Hath
not where to lay his head,
The
first part of November we spent casually looking for places to stay
when we got back from our trip back to the States. No one wanted to
sign an agreement so far out though. We packed up all of our stuff,
separating out what we would take with us and the stuff we’d leave
at Thuan’s great Aunt’s place. No moving trucks, and we don’t
know anyone who owns a car, so we moved via taxi and motorbike.
Thankfully we don’t own any furniture, but we’ve definitely seen
some crazy stuff on motorbikes around here. Thuan’s great Aunt
invited us to stay at one of her company’s hotels that had just
opened a few days prior. That night a typhoon hit the area and we
learned that not all of the windows had been entirely sealed off from
the elements. They had a delicious breakfast and a nice pond to sit
in while eating. One was deliberate, the other not so much. Thuan’s
family out in Tien Phuoc mentioned that their first floor was flooded
and they had to bring everything up to the second floor. We saw
pictures of people using boats in the streets of Hoi An, about 30
minutes south of us. Our last night in Vietnam we spend in the hotel
run by Thuan’s great Aunt’s son’s wife. The next morning we
requested a Grab (southeast Asia’s Uber) to take us the airport.
After 10 minutes the guy, not having moved in the time as the app
shows, texted us to say it was too far. He was around the block, and
we were going to the airport 5 minutes away. We got there without
his help, whereupon we flew to Hong Kong.
Hong
Kong is Asia for people who aren’t sure they want to go to Asia.
Everything is written in Chinese and English, everywhere. Most
natives can speak both. It’s relatively western and modern
touristy and business areas, but if you want to get an Asian flavor,
that’s not too far away either. It took us some time to get from
the airport to our hotel due to us having too many people to get into
a taxi, but we eventually found a guy that didn’t care. We stayed
in Mui Wo, took the ferry to Hong Kong island, went up the very steep
Peak Tram to Peak Tower and got a wonderful view of the city. It’s
a lovely place that we plan on seeing again. We then flew to Chicago
with a short layover in Beijing.
By the
time we got to our hotel in Chicago, ate and got ready for bed, it
was 6:30 pm local time, and we were all exhausted so we went to bed.
At some point in the night I woke up. It was dark outside. I prayed
it was closer to 5 or 6, but dreaded it was only midnight or only 1.
Within a few minutes everyone was awake, so I opened my eyes and
looked at the clock. It was 8:30 pm. So now it’s bed time, and
everyone just woke up from a nap. We stayed up until a little after
midnight, then went to bed, tossing and turning, and finally got a
few hours of sleep. We got ready, and headed out to Detroit for
Thuan’s brother’s wedding.
We
stayed with the whole family in a large AirBnB house just outside of
the city. The Detroit Temple was supposed to be closed, but they
opened it just for this wedding. It’s a nice temple as temples
are, and it was a nice ceremony. Before it started, Thuan asked the
sealer if she could have a moment to hug her brother as she hadn’t
seen him since he left on his mission, and he allowed it. It was a
sunny day, but pictures were still cold and afterwards we headed to a
chapel for the reception. In Vietnam, it’s common for little boys
to whip it out and pee where they are in the streets. Ronin did it a
few times. We forgot to mention to him that you don’t do that in
the States. He peed in one of the fake trees in the cultural hall.
“Haha, whose kid is that? Certainly not our child!” we might
have been heard to say. The bride and groom headed off on their
honeymoon, and we stayed another couple of sleepless nights and
tiring days in Detroit before heading back to Chicago for a couple of
days of sightseeing. We ended up driving around under the city but
eventually found our way out. We picked up our renatl vehicle where
we flew in, which was O’Hare, but we flew out of Midway. Somehow,
we made it to the airport on time and arrived in Seattle late enough
that instead of going to Matt and Shelly Astles right away, we got a
rental car and stayed at a hotel one night. In the time we were in
Chicago area, we got almost to the point of sleeping at the right
time, but were still a few hours off. Flying to Seattle did the
trick.
Here's the summary for November. This time Michael's wedding will be the focus.
Chicago was a much needed stop. We were so jetlag this time around because we pretty much didn't stop for a week at a time and slowly adjust to the different time zones. We got to our hotel and slept for 3 hours, and then everyone was awake and we spent the next day sleeping in like vampires and awake at night. We had to ask the hotel to give us a few hours before checking out. Then the next day we rested and then drove to Detroit. By that time we were somewhat adjusted and when we met up with my family it was as if we'd never left. Three months go by extremely fast and we loved every family gatherings.
The next day after we got in to Detroit we met and saw my brother whom I haven't seen for 2 years in a distance inside the temple. That was emotional. Everyone had seen him the night before at dinner but that was my first time. Then we saw him in the sealing room also in the distance. I had to ask the sealer before he begin to give me a second to hug my brother because I couldn't stand it anymore. I couldn't wait 'til the end of the ceremony to give my brother a hug. I HAVEN'T SEEN HIM IN 2 YEARS!!! The wedding happened so quick. He was home for less than 2 weeks from his mission before marrying the love of his life. He's always been my baby brother that spent many summers with me. Ok so there was a bit of jealousy that I didn't get to spend time with him before he ran off and got married. But I couldn't be happier for him and I love my new sister in law.
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