An Afternoon with Linh

Yesterday, I took Linh to smashburger. She had never been there before. My boyfriend tagged along. He thinks Linh is funny and likes to hang out with us.

Linh told us that she doesn't like hamburgers too often, but she is always willing to try one from a new place. At smashburger, she ordered her burger with a chipotle bun. When we sat down and our food arrived, Linh thought the set-up was so interesting that she wanted to take a picture of it. She said she had never seen a burger served like that. It reminded her of how people in Vietnam treat McDonald's and other fast food places. She told us that in Vietnam, people will have their birthday parties and dates at McDonald's. She said that they dress up and treat it more formally than we do here. Andrew and I thought this was weird, but Linh explained that it is because fast food restaurants in Vietnam are expensive. It is much less expensive to go to a regular, Vietnamese restaraunt than it is to eat fast-food. Linh told us that seafood is also a lot cheaper in Vietnam. I wish that our restaraunts were cheaper than fast food.

When we started eating, Linh realized that something on her burger was too spicy. She thinks it was probably the bun and she doesn't want to order that type next time. Linh used mustard on her french fries, which I thought was interesting because I do that too. Linh uses mustard because she says ketchup is boring and she's tired of it. I use mustard because I don't like ketchup.

When we were at smashburger, two girls from Nolan Catholic walked in. Linh asked me if they were high school students and got excited. She used to go to a private military school in San Antonio. The girls' uniforms reminded her of the one she used to wear. She said that at the time, she thought the uniforms were ugly and she didn't like having to wear one. Now, Linh misses how easy it was to just put on the same uniform every day.

Later this week, we're going to get coffee and go to Barnes & Noble together. Next time we go out to eat, we're going to Chipotle. Linh is always so cheerful. She's always grateful that I'm spending time with her. I think it's a good experience for both of us.