Day 6: Market & Train to Hanoi

The theme of the day was me blushing... seriously I need to get this handicap under control. So what huge blush worthy experiences happened Saturday above and beyond the photography, touching and staring experiences that happened earlier in the week? Come gather 'round children while I tell you a tale of epically embarrassing proportions. On Saturday morning I went to a traditional market (think labyrinth, eclectic and kaleidoscope) with some great women from the NEU group. As per usual I felt many eyes on me (perhaps more so because we weren't in a foreigner tourist area) but until we stopped at a seafood table there was nothing out of the ordinary. A couple of women near by began speaking to my companions in Vietnamese, so I tuned out and was looking at some dried meats (intense smell), until I realized they were talking about me. It started innocently with one woman asking how old I was, then slowly other women materialized saying đẹp (beautiful) and asking question like where I'm from, what I'm doing so far from home etc. But my personal favourite question was when one woman asked me if I had ever considered marrying a Vietnamese man! By the end of it there was a group of at least 15 women surrounding me trying to take me home to meet their sons. I can't imagine a human face being a deeper shade of red than mine was then. I can't wait to be anonymous again.

But my blushing for the day was not yet over, although thankfully its reoccurrence was pink and not red. On the train ride back to Hanoi my cabin was the party room apparently because it was constantly filled with people. For one reason or another the conversation got to me... and stayed there. Once the general questions died down and people went back to playing cards one person continued the interrogation by asking questions about my non-existent boyfriend in Canada, how many kids I want, if I like asian children... subtle eh? I was flattered because the person asking was attractive. However I later had to revisit the boyfriend question because one of the young boys (about 6 years old) decided we're dating. So I'm spoken for now everyone, sorry. I'm sure there are lots of broken hearts ;) haha.