End of Year Update 2012

In case you haven't noticed, I've been absent for quite a while.

     Is anybody still here?

Updates

      I've decided to let my domain, adropinmybucketlist.com, expire. FML(B) can still be found at http://adropinmybucketlist.blogspot.com! And although stephanie@adropinmybucketlist.com will no longer be up and running you can now reach me at FMLBucket@gmail.com. So, no worries folks!

     My Life List

           I've been lazy, and my Life List has paid the price. Anything that I have completed has quite honestly been done by accident!

           Drop 73: Meet Somebody Famous

          I am a huge Food Network fan. So, imagine my surprise when out at a WaterFire I ran in to Michele Ragussis!

          Who is Michele Ragussis?

            Michele is probably best known for making runner-up on Food Network's "Food Network Star"- where chefs aspiring for their own TV show compete in tasks testing their ability to handle the pressures involved with being a show host on Food Network. Michele was a runner-up, and made it to the show's finale.

            Although Michele didn't win, it is clear that she is a Food Network favorite. She has also appeared on Chopped and again on the show "24 Hour Restaurant Battle" where she DID win. She is a talented chef and has a genuinely upbeat personality that can attract a following.




        Drop 77: Vote for the President of the United States


          I am not sure why I have this on my list. I vote every chance I get. So of course, when November came around, I voted. This was also on my 25 before 25, so it's a double-whammy.

       Drop 86: Go Zorbing


          While in Vietnam we visited the Đại Nam Văn Hiến tourism complex. This place was amazing, and way too big to visit in a single day. Inside the park Dai Nam Park is a shopping center, hotel, movie theater, theme park, campground, water park, zoo, and numerous temples. There is even a 'snow land', where you can go sledding and tubing! The water park is home to the largest artificial salt sea in Southeast Asia- and yes, you can Water Zorb.

         I wished I had taped the experience- it was absolutely a mess! I kept falling out of the ball and couldn't quite get it going. I felt like a washed-up gerbil!

     Drop 92: Relearn the Alphabet in Sign Language

        I wanted to teach Lela baby sign language. Lucky for me, it is nearly identical to ASL! Lela's favorite song is the ABC's, mostly due to my lack of knowledge in baby songs. What better time to relearn the alphabet in Sign Language? I knew some of the signs already, so this was a quick one to knock out.






     Drop 116:  Salem, MA for Halloween

     For Lela's first Halloween I really wanted to go to Salem- the destination for the holiday. Because of Hurricane Sandy, we decided to play it safe and go a few days before Halloween, since Salem was going to be mostly closed for the day itself. It was pretty neat! We dressed Lela as a dragon, as it is her zodiac sign (she is a lucky baby!). We even made the news! Well, kind of. After finding some famous graves in Salem's graveyard, the hubby noticed a news camera following Lela. Later that night at a Chinese restaurant- and by pure chance- we glanced up and saw her face on the TV! The brief clip is at 1:40 on this newscast:

          Updates to 25 before 25

                There really isn't too much left on this list, but all I have to show for it is this:

               Teach Lela Something New

    

I taught her how to use a sippy cup. I'll take it :-)

What have you been up to lately?

Exploring Bửu Long Park in Bien Hoa

     After the first day in Vietnam I began to adjust to the humidity. The air didn't seem as heavy, and I could almost breathe. Vinh's dad decided to take us to Bien Hoa, a city not too far from HCMC, to visit some relatives. After dining on an eel soup that fed all ten of us- and over 400,000 Dong later (less than twenty-five bucks including beer and appetizers)- we headed over to visit a family friend at Bửu Long Park.

Bửu Long Park

     Bửu Long Park is probably best known for the peaks and 'islands' that loom over the manmade lake. "Hidden Dragon Lake"- perhaps better known as "Mini Ha Long Bay"- is most likely the closest thing to a scenic waterfront that you can find anywhere remotely close to Ho Chi Minh City. An abandoned resoivoir, Hidden Dragon Lake was created from years and years of digging and carving with the intention of getting water in to the city. For whatever reason, the project was eventually abandoned and the resevoir was made in to an attraction instead.

     As we all piled out of the car a short man approached us. He wanted to be our personal photographer during our visit to Bửu Long. Being we all had our own cameras, at first we respectfully declined. We then declined with forceful tonality, as apparently 'no' was not in the man's vocabulary. He continued to stalk us until we hopped on one of the wooden motor boats for a tour through the lake.

     As it usually did in the afternoon, the clouds rolled in. We saw a groom running with his bride in the distance (one of the ten couples I must have seen getting married in the two weeks I was there... I suppose weddings are more of a public event). Despite the rain the lake was still beautiful. The hidden dragon made a very obvious appearance, and I wondered what inspired somebody to work a dragon in to a cliff in such a way.

 

Zoo and Dino Park

     Many people come to Bửu Long Park for the lake. Most leave without even realizing that there is a lot more to Bửu Long than an abandoned reseviour. As we walked farther in to the park we came across a small zoo. At the entrance of the zoo was a monkey. As we approached it, the monkey ran towards us- surely looking for something to steal or a leg to gnaw on. Caught off guard, we jumped back. Nobody had any desire to get bit by a monkey that day.

    There was a variety of animals- from birds and peacocks to an array of monkeys. We even witnessed a 'monkey jail break!' As we continued past the zoo we were transported to a time when dinosaurs roamed the earth. A T-Rex loomed over us- no doubt wondering what white people taste like. Another lizard-looking dinosaur appeared more than happy when he saw baby was on the menu!

  Bửu Long Park no doubt instills peace in to the visitor- even the air seems lighter. The hustle and bustle of the city surrounding the park vanquishes and- despite the occasional stalking photographer- you can take a minute to breathe. As we said goodbye to the friend, we packed ourselves back in our car and cautiously merged in to the swarms of swerving motorists. It was hard to believe that such chaos existed around a place filled with peace and tranquility.

 

 

Have you ever encountered a wild monkey?

Where do you go when you need some peace and quiet?

Complete: Travel to Vietnam

     I've wanted to go to Vietnam since before my husband and I were married. He was going to go back alone earlier this year, but I begged him to wait until the baby was born. I believe that to truly know a person you have to understand where they're from. It shapes us in ways that are so subliminal we ourselves don't realize its impact until somebody points it out to us. So, I considered visiting the country he was born in a must.

 

     After Lela was born we began organizing our trip. We booked our tickets, reserved our on-flight bassinet, and paid our travel agent. After many years of anticipation, we were finally on our way!

 

Culture Shock

       Nearly twenty-four hours later we finally landed in Ho Chi Minh City. We gathered our luggage and walked through the doors to a crowd of people waiting for their loved ones. We arrived at night so it wasn't really hot, but it sure was humid! The heavy air was putting my lungs in to overdrive. Vinh's father gathered our luggage, threw it in the back of his truck, and we were off.

 

     Although my husband's dad didn't live too far from the airport distance wise, the average speed limit was about 35 MPH making our destination almost two hours away.  Motorists zoomed left and right, in between cars and other motorcycles. They drove on the wrong side of the road and backed up on rotaries. People from infants to seniors piled up on the motorcycles so that there would be up to four people on one bike. Although there were traffic signals, there didn't seem to be any incentive to follow them.

 

     Confession:     

     I've never been overseas. I've never even left North America. As we drove away from the city the miles upon miles of tiny shops and restaurants in people's front yards were never ending. I was suddenly reminded- I'm in a third world country. I'm nowhere close to home, and I can't go back to my comfortable little life if I find the heat, food, or anything else to be unbearable. As I continued to stare out the window, a slight panic set in....



Apologies for some of the small pics. Click for actual size.

Have you ever had culture shock?

Where do you still hope to visit someday?