I received this from my sister via email today and thought it was a great read. Here it is for you. I rarely forward emails any more. Instead, I try to keep in touch with all my family and friends on a regular basis. (“Try” is the key word.) I didn’t forward this one. It’s up to you.

TO A KEEPER!

for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

It’s 6:40AM now. After I stepped out of the shower, I immediately thought,

“I could go for a Bacon, Egg, ‘n Cheese Croissanwich right now….”

The thought came from looking out my window to the gray sky morning that reminded me of many gray sky mornings in the Fall during Finals week, back in the day. Usually, there would be a Croissanwich run after a long night of studying (or procrastinating) that would involve driving to the only Burger King in town. Nearly empty roads. Cold weather. ‘Sun still not up yet. And a hot Croissanwich waiting to be eaten. I’d have it with tater tots and a Dr. Pepper, of course.

But this morning, all I could do was think,

“I could go for a Bacon, Egg, ‘n Cheese Croissanwich right now… I… a… aww…”

Since being in Viet Nam, and Asia, I have had the opportunity to eat and drink things that I have never had before, or rarely ever had.

Drink coffee. Black, with condensed milk, with ice, or just hot. The coffee in Dak Mil is the most delicious I’ve ever tasted- in the short time that I’ve picked up drinking coffee =) It’s really dark and looks thick, but is rich in flavor.

Drink tea- lots of it. I’ve found that I like green tea, from Thai Nguyen, and mint tea, which is absolutely refreshing. Add honey for a sweet touch. My favorite order at the cafe: “Tra Bac Ha Da”.

Eat vegetables; a lot of it. One time, I went out for hotpot with my friend and we got the “everything hotpot”. Everything apparently includes pig brains. I ate a lot of vegetables. Also, veggies are big in Asia so I have grown to like them. My favorite is sauted morning glory with garlic.

Eat tofu, a lot of it. See above. Yeah, I tried the pig brains. It tastes like… dang it! I forgot what it tastes like! I knew exactly how to describe it too!! Grrr… No, it’s not chicken. It tastes like something else… but i forgot… ugggghhh… Gonna have to try it again… (Don’t read any further if you have a weak stomach.) The texture is… as you would think a brain would taste- mushy.

Eat a lot of clams. This can be found in the seafood hotpot. It’s also a good dish to “nhau” with.

Eat fresh fruit, again. I tested this with a mango shake that scared my friend I was with. (Side note: I developed an allergy to fresh fruit in my early teen years.) Everyone that finds out for the first time thinks it is the saddest thing they have ever heard. Haha… The mango shake was tolerable (some tightening of the chest and a little itching on my lips and tongue). Yesterday I was at the store and decided to buy a couple of Asian pears (because those were among my favorite fruits when I use to eat fresh fruit) and sweet green mangoes- not the big orange-red ones that I love, but still worthy of a test. I ate the Asian pears when I got home. They were delicious. Most of it was made of water- from the juices- but still delicious. There was no itching or swelling of the throat, but I took a Benadryl just in case. I will try the mangoes on Sunday. I am slowly testing my limits with fresh fruit. Today i bought canned Longans too =) The fruits that I fear the most- the ones that gave me dropkicks to the throat- are cherries and jack fruit. I don’t know if I’m ready to test my luck with them yet. Strawberries can be a pain too.

I’ve also had camel (really good), yak (a different type of beef flavor; worth a try), and goat breast (the Dean thought it would be funny not to tell me what I was eating until the end; a little tough to chew, like pig ears).

Final verdict: yummy.