Hello from Hanoi. I have been here over a week now, sweating like crazy in this heat and humidity. Last time I was here was in January when it was actually cold…no such luck now. A few days ago the heat index was 104 at midnight. Ok, enough whining about that. We arrived last Saturday with minimal issues. Another volunteer did cut his visa and they almost didn't let him board the plane. After an hour of trying to decide what to do in the Bangkok airport, the Vietnam Program Coordinator and the volunteer just went to another check-in counter where they didn't look closely at the visa and just let him through. In Hanoi though, we had to wait almost 2 hours while he got a new visa (thankfully they let him get a new visa at the airport, but it cost $100).

We spent our first week here getting used to our surroundings and starting our language classes. We have 3 hours of language class each day…it's really hard (6 tones and about 11 different vowel sounds you have to remember). The classes are going well though, and I feel I am learning a lot.

Hanoi is just like I remembered, with crazy traffic, clogged streets and a lot of atmosphere and energy. It's a fun city, but I think I am happy that I will be living in a smaller town. I am really enjoying eating lots of Vietnamese food, which I now feel is better than Thai food. There is a much bigger variety of food, and it helps to have several Vietnamese Americans with us to help order some good food.

This weekend we took a trip to Halong Bay. It is my second time visiting there, but it's a nice place so I didn't mind. The whole group went, and we met some nice people on our boat cruise, so it was a nice time. It was really hot (almost everyone slept outside on the boat), but still a good time. We did a little swimming which was one thing I missed during my last Halong Bay trip.

We have one more week in Hanoi, and then we are on our own. I am planning to travel next week for about 8 days in Northwest Vietnam, which is mountainous and remote. I will spend a few days in Sapa, which is a big tourist destination with terraced rice paddies and many minority groups. After that I will travel to a few other places in the Northwest, including Dien Bien Phu, the famous site of France's defeat to the Viet Minh. Then it's off to Saigon and then Tra Vinh. I will update again when I reach Tra Vinh.