To punish the angel, God turned him into a buffalo and sentenced him to helping mankind till the earth.
(This photo was take by Nancy in Bac Giang province six years ago.)January 27, 2009
Where the Buffalo Came From
According to Vietnamese legend, after God created the world and before he created people, he sent an angel to plant rice so that humans would have something to eat. But the angel got drunk, fell asleep, and never completed his task. When he woke up, grass had grown everywhere and God was mad.
To punish the angel, God turned him into a buffalo and sentenced him to helping mankind till the earth.
(This photo was take by Nancy in Bac Giang province six years ago.)
To punish the angel, God turned him into a buffalo and sentenced him to helping mankind till the earth.
(This photo was take by Nancy in Bac Giang province six years ago.)Tet Viet Nam
After six years, Nancy and I finally managed to be in Vietnam together for Tet Viet Nam (Vietnamese New Year). In the past, we'd only been around for the last few days of this four-day holiday and I was here for New Year's Eve in 2007 when Nancy was in the US for a few weeks, so I was excited to share it with her this year.
Around 11 PM we locked up the house and walked down to Ngoc Khanh lake, one of the fireworks sites the city had set up. Everyone was in a good mood, ready to welcome the year of the buffalo (for the Chinese, it's the year of the ox).
Precisely at midnight, the fireworks erupted. It was an impressive show and we got a pretty good view through the trees near the edge of the lake. We walked home, shoulder to shoulder with a few thousand other people. Along the way, the sugar cane sellers were doing a brisk business. It's good luck to have a live plant or branch on your ancestral altar at Tet and a lot of young people climb trees to break off a branch. To discourage that habit, the government has encouraged the use of sugar canes. It's one of the few times you can buy them whole in the city, from root to leaves.
For the last few days we've been packing up between visits and lunch dates with friends. On Friday night we head for the US. We've known this was coming since last Thursday, but being back in Hanoi makes it feel worse. When we drove past the school this morning and I looked out at the pond that I've seen so many times from the teacher's room, it was all I could do to keep from crying. Funny how all the problems with the city (noise, pollution, cost of living...) fade away when you have to say goodbye to it all.
Around 11 PM we locked up the house and walked down to Ngoc Khanh lake, one of the fireworks sites the city had set up. Everyone was in a good mood, ready to welcome the year of the buffalo (for the Chinese, it's the year of the ox).
Precisely at midnight, the fireworks erupted. It was an impressive show and we got a pretty good view through the trees near the edge of the lake. We walked home, shoulder to shoulder with a few thousand other people. Along the way, the sugar cane sellers were doing a brisk business. It's good luck to have a live plant or branch on your ancestral altar at Tet and a lot of young people climb trees to break off a branch. To discourage that habit, the government has encouraged the use of sugar canes. It's one of the few times you can buy them whole in the city, from root to leaves.
For the last few days we've been packing up between visits and lunch dates with friends. On Friday night we head for the US. We've known this was coming since last Thursday, but being back in Hanoi makes it feel worse. When we drove past the school this morning and I looked out at the pond that I've seen so many times from the teacher's room, it was all I could do to keep from crying. Funny how all the problems with the city (noise, pollution, cost of living...) fade away when you have to say goodbye to it all.
January 23, 2009
Transition
After two weeks of medical tests in Bangkok, Nancy's breast cancer was confirmed and the decision was made to return to the United States for treatment. It has been a very difficult two weeks in ways that would take a long chapter or two to tell.
Plans seem to change every morning we wake up and check our email, but at this point we're aiming to go back to Hanoi, pack up a few things, and then travel to Greenville, SC . We'll spend the next several months there as Nancy goes through surgery and follow up treatment. I didn't expect to be watching the Super Bowl in the US this year.
Nor was I expecting to be away from teaching for the spring semester. What happens when two team leaders are unexpectedly sidelined and have to withdraw from a program where they're supposed to be mentoring three new teachers?
Provision happens.
A few weeks before Nancy even noticed anything was wrong, a friend of ours in Ohio, who has had years of experience as a team leader with the China Teaching Fellowship, was feeling led to return to Asia. The CTF Program Director and our VN Country Director contacted her and she agreed to come to Hanoi and take our place. This is another reminder, as bad as all this has been, that it was not unexpected by the one who wrote all of our days in His book before one of them came to be.
