Hoi An is a quaint coastal town in the middle of Vietnam. It has charming narrow alleys filled with bright flowers, strung with lanterns and flags. Family owned restaurants serve delicious spring roles, cao lau (pork over udon noodle) and newly discovered Vietnamese pancakes - crispy egg on rice paper with fresh herbs. Rice fields surround the town with roaming water buffalo grazing. And the beautiful Da Ang beach runs the length of the town where tourists sunbath while fisherman go out for shrimp in tiny round fishing boats.
We first got to visit Hoi An with B and Davey and then we got to return after they left to live "regular life" for a couple weeks. It is always interesting to see what we do with this down time. Trae seems to settle right in, finding what he likes (specific eateries and the beach) and doing it again and again. After a few days, I start craving new experiences and interactions.
We established a loose routine: eating breakfast at our little Daisy Hotel, doing online learning, going to the beach where we'd munch on snacks of mango and yogurt or egg bahn mi, showers, and finding something yummy for dinner.
We rarely disrupted this routine, but once in a while we sought novelty, and, when we did...we tended to regret it. We ventured to Ba Na Hills to see the mountains. The cable car ride was beautiful, but at the top was a strange French wonderland for tourists, complete with blaring Jurassic park theme music, animal themed manicured gardens, and unique bridge sculptures.
Disillusioned with venturing out, we quickly returned to our usual, seeking novelty amidst the routine. Poppy and I practiced the electric slide to Beyoncé's Texas hold 'em on the beach. Grayson threw his football to Trae, to Poppy, to me, to himself and to the waves in the ocean. I painted and did yoga and listened to The Mountains Sing (a beautiful historical fiction book about Vietnam) while I walked on the beach early in the morning. We all learned Tien Len and started bringing cards to dinner. Grayson practiced remembering and ordering all of our meals.
At dinner, we took turns teaching one another something we had learned earlier in the day. I taught the kids Motivational Interviewing skills, Poppy recited multiplication facts and taught us about dividing fractions, Trae told us why Caitlin Clark is such a good player, and Grayson taught us about the world's deadliest fart (citation TedED).
We wandered into town where we took a lantern making lesson and watched glowing boats on the river.
Finally, we walked home past a local minimart where the owner stored a stash of snickers bars in a Tupperware in a cooler - a special cool treat before getting a good night sleep and starting again the next day.
Not quite travel and not quite home...but we found our way staying put in Hoi An. - Kim
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