The place where I live The ants are there. You don’t always see them, but they’re there. They know it the moment there is food. They form a long line to my door. Welcome, please come inside. The place where I live is a beautiful place. The building is old and weathered-looking. Centipedes sleep on the wall. The tree drops its pink flowers on the ground. Q. Are you comfortable where you live? What is it like living there?Q. Tell…
There are many movies about time-travel. I’ll talk a little bit about that. You’re probably familiar with the idea of it. Usually someone invents a machine that can take them back in time. Maybe they want to go back and change something. I like thinking about the ancient world. I like thinking about what I would do with a time machine. I’d probably go back 1000 years ago to Vietnam. I haven’t seen any time-travel movies about someone just going…
Community notice board I found something interesting. It is a chalkboard on the wall in the neighborhood. It has information for the community. It says “Summer activity schedule”, and has information for weekly events held in that community. Residents can stay informed about the events and activities in their community. I think a community notice board is a simple but great idea. Not only as a way to inform residents, but to engage them with the community. When we do…
This is how you really enjoy a rainy morning. First, go to eat xôi outside on the street. Get wet sitting on the stool in the rain and talking to the uncles sitting there. Second, take the long way home. Đi xe đạp through neighborhood alleyways and through rain puddles. If you see the sister selling trà chanh, stop for some trà chanh. When you get home, turn off the light and take a long nap. Q. How is the…
Uh oh. You’ve been doing too much, and now it’s time to take a break. Take a break from coffee. Having coffee everyday will leave you exhausted and nervous. So drink tea, or better yet water for a few days, and catch up on sleep. You’ll feel better. Take a break from social media. It is a lot of information for our brains to process when we are scrolling through social media. It can become noisy in our heads. So…
I’m on my phone too much, and right now I have a headache from that. I don’t know why I spend so much time looking at my phone when there is so much to look at all around me. This morning I ate “bun rieu”. It looked really healthy. I took a picture — look how colorful it is. It’s like an amazing work of art — I want to look and look. I went out riding my bike. I…
Adding your own decorations can help make a room feel nice. Here are two decorations you can use. First, flowers. Flowers can be placed in a vase on a desk or hung out to dry. They have natural beauty, which adds color and life to the room. Second, string lights. String lights can be hung around an entrance or wrapped around a post. They give the room a secluded, cozy feeling. These decorations make a room feel nice. Q. Tell…
You should see this place in the evening. The evening is a special time in the neighborhood. In the evening, everyone is coming home. Parents are coming home from work. Children are coming home from school. Everyone is happy to be coming home. In the evening, everyone is getting together in the neighborhood. Neighborhood moms and dads are playing pickleball or talking together outside. The kids are riding their bicycles. The evening is a good time for walking in the…
Open space is valuable. Open space can be filled. But keeping open space empty is also valuable. In the country side, there is a lot of open space. I like lots of cafes in the city, however I also like seeing no cafes. On the weekend, you have free time. You can fill it with fun plans. But then you may also be missing the unexpected. Open space is valuable. Nowhere and nothing is something. Q. Do you drink coffee?…
After I got a bicycle, I found a bridge over a canal. I went across it, and this is what I discovered. On the other side of the bridge, it is greener. There are rice paddies and trees. There aren’t many buildings or traffic. On the other side of the bridge, there are fewer people. There aren’t cafes or restaurants. There is open space and the sound of insects. It’s odd how different it is on the other side of…