Origano and Seamen, Sunflower and Mai's

ORIGANO

This morning after the morning classes, we all decided to try out a new Italian Restaurant on Lạch Tray... down the end near the bread ladies at the round-about. It's called Origano [sic]. It's clean and bright and everything is brand new and shiny, so the atmosphere is very refreshing. So here we are... Will, Emma, Tony, Lesley (who returned to Hải Phòng on Thursday), Anh and Ian.

Their pizzas are beaut, and the pasta was excellent... I had Carbonara and it was delicious.

Will and Emma were particularly thrilled to find potato smileys on the menu... cooked to perfection! And the prices were reasonable, so I'm sure we'll be eating there again.

SEAMEN

Then in the evening we had a VAIE staff dinner at Seamen seafood buffet. It was a combination birthday and welcome celebration... Mr Hung (our Director) and I were celebrating recent birthdays, and Lesley was welcomed back.

Frank, Lina, Emma, Ian, William, Lotus, Lesley, Linh and Ann

The food was delicious, as usual, and the company delightful. We all ate a lot and laughed a lot and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  Frank did the honours at the end of the meal, impressing us all as he poured the tea in a continuous stream into 9 cups without spilling a drop!

SUNFLOWER

Lesley came to the church class on Tuesday and several of her students who have since graduated and secured good jobs came to see her. Trung (whose wedding I had the pleasure of attending) invited a bunch of us to have a drink at their old hangout from the days when it was Lesley's class - Sunflower Cafe.

So that's Trung next to Xuân, then Nam, and on the other side of the table Khánh is at the head, next to Cường, Tuấn, Dao Khánh and Ủy .. a group of exceptional young men.

MAI'S

The fourth food occasion for this blog was when I was invited to join in the celebrations for the first anniversary of Mai's new language school. Delicious traditional fare prepared by her husband...

I feel so blessed... nearly every day there's another opportunity to celebrate life with so many beautiful friends.  My days truly are filled with love and laughter.

P.S. This is a random photo I took as we were leaving Sunflower... these ladies are recyclers...