I am finally feeling like this is an actual academic experience. I'm trying to keep up on the readings and I'm being forced to choose between social activities and academic activities. In order to get the most out of my time here I should find the right balance between the two - something that I've never been very good at. In the past, I have almost always put much mroe emphasis on the academic portion of college. Being in Vietnam with a bunch of cool people makes me more intent on having fun this semester though. We'll see what happens.
Nothing too interesting happened last week. On Thursday we went to the Pumpkin Cafe to celebrate the birthdays in this month and next month. We had a good time.
On Friday we visited the Temple of Literature in Hanoi. The Temple was a Confucian academy established in the 1400s to convey the message to China that Vietnam was indeed civilized and that they didn't need the tutleage of their large neighbor. There were dozens of steles with the names of the Confucian doctors who passed their exams throughout the centuries that the academy was in action. We also saw a musical performance by a band that plays at the temple. They were incredible. It was easy to see the influences of different societies on the musical style of Vietnam - Chinese, Cham, even some Austronesian elements. Afterwards Sean, Gerard and I visted Finnegan's Irish Pub at 16A Duong Than Street. It was just like home. They had a dark beer that tasted damn close to Guinness. It brought me back to the evenings that I spent during this summer in Kensington at the Circus Pub with my friend Zoe.
On Friday night we visited the Dragonfly Bar at 18 Ta Hien Street. The bar was very cosy and it had great decor. The DJ was also the owner, and I guess he is a friend of Gerard's. The music was more mellow than we've experienced at the dance clubs. It was a more conventional mix of hip hop and R&B. We arrived just before happy our ended so we quickly ordered all of our drinks at half price. After leaving the bar we struggled to keep the group from fracturing; some people wanted to go on to a club for the rest of the evening but we had to veto their motion on the basis that it was unsafe to splinter. We finally hopped into a seven person taxi at Ho Hoan Kiem after being pestered to buy weed by a stoner on a motorbike.
Saturday evening we headed to the Sheraton Hotel's dance club. It was very nice but the atmosphere was creepy. The hotel is popular with business travelers so there were many old white men with lithe young Vietnamese escorts / prostitutes. The drinks were also very expensive. And Carlsberg - always with the Carlsberg. Why do these bars serve the worst beer, yuck!
Sunday was strictly a recovery day. While sleeping on Saturday night I got a horrible cramp in my leg and had trouble walking all day. For the first time I also felt pretty sick. I think that I may have come down with a 72 hour flu or something. I feel better now though.
Nothing too interesting happened last week. On Thursday we went to the Pumpkin Cafe to celebrate the birthdays in this month and next month. We had a good time.
On Friday we visited the Temple of Literature in Hanoi. The Temple was a Confucian academy established in the 1400s to convey the message to China that Vietnam was indeed civilized and that they didn't need the tutleage of their large neighbor. There were dozens of steles with the names of the Confucian doctors who passed their exams throughout the centuries that the academy was in action. We also saw a musical performance by a band that plays at the temple. They were incredible. It was easy to see the influences of different societies on the musical style of Vietnam - Chinese, Cham, even some Austronesian elements. Afterwards Sean, Gerard and I visted Finnegan's Irish Pub at 16A Duong Than Street. It was just like home. They had a dark beer that tasted damn close to Guinness. It brought me back to the evenings that I spent during this summer in Kensington at the Circus Pub with my friend Zoe.
On Friday night we visited the Dragonfly Bar at 18 Ta Hien Street. The bar was very cosy and it had great decor. The DJ was also the owner, and I guess he is a friend of Gerard's. The music was more mellow than we've experienced at the dance clubs. It was a more conventional mix of hip hop and R&B. We arrived just before happy our ended so we quickly ordered all of our drinks at half price. After leaving the bar we struggled to keep the group from fracturing; some people wanted to go on to a club for the rest of the evening but we had to veto their motion on the basis that it was unsafe to splinter. We finally hopped into a seven person taxi at Ho Hoan Kiem after being pestered to buy weed by a stoner on a motorbike.
Saturday evening we headed to the Sheraton Hotel's dance club. It was very nice but the atmosphere was creepy. The hotel is popular with business travelers so there were many old white men with lithe young Vietnamese escorts / prostitutes. The drinks were also very expensive. And Carlsberg - always with the Carlsberg. Why do these bars serve the worst beer, yuck!
Sunday was strictly a recovery day. While sleeping on Saturday night I got a horrible cramp in my leg and had trouble walking all day. For the first time I also felt pretty sick. I think that I may have come down with a 72 hour flu or something. I feel better now though.
posted by S D at 2:40 PM
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