Happy Birthday Russ and Noah!

The 30th Birthday train continues to roll in April. Happy birthday to Russ and Noah!

Russ turning thirty isn't a big deal. We all honestly thought he was thirty in middle school since he was the only kid who had a goatee. Here's a picture of Russ and the future mother of his children:




Noah has been one of my best friends since my family moved across the tracks in Livingston. There is nobody in this world who can beat Noah when it comes to a combination of having a good heart and a smart brain. The guy is just awesome...and for a guy who we used to call "Noah-nerd", he's surprisingly really great at sports too. That said, for Noah's 30th birthday this year I'm going to beat him in tennis. I'm not exactly sure how, but it is going to happen. So, ah, Noah, can you make a reservation at your club this summer? And do I need to pre-order a BLT sandwich? Here's Noah with the future mother of his children:



Happy Birthday, guys!!!

Oh and yes, at 30 nearly everyone has pictures of the future mother of their children.

The Best Teacher Ever

It's official: I'm the best teacher ever. Every teacher, after three weeks of a new class, gets reviewed by their students. I've always gotten good marks but this week I got great marks. In fact, according to the teacher coordinator at the school who analyzes all of the reviews, I got the best scores ever.

You don't believe me? Well, read the reviews for yourself:



Those who know me know that I don't really like to brag or gloat (yeah, right!). So after getting this review I did what any humble teacher would do -- I walked around the office shaking hands with the Language Link staff and taped my review above the front desk. Oh, and then I demanded my own bathroom.

Chicken Feet

I've eaten some weird food out here but one thing I won't get used to is this:



Vietnamese people love chicken feet. There is so little meet on the feet that I just don't get it. It's one of those things that you have to chalk up as a cultural difference. The other night my frisbee friends bought a few kilos of feet and we went to town. After cutting the inside of my lip on a claw, I asked if anyone had nail clippers. The answer was no so I called it quits after three feet.

A New Girlfriend

The other night, when I finished teaching, I got a text message from Huyen: "You have a new girlfriend." When I got to my house I was greeted by this girl:

Yes, she looks a lot like my old girlfriend.

One of the things I like about Vietnam is the brutal honesty of people. The day after cutting her hair I asked Huyen what her coworkers thought. She said, "They thought it was okay but everyone said I look better with long hair." Well, I disagree. I really love the short look...although it officially means that ALL the important women in my life now have short haircuts: My mom, my sister, my grandmas and Huyen.

Ora Minh Hamilton

On Friday night Huyen and I had dinner with my friend Steve and his pregnant wife Trang.



Forty eight hours after this photo, Trang was in labor. Twenty four hours after her first contractions, Trang gave birth to Ora Minh Hamilton. Ora was born two weeks early...but right on time to share her birthday with her Father. Congrats Steve and Trang!

Swimming Lessons Part II

Despite the video from yesterday, it wasn't smooth sailing the whole time in the pool. The following video is an "out take" from our swim day. I'm a tad biased, but this is one of my favorite videos I've shot this year. As an added incentive to watch this video, I'll give a little teaser: my motto with swim lessons is "Safety First." However, there was an injury that happened in the water...and it was to me:

Swimming Lessons

(PICTURE: Huyen loving her first time in a pool.)

Last weekend I expanded my teaching resume -- I taught Huyen how to swim. Huyen not only couldn't swim, but she had NEVER BEEN IN A POOL...and didn't own a bathing suit. Here's some footage:



(PICTURE: After about fifteen minutes of swimming Huyen was exhausted)