Anna's journeys

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Anna's journeys

See you there!

See you again!

On June 14 2012 Hana, Kai and I left Hanoi, bound for Manila to meet up with Keisuke and embark on many new adventures in yet another new country.

We will always miss Hanoi and Vietnam, its beauty, noise, food, lakes, alleys, cafes, pagodas, chaos and craziness and always remember the happy years we spent there. Most of all we will of course miss all the people we've met; all our friends still in Hanoi and those already elsewhere. Luckily, you are still around somewhere, the world is small and we will se eachother again. This is certainly not a good bye, just a SEE YOU AGAIN - Hẹn Gặp Lại!

And continue following me on my new blog! I'm doing my best to get it updated with many new adventures. Welcome to Anna's journeys . See you there!

Thoa

One of the hardest parts was to say good bye to Thoa, who's been around almost all the time for more than three years. We still miss her everyday, her smile, positive energy and fantastic food - and all her hard work.

End of school year with End of Year Concert

School also came to an end, and the day after we left Hanoi. The traditional End of Year Concert was, also traditionally, held on a particularly hot and sunny day, this time at the pagoda around the corner from the school. Hana as Little Mermaid and Kai as Kung Fu Master, they and all other kids did great.

A mysterious and misty morning. Or maybe just hot. Free hats for all.

 Girls waiting to perform. Hana and Rebecka as a team of course.

 Blossoms 2 performing Yellow Submarine.

 Stars checking out the other classes' performances.

The cool crowd. Tobias, Thao and Ben.

Dressed and ready.

Kung Fu Masters, pretty dancers and a fair bit of chaos and fun.

 The fish tank ceremony. All kids leaving school also leave a fish in the tank so all friends will always be around, in our minds and hearts at least. Wonder if fish are still alive...

Star boys. Hoang, Zach, Hosea, Kai.

Moving

Suddenly all got very hectic and not until now, almost half a year and an international move later I find and take some time to finish, with a very few last post of our three and a half years long adventure in Hanoi and Vietnam.

Two weeks before leaving we packed up the house, had all our stuff shipped to Manila and moved into Sedona (a very easy sentence to write, but believe me, not an excersise you want to do every year, certainly not without having your partner around), the serviced apartment complex where we had spent so much time during the years it almost felt like home.

With everything we own neatly wrapped and packed, our "home" turned back into what it was before - and empty shell and just a house. I was surprised how little it bothered me to leave it.

Kids also came to say byebye...

... and make sure nothing important was left behind.

In Sedona we spent most of the time by the pool, and of course had all our friends come over. Hana and Rebecka.

 

Hosea, Kai, Hana and Tobias.

Kai even had his whole class over for their weekly swim class. A fairly unstructured but very fun one. Soc, Amber, Signe, Ms. Anette, Kai, Hoang, Hosea and, of course, in front Zack.

A picture says more...

... than a thousand words.

Two children - one lollipop.

Lotus season

A flower so delicate that once you've picked them the leaves will fall off almost immediately (often with a little help from children, peeling them off is fun) and a smell so volatile it is almost gone before you can feel it. But oh, just perfect. And driving through the fields down by the lake on an early summer morning just a privilege.

Harvesting.

Even the trash is beautiful. And smells good.

Loaded on a bicycle and ready for sale.

And in purple too

And those are pretty much the only colors she will wear. A very picky girl, trousers are out of the question. Kai on the other hand, doesn't seem to care at all. Any t-shirt and a pair of short pants and he's fine. Luckily.

Pretty in pink

The tooth

During our last weeks in Hanoi, many dramatic things happened. Like this one. Kai's first tooth fell out!

Deception was then huge as the tooth fairy forgot to appear on the first night... Luckily she sneaked in when we went out next day, leaving a bunch of both Philippine and Swedish coins in the cup. Certainly a well informed fairy.

Phở bò - beef noodle soup

Probably one of the things I will miss most. Vietnamese beef noodle soup - a classic and delicious breakfast dish. Luckily one of the best places in town is on our street (of course!) and the last couple of weeks in Hanoi the kids and I went regularly.

Yummy!

Ah, with chili, lime and iced tea.

The kitchen. Only one dish on the menu!

Why?

During spring I have definitely asked myself that question a couple of times. Why are we doing this? Why are we moving? Why don't we just stay in Hanoi? Especially on afternoons like this, hanging out with good friends...

Kai reading Bamse with good friends Nemo and Elisabeth, Hana hanging out with Leo and Rebecka. Mummy enjoying good company as well, with Sara, Mai and Mattias.

Late afternoon ice cream stop at a small cafe by Ho Tay, the West Lake.

And... the answer... probably a combination of the nomad blood running in our veins and the fact that we couldn't really find a good job in Hanoi...

See you again! ... and update coming ...

The last couple of weeks have been absolutely crazy. Fun but crazy. We've packed up and moved out of our house to spend the last week at Sedona, a serviced apartment complex, and have been busy day and night seeing our friends and enjoying the last days of Hanoi.

Tomorrow we are off to Manila! After three and a half years. We will miss this crazy place so much - and it is defintely not a good bye but a see you again - a "Hẹn gặp lại!"

And as soon as I have a moment (hopefully next week in Manila) I will update with a few last photos (and come up with a plan for a new blog - any suggestions?!?)!

Chosing (losing?) my religion

In the Old Quarters there certainly is something for everyone, as long as you like it bright and colourful.

A Chula morning

This Saturday, without doubt the hottest day so far this year, we headed for Chula, or Laura and Diegos place to enjoy good music, good company, good drinks - and even a fashion show. The place is fantastic and the kids and I talked about how we could create a space like that in Manila.

Beautiful colours...

... and good music.

A great party.

Hana was truly impressed by all the sketches of beautiful dresses, but then they found some bugs (see other posts) and drifted away.