A Super Snowy Day

AI generation of me right now

Today marks the coldest day I ever experienced in the US. Literally, I could not describe how cold it is. I guess I started to understand what "Freezing" really means. Compared to the cold that I felt when I was in Vietnam, this is even worse. Well, each type of cold has its own terrible features. The cold in Vietnam features humidity and rain at the same time, so even though it can be 16 Celsius, it still feels like 0 Celsius, and the humidity makes it feel like the winds are cutting cold blades under the skin! Meanwhile, the cold here is more on the surface level because of the dryness, but it doesn't mean that it's better. It is so cold that everything is frozen. This morning, I tried to take a shower, and the liquid got so condensed because of the weather that I could not pump it out. The house was like a mini fridge with us getting colder and colder. The heating system for no reason, died out this morning so I had to call the emergency number to get help. Literally, I could not concentrate on doing anything because it was too cold my brain stopped working. Thankfully, the heat was fixed on time. This sort of situation often occurs in old buildings with rusty equipment and facilities. I hope I won't have any trouble with the heat until next week because I can't suffer this. 

The first week so far gave me a lot of feelings and experience. Although it was just the beginning, I feel like there will be a lot to handle in the upcoming times. I registered four courses, which seems a little bit too much for everyone, but for me it's not that challenging. The most difficult task is time management and how I prioritize stuff for this semester and balancing everything together. I also think that this is a good chance for me to practice my management skills. I think I can handle things more easily instead of stressing out like I was a few years ago. Coming here seems to be a right decision for me and I should have done this much earlier. Father, I'm on my way to success. I believe you are witnessing me. Bless our family! P.S: AI generation is being extra handy. Sometimes I just wanna ask for a picture without any specific copyright and AI does exactly what I need!

Schedule

The First Countdown in the US

I had such an amazing time yesterday. A senior PhD fellow drove me to our Dean's house to celebrate the New Year together. Because his wife is Cambodian, they made a lot of Southeast Asian dishes and it feels like home. To be honest, the Cambodian dishes are very similar to Vietnamese dishes, but the difference is noticeable too. We have a special fried cake which is similar to "Bánh Căn", but it tastes quite different. It reminds me of the culture of the very southern part of Vietnam where it borders Cambodia. I also have the udon noodles which is "Bánh Canh" (quite similar pronunciation but this is different from the previous dish!). The porridge was also well cooked too! It's chicken porridge and the meat is so juicy and tender. I just love every bit of it.

The set-up of the dishes. There's Kung Pao Chicken, Chicken Porridge, Cambodian Noodles, and more to come.

This is one of the traditional Cambodian dishes. It's udon noodles but without the broth and was topped with coconut cream, pork, and egg rolls.

The Dean's Christmas tree! I wish I could have my own Christmas tree to decorate.

Chicken porridge! I haven't had this for ages!

After that, we spent some time playing a game called "Blank Slate" and I found it fascinating. It's a simple word game where you need to think of a word that matches with a given word, to form a meaningful phrase or a collocation. We had so much fun playing that, and I came up with so many cool words I never thought of. I also played Scrabble for the first time, and it was really enjoyable.

The countdown was the greatest part. We watched TV together and it was airing the live performance of Beatles, then it started counting down to the New Year's Eve, ended with a firework grand finale. It made me feel homesick a lot. I wish I wouldn't have to go to study a PhD here if my country were richer and I could afford to live. Oh well, I guess everyone has their own decision, and what I have been doing is truly great to myself. I treated me well!

One last thing before I went home was that the Cambodian friends asked me to play "Tiến Lên" a.k.a the traditional Vietnamese card game. I was surprised because I didn't think they knew that game and they called it in Vietnamese! I will play with them during the Lunar New Year!