Rules

The sign says, "No parking area"

Vietnam has a decidedly un-American approach to rules. I've been in the USA for a couple weeks now and I've already noticed that - from turn lanes to grocery lines - most Americans are sticklers about rules. Admit it, have you ever counted the items in the cart in front of you at the express checkout lane?

In Vietnam, most rules are followed if 1) they are convenient and 2) they make sense.

But even that general rule is subject to change. For example, the city of Hanoi has been (sporadically) enforcing a rule to keep sidewalk vendors off the sidewalk for the last year or so. That's inconvenient for anyone who's used to buying food from the vendors and it doesn't make sense to take a source of income from vendors in a society where unemployment and underemployment is so high. Personally, I think the vendors gives Hanoi much of its character.

Rules are different even within the same country; elementary students in NY aren't expected to use "Ma'am" and "Sir" like they are in the South. Being able to adapt is important. It's what Paul said about becoming "all things to all men."

Locks of Love, Long Bien Style

About 3 years ago, padlocks began mysteriously showing up on the fence on Long Bien bridge. Most of them belong to young couples and were placed there as symbols of their love.

First, the couple finds a good location. Some have been known to measure the fence so they can be sure to buy locks that fit. Then they return with their steel locks, intertwine them, and snap them onto the fence. The last step is to throw away the keys as a sign of their commitment to each other. The couples believe the locks will bless their love and keep it alive.

Some locks have saved relationships. A 21-year-old student said that she and her boyfriend put their locks on the bridge two months ago. After a big fight, they were ready to break up,

"But then we went back to the bridge and saw our locks there. Through all the scorching sun and pouring rain of Hanoi, they are still holding onto each other. We immediately found a way to solve our problem. It's better then therapy."

from Vietnam News Service, 23 March 2010.

Hello USA!

This afternoon I was one of four judges for the "Hello USA" competition at school. Three teams, representing the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, the Center for American Studies at Hanoi University and the University of Social Science and Humanities, competed in games that tested their knowledge of American history and culture. Hanoi University won. They were quite impressive. We were a distant second. The photo below is some of the students setting up the rehearsal (Both photos were taken from one of my student's Facebook album - the guy sitting at the computer.).

Long Bien Art Festival

Sometimes you get to do things you never expected. This weekend, the famous Long Bien Bridge across the Red River was closed to traffic for a two-day festival of arts. Nancy and I were able to walk across without getting run over or choked by exhaust. In fact, the breeze off the water was quite cool.

The bridge is a historical landmark in Hanoi. Designed by Alexandre Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame), it was built in 1898 and originally named the Doumer Bridge after Paul Doumer, who was president of France during Vietnam's colonial period. During the American-Vietnam War, it was repeatedly hit by American bombs and repeatedly, and rapidly, rebuilt by Vietnamese youth.

Most of the art consisted of paintings of the bridge. White banners were stretched along the bridge so people could add their comments and graffiti.

A few sketch artists and calligraphy artists had set up shop along the side of the road.

 

I'm grateful to the student who told me about the festival. It was a great afternoon to be out and about down by the river.

Rainy Day Thoughts

If I owned a house in Hanoi, I'd figure out how to catch the rain and use it. According to the leaky plastic pot in our courtyard, today's rain dropped about 4 inches (10 cm). That's pretty typical for the "big rain" that falls here in the summer and fall. With this one four-hour storm, 1300 gallons (4900 lit.) of fresh water poured off our steel roof and down the drain. That's at least two weeks worth of water for the two of us. And, as polluted as the Hanoi sky is, it would still be cleaner than what comes from the tap. It's not that I'm worried about my $5/month water bill, it's just that it seems like it would be a better use of this valuable resource than having it flood the streets and wash into the sewage canal.

