Day 29

There’s no classes today but Xuan has to go for a coffee meeting with one of the people who’s helping building the temple in Portugal, so we have breakfast and head for the coffee shop. This one is situated in the center of HMCH, to be more accurate, in the building where almost all foreigners work. In fact, when you arrive there you notice that the clients are different from our usual coffee shops: Europeans, Koreans and a couple of other that I wasn’t able to distinguish.

We ask our coffee with condensed milk and wait for the guy. We start talking and I see the menu and my eyes turn bigger than ever: they sell blueberry pancakes! Ooohhhh… this is torture! If there’s something I really love to eat is blueberry pancakes… maybe another day. After a little bit, the guy shows up with his wife and they start talking to Xuan about columns and stone for the temple while drinking cà phê sữa đá. When we finish we head to the stone and columns store so Xuan can see the real thing.

It’s my first experience at the freeway while on a motorbike. Perspectives are different and I really think it is too amusing that Vietnamese do almost everything on their bikes. I have to say that this is a freeing experience as you have the wind on your face while talking with your friend in the motorbike next to you. Impossible to think about it when in Europe car is the vehicle of choice and the windows are closed most of the times.

At the store, the conversation continues without the guy’s wife and me but we try to talk between us and I learn that they have a son with 25 years old, she has 54 years old and that she likes my pink leopard jacket as she also thinks I’m beautiful. Ok, it’s time to go back home and we jump on our bikes. While we head home I’m always looking back as I’m afraid we lost the couple but they’re always a motorbike behind and wave at me every time I look back.

The conversation/meeting continues when we arrive at home and because I feel it’s not my business being there and because I really don’t understand anything, I go to my room check my emails and other stuff. It’s almost 1.30 pm when they leave and when we manage to have lunch. The plans after lunch are really basic: Xuan goes dyeing her hair and make the manicure while I keep myself awake by updating my blog. Time passes by running and it’s time to go pick up the kids at school.

At home, Thach Thao and Phuc play a little bit and go for a shower before dinner. Xuan tells me she has another meeting in a little bit so it’s better if I have dinner without waiting for her and give the kids dinner at 6.30 pm. For me it’s ok and when it’s time Inês comes to the rescue of Chi Lam. Tonight, the kids only want to be fed by her and so she has to be running from one side of the table to another so they eat everything. At 7.30 pm, Xuan’s mother, Chi Lam and me start dinner and when we’re almost finishing, Xuan arrives and eats a little bit of soup with us. I tell her I wanna go for a walk before going to bed but she knows I didn’t rest in the afternoon so she tells me that we go get the chai latte with the bike and then we come back home. I get a little bit of fresh air and company for my “walk in the park” as the kids are still awake, they also want to come with us.

Tonight’s people at the chai latte store are not the same and they seem very confused and that they don’t know what they’re doing. It arrives to a point that I get angry, as they don’t remember anymore what I’ve order and I’ve been waiting for ages. When I get my chai latte we head home. The kids and Xuan go to bed and so do I.

Shower taken, TV show on and ready for the night…

Night night everyone, don’t let the bedbugs bite!