Plans seem to change every morning we wake up and check our email, but at this point we're aiming to go back to Hanoi, pack up a few things, and then travel to Greenville, SC . We'll spend the next several months there as Nancy goes through surgery and follow up treatment. I didn't expect to be watching the Super Bowl in the US this year.
Nor was I expecting to be away from teaching for the spring semester. What happens when two team leaders are unexpectedly sidelined and have to withdraw from a program where they're supposed to be mentoring three new teachers?
Provision happens.
A few weeks before Nancy even noticed anything was wrong, a friend of ours in Ohio, who has had years of experience as a team leader with the China Teaching Fellowship, was feeling led to return to Asia. The CTF Program Director and our VN Country Director contacted her and she agreed to come to Hanoi and take our place. This is another reminder, as bad as all this has been, that it was not unexpected by the one who wrote all of our days in His book before one of them came to be.
January 18, 2009
For the Latest
It may be a while before I update much on this blog, due to the craziness of our situation these days. If you want to get the latest news on Nancy, click here to see her CaringBridge blog.
January 14, 2009
Unfortunately
"Unfortunately" is never the first word you want to hear from your doctor's mouth when you're waiting for the results of a biopsy, but that's what we heard today. Nancy will go through staging tests on Friday and then we will decide on where to go for treatment.
January 1, 2009
New Year's
One of the perks of tutoring at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) as part of my job has been an invitation to an annual holiday/thank you dinner from the Foreign Minister of Vietnam. Last Tuesday night, Nancy and I and the other tutors were escorted to a very nice restaurant where we were treated to an elaborate meal with the Foreign Minister, the president of our university, the dean of the English faculty and another friend from MOFA. After a couple of very enjoyable hours, we headed for home, stuffed with sushi, lamb chops, lobster tail, traditional Vietnamese foods, and more.
The MOFA Building. You can't tell from this distance, but it's a nice example of French architecture from the colonial days.
On New Year's Eve, Nancy planned a small party for VTF with the Schallers at the Water Village. But on the way home from a one-on-one meeting that afternoon, I bumped into one of my students who told me about a big New Year's Eve party in the courtyard of the hostel (dorm). So, around 8:30 I went over to spend some time with the students before heading out to the other party at the Water Village. I saw a lot of my past and present students and got introduced to some of their friends. A few K32 students who were friends with last years' teachers were there too.
We watched games like bobbing for soup spoons, listened to a lot of singing, and saw a couple of very creative, student-made videos. Two Chinese students from the Foreign Trade University had heard the all the noise and wandered in. After one dropped a hint about me teaching her English, I told her she could come to the international fellowship on Sunday mornings and get lots of English practice. They both seemed excited about the idea, so I'm hoping to see them this Sunday.
I woke up hoarse from trying to have so many conversations over the noise of the PA system, but it was definitely worth it. Spending time with students is something I've missed while we've been VTF leaders and it's one reason I'm thinking about turning the VTF reins over to a new leader and getting back into regular university teaching. We'll have to see where that road leads.
The MOFA Building. You can't tell from this distance, but it's a nice example of French architecture from the colonial days.On New Year's Eve, Nancy planned a small party for VTF with the Schallers at the Water Village. But on the way home from a one-on-one meeting that afternoon, I bumped into one of my students who told me about a big New Year's Eve party in the courtyard of the hostel (dorm). So, around 8:30 I went over to spend some time with the students before heading out to the other party at the Water Village. I saw a lot of my past and present students and got introduced to some of their friends. A few K32 students who were friends with last years' teachers were there too.
We watched games like bobbing for soup spoons, listened to a lot of singing, and saw a couple of very creative, student-made videos. Two Chinese students from the Foreign Trade University had heard the all the noise and wandered in. After one dropped a hint about me teaching her English, I told her she could come to the international fellowship on Sunday mornings and get lots of English practice. They both seemed excited about the idea, so I'm hoping to see them this Sunday.
I woke up hoarse from trying to have so many conversations over the noise of the PA system, but it was definitely worth it. Spending time with students is something I've missed while we've been VTF leaders and it's one reason I'm thinking about turning the VTF reins over to a new leader and getting back into regular university teaching. We'll have to see where that road leads.
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