The U.S. Virgin Islands requires a rainwater collection plan for all new building permits, as do some parts of Arizona and New Mexico. About 5% of the population of Hawaii depends on rainwater. Maryland encourages collection on a small scale to slow the runoff of pollutants and lawn fertilizers into the Chesapeake Bay. Colorado recently changed their laws to allow limited collection. With the availability of fresh water becoming an increasing problem in the Middle East, the American West, India, China (of course) and a lot of other places around the globe, rainwater collection seems like a good part of the solution.

If you're interested in reading more, the Texas Water Development Board has some good information, including a downloadable how-to manual. If you just want to start thinking about a winter project for next year's garden, this Sustainable Gardening blog has a lot of information for you.

Routine at Last?

Life seems to have settled into a rhythm, but change may be in the air. It's possible that my two "English Enhancement" classes will be switched out for regular undergraduate classes. Most of the Enhancement students have excellent English already and are earning their livings as interpreters. They graduated years ago and are taking this course to improve their interpreting skills. The Enhancement class is a small component of it. Unfortunately, because they have good language skills already, there's not much to teach them and they often are unwilling to do any of the exercises in class. A few are downright argumentative. (Please don't try to tell me "gauge" can also be pronounced "gawge.") If my schedule gets changed, I will not be sorry to see them go.

On the positive side are my 4th year reading classes. While some of the students are new to me, I've taught most of them in one or two other courses over the last two years. It's nice for them because they know what to expect from me and for me because I know what I can expect from them.

The Supper Club is back in business and each Tuesday night Nancy and I have dinner with five students we've known for a while. Dinner's usually followed by Jenga, Uno or Taboo. It's our turn to cook next week - an expensive proposition when you're making western food for seven people, but worth it for the friendships.

Nancy still tires easily, but is able to do more than she could a month ago. She's started tutoring one student from last year, a friend, and a woman who's trying to pass the exam to get into the DAV faculty. This morning she went out to Ciputra where a friend, Peggy, invited a group of women to officially celebrate Nancy's return to VN and to hear her story firsthand. (It's 5 PM and she's still gone, so she must be having a good time -- of course, Kirsten's in town too.)

I know I should put some photos on this blog, but picture taking hasn't become part of my routine yet.

Unpacking

I'm a step ahead of my nephew - he's moving into a new house in SC, while I only have to move back into our home in Hanoi. We arrived late Sunday night (VN time) on the 9th and have pretty much finished unpacking what we brought. Now we just need to remember where we stored the things we left! It's been a nice homecoming, with neighbors, friends and colleagues all happy to see us back. My Vietnamese is rusty, but could be worse (I need to slow down and pay more attention to my pronunciation).

Since Monday, I've been to two meetings at the school, received the schedule for one of my classes, transcribed two audio texts for a colleague, turned down a request to help with an exam for interpreters, met our new teammates, and done a load of laundry. I still need to buy some garlic and fish sauce so we can cook at home. It's hot, but nice to be back.

Teaching-wise, it looks like I'll have three classes with the English department and two with the interpreter training section. Things are changing a lot at the school this year, so there are still a lot of things up in the air. The tutoring at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seems to have faded away during the spring, so I don't think I'll be doing that any more. My classes start Monday and it looks like they may need me to be a mentor teacher for the new teachers' practicum, but I won't know that till the end of the week.

I'd try finishing this post off more stylishly, but it's 3:30 PM and jet lag's starting to kick in.

On the Road Again

My last road trip of the year ended yesterday when I returned to Orlando from Rochester, NY. It was nice to see old friends, update them on life in Vietnam, and thank some of the people who make it financially possible for us to be there.

Nancy couldn't come with me because she had a couple days of radiation left, but now that's over and her cancer treatment is finished! Her follow-up will consist of daily medicine and routine checkups for the next few years, but her prognosis is good and we're very grateful for that!

Our next big trip is to Vietnam. We leave early this Saturday (8 August) and arrive on Sunday. After sorting out out the time zones, it works out to a 32-hour trip (if there are no complications) from the time we leave Hannah's house in Orlando till we reach ours in Hanoi. We've heard all summer that it's been HOT there, but it will nice to be "home."

