Great day so far!

I love my neighborhood :) the drive to school is a bit of a drag (especially during monsoon season probably) BUT I think worth it.

This morning I found a lovely cafe... I sat on the 3rd floor next to the window and enjoyed a delicious latte while reading my Kindle. I've been reading two novels that are set in France (as that is where my parents are right now for vacation) and as I read, I get lost in the story and then am surprised to realize where I am when I look up! I don't expect to be in France... I expect to be in a coffee shop in the U.S. ha.

Here's my yummy latte :) ...and you can see the napkin and 'complimentary' iced tea behind... I didn't use either today.  :P  I really liked this cafe and, being only 2 blocks from my place, hope to become a 'regular'.  :)

 Here is the view from where I sat... you can see the supermarket (CoOp) across the street and to the right.  [You can always click on each picture to make it bigger if you want.]  :)

 The cafe... it's called Bud's - and they serve ice cream sundaes and burgers/fries too! That will be a nice treat.  :)

Bud's... I sat on the 3rd floor, all the way to the left side.

 The supermarket (the first two floors of the huge building).

When I crossed the canal and got turned around last night, I ran into a great market (I hope I'm able to find it again!)... I bought these gerber daisies... just like the ones that my mom got for my going away party in NY!! They brighten up my apartment perfectly.

Mai, my landlord, came into the apartment this afternoon to show me how to use and program the safe that they got for me. She loved what I've done with the apartment so far! She said that it looks much nicer (my neighbor, Nico, from China said that there was a guy from Malasia in here before)... and she loved the flowers.  :)  I think she was surprised haha. I told her that I wanted to make it feel like home. (She also loved my bedspread! She was so impressed that my mom made it... and said that the pattern even looks Vietnamese!)

Mai also showed me a place to buy bread and another for fruit that she said are both good... and they are just around the corner from my place! I feel like I'm conquering a few things each day, which feels great.

Also when I was lost last night, I got these two ceramic containers... they are from a guy on the street that I've seen on my motorbike rides to and from school... it was $1.50 for the two of them. Things are crazy-cheap here... but food and house items in the supermarket are comparable to home... food at restaurants and things on the street are super cheap.

This is the note that I left on some of my work clothes today.  :P  They don't need to be washed but I did want them to be ironed since they've been in my suitcase for about a week and are all wrinkled. I used my phrasebook to write it... it says, "Can you iron these? Thank you!" When Mai came in, I asked her if it was correct... she read it and said yes! She asked if it was my handwriting and said, "You know how to write in Vietnamese?!" haha... I said not really... and showed her the phrasebook. She thought it was great though. 

There was a knock at the door a bit ago and it was the housekeeper coming for my laundry... I showed her the note and the clothes and she smiled and said, "Ok, ok!" She seemed happy to be able to understand the note... very cool! 

Next... trying to get clothes dry cleaned :P

I'm off again now - going to go to a nail salon across from Bud's Cafe... I plan to try out a manicure and pedicure!