Color Me Run - Hanoi

Yup, you read that right. Hanoi has a Color Me Run - AND I RAN IN IT!

Now, when I go to a race, I go to RUN. That however, was not the case for the rest of Hanoi. Let me tell you what happened.

My running crew and I get geared up and head to the course (it was a mid-day race). Once there, we see a FEW other foreigners in their gear, and TONS of Vietnamese in their Color Me Run shirts, with heels, hair/makeup done, jeans, etc. I then thought to myself "oh, they must be the spectators". Wrong again.

My Running Crew

So we line up at the starting line, but instead of starting the race: it's concert time! That's right. Instead of using our energy running, we first were supposed to jump around and learn a big group warm-up dance.

Concert Time?

After that, then we could start. We lined up, and they let us start in various groups. So once we were finally at the front and ready to go - it was running time!

Finally Lining Up

Ready to Run!

***If you've never done a color run, its a regular race but at certain intervals they throw powdered color on you, and by the end of the race you have gone from clean white to a rainbow. 

Upon the first "color spot" I saw it happening...a wall of Vietnamese people had stopped to take pictures, selfie, throw color. There was no way through. I was NOT putting up with it...I was here to RUN! So, I ran on the outside of the color spot, and kept going. I think I only ran through a total of 2 color spots - the yellow one and the red one. The rest were packed with the VN taking pix, so I ran around it.


Turns out, the race wasn't a 5k as advertised, but instead, a 3.6k. A little disappointing since I had been hoping for a 5k.

YAY WE FINISHED!

Group Shot of the Finishers!

I have never been in a race with so many walkers, photo-takers, SMOKERS, etc. It was DEF a bizarre experience. But, probably my fault for thinking it was actually be a RUN!

Xin Chao,
Apes 

A whole New world!

No, I'm not in a new country - still here in Hanoi, Vietnam. BUT - a lot of new things have happened:

1) New apartment. That's right - I've moved YET again. But this is the last move for me while in Hanoi. I've moved from an amazing shared house with amazing housemates to a single bedroom apartment. I now live beside a burrito restaurant, wine store, and mini corner shop. I'm on the top floor (5) and have a gorgeous view of Hanoi and Westlake. I've fixed it up with rugs, curtains, paintings on the wall, etc. It actually feels like a home instead of a temporary living space. 

And the best part - my new cleaner! That's right, I got to hire my own instead of having the one that "comes with the house". My friend recommended his, and she is AMAZING! She comes once a week to clean and do my laundry. She also picks up my groceries (fruit/veg) from her local market, and even cooks dinner for me on the day she comes (Thursdays). So on Thursdays I come home to a clean house, clean clothes, a stocked fridge, and dinner on the table. Yes, I am loving it. 

My Kitchen

2) New job. Well, not really. I'm still at the same learning center (ACET), but have a new title. I am not longer a "Senior Teacher" but am now a "Coordinator". Essentially, I am not a department head. I am in charge of the teenager english program. I handle the curriculum, hold presentations for parents, set up the schedule, and etc. Yup, I'm a boss. And the pay raise wasn't too bad ;)

3) New Hobby. Yup, I'm into coloring. I'm sure you have (hopefully) heard of the "Secret Garden" series of coloring books. They are very intricately designed books, and a group of girls here in Hanoi have all hopped on the bandwagon. We have started meeting up with our books and just coloring by the lake. Since I can't draw, paint, or do anything artistic, this is perfect. 

BUT - I'm also back to running! Well, kind of. I signed up for a 5k run at the end of September. MY first run was last week and it was 15 minutes...have to start somewhere, right! I haven't been on a run since due to the rain (UGH!)....I decided to start up again after about a month of doing some Personal Training at a local gym - and my trainer wants to do some races as well. So I figured, why not?!

4) New Man. Yes, this is probably what you all REALLY want to know about. I am dating an Irishman named Mark. We've been seeing each other for a few months now, and we have become an official couple. We've been on a couple holidays together already (Hoi An/Danang and a bike trip to Mai Chau). And yes, he's younger. 

Hoi An - Vietnam

Mai Chau - Vietnam

So - lots of new things happening on my end. All good things, so that is great....it should make for a great new year here in Hanoi. 

Xin Chau,

Apes

So I'm a Vegan...

....temporarily. That's right. This dairy and meat lover has cut both things out of her life. But NOT forever. So let's get down to when and WHY I did such a thing.

On July 7th I decided to be Vegan for a week. WHY?!?!?! Well, I have some vegan friends here in Hanoi and love eating with them. It's always an adventure of where we are gonna go and what we are gonna eat. I always let them pick the restaurants because of course I can eat anywhere, they cannot. So, I decided to see what life was like in their world.

Week 1 - week 1 was pretty exciting. I was eating at different restaurants, eating new dishes, and of course getting lots of recommendations from other vegans and vegetarians. I was told that the first week I'd be tired and cranky. Well, that got me worried because I was only going to do it for a week! So, I decided to do a month of being Vegan (or so I thought). My body felt lighter, I was sleeping well, and I was actually in a great mood instead of being tired and cranky.

1st Vegan Meal - Ba Chi Em (normal Tuesday lunch with Anna)

Was running late - so grabbed this on the way to work

Yup - DOUBLE CHOC VEGAN ICE CREAM! @ Italiano Gelato

Field of Dreams Burger @ Republic (mushroom burger minus the cheese)

Week 2 - well, the newness and excitement of trying a new thing is wearing off. I've now been to BBQ's, meat streets, etc. where I've not had any meat and dairy. My body is a little more tired this week, I think the "stored protein" has evaporated and my body isn't getting any new protein from daily meat sources. I've been eating my nuts and berries, but it's just not the same.

100k vnd ($5) Vegan Buffet @ Loving Hut

I figured the meat would be the hard part of this, as I LOVE my crispy pork, bbq chicken, and smoked duck breast. However, those things didn't really bother me too much. The hard part was dairy. I knew not having milk in my coffee, or eggs for breakfast would be hard. But I didn't realize how much dairy products add flavor to BURRITOS! Yes, that's right. I can no longer be vegan due to Mexican food. For the past 2 nights I have gone to SaltnLime (which will be my next door neighbor in about 2 weeks) and gotten a burrito, and then a burrito bowl. Of course I ordered the veggie one, with no cheese and no sour cream. My mouth kept wondering what was going on. Then it realized the travesty of what I was doing by leaving out the good parts. So it's been decided. I will end being vegan at the end of week 2. BUT I will continue on with the vegetarianism until the end of the month. I think that's a good compromise for my taste buds.

Stay tuned for how I will feel at the end of the month....and how I'll feel after my reunion with meat.

Xin Chao,
Apes

Adventure Feet...addition

In case you haven't seen my feet in 4 years, there have been some ongoing additions to them. TATTOOS! Since living in my first foreign country (Thailand), I have been tattooing my feet in the local language. One simple word....Adventure. Of course! What else would I be putting on my feet? So far I have Thai, Myanmar, and Korean...until yesterday.

Yesterday I added the Vietnamese addition = phiêu lưu. Wanna see how it's going so far? Well, here's ya go...

Upper Left - My tattoo artist, Jack (at NinjaInk)
Upper Right - Before the addition
Lower Left - Getting it done!
Lower Right - The vietnamese addition

That's all for these feet...until my next move...

Xin Chao,
Apes :)