A Wonderful Day

Yesterday was a wonderful day.  It started off a bit rough; I slept through my alarm clock for the 3rd day in a row, forcing my sister and mom to wait for me while I rushed to get ready for school.  However, it was the second day that I successfully road my bike to and from school!  If you have read my very first blog post, where I talk about the insane traffic here, you will understand what a triumph this is. I managed to get to school and home safely, without any accident, and only a few cars honked or yelled at me. And yes, American mom, I am wearing my safe, sturdy helmet like a responsible girl would.  (The Vietnamese rarely wear helmets when riding a bicycle, and you can punch through the motorcyclists helmets with your fist.  Suffice to say, the Vietnamese aren't too concerned with getting into accidents.)

School was fairly normal.  Lots of learning, lots of goofing around, and lots of class discussions. After school was over, Nan, Maddy, and I decided to have a little fun on my bicycle.  We went out to the courtyard, camera in hand.  We attempted to ride the bicycle with two people on it.  The results were fairly hilarious.

Nanner Bannaner 

Getting warmed up.

Elliot and Perrine

Anna and Elliot

She's the best.

Maddy!

aw, so cute!

hahaha!

About to fall over...?

Thay Chuck!

We had a pretty good time goofing around. 

When I got home, I quickly finished my homework, and my mom, sister and I headed out to dinner.  My mom and little sister held my hand while we walked to the restaurant.  We got pho, my favorite Vietnamese food. It's a broth soup with rice noodles, meat, and some green herbs. Sometimes you dunk fried bread into the soup as well.  To the Vietnamese, it's kind of like fast food.  It's cheap, easy, and fast to eat, and they serve it everywhere. We got in and out of the restaurant in less than 20 minutes, for less than 5 US dollars for all 3 of us to eat a huge, steaming bowl of pho.  It was delicious and satisfying after the long day!

Before I tell you the rest of the things that made my day so great, I need to tell you a quick story.

About a week ago, my little sister saw my ukulele leaning up against the wall and asked me what it was. I offered to play for her, and she nodded her head yes.  However, as soon as I started playing, she made a face like she smelled something really bad.  I stopped playing, asking, "Do you like it?" "No..." she responded, and walked slowly out of my room.  

My feelings were a little bit hurt.  I thought she would love my ukulele! I though it would be something that we could bond over.  This little incident made me even more determined to win her over.

A few days later, I was sitting on my bed taping some pictures up to my wall, when my little sister walked in, and asked if she could help me.  "Of course!" I said, and welcomed her into my room.  We sat there for a few minutes, looking at my pictures.  Soon, she noticed my drawing book, and asked what it was.  I told her she could look through it if she wanted. She gasped with delight when she saw my first drawing.  Here it is:

"It is so beautiful!" She exclaimed.  I smiled so big! I was so happy that she loved my drawings so much! She made me feel so special.  She flipped through a few more of my pictures...

"This is so hard! How do you do this! Wow!" She exclaimed, warming my heart.  She took some pictures with her mom's phone to send to her cousins.  Then she asked me if I could teach her how to draw like that.  Of course I said yes!

We spent the next couple hours drawing together.  "Just go crazy!" I said.  "Crazy?" "yes, crazy!"

So, last night, she asked me to draw with her again.  We spent an hour drawing together, talking about our favorite characters from High School Musical (Troy for me, Gabriella for her) and our favorite movies (Finding Nemo for me, a Japanese cartoon for her).  She asked me if I could draw Mickey Mouse. I tried, and she laughed at the strangely shaped mouse I drew, saying it was very difficult.  We practiced drawing cartoon animals.  These are our creations:

Our mama brought us apple juice and warm bread.  It was the perfect snack.

At one point, Chau put down her marker and said to me, "Everyone in my family really likes you."  I burst into a huge smile. I felt so loved! "I really like your family too," I said.  She looked away giggling and smiling, and went back to her drawing.