Vietnam.. nom nom nom!

I had the most AMAZING weekend in Ho Chi Minh City.  Seriously, we had the best time!  Brian and Stephanie took more pictures than I did, so I'll probably do a full recap of most of our activities a bit later, but here is a look at what you all seem to enjoy the most.. the food!!

Watermelon juice upon hotel check-in. 

Fresh rolls!

Pineapple fried rice and duck with peppercorn sauce (I loved all the French influences in Vietnam).

Duck, lemongrass chicken, and beef with spinach.  And Saigon beers in the background!

Vietnamese coffee.. my favorite!

PHO

Fresh coconut!!!

Vietnamese lady hacking open aforementioned fresh coconut.

Yuca with chili.

Banh mi sandwich stand!!

Banh mi.. one of the world's best sandwiches ever created.

Bun bo Hue.. like pho, but different.. it uses a round noodle and has lemongrass in the broth.

Bun bo Hue accompaniments - bean sprouts, water spinach, and banana flower.

Table top grill

Grilled goat and okra.. amazing.

Our table!

Grilled squid.. delicious!!

Grilled shrimp head :)

Grilled frog!

Monkey wine.. they take rice wine and store it in an animal skin.  This was the only bad thing I had in Vietnam haha.  Good thing it was just a little bit!

Fruit plate.. guava, mango, and watermelon.  Served with chili powder on the side!

Quail.. we ate this with tamarind sauce.

Spicy crab!!  Super spicy but super delicious.

Crab claw in the sauce.. chili, salt, pepper, peanuts, and lime juice.

Steamed clams in lemongrass.. amazing.  I think this was my first time having clams in a non-Italian preparation.

Grilled scallops.. PHENOMENAL.

Scallops were topped with fish sauce, peanuts, spring onion, and chili.  We all loved these!

Some sort of egg with a baby duck or something like that.. I don't really know.. it was served in tamarind sauce...

This is a different preparation of that duck thing-y above.  I preferred this version.

Digging into a coconut.. we had coconut jelly for dessert!

Lime juice with honey for a refreshing drink.

Don't those baguettes look amazing?

I love cafe culture.. and coffee was everywhere in Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnamese coffee rivals Cuban coffee as the absolute best.

Breakfast - sunny side up smiling eggs and toast.. the bread in Vietnam was way better than the bread in Singapore.. again - I love the French influence!

Apparently, I like to photograph food portrait (instead of landscape) a lot, so sorry if this post was really long, but there is more to come on Saigon!

History lessons

This week has been full of history lessons!  I have always loved history, but being a product of American public schools, most of what I know is confined to a (semi) modern history of the western world.  I've always kind of known this, but it has really become evident to me over the past year or so.  One thing that I think is interesting to note is that I know a ton about World War I and II, but everything past that seemed to have been crammed into a one week lesson meant to cover 50 years of things happening that weren't quite as favorable towards Americans.

I saw Argo on Sunday night with some friends.  It was AWESOME.  Most of you probably know that I don't really go to the movies much, but this movie was absolutely worth seeing!  Ben Affleck is great.  And Danny Castellano is in the movie too!  (Have I mentioned that I am obsessed with The Mindy Project?)

Anyway - really great film, but it definitely opened my eyes to some things that I guess I was never really aware of before.  Honestly, I had heard of the Iranian hostage crisis before, but I didn't know that there were these Americans who had escaped.  I also had no clue what led to it.  I thought we boycotted the Olympics because we just didn't like Russia.

Everyone should go see it.  Makes you feel a bit patriotic, but also makes you feel like there could be crazy things happening in the world that we just have no clue about...

The other thing I've been learning a lot about this week is the Vietnam War!  I'm going to Ho Chi Minh City this weekend, so I thought it would be prudent to brush up on my (close to embarrassingly little) knowledge about Saigon and the historical significance of the city.

I think we are planning to visit the tunnels and the war museum, and we are going to take a foodie motorbike tour of the city!  Everyone says that the people in Vietnam are super nice, and of course, I can't wait to have some pho and some Vietnamese coffee... yum!  Hopefully I will remember to be a good blogger and take lots of pictures to share with you guys when I am back.

On America

I've been out here for just under four months now.  It is crazy how quickly time is going by!  I've probably said this a hundred times already, but time is such a funny thing.  At times, it feels like I've only lived in Singapore for five seconds.  But at the same time, living in Nashville seems like it was a lifetime ago.

One thing that I have definitely noticed so far is that my love for America has shot through the roof since moving out here.  I am infinitely more patriotic now than I ever was when I lived in the US.  Obviously, I've always thought America was great and all, but I think it is really easy to take things for granted and to kind of complain about things, and I definitely did that.  It's weird because sometimes things would happen, either in my every day life or that I would read or hear about in the news, and I used to think that America had some certain things so backwards.  I felt like I was constantly rolling my eyes and thinking - why are people so closed-minded?  How can people's discriminatory thoughts be so thinly veiled?  Why can't we do things more like x,y, or z other country?  It's no wonder why other countries don't love us!

