Xin chao, everyone!

I hope you're doing fantastic!

One of the biggest lessons we learned with regards to developing any sort of public health program is long-term sustainability. I've taken 4 Uber rides and 1 taxi ride during my time in Hanoi. Not a single driver spoke english. The results of my naiveté and lack of travelling has left me with a major conclusion: longterm sustainability in Hanoi will be contingent on me learning some Vietnamese - at least some of the basics. Enough to say "hello", "thank you", "drop me off here", and "how much for a coffee?" should be sufficient.

I woke up this morning around 4:30am because I slept on my arm funny, and I woke up with SUPER bad "pins and needles" in my left arm (this would make for a super effective alarm clock). It got me up out of bed, and I was ready for my breakfast out on the balcony around 5:30am. The sun rises quite early here!

Breakfast for champions

I decided to take my camera out and shoot some pictures before my workday started. I walked out to the lake right beside my apartment. It's amazing to see how many people start their day over by this lake! Whether it's eating pho, doing yoga stretches, or fishing with a loaf of bread and a rod (like the two kids in the picture below), there was a lot of activity going on by 7am!

I wonder if the fish they caught ended up... breaded. GET IT?!

It wasn't just humans that were occupying the space around the lake. There was animals. These dudes were roaming freely in the street.

YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!

By 7:30am, there was a thunderstorm. It took about 30 seconds to be in full effect. The torrential downpour had me running to seek shelter, which I found inside a small coffee shop. Only 20,000 Vietnamese Dong for a coffee! I grabbed two cups just in time for my weekly phone meeting with the ALLbility team. Yay guys! We can keep our 9pm (ie. 8am) meeting times! #ALLbility #SEEDSquad #11HourTimeDifference

Group conference call using the borderline-acceptable cafe wifi

I got to work around 9am and was greeted by cheerful smiles. I'm really enjoying the folks I work with. I'm also quite interested in the work that HealthBridge is involved with. I'm really looking forward to working with them this summer. I can see this becoming a growing passion of mine.

Some more great eating at the HealthBridge Vietnam office. Fresh food made by the chef!

Yum 2

Eggplant? Or brain?

Yum 1

I stayed in the office until 6:30pm. The traffic on the way home was absolutely nuts - and totally normal for here (I feel like I'm already used to it?). As I walked into my apartment, I met a couple that lives in my building. They moved to Hanoi 4 months ago to teach english!

Wow, eh? You don't say...

Cool building close to my desk window at HealthBridge

Two days here, and I think I'm falling in love with Hanoi. It's a total shit-show here (I won't lie), but it's got an incredible energy that I've never experienced before in a city. I'm not trying to jump the gun here, but my professor Dr. Charles Trick might have been right to say to me that I wouldn't come back to Canada, and that I'd settle in Vietnam. COULD YOU IMAGINE?!

If you're interested in experiencing Hanoi firsthand, feel free to contact me. If you're planning on visiting soon, we could grab some coffee! And if you're planning on moving here in the fall... maybe we could even be roommates?!

Wishing everyone all the best. Talk to you soon!

#HelloHanoi

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Snapchat: Biophile

Instagram: josiah_marquis

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