Internet High and Internet Low

I am learning lots about internet access here.  I was in Internet Heaven on Friday afternoon.  Skype, iChat...uploading and downloading files.  Wonderful.  I put my machine to sleep...and the internet did the same thing....dead for days!

It has been raining a great deal and that might be causing my problems.  It also could be that the system is overloaded and can't handle all the traffic.  I tried to talk to the housing people, but new students are coming in this weekend and it is total chaos...just like moving in day is at MU.  It is interesting to watch.  The kids are nervous and so are the parents.  The students get issued a pillow and a grass type of mat to put on their beds.  That is it!  I was up early today and a young female student was standing outside the housing office door.  It was 5am!  The office didn't open until 8am.  She was sniffing and crying and I imagine had a rough first night in the dorm.  I felt sad for her and wanted to talk...but of course my Vietnamese is non-existent, so I just smiled.  It didn't seem to help her any.

The internet being down is good in an interesting way.  Instead of staying inside and working on the computer, I decided to head outside at 6am and see what the world of Hanoi was like early in the morning.  It was very quiet...nice...and a good time to walk the local streets.  I saw a pagota and went in to check it out.  A group was doing Tai Chi.  It was pretty cool.  They have these red fans they use.  There were only six people in the group.  I watched until they finished.  One young lady spoke English and she interpreted a conversation between me and them.  They invited me to join their group.  So I am going to give it a try tomorrow.  They start at 5:30am.  Those of you who know me...understand that I am not my best early in the morning.  But I have been getting up at 4am since my arrival, so a 5:30am start time is well within my time frame. 

Anyway...if I had stayed in my room and worked the internet, I would have never made this contact.  Something for me to remember..........

Tonight I am going to be adventurous and try street food for the first time.  I have been eating in restaurants that are pretty typical US types.  Doors, Windows, air conditioning, etc.  Last night I walked around and saw some good potential places to try.  The streets are so chaotic in the evening that it is a bit of a challenge to even walk around.  That is why the morning time walk today was wonderful.  I decided to do my exploring then--much more peaceful and you don't take your life in your hands because of traffic.

Well,  I hope this message gets out.  I still am in shock...but adjusting.  Making new contacts and possibly joining a Tai Chi group will be nice.  

More tomorrow!