more. Carolynn , Debra, and I did yoga in my room yesterday, and I feel that I was able to get rid of the bad energy in my mind and body. I slept like a baby after dinner.

My sister Gayene and Armene

My family loves to have their coffee/beer late at night J Oh, so living in with my host family gave me more insight into my own culture. I see many similarities between Armenians and Vietnamese. First of all, they feed you to the brim. Second of all, the family is very important. One of my sister’s boyfriend would bring over treats for the whole family in order to see her. For example, the first time, he brought over alcohol ice cream. The second I saw him, he brought over popcorn and ice cream again. And when he hangs out with her, it’s with the whole family in the living room. As much as I enjoy my independence, I can see the appeal of this way of socializing. There are many other instances that remind me of my own family in Ho Chi Minh City. A cool thing I saw was, that my host mom and dad went out on date night on the weekend. She came home from the salon all dolled up and they went to a fancy restaurant and then to the city. I guess, I was surprised that they could have that luxury or even wanted it, but it makes me hopeful and glad that they are still happy with each other after 30 years.

 I had my interview with the program director yesterday. This meeting was a way for me to update her on any difficulties, achievements, concerns, and where I would prefer to be placed. To be honest, I think I would be willing to go anywhere. I’m going to stay as flexible as I can be. It was weird to hear myself share such intimate details about my rough adjustments with her. I think it was weird because this was the first time I heard it out loud…but I got excited when I told her I would be interested in doing a film club with my students! My communications degree hopefully will be utilized!

I’ll be less wordy I promise, I’ll just show you because a picture can be worth a thousand words <3 phiphi

Mama Greta and Neighbor

My sister Gayene