Soon after arriving in Viet Nam, another family in our group who had been in country previously and were familiar with the area, took us down to Hoan Kiem Lake (also known as Turtle Lake). After this first trip, we wound up choosing to go down by the lake frequently and became quite familiar with the area. You can try every kind of cuisine, find all kinds of shopping and even take in a water puppet show in this area of Hanoi.

That first day at the lake we walked the perimeter and I spotted a small group of artists working on their renderings of the lake and the surrounding area. I love that in this photo the lake is the focus. The artists actually appear to be in the shadows, and that is how I perceived them to be as we walked by them. I don't believe the group formed spontaneously; perhaps they were art students.

Somehow, seeing this small, quiet group of artists made me feel more connected to this country that I had only called home for a day or two. We didn't have Ella yet when I took this picture and the presence of these artists helped calm me. It made me realize that regardless of where I am in the world, I can find others who share similar creative passions. We're not as different as we may seem, which is something that I want to instill in my daughter.

I also really like how I captured the woman in the foreground of the picture (resting her head on her knees). Throughout our trip I became aware that the Vietnamese do not hold the same level of self awareness/self consciousness that we do as Americans. She was tired, so she sat down to rest her head. Makes perfect sense, but somehow I just can't imagine myself walking down a busy street in the middle of New York City, feeling a little tired, and just stopping to sit down on the sidewalk. We can learn a great deal from the Vietnamese people.