A Busy March so Far!

March 2nd Bai Dinh Pagoda Pilgrimage
We travelled 100km south of Hanoi to Bai Dinh, which is home to the tallest pagoda in Indochina. Actually the pagoda was pretty disappointing as it wasn't finished yet, but the temple itself stretched some 2km down a valley, along with shrines in caves and giant Buddhas, so it was definitely worth getting up early on a Saturday for!!

First time eating goat! Not bad :)

Hiking up the hill on a hot day was sweaty work!

A cave shrine where the school left an offering which had what looked like Smaug from the Hobbit!!

The tallest pagoda in Indochina.. but it wasn't finished!!

The crew!

March 3rd Girls' Festival (Japan)

 Toshi's mum kindly gave me this mini sized doll's set to celebrate the girl's festival on the 3rd!

For comparison here is the Yoshida's full set!!

International Women's Day March 8th

Flower gifts from students' parents and an early birthday celebration with coworkers

My team won!!! We won toothpaste of all things!

My Birthday March 10th
Happy birthday to me for last Sunday! I didn't get up to much, but I did see Oz: The Great and Powerful, which was pretty good!

 RIP my pet gecko, Tom (he sadly died in our cockroach trap) :(

March 16 Toshi's Assistant's Wedding Party
The Vietnamese really love a wedding and the more guests the better! So of course I, too, was invited to Toshi's coworker's wedding party. We took a long bus journey out west of the city and we stopped off at another coworker's house before the main party.

 A pre-party at one of Toshi's colleague's parent's home

 Toshi drank too much homemade wine and felt awful to everyone's amusement!

 Toshi belting out a Japanese number at the party!

The ladies! Interestingly the bride wasn't at her own wedding party, just the groom!!(??)

Happy St David's Day!

 

March is here, along with St David's Day, and my kids loved the Welsh Dragon flag design!   :D
今日はウェールズの日です！子共たちはウェールズの赤い竜すごく気に入った！

Last weekend Toshi and I enjoyed some amazingly yummy cheese fondue with a couple of his younger coworkers. The restaurant was a great find overlooking the large West Lake.
先週トシくんの同僚が二人と一緒にめちゃうまいチーズフォンデューを食べました！

 I was reminded of fondue nights with my parents a very long time ago

On Wednesday Night my school's umbrella company hosted a HUGE all-expenses-paid in a hotel conveniently near my house with over 500 attendees to celebrate the Lunar New Year! Although the food was rather disappointing, the entertainment sure wasn't!
水曜日の夜会社の新年会に参加しました。食べ物はまあまあだったのにすごくおもしろかった！

Various contests with money prizes were held and I participated in our school's 'flashmob' and with my friends in a dance contest.. we won 600,000 VND (16 pounds) each! I'm pleased with that!
グループダンスが二つはいりましたでお金もらいました！！

 Beer-drinking contest from a baby's bottle (my coworker- the tall one-won 2,000,000 VND!)

 My coworkers participating in the Snake fashion show- their group won!

 Our table :)

 Collecting second prize for our dance!

 Maple Bear staff groups shot!

We're Engaged!!

I'm sure most of you by now will have heard the news, but for those of you who haven't: Toshi ended our unforgettable vacation with a stunning sunset proposal!!

Anyway before all that, here is what we got up to during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Osaka
Osaka is my home from home. I admit I was homesick for Japan several times during my time in Hanoi, and it was wonderful to be in Japan again. Osaka brings the comforts of a loving family, familiar food, and also the excitement that one day I will call it Home when Toshi and I finally settle to start a family.

 Osaka Tower

Queuing up for 45 mins in the cold for kushikatsu, battered meat and veg skewers dipped in miso sauce

 

 Fushimi Inari in Kyoto for the Yoshida's annual New Year pilgrimage

 Outside ice skating.. Toshi was so happy to be on a real ice rink (you may recall Hanoi's plastic ice rink here)

Absolutely freezing night boat fishing near Kobe city port.. we caught 32 fish and a starfish.

The most amazing thing was the bio-luminescent plankton in the sea!!

Saipan

If you're Welsh you might have misread that as 'Siapan', but no, Saipan is not in Japan: it is in fact an American territory South-East of Japan and East of Philippines. It's an extremely popular destination for Japanese tourists, hence how we managed to find such a cheap tour package flying out from Osaka.

• Day 1

It was a real test of my stamina to keep swimming for 30 mins or so non-stop, but the breathtaking beauty of the ocean world beneath was well worth it. The picture above is not mine but gives a good impression of what it was like!!
I also learned the painful way to never touch a sea urchin :'(

A 20 minute boat journey from Saipan led us to Managaha Island. The white beach and pure blue sea reminded me of my visit to Phi Phi Island with my Grandad back in '98!

 Parasailing! Not nearly as scary as you might think, just a great view and a great memory!!

• Day 2

 Started off the day with a poolside swim

 An American-style lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe

 A romantic Valentine's Day sunset barbeque

Yummy seafood and interesting traditional dance entertainment

Me participating in the traditional dance; unbeknownst to me I would receive a proposal 15 minutes later!

As the waitress came with dessert, at the perfect moment I was served a ring box!

Of course I answered with a very teary 'yes!'

So to my family who are reading this, I hope you're reassured that I'm very happy and well-looked after, and we'll see you in Osaka for our wedding sometime within the next 20 months!

Tết Tết Tết Tết Đến Rồi! (Tet is coming!)

Tết, as the Chinese New Year is known in Vietnam, is fast approaching! This year will be the Year of the Golden Snake and it falls on Saturday night. It is basically a combination of the Japanese New Year (see my blog post here), the Western-style Christmas and everyone's birthday rolled into one.. so it's a pretty big deal!!!

日本風なお正月＋洋風なクリスマス＋みなさんの誕生日みたいな大きなエベントがやってきます。。ベトナムのお正月です！

Interestingly in Vietnam, everyone ages by one year at the Lunar New Year and not on their date of birth (though personal birthdays are still often celebrated Western-style, because, why not!?)

昨日天気がよくて出かけました！！
This weekend brought AMAZING summery weather (mid twenties and elusive blue skies!), and determined not to waste it, Toshi and I headed to Hoan Kiem to seek out Tết preparations following the recommendation of a student's parent.

Maple Bear End-of-the-Year Party
35 of the 70-or-so staff at our school gathered and pooled resources to fix up a hot pot in one of our classrooms! It was great to bring the staff together and my assistant cooked up such a yummy broth!!!
メープルベアで開いた鍋の忘年会 ！海老うまかった！

Veg, shrimp, chicken, tofu, beef and oysters! Don't forget the yummy MSG!

  Chicken foot- abundant with wrinkle-preventing collagen and elastane!

From this Friday Toshi and I will head to Osaka over the Lunar New Year holiday period until the 16th, including a brief trip to the Island of Saipan over Valentine's. This will be my first time to America.. though as it's not the mainland, not sure whether to count it or not! I'm sure you can guess I'm very excited!!
金曜日から吉田家によろしくおねがいします！