This is Qui and Eric on Eric's second day of motorbike riding- I put out a PSA to all Hanoians- "watch out for the guy in the blue and white plaid shirt!" Actually, he is doing very well and quickly learning how to navigate his way through the traffic. We're taking it up a notch tomorrow morning- Eric is taking me to the University- during semi-rush hour traffic. Yikes! He says he's ready.

Qui and Son take care of us (and the other apartment dwellers- there are 4 apartments in this house),  each working 12 hour shifts- they do our laundry, clean our apartment, maintain everything, take care of security, etc. This service is all quite normal in Vietnam- home care (laundry/cleaning) is an entire industry here, employing thousands in Hanoi alone and also provides an income for those who have retired (55 yold for women and 60 yold for men).

 Over the weekend we traveled to Ba Be National Park, stayed with a Tay Group (one of 54 minority groups in Vietnam) family in their stilt house, cruised the lake, ate Tay food- cooked morning glory foliage, rice, pork, chicken (head and all), carp, tofu. Above is a close-up of their homes, the next set of photos is our trip on the lake/river, the cave that the river flows through and Eric's swimming adventure off of the Widow island-the place to swim. Legend has it that this island lost her husband and is very happy when people (especially men) swim around her, creating a water flow that caresses her sides. I think Eric made her very happy.

 A photo of my students- they are delightful and so much fun to work with. Their English speaking and writing skills very widely, but somehow it works.