There's no Walmart and I'm OK with that.
Saturday I wanted to pick up an AC adapter and a patch cable. The adapter's for Nancy so she doesn't have to keep recharging batteries to run her portable CD player. The cable's so I can transfer some cassette tapes to CD. I have a course coming up that relies heavily on tapes and it's a pain trying to find the right place on a cassette.
Nancy's been battling a flu the last few days, so also I needed to pick up some stuff for her and get some groceries. One stop at a super store and it's covered, right?
Well, like I said, there's no Walmart (or Wegmans, Price Chopper, Target...).
Some parts of life aren't super-exciting. It's just life - probably like where you are. But at least you get to meet a lot of people along the way!
Saturday I wanted to pick up an AC adapter and a patch cable. The adapter's for Nancy so she doesn't have to keep recharging batteries to run her portable CD player. The cable's so I can transfer some cassette tapes to CD. I have a course coming up that relies heavily on tapes and it's a pain trying to find the right place on a cassette.
Nancy's been battling a flu the last few days, so also I needed to pick up some stuff for her and get some groceries. One stop at a super store and it's covered, right?
Well, like I said, there's no Walmart (or Wegmans, Price Chopper, Target...).
- First stop: A tiny shop around the corner from the school guesthouse to get some milk and juice for Nancy. Got milk; they're out of juice.
- Second stop: The local open market for a carrot, 2 red bell peppers and some fresh basil. I can make supper out of that and the green beans and pork we've got at home. On the way out of the market, I buy a couple of pomelos (think grapefruit only bigger, more seeds, and a little sweeter). That will give Nancy some Vitamin C.
- Third stop: After dropping the food at home, I hop on my bicycle and head for an electronic shop down near Hai Ba Trung Street. I could probably find an adapter and cable closer to home, but I know that if they don't have it they can tell me who does. The guy and girl who work there are really nice so that's been my shop since I've come to Hanoi.
- Fourth stop: The computer store near the VKO center for a $10 webcam. (My electronics shop doesn't carry them.) It's a little busy inside because they've got a dirt-cheap special on USB drives if you show them a student ID.
- Fifth stop: The bun bo nam bo shop for two bowls "to go." It's near home, so I don't have to balance it on my handlebars very long.
Some parts of life aren't super-exciting. It's just life - probably like where you are. But at least you get to meet a lot of people along the way!
I would rather make five stops in Ha Noi than just one in Philadelphia any day.
ReplyDeletelove Kristen
P.S. how's the wifey?
How is Nancy feeling?? I hope she's better. You are so sweet to take care of her :)
ReplyDeleteThanks. Nancy's doing better. Cough's almost gone.
ReplyDelete