Full of Overcoming: Settling in

Greetings from Hanoi!
Casey and I arrived exactly two weeks ago to Hanoi, Vietnam where we will spend two months working for Helen Keller International as part of a required practicum for school.
All in all, Hanoi has been an amazing experience thus far. Before leaving the States, I talked with a lot of folks about their experiences traveling through southeast Asia and everyone seemed to have unique stories or tales of their travels. I found them all quite interesting and couldn't wait to see for myself if I would, in fact, eat snails for every meal, as one friend told me. So...no, I haven't been eating snails for every meal, nor have I tripped from the Vietnamese coffee as told by another, but I have had my heart race more from crossing the street than I have from any waterfall or rapid I've ever run in my kayak. I don't know if I can even find the word to explain Hanoi except for that when I leave the somewhat quiet abode of my apartment until I get to whatever destination (be it inside or outside) I am constantly on alert. Not for potential thieves or damaging hail, as another told me, but rather for the sea, and I mean sea of mopeds, bicycles, and taxis and people walking in every possible direction.
So for those geography folks in the audience, Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and is situated in the northern part of the country. Vietnam is divided into 58 provinces of which Hanoi is one. Hanoi has been the capital of Vietnam since the reunification of North and South Vietnam in 1976. Vietnam has approximately 90.3 billion folks that call it home, making it the world's 13 most populous country. As for Hanoi, it is home to about 6.5 million people, and trust me- I believe this statistic. For more fun facts like the ones in this paragraph, check out wikipedia.com- it is wonderful for fun facts.

So- what are we up to here in Vietnam? We are acting as summer interns for HKI's Vietnam office where we are first off, learning, second, learning, third, being humbled by the incredible staff and their hearts for the people of Vietnam, and fourth, we are offering our very modest public health skills for whatever they may be worth. Oh, and did I mention we are learning a lot?
So far we have been so impressed by the humility and hospitality of the Vietnamese folks, especially those we are getting to know in the office each day.
HKI has been working in Vietnam since 1990 and has focused its efforts primarily on eliminating pediatric blindness in both rural and urban districts across the country.
I have been incredibly grateful to HKI for this amazing opportunity to learn more about an issue I was otherwise, quite unfamiliar with, although one that has significant long term impacts on opportunities afforded to those impacted by it's associated conditions.
I am excited for what the next 7 weeks hold and hope to blog regularly about the amazing sights, smells, people, and most of all lessons I learn during my time here in Hanoi.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!