The Streets of Hanoi

I woke up this morning to join the rest of Hanoi in their morning exercises. You can find people of all ages walking around the famous Hoan Kiem Lake, stretching, and playing badminton. Though it was only 6:00 am, the streets were bustling and the street vendors were walking around selling xoi, sticky rice with ground peanuts and shredded pork wrapped up in a banana leaf. Little shops line the streets with tiny plastic tables and chairs that look like my play kitchen that I had as a child. Steam billows out of the large metal pots that contain the stock for the various noodle soups, such as pho, bun, & mien, served with pork, beef, duck, or chicken. As I walk the streets I breathe in Hanoi to take in all the smells, sounds, and sights that once were so commonplace to me. Though familiar, I cannot help but realize how the person that walked these streets a year ago is so different than the person who walks them now. The person now must culturally readjust when before she had become so accustom to life in Vietnam. For example, not letting the xe om drivers (motorbike taxis) who badger and follow all the foreigners around annoy me. Or the extreme high prices that they try to make you pay because you are a foreigner. I was used to the American value of equality but must readjust again. However, I now walk these streets with greater self-realization as this past year has been a road with a lot of tears and yet a lot of laughter. I come to Vietnam with a greater understanding of my weakness and my need for Him and look forward to what He has in store.