Reunited with Samu in Hanoi, and a night talking about dreams at Pizza4P.
A morning with Lotteria and cola
I was supposed to wake up at 10 today, but I was still sleepy. Maybe I hadn't shaken off yesterday's fatigue.
I was planning to meet Samu for lunch, but we ended up agreeing to meet after 1 PM. Until then I did a bit of work and ordered delivery.
I was hungry so I ordered from Lotteria: a burger, cola, and chicken rice. It tasted amazing. Maybe because it had been a while since I had fast food, I ended up drinking a lot of cola.
Reunited with Samu in Hanoi!
Moved to downtown Hanoi to meet Samu! I was really happy since it had been since our adventures together in Indonesia. But Samu and his girlfriend seemed very tired. They'd been going to different places and adventuring every day, so it's no wonder they were exhausted.
But we talked about work and our adventures. They also told me about a town called Pulong that they highly recommended. I ordered pho and it was 100,000 dong, so I thought it was really expensive.
His girlfriend was also very nice and calm. I felt once again how happy I was to have an Italian friend like that. I was really nervous because it had been a while since we'd seen each other, but that feeling vanished in an instant. After all, we're comrades who adventured together for three days.
Phuclong's oolong tea—excellent
Samu said he might head to Halong or Cat Ba tomorrow, and I couldn't believe he'd go on a day trip (lol). To go there as a day trip. Their energy is truly different, I thought.
I had to work, so I headed to Phuclong. I ordered oolong tea again today. It's really delicious.
At Pizza4P, talking about the dream of becoming a cabin attendant
Today was the day to eat pizza with a new Vietnamese friend! So I headed to Pizza4P. It had been a long time since I met multiple people in one day, so I was excited but also a bit anxious wondering if it would be okay. We met through an app, and I thought she seemed really nice, so I was slightly hopeful and nervous. She even made a reservation at Pizza4P, which I was really grateful for.
I was really nervous since it was our first meeting, but my nerves gradually eased. She was very high-energy and talkative — different from the vibe I expected. She said she's an introvert and hardly talks when she's with close friends. We talked about things like that.
We ordered one pizza split half-and-half. She apparently loves spicy food and put a lot of chili sauce on it — I was almost shocked. She also said she doesn't like matcha or osmanthus (lol). And yet she works every day at a Japanese bar; I thought that was impressive.
Her dream is to become a cabin attendant; she wants to work for Japan's ANA. So I told her I want to become a pilot too, and we shared our dreams. My heart danced in that moment. It was really fun.
She's hardworking and said she wants to build a house at her family home near Hanoi. When I look at her face I can imagine the face of someone fulfilling their dream. I think she'll definitely become a cabin attendant. I thought that's truly wonderful. Her positive energy and smile tell that story.
Communication as a weapon
She asked a lot of questions, and I thought her communication skills were outstanding. Given her job, which involves interacting with people, she must have honed them a lot. I really thought that was impressive. She does office work during the day and works at a Japanese bar at night. She said she studied tourism at university.
At the Japanese bar, clients are mostly older men and middle-aged men, so by talking with those kinds of people she has learned how to make them happy, and she can apply that skill in her private life and future career.
I think this communication skill is really important. So I thought jobs that involve talking to people aren't bad. When I worked at 7-Eleven I also needed to communicate a lot, so I wasn't naturally lonely and I genuinely enjoyed it. There were a lot of troubles, though. So I think jobs that involve talking with people aren't necessarily bad.
She had to leave right away, so I paid the bill. She had no intention of taking out her wallet at all, so I thought that people who work nights probably see that as normal.
Well, that's fine too. Meeting people and conversing with all kinds of people is something you can only really do when you're young. These things are worth more than money; they're wonderful experiences and memories.
A night of bananas and work
After saying bye-bye, I walked to Winmart and bought my favorite bananas. They're not like regular bananas — they're super sweet. Then I went home and worked.