But the thing is - I was wrong.  I did not give America enough credit.  Sometimes I guess you need to just get out there and see things for yourself to realize that what you read about in books and magazines, what you see on television and movies, and what you hear about from other people is only part of the story.  And it also isn't your story.  Sometimes you just need to take some time away to realize how much you appreciate something.

On a lighter note.. hope you guys all had a great Thanksgiving.  I was sad to not have leftovers to eat this weekend!  I'm going to see Argo tonight, and then looking forward to heading to Vietnam on Friday!

And of course, some obligatory random pictures.

This is a Pizza Hut ad.  I feel certain that they are not selling this in the US.  The description says "Two unique crusts, one stuffed with cheesy sausage and another with 3 flavour cheese.  Topped with succulent smoked chicken and turkey ham on two tantilising sauces - Pepper Alfredo and Salsa."  This does not sound delicious to me at all.  

Random cases of orange juice on the MRT.

This picture came out really bad because I was trying to stealthily take this picture without using the flash, but these girls looked absolutely absurd.  And they were old.

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 19 - I am thankful that I still get giddy over silly things.
November 20 - I am thankful for yoga.
November 21 - I am thankful for knowing my limits.
November 22 - I am thankful for the chance to celebrate the holiday with new friends.

Happy Thanksgiving friends.  I've listed some things that I'm thankful for over the past few weeks, but today, while I am thankful that I am about to go eat some turkey with new friends, I want to emphasize how thankful I am for all of you - my old friends.

A lot of times, when life changes, your friendships change.  When I moved to Nashville, I learned a lot based on how some of my relationships changed or didn't change as time went by.  Some friendships became stronger, and some friendships kind of went the other way.  Some took way more work than I anticipated, and some seemed like a breeze. I've only been in Singapore for a few months, but so far, I must say that I've been really grateful that so many of my old friends have put in the effort to keep in touch even though the distance, the time zones, and life in general can make it hard.

I have also come to realize what a really great group of friends I left behind.  Obviously, I always knew you guys were awesome, but being out here has shown me some nuances in our friendships that are incredibly unique and outstanding.  I am so thankful at how we have been able to share  milestones in our lives, how you guys have welcomed me into your families, and how you have listened to me bitch and moan about everything under the sun.  I have, at times, said that I have the best friends in the world - but I really do mean it now!

Happy Thanksgiving friends - I am thankful for you!

Busy week

Where did I leave off...

November 14 - I'm thankful for old friends.
November 15 - I'm thankful for international shipping.
November 16 - I'm thankful that I have a good job.
November 17 - I'm thankful for how friendly and welcoming the ex-pat community is here.
November 18 - I'm thankful for yoga!

First let me say that it is Sunday night, and this is the first time I've opened my computer all weekend.  Woohoo!!

The rest of my short week flew by.  I discovered a great wine and tapas bar near my apartment, went to see the new Bond movie with friends, and had a super fancy lunch to close out the work week.  Here's a look at some of the highlights.

Cheese plate, spicy meatballs, garlic shrimp, and chorizo bruschetta at Wine Connection.  They sell bottles of wine for only S$30!  And the atmosphere is great.  And it's close to my house!

I was finally in the office for free fruit Wednesday!  This is a persimmon, I think?  You eat it like an apple, but it doesn't really have much taste in my opinion.

Swiss rosti with garlic pork sausage for dinner before Skyfall with a bunch of Brits.  It was interesting to me to hear how well-versed they are on all the Bond movies.  Maybe it's just because I'm really not much of a movie-goer, but I couldn't really tell you much about any of the other Bond movies.

Here is a genius idea - when you buy your movie tickets, you get to pick your seat!  No need to get to the theater extra early to get a good one.  Also, please notice how the movies are actually semi-reasonably priced here!

One thing that is totally lacking in Singapore is the idea of personal space.  I snapped this photo in the elevator at work one morning.  That girl is literally an inch away from me and my coffee cup.

Lunch with a view!  Just because it was Friday.  Every now and then, its nice to treat yourself to something that reminds you that life is pretty good :)

Fancy lunch - some sort of chicken dish, but what perplexes me is why you would serve a chicken breast in a bowl instead of on a normal plate?

The weekend has flown by as well.  Yoga, cleaning, hanging with friends, and the Jersey Boys!!  This was opening weekend for Jersey Boys, so we splurged on tickets and got great seats!  You could tell that the cast and crew were still working out some kinks (at one point, the mics stopped working and they all took an unplanned recess!), but I thought the show was great, and I really liked it.  No pictures were allowed in the theater, but here are some fun ones from elsewhere during the weekend.

Mall entrance.  I don't know if you can really see the sign, but it is basically wishing you a "beary happy Christmas!"  The cartoon-ish nature of absolutely everything in Singapore is something that I am still getting used to.

Ok - has anyone heard of Texas Chicken?  This is obviously the logo for Church's Chicken!

Another look.  Are there any Texas Chickens in the US?  Was Church's even started in Texas?  So confused.

The latest feature item at McDonald's is the Chicken BLT.  Sadly, it seems that I have missed my opportunity to experience the Samurai Burger :(  

Just because I still think this is funny.