summer in the midwest (United States).

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So my last final was the 9th of June. I took the tests, not very confident, but my grades turned out good. This past month before my trip was a loaded one, filled with fun, family, cultural events, downtown Chicago, and especially great food.My cousin from Houston, TX, who will also venture to Viet Nam with me through CIEE, arrived here in Chicago during the first week of June. I have been hanging around with him for the past month. We went to a bunch of music shows and cultural events in downtown Chicago. Tibetan Monk chants coupled with Mozart and Yo-Yo Ma with the Silk Road Ensemble were the key highlights of such cultural events we attended at Millennium Park.

 

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The 22nd of June was my final day of teaching my ESL class at the Vietnamese Association of Illinois. Our last class consisted of giving and receiving toasts, consuming delicious Bun Thit Nuong and Goi Cuon, not much learning or teaching to say the least. I will truly miss my class. Everyone single one of them are really great individuals. The struggles they’ve faced in Viet Nam and now the ones adjusting to American life goes beyond what I can fathom. Hopefully I can teach again if time permits when I return to the U.S. at the end of the year.

 

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The same day, the 22nd, was my mother’s birthday. We celebrated it the day before though. My parents, I, thao and hao went to this buffet to eat. It was all right, but I am not a big fan of buffets. I feel as if I am eating 5-8 dinners in one, which is never a good sign when your metabolism is extremely slow.

 

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on the way to the buffet
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Chicago was a much visited destination this past month. The number of times I went exceeds the fingers on my hand. In the month of June I went to Chicago with my parents, grandma, and aunt to just stroll down the Magnificent Mile, not that magnificent unless you’re willing to blow your paycheck on useless items. We went to a beach north of the loop, which is much more enjoyable. And at night, we ate at BBQ King, perhaps the only Chinese restaurant in Chinatown our family eats at. On another occasion, I hung out with my friend Kenny and my cousin in the city. We went to eat with some other people in Argyle, a small city block filled with Vietnamese shops and restaurants. We then visited Loyola and Northwestern University. Hao and I also went to the Thailand Festival at the Daley Center; it was not much of a festival, more so a market place. We sat on thao’s back porch and chit chatted and consumed perhaps the most delicious Mexican food I’ve tasted in the state of Illinois, El Taco Veloz.

 

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On the 26th of June, my Uncle Duong came to town with his two children, Megan and Michael Pham. He stayed at my uncle’s house in Grayslake, IL near Gurnee Mills, this unnecessarily large shopping mall. I think it was the 28th or so we made a trip down to Navy Pier. I can honestly say that I’ve never visited after living in the Chicagoland area for 20 years. We went on the grand Ferris wheel and experienced a great view of the city and lake. We munched on some home made hotdogs with ketchup and mustard squirted onto the bun and wrapped in foil, creating a mess upon eating it, and sandwiches. We then went back to my uncle’s house for the day.

 

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Each year it is tradition that we (the cousins) go to Mitsuwa. It was not broken this year. What we do usually is come to eat, eat a lot of food. I ate so much, so so much! Sushi and this noodle bun (other items were consumed as well) mmm..

 

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Everyone else arrived on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of July. On the first, we had delicious prime rib. The chef: Chu Duong. It was just as delicious as when I had it this past December on my trip to Seattle. On the second, my mother made banh cuon nhan thit and Hao and I cooked Yakitori chicken, a Japanese dish Hao learned from the Japanese students at Texas A&M. My little cousins, Megan, Michael, and Quynh Mai went to the lake on the block and used sticks to pick up algae and threw it back into the murky lake. As for us, we barbecued and the oil from the grill seeped through and burned a whole into tube of the gas tank. Luckily it did not explode and blow us up into pieces. My other cousin Hiep also arrived on the 2nd. We took the kids out to toys r us where they got gifts, and ice cream-both thao’s treat. On the 3rd my uncle Huy and aunt Jolee from MN arrived with Ani and Elliot. I didn’t see them until the fourth though.

 

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The fourth of July was the triple graduation of Hiep, Viet, and Thao. Everyone was there. It was a grand time. Friends, family, food, alcohol, fun. FFFAF. There was Thit Nuong, Cua Faci (spelling), chicken wings, goi, cha, pho, artichoke dip, guacamole, and more. I didn’t eat any Pho though. I passed out at 9:30 PM.

 

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This past week also consisted of the Field Museum and Chinatown, a nicely prepared dinner by Chu Huy and Jolee, sushi with Chu Huy and Jolee to discuss Thailand and Vietnam, and a BBQ up in Wisconsin at my uncle and aunt’s house. It seems every year the time the family spends together just flies by so fast. To some, two weeks may be a long time, but to me, its way too little. It moves so fast. Now that my family reunion has ended and my summer in Chicago is coming to an end, I look forward for Thailand, Singapore, and especially Viet Nam.

 

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Tran Q.H.

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