What a Strange Land I've Landed In...

Fourteen hours on a plane to Incheon, mad dash through the airport and another five hour flight to Vietnam, I finally land at Tan Son Nhat International Airport. Even though it was about 11 PM local time, the heat and humidity of Vietnam was enough to make me sweat through my shirt as we waited with about 100 other people for our luggage to arrive.

Going through customs was an oddity as they gave my mom a hard time about her Visa and then later on about the massive amounts of "drugs" she was carrying in her suitcase. She explained that the customs man was looking for his monetary bribe that should have been in her passport and as for the suitcase and the massive amounts of drugs they uncovered? Costco sized bottles of calcium supplements my mom brought for my grandparents. If not for a family friend who turned out to be friends with the customs agent, my parents would have to pay them $10. Not the best impression so far Vietnam!

Making our way to the taxi stand there are throngs of people waiting for their loved ones on the other side of a gate, some holding signs, others holding babies, while others just smoking a cigarette. This is where I met my half sister and my niece for the first time. I also met a couple of other people and re-met some family members that had visited Seattle years ago. All made the comment that I'm not fat (how my mom would describe me to my relatives), I just look strong and American-made (doesn't translate well into English what they actually said). At this point, I'm just a bit overwhelmed and just glued a smile to my face. We finally gather all our family and head off to grandma's house.

A daylight photo of my grandma's house. The homes in Vietnam are built up and not out. There are 2 floors above the ground floor. Once you walk into the front doors there is one room where there is a dining room table and a refrigerator, walk through the doors and it's a living room/bedroom where grandma sleeps, and through the final door is a bathroom and the kitchen. Upstairs are two bedrooms and a couple bathrooms and the very top floor has a bedroom and a bathroom. A side note about Vietnamese interior design, the bathrooms are one room with a sink, toilet, and shower. Literally nothing separates these three items. When you take a shower, your toilet will get wet and your toilet paper too if you are not careful. The first couple of showers took some getting used to but I think I've got the hang of it now :)