Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Love Day!

Two years on, I still get a giggle out of Vietnamese to English translations.

Tonight we celebrated Valentines Day, or "Love Day" as it's referred to in Vietnam, at the Hoi An restaurant in Saigon's District 1.

Hoi An is a fine dining Vietnamese restaurant, catering to foreigners, that serves up Imperial style dishes from central and south Vietnam (as well as a few northern dishes for good measure!).

We were led to a table scattered with red rose petals (aawww!) and offered a pink heart-shaped menu with love-themed cocktails and food.

Sadly I didn't take a photo, but one of the dishes was called "Love Lobster" ... you get the drift! 

I had a fit of the giggles when the waiter handed Rob a blank Valentine's Day card, with a note directing him "for your written wishing to your lover on the Day of Love". The look on his face was priceless as he tried to guage whether the guy was actually serious!

From the way the waiter explained it we were both concerned that whatever message Rob wrote was going to be read out to the entire restaurant! (just in case, he kept it clean!)

Another priceless lost in translation Vietnam moment!

Happy Love Day!

Love Day aside, today we also celebrated two years in Vietnam. This time 24 months ago we packed our life into 4 large suitcases and boarded a plane headed for Hanoi.

While for much of the early months in Hanoi I could have easily run back to Australia with my tail between my legs, I'm glad we stuck it out.

Two years on, the frustrations are but a distant memory and I now actually miss Hanoi and appreciate the time we had there.

The friends we've made, and the travels and experiences we've had along the way, have made the low times more than worth it.

As scary as it is to not know a definite timeline for our future in Vietnam (12 months more, but who knows?) I'm happy we're still here.

Here's a few shots of Team Somerville two years ago at the Brisbane International Airport as we headed off on our great adventure. Ahhh, memories!

Georgia and Tash

Mackenzie, Rob and Georgia

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