Lost Passport and Duck Soup: Well it was bound to happen. Everything had gone so well thus far. However, that all changed today. After dropping the boys off at school, Robin and I went to open up an account at the bank. After opening the account we walked home. I had plans to go to the language school to set up tutoring times for me and Robin. Robin was going to meet with some ladies for lunch. Before I left I told her I might need her passport to sign up for language study. That’s when she realized that her passport was missing. We eventually back tracked all the way to the bank where she had last used her passport. It was to no avail! We are still hoping for a miracle! We would appreciate you help in that matter if you know what we mean!

Tonight our landlord and her husband came by to fix a chair that needed repairing. They also brought some fried Vietnamese appetizers and Vietnamese Newspapers (they both work for the newspaper). Later Mrs. Thu's husband suggested that we all eat duck soup. Okay! What does that mean? He said he would only be gone about five minutes. FYI: When you live in an alley and someone says they are going to get duck soup (or any other food item) and they would only be gone five minutes, it makes one wonder! Sure enough, in about five minutes he arrives but he is not alone. Two other men in uniform are with him. No, not secret police, but workers from a restaurant. They were carrying what appeared to be the kitchen which included: fresh greens, bowls, noodles, gas cooker and a covered pot that I assumed had a duck in it! It gave me a new impression of real “take out.” The meal was delicious! However, duck soup without “quackers” seems uncivilized. This Saturday they are taking us to eat “thit de” (meat goat). Hopefully it won’t be too “baaaad.” Sorry no pics today!

A FEW PICS FROM OUR SUMMER EXPERIENCES: Madison, WI; Virginia and North Carolina. Left is the Wisconsin version of the "running of the cows" or something like that? Below: It should be pretty obvious! The pic on the right was taken at the Jamestown settlement.






We were able to spend a couple of days in Clayton, NC with family. Robin's dad and brother surprised us by flying up. Art of course brought the fishing equipment!

OUR FIRST HOME COOKED VIETNAMESE MEAL: Yesterday Robin tried to cook rice in our new "no fault" rice cooker. We ended up with this white "gooey" stuff flowing out of the cooker and onto the floor. Needless to say, we changed our menu. Today Lien showed Robin how to use the cooker and it was SUCCESS! Our meal consisted of sticky rice (com), chicken (ga), onions, brocolli and carrots. It was ngon lam!

Motorbike Sagas From The Vietnam: I'm not sure that these qualify as sagas, but they were funny. The picture was taken today as Robin and our helper went to the market. Obviously they couldn't buy much.... so I thought. When they returned, Robin was by herself and Lien returned on her motorbike. Why? Because Robin had too much to carry on the motorbike so she had to take a taxi. This afternoon I went to walk the boys back from school, so I jumed on a "Xe om" and headed tothe school. A "xe om" is a motorbike taxi. Once we arrived at the school, I jumped off the back of the bike, but hung my pants leg on a piece of wire hanging of the back of the bike. The end result was a ripped pair of pants! The driver thought it was funny... I didn't! I asked him if he had a needle and thread to sew up my pants. He just laughed, got his money and drove off.

Hey everyone! Welcome to our blog. We are truly rookies at this "blogging" thing; however, we are going to give it a try. In case you haven't heard, we have settled in here in Hanoi. Our house is more than we could have ever imagined. I'm not sure what we were expecting. We have three bedrooms, kitchen, living room, balcony (commonly known as a clothes dryer), a separate office and two bathrooms (both have sit down apparatices rather than squatty potties). We also have a beautiful courtyard with a pal-mello tree, star fruit tree, perriwinkles, lantanas and other plants that are green and living for now. We also have an abundance of geckos! We live off of a major street, but to get to our house you have to walk down an alley that is often times filled with motor bikes, bicycles or people - sometimes all three at the same time! The alley way is only about 5-6 ft wide. We hope to attach some pics in the next few days.