McCain at DAV

While I've been back in the US, my students have been hobnobbing with senators. Here's a picture of John McCain arriving at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and greeting the Director General of the Academy. The stop at DAV was part of the recent Asia tour taken by Senators McCain (R-AZ), Klobuchar (D-MN) and Graham (R-SC).

Where's Your Flag?

That's what a rather eccentric old woman asked me when I got home from a meeting at the Academy yesterday afternoon. September 2 is Vietnam's "Fourth of July" -- the anniversary of the day back in 1945 when Ho Chi Minh read Vietnam's declaration of independence from France. As on all the other national holidays, most of our neighbors fly the flag.

"Tell your landlord to get you a flag!"

I didn't call the landlord, but the conversation did shed a little light on one of those still-unanswered questions I've had: Should I display a flag on holidays to show respect or would it be too weird since I'm an "outsider"?

Nhập gia tùy tục is a proverb which has pretty much the same meaning as the English, "When in Rome...."

Maybe I should get a flag.

The Scavenger Hunt

Saturday started off with 3 hours worth of orientation for observing the new teachers this week as they do their teaching practicum at DAV (Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam). The vice-dean of the English department is also serving as a mentor/observer, so she was there too. She came armed with a cassette tape of two English news broadcasts she wanted me to listen to and a transcript to correct. Since I don't have a cassette player, I headed over to campus about 1:30 to check the transcript. It didn't take long - just lots of minor corrections.

From 4-7 we were supposed to have a scavenger hunt for VTF. But, Friday one of our good Vietnamese friends (Lien) called to invite us to her house to celebrate its renovation - the family had added two floors, upgraded the kitchen, and done a lot of other work. She had been trying for a couple of weeks to try to get the three families she was inviting to mesh with a date and we didn't want to mess it up. So we moved the scavenger hunt to Sunday afternoon. Plus, that would give VTF Saturday night to work on their lesson plans.

Unfortunately, some of them were thinking that putting it off to Sunday night would be a good idea. But we did the scavenger hunt anyway and they were finished and on their way back home by 7 PM.

What do you look for on a scavenger hunt in Hanoi? Stuff like:

• A photo of a live animal.
• A photo of a cooked animal (whole).
• A photo of someone on your team talking with a child.
• A photo of an artist at work.
• A photo of you in a store downtown. One extra point if the shop owner is in the photo.
• Team photo with a Colonel Sanders statue.
• Team photo with everyone wearing a conical hat.
  
• Team photo of you drinking coffee or fruit drinks at a café.
• A bus ticket stub.
• A pair of chopsticks or a new pair of plastic sandals.
• Three pieces of fruit.
• A postcard of Hanoi.
• A single-use packet of shampoo.
• A Vietnamese postage stamp.
• A bottle of “Joy” brand water.
• Ten business cards from ten places you’ve never been.

There were about 40 items in all. The Dalat team pulled off a 38-35 win.

So, it wasn't as flashy as the Olympics, but sending them out without their team leaders brought them back feeling a little more comfortable about negotiating Vietnam and, hopefully, happy about the start of some good friendships.

Just Photos From First Week of 2008 VTF Training

Yes, it's that hot.

2/3 of the new teams.

Hoan Kiem Lake intersection.

Hit the Ground Running

With the usual slight bump, the plane hit the runway and we're back in Hanoi. Jet lag? What jet lag? Who has time for jet lag?

11 PM Wednesday: We drag the last suitcase into the house, take a look around, unpack a little, hit the showers, then the pillow.

Thursday AM: Unpacking.

Thursday afternoon: Nancy and Sandy go to Elysse; David answers email and reworks the all-country training schedule for the Vietnam Teaching Fellowship (VTF). People have been waiting for the schedule since the weekend.

Thursday, 9:18 PM: Bed.

Friday, 8:30 AM: Meet with the ELI country director to go over the schedule for the VTF training that will begin Saturday.

Friday, 11:15 AM: Lunch with the Camp Vietnam teachers who are at our school this summer.

