Not Quite Viet

26/12/2024

Missing our travels in Cambodia 🇰🇭…it was definitely eventful going by myself at dawn one day. Not for the faint of heart. 😂🐒

02/11/2024

What an awesome evening with friends getting to see perform live at .bar! He killed it! 👏👏👏

23/09/2024

I’m going back to school! Master’s? Nope. PhD? Nope. It’s just an intermediate Vietnamese language course at a local university. 😜 Realized my Vietnamese skills are not progressing as quickly as I want it to, so I’m trying this class out for a semester. Now when talking to new people and telling my story, I can say “I decided to go back to school at 42 years old.” 😆

17/09/2024

Tết Trung Thu, also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival 🌕, is held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. It’s a time for family gatherings, mooncake sharing, and colorful lantern 🏮 displays. This festival is loved by children, who enjoy carrying lanterns and watching lion 🦁 dances. Tết Trung Thu symbolizes unity, gratitude, and the joy of the harvest season. The boys got to dress up in the traditional áo dài for a celebration at their school today.

04/07/2024

Thanks for letting us join in on the fun of picking up trash to keep Da Nang clean. 😍 Truly enjoyed it and will be joining you guys when we can. The boys really enjoyed picking up trash w/ the claws. Whatever it takes to make it fun.

03/07/2024

Recently hit the 300 day streak on ! I’ve been going hard at trying to improve my Vietnamese skills these past 10-11 months. But I don’t feel like I’m close to where I need to be. Is it because Duolingo is teaching me the most random things to say, that I would never use in my daily life. 😂🤦‍♂️ Just kidding, is definitely helping me gain some very basic vocabulary that I’ve been missing.

16/06/2024

Missed opening weekend, but knew we couldn’t miss last night. Italy 🇮🇹 vs USA 🇺🇸 in the Da Nang International Fireworks Festival! Trying to get to the riverfront was a nightmare, but it was well worth it. Had some new friends join us as well, and the show did not disappoint. Might’ve been the best fireworks 🎇 display we’ve ever seen. 🤩 Italy’s display was spectacular, but i think I have to give the nod to America. No bias here! 😉

11/06/2024

So good! 😆

29/05/2024

This sounds like the most amazing event ever! Who doesn’t love fireworks?! Let’s go USA!!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

#2024

24/05/2024

It was a short 10 days back home, but I cherished every moment of it 🥹. Congrats to my niece, , on your graduation 👩‍🎓! Been missing my people and wish I had more time to spend with them and others I didn’t get to see. Love OKC so much, but glad to be back in Da Nang at the same time. Not sure when we’ll be back again, so come visit us in Vietnam! 🇻🇳😂 Hope to see y’all soon! ✌️

22/05/2024

Our first dinner together since I’ve been “home.” Visiting the U.S. 🇺🇸 was awesome and it was bittersweet when leaving! Got to see my family and some friends. But happy to be back here in VN 🇻🇳 with Clare and the boys 😊. Also really missed my favorite mì quảng spot in Đà Nẵng, Mì Quảng Mỹ Sơn. 🤤

25/03/2024

First ever 5K run for me yesterday at . For those that know me, this is a big deal. I absolutely hate running! But ended up having a really good time and felt a sense of accomplishment. Thanks to and .0 for motivating me to get off my a$@ and exercise with them! Signed the boys up for the Ronny Dash fun run the day before as well. Hoping to be back next year!

02/03/2024

Mic drop, Clare Thùy-Trang Trần is 40! Happy Birthday to a beautiful wife and amazing mother! The boys and I are so lucky to have you. Never would’ve imagined that we would be celebrating your 40th in the motherland. So blessed to have such amazing family and friends continuing to come visit us in Vietnam. Having family here now to celebrate with us is so special. And our friends joining in is just icing on the BTS cake.

23/01/2024

Fun facts that we actually didn’t know about Tét. Excited to partake in some of these traditions here in VN!

1. Tet is the Vietnamese word for the Lunar Year.

22/01/2024

Our nephew got married this past weekend in Hội An and we were fortunate enough to attend some wedding festivities. Got to see many traditions that are reminiscent of Vietnamese weddings back at home, such as lễ rước dầu (the bride’s farewell/tea ceremony). We also met some family on Michael’s mom’s side for the first time, which was a bonus!