Chom Chom

Meeting the kids

By David Brhlik 


Since my arrival in Viet Nam, I have found the people to be extremely friendly even to me, a white person.  Here, where many people have never seen my color of skin and eyes, I get many strange looks and stares. I for once am an exotic creature! My fellow work-campers and I are all entertained by this wherever we go. Today it seemed like every motorcycle we saw on the street today could spot me wherever I was in the crowd.


Every day I'm learning more of the Vietnamese language. Thanks to my friends, I now know how to say "Cam on" and "toi khong noi tien viet." And I am putting it to good use! Whenever i try to speak to the locals, they are always very amused and of course friendly.

Chom Chom

To me, one of the largest differences between back home and Viet Nam is the food. The fruits here are amazing! I have tried dragonfruit and chom chom, and they are my new favorite foods! In fact, I ate a whole plate of chom chom yesterday! I can't wait to try jackfruit and durian. Before I went on this trip, I was not able to use chopsticks very well. I now use them for every single meal!