Friday, 2 PM: Visit the school to observe Camp Vietnam in action.

Friday, 6 PM: Dinner. Food Shop 45!

Saturday, 8 AM: Meeting with other trainers at their hotel.

Saturday, 9:30 AM: Leave for the airport to welcome the 2007-2008 VTF teachers.

Saturday, 2:30 PM: Lead VTF on a walking tour around the hotel so they can get their bearings.

Saturday, 6 PM: Take VTF somewhere nearby for dinner. Anything but KFC!

Sunday, 9 AM: First training session begins. Full days for the next five weeks.

Although our heads are still spinning from being in the USA, we're off to a busy start!

Bao Duong

With the school year wrapping up, I've complied a list of stuff I need to get done by the end of the month. One thing on the list is getting some routine maintenance (bao duong) done on my Honda Super Dream. Since the bike is still pretty new, it's not been through much more than some oil changes and some minor adjustments to the brakes and chain.

Of course, like anywhere else, there's the challenge of finding a good mechanic. A few months ago a place dropped a flier in our gate that made them look like a pretty good choice, and it is a lot closer than the dealer where I bought it. So I rode up to the front door, told the guy what I wanted, and sat and watched for the hour or so that it took a mechanic to almost completely disassemble the motorbike, adjust and lube everything possible, and put it back together again. I was surprised! I mean, he even took apart the shocks.

After he washed it and another guy double-checked everything and took it for a spin, I got the bill. 50,000 VND. But they didn't realize I wanted the oil changed too. That added 40,000. Apparently oil costs a lot more than labor. The whole thing translated to $5.63 USD. I wish I had found a mechanic like that for my motorcycle in the US!

Signs of Easter Are...

...nowhere to be found.

At least not like you see signs of Christmas. The commercial side of Christmas has definitely made its way to Hanoi, but that's not the case with Easter. Three months ago, life-sized plastic Santas stood in front of shops with their motorized arms waving and pre-recorded, "Ho, Ho, Ho's" bellowing. Sidewalk vendors were selling Santa hats. Toy stores stocked artificial Christmas trees, stuffed St. Nick's and tinsel. But I can't find plastic eggs anywhere.

On the non-commercial front, it is encouraging to see a large resurrection mural on the front of the city's large Vietnamese Catholic church. Friday night the two International churches in Hanoi got together for a service. Anticipating more people attending than usual, HIF had two identical services on Sunday morning. Monday night VTF is banding together for some egg-dying with students and the deeper story of Easter.

Saturday night most of the Hanoi teachers, and a few from out-of-town, got together at the director's house to share a meal and talk a bit about what Easter means to them. A couple of people mentioned what it's like to tell the story in simplified, understandable English to people who are hearing it for the first time. In that setting it's easy to be talking and thinking at the same time - telling the story while thinking, "This sounds crazy! Do I really believe this?"

I do. Aside from the historical evidence and my belief that it makes sense philosophically, I know the difference the Resurrected One has made in my life.

I guess there are signs of Easter after all.

The National Pediatrics Hospital

On Thursday we found out that a friend and former student had to take her 4-month old daughter to the hospital in Hanoi. She had already had a CT scan and chest X-ray at the hospital in the provincial capital where they live, but the hospital said the problem was beyond them and suggested she bring her to Hanoi. We got a call saying they were at the National Pediatrics Hospital (Benh Vien Nhi Truong Uong)and started trying to figure out how to visit.

No Yellow Pages Here.

The most complicated part is finding the hospital since Benh Vien Nhi Truong Uong is listed as Bao ve Suc Khoe Tre em on the map. But our friend had given us the name of the street so it was just a matter of narrowing it down. I figured it would make the most sense to start asking near the place called Bao ve Suc Khoe Tre em, since "Tre em" means "child." On my way home from the Chinese Embassy (picking up visas for our April meetings), I pulled over and asked a bicycle repairman who had set up shop by the side of the road. He was eager to help; I had only gotten "Benh Vien Nhi" out of my mouth when he pointed down the road and told me to go straight ahead, through the intersection and turn left after about 200 meters. Turns out it's only about 1/2 mile from our house. I had ridden up to the gate last week when I was looking for a shortcut; I just hadn't paid attention to the sign.

So that's how, on Friday afternoon, Nancy and I found ourselves in the middle of a sprawling medical complex, wondering where we could find our friend and her baby.

The Hospital

The Pediatrics Hospital was full of kids - and parents, aunts and uncles. Because medical staff only takes care of medical matters, a trip to the hospital is a family event. Non-medical stuff, like bathing and changing diapers is the responsibility of the family. Food is up to the patient too - you buy it from the carts that are wheeled around the hospital or bring it in yourself. Visiting hours are scheduled around meals (6-7 AM, 11 AM - 1 PM, and 4 - 8 PM).

For less than $1/day, you get a spot in an 8-bed ward. Our friend is well-off enough that she could afford the quieter $20/day semi-private room (2 beds, a bathroom and sink - no hot water).

Vietnam's communal culture showed up even in the hallway of the neurology ward where adults and kids seemed to interact like one big extended family. Not surprisingly, everyone noticed Nancy and I as we walked through the hall. Surprisingly, no one said anything. We had a short visit, got to look at the films from the CT scan and X-ray (they were tucked under the mattress for safekeeping), and came back that evening with some pizza and fried rice Nancy bought from a local restaurant.

We were back several times over the next few days to pray, try to encourage, and help out wherever we could. Our little friend was back to her happy little self on Saturday and discharged on Sunday. The whole experience left me feeling overwhelmed at the huge number of kids there and wishing I could do something to help.

It's Cold Here - Really!

Tell someone that it's cold in Vietnam and most won't believe it. Most Americans who've been to Vietnam remember the oppressively sticky heat of the south. Most weather comments, even from those who live in northern VN, are about how hot it is. So what's with the cold? How cold is it?

Uh, about 58F (14C). OK, OK, stop laughing. Stop. Or I'll laugh next summer when you complain that 90F (32C) and 70% humidity is "sweltering." Ha!

Not only does it feel cold, with the temperature inside the house the same as outside, it's taking a serious toll on this subtropical area that's not geared for a 34-day (and counting) cold spell. And it's way worse in the economically poor mountainous areas, as this picture from the newspaper shows. It was taken in Lao Cai province last week when the winter fog froze to trees and road signs.

How cold is it?

• 50% of the rice crop in the north, and almost as much in the central part of the country has been killed by the cold. It dies when it gets below 15C.
• Over 55,000 cattle have died - mostly calves and young buffaloes in the mountainous provinces.
• A two-year old boy died of hypothermia after riding the family motorbike from Phu Tho to Hai Phong with his parents. He is one of hundreds of the children and elderly who have died because of the cold. http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01MIS130208

The Vietnamese government is planning to come through with financial aid for some of these hard-hit families, but this year ahead will be a hard one for many. What makes these losses worse is that 10% of the Mekong (southern) rice crop has been lost to grasshoppers and disease. Inflation in January drove food prices up another 22%. Pork and beef prices are at U.S. levels or higher. In southern markets, wild tree leaves are being sold because of rising prices and poor vegetable crops. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/social/2008/02/769425/

So keep VN - and us - in your thoughts. Maybe this will have the positive result of helping us all realize that we're not as self-sufficient as we might think.

It's Not Green Bay, But...

Here's a picture of what the sky's looked like for the last month or so. The tall building that's so hard to make out is a little over a mile away. I don't know if it's overcast, cloudy, smoggy, or what, but it's been a long time since the sky has been blue!


If you're curious what winter here feels like, lower your thermostat 55-60 degrees Fahrenheit, run a humidifier to keep the humidity at about 75%, and keep those settings there for a couple months. I know, 60 doesn't sound very cold, but when it's that temperature inside and out, it does make it hard to get out of bed in the morning.

But, on Friday, Nancy and I leave for Chiang Mai, