Vũng Tàu with Phượng again

April 30th an May 1st are holidays in Vietnam. They are called "30/4" and "1/5". I like that because you can always remember which day the holiday is (like July 4th).

They have other names too of course. April 30th 1975 is the day that America officially pulled out of Vietnam. Some call it Independence Day. Some call it Liberation Day. May 1st is International Labor Day. We receive both days off of work, though this year May 1st was a Sunday, which we already take off, so that was a bummer.

Jenni and I don't work on Mondays either, so we had a 4 day weekend and I got to go to Vũng Tàu with her family again. Though technically it's not really Vũng Taù (a more well known city), but a small beach/rolling hill nearby.

We stay with her mother-in-law and get to visit her grandmother on her mother's side too (remember her? She's 92 and sits Indian style on the floor while I sit on her bed). We saw many family members and they all remembered me. One of her cousins is my facebook friend and he knew that I was engaged. He said that Francois is very big and handsome.

It was cool to see familiar people and stay in a familiar place, though it was my first time doing it as the lone foreigner. I took Jenny for granted in August because everyone enjoyed putting food on her plate and laughing at her Vietnamese. I missed her this time.

Remember my friend Phượng?


All of the cousins on this side of the family are boys. So baby Jenny (almost 2 now) is always the center of attention as the only baby and the only girl.

This was my supper one night. There was a lot of stuff in this bowl.

Phượng's husband spent a lot of time talking to the family about a business opportunity he is trying out. So we rode around a lot and visited a lot of people. That was the biggest helmet they could find for me. But I think they just found a tall one, not really a wider one... My head is deceivingly large.After all the chaos and family, I cherish quiet moments walking on the beach, looking at people, talking, carrying Jenny.This was the closest Jenny got to a smile for the picture. She really really really likes to see herself after the picture is taken though.

One day some of us actually went to the Vũng Tàu beach for a picnic. We spent all morning getting ready and finally got loaded up and went. We ate for several hours and everyone talked and laughed and had a great time. Finally the guys got out the soccer ball and put sunscreen on and I was sure we were going to go to the beach or play soccer. Then we all got back on the motorbikes and went home.

I missed a LOT in translation that weekend.

We did finally get to play some soccer, which was a highlight of the trip like last time. Though there were shells in the sand that hurt a lot! I was the only one with scratches and bumps on my ankles though (maybe it's my precious white pigmentation).

We rented a car and driver for the trip back and the car kept over heating. So the 2 and 1/5 hour trip took about 6 and 1/2... That and a weekend of nothing but Vietnamese and broken English took a lot out of me. An exhausting vacation.