Night Market Fun

​A fiend from the south came to visit us and we decided to go to the Night Market to get some souvenirs. I thought it would be fun to invite some of our friends from school to join us.

So we met at our apartment at 7 and we motorbiked to the Old Quarter. Our language tutor convinced us to drive and I'm so glad she did. There is nothing like driving around the city and experiencing everything the way the locals do :).

At the Old Quarter we walked around the lake and saw some of the touristy things. We met two guys who wanted to practice their English. Our friend, Matt, as the only guy in our group so the guys seemed to flock to him. It was really funny!

Matt was so much fun and a great sport as he was the only guy with 7 girls! 

After walking around the lake we headed to the Night Market to do some SHOPPING! As we were walking around and bartering we started sharing our testimonies and stories with each other. Our 3 friends from work are not believers but they listened to our stories. I really pray God softens their hearts to know Him. I love how God uses all of us at different times to do his work and share about Him.

This was probably one of the best night I have had. Just seeing God move is amazing and sharing stories is great! I learned so much about others and about God. It was such a blessing and a great start to our long 4 day weekend!

Our group eating Kem Caramen. *Ngan is taking the picture*

Did I Really Do That?

So on Wednesday, my roommate and I were going to some stores to get some things we are going to need to make Thanksgiving dinners this weekend. One of the things we needed was a 9x13 pan to cook the turkey in, that hopefully fit into our toaster oven. Yes we are going to attempt to cook a turkey in our toaster over. It has been done before by people we know. However, this will be my first time ever cooking a turkey and I am using a toaster oven. I am praying I don't fail!

So finding a 9x13 pan (or 33x23 when using the metric system) was a challenge. A friend of mine told me about a store that sold baking pans and she sent me the website. When I clicked on the link, the website had been disabled. You can't get in a taxi without knowing were you are going so we had to find another place to get a pan. Thankfully we work with some awesome people and they called around and found a place. So we hop in a taxi (in the pouring rain) and head to the store. 

The store is down this small alley. Most stores in alleys don't really have doors. So you just walk right on in. So the taxi dropped us off and it is still pouring down rain, so we run to the entryway. Me, being the bright person that I am, decide to get out of the rain and go straight into the store. Well... there was a glass door (that was cleaned so well it looked like it wasn't even there) and I headbutted the door. I was so ready to get out of the cold rain and get the baking pan that I practically ran head first into this door. Yep. I really did that. I hit my head so hard I blacked out for a second because they next thing I remember is catching myself before falling on top of a motorbike. 

DID I REALLY JUST DO THAT??? I can't believe I had ran into the door. Never in my life have I done that. And you would think that I would of thought about the Windex commercial where the bird sees the clean window and thinks that its open. However, I thought of the movie The Other Woman, where the guy at the end runs into a glass window/door and breaks his nose and then does it again and breaks the glass. Thankfully neither of those things happened to me!

The lady working at the store didn't really know what I did because she was watching a youtube video. I think she just thought I knocked on the door because then she opened it without saying anything to me. We were only in the store for maybe 5 minutes and by the time we left I had a huge knot on my forehead. I still can't believe I did that!!!

I did it!

I did it. I went to the supermarket by myself!  

After church I had lunch with some other young adults at the church. It was so nice to met others living here. I really think I am going to like it here. There is a group of young adults that meet every Thursday. I am hoping to go this Thursday and get plugged in :).

But this post isn't about that. This is about my major accomplishment! I have been here for 10 days and today I successfully went to the supermarket by myself. I hailed a taxi (unfortunately the most expensive one) and asked them to take me to Big C (the supermarket). It's a little far away so I got a little nervous when it took so long and I haven't quite figured my way around (so the streets all look unfamiliar). But when we got close I knew we were in the right place! There was a big sign that said Big C :). 

I went inside and they wrapped my bag (you have to have your purse wrapped to prevent shoplifting but it also prevents pickpockets). Then I went shopping. I bought a new pillow for my bed because I am borrowing my principal's pillow and sheets because I forgot mine in the States. I was going to by sheets but I don't know the diminisions of my bed, so I will get those next weekend!

I also bought my groceries for the week. Lots of chicken, some garlic, and onion. I also bought a six pack of Sprite and some avocados :). They are super cheap here (less than $1 for a kilogram) and they are big :).  

 At the market there is a lot of fish. That is alway how you know you are shopping in Asia!

I steer clear of the fish, but there is a lot of it! 

I know those!!! They have Goldfish here and they are only $3. In China they were like $6. 

After I chose my groceries it was time to stand in line to pay. Well I had 54 lanes (yes you read that right) to choose from. So I stood in line and waited. With 54 lines it only took like 5 minutes but it was kind of slow for a Sunday. The cashier rang up my groceries and I bagged them myself (this is where working at Kroger comes in handy). I paid (350,000 = $16) and I was on my merry way. 

The registers. There are 54 of them!!! 

Then I got a taxi (again an expensive one but one thing at a time). For some reason some taxis don't know how to get back to my apartment. So he started driving and I just kept getting more and more nervous. The streets are still unfamiliar and I don't see any buildings I recognize. But then I see Star Tower which is a building I know! But my driver turns the other direction. Uh Oh! Now we are entering a part of the city I don't know. So I have to tell the driver to turn around and go back to where I can see Star Tower! Thankfully he is really nice and doesn't kick me out of his car! He turns around and we head back. He turns on a street that looks familiar and I see the park! I know the park! I live straight down the street from the park! So he finally gets me home! 

So I accomplished two things today! I went to the supermarket and I got myself home! Even with getting a little lost on the way, it's a pretty big deal since I have only been here 10 days! And what is even better is I didn't feel scared at all. I know the Lord has me here and he is my protector. Everything is just another adventure for us to go on together :).  

**the taxi to the store only cost me $4 and the taxi home cost me $5. Expensive for here, but actually pretty cheap :)