Today is the 6th January of the year of the ox. It has been nearly a week since I had my hair washed. I decided to go to the hairdresser's. It took me 1.5 hrs there. Then I took my son to the zoo. I wanted him to enjoy the fresh air instead of staying in in such a nice weather. It was sunny, warm, about 20 degrees, ideal for going out. We set off at past 11. We spent two hours there in a natural area.

The zoo is the same, nothing new. But the most important is that my son had a good time. He fed the monkeys, the goats and the sheep. On the way back to the gate, he took some photos of me. I look fatter after Tet holiday. I add 1 photo here.

We left the zoo and went to a KFC on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street. My son likes KFC. He ate 4 legs of chicken, a record. On the road, he sang something I didn't understand. I am sure that my son was happy.

The second day of the New Year

The weather was fine: cold but dry and a bit sunny. My family-in-law had lunch at my youngest sister-in-law. After that my husband, my son and I went to visit my mother. We stayed there until 6 pm.

My mother told me that the day before my old friend, Mr. Hung, went to visit her. I have known him since I was in Grade 12. He still remembers my family. At about 4pm another old friend came, Mrs. Thuys, with her two cute sons. We used to be very close. Now when we work in different places, live in different parts of the city, and above all, we have a family to take care of, we rarely meet each other. So this Tet, I feel very happy when old friends return.

Last night, I did not sleep well. I woke up at 4 am. I could not sleep again until 5 am. I got up at 8.15. I saw my son's picture drawn last night on the floor. I picked it up and found it was funny. His talent is improving every day. I decided to write my new post and add his painting here.

Lunar New Year 2009

It is colder and colder. The themormeter says that it is 12 degrees in my room. I just want to stay inside. Last night, New Year's Eve, like most of Vietnamese people, I stayed up late to welcome New Year and to send wishes to my friends and give lucky money to family members wishing them a good year. At midnight, every body went up to the top floor to pray and to release what is called Sky Light and watch the firework. It drizzled so we could not see the firework clearly. I went back to the room. I felt sad. I missed my father, he passed away more than 50 days. I cried for him. We stayed until 1 am, and then we went to sleep. I woke up quite early, about 6 am.

I ate a bit too much yesterday and today. Holiday - no working - just eating. I think I will become fatter after Tet holiday. I hope just a little. I don't want to be fat.

In the afternoon, I went to the local pagoda. It is customary/traditional to go to pagodas on the first days of the new year.

Dao blossoms

I don't know how to insert 2 photos in one post so I have to write a new post to insert my dao blossoms. Luckily, the branch was brought to Hanoi when it was warm, a good weather condition for the flowers to show their beauty. (Today is very very cold.)

My son

This is my son. His name is Nguyen Minh Anh. His nick name is Bob. He was born in 1999. Now he is in Grade 4. He likes watching Disney Channel and playing with Lego. He is good at arts. He studies arts at Children's Palace near Hoan Kiem Lake, once a week. He started studying there when he was 5 years old, twice a week in summer holiday and once a week during the school year. He has won several prizes for his paintings (of course some money). I hope when he grows up, he can become an architect or an artist. Bob also likes reading stories, especially Doremon. I bought him a collection of 45 Doremons. He reads them again and again. He remembers the name of each story. His aunt challenges him by reading some lines and asking him which story the lines are from. He tells her the name exactly. I love my son and feel very proud of him.

Tet holiday

I am a teacher, so my Tet holiday is so long, from January 17 to February 8. I just stay at home ( I mean no going away), doing some housework and going out to watch others shopping for Tet and to feel the Tet/spring atmostphere. The weather was so nice: dry, sunny, not too cold. But today is different: cold and drizzly, a typical spring weather.

Mr. Hung, my older brother, presented me a branch of dao flowers. He said he bought it in the moutainous province. He couldn't give it to me in person because he is busy now with transporting goods. He is a driver. My other older brother, Mr. Thang, was responsible for the delivery. I put it in a waste basket ( I have no vase which is big enough to put the branch in) and on the balcony, in front of the door. So, I can see it every day from inside my room. It has got a lot flowers. The flowers are not pink and they do have a lot petals, like dao in Hanoi and neighbouring provinces. They still look beautiful and wild. The branch reminds me of my dear brothers.

Two days ago, I went to a flower and bonsai markets in Nghi Tam and Au Co Roads. They sold a lot of kinds of flowers for Tet: mandarin orange trees, dao flowers, roses, gladiolus, daisy, orchids, apricot blossom and bonsai. So beautiful. The most expensive was orchids. I found a cluster of orchids at a price of 15 million dongs, wow, my distant dream. I bought 5 violet tulips. The colour is so beautiful. I put them on the window sill and water them twice everyday. My friend said that tulips need lots of water. That means it is not too difficult to look after this kind of flowers.

Spouse on business

Mr. Trong, my husband is away on business until the 11th January. He does some work in CaMau, a province in the South. Since he flew there, he has sent only one very short message to my family, informing that he was going to Camau by coach. I wished him a safe trip. No missing, no talking, no caring for his son at all. What a strange person!

Beginning of semester 2

The second semester started on 5th January. I have 45 teaching periods each week. This means that I cut down on workload. However, I still teach two private classes. So little time to relax. I am in charge of 4 classes of third year students, 1 class of second year and 4 classes of first year. Students are so nice.
Nothing to say about the course books as well as the supplementary. Hope the semester will run smoothly.

Manage to create my blog

Blogs are not new to a lot of people in the world, but for me it is something strange. I have a blog on yahoo but no time to upgrade it. I am too busy with work.