Hanio after some sleep

This city and country get better with each day. Its been 4 days since we arrived and the more I see, taste and understand, the more I enjoy it. Since I wrote last we have been practicing vietnames with help from our counterparts. I do not have any gift whatsoever in learning languages and find vietnamese especially difficult. The most difficult part of the language is that there are six different tones depending on the accent.  The word ma means 6 different things (ghost, cheek, but, rice seedling, tomb and horse) depending on where you place the emphasis. A lot of sounds are not ones that we use in english either. Overall the language workshops have been very fun, lots of laughing and I know introductions and how to barter. What else do I really need?
Each day we have started off with great breakfast followed by more delicious motor oil coffee and then headed out to various activities and briefings. We have gone to a few more cultural centers and were lucky enough to have a history lesson from a prominent cultural author yesterday. The gentleman was an officer in the American War and has been an journalist and author since then. The way that he framed the nations history was fascinating and gave me such respect for the people around me. This really is a country that has gained strength and focus through its tribulations.
The food has continued to be great, there have been some odd things but nothing that didn't agree with my stomach. One desert that other people enjoyed but I really didn't, was a moon cake filled with purple yam and an egg surrounded by pastry. Food in the street has been easy to find with prices varying greatly depending on local availability. We bought a quart of Vodka that was the equivalent to $3 Canadian but electronics are more then North America.
Last night a whole bunch of us went to a Karaoke bar down the street, the facility was ultra modern with each room having a different theme. We were in the Egyptian room that was filled with hieroglyphs and pyramid sculptures along with flat screen tv's. The Vietnamese were great singers and most of the Canadians belted out a few tracks. We laughed a lot and the solidarity of us as a whole grew.
Walking around the city is a blast, each street has so much going on and every store seems to have so many different items. Counterfeit clothing is everywhere and a lot of it is very well done. We will be going to a market this afternoon and all of the Canadians are planning to pick up lots of stuff, myself included. Burberry shirts are around $10 CAD and shoes range from $5 to around $50, stuff like Louis Vuitton bags are likely more but the quality of leatherwear is very impressive. I really didn't expect our counterparts to be as well dressed and stylish as they are. Everyone here pays a great deal of attention to there outfits, wearing high end brands that are all very fitted. The Canadians look like slobs in comparison. I came bearing gifts of hats and don't really think anyone that I've met so far would want them, material want is not something I've encountered. It might be much different in the countryside but right now I feel like my western perspective was a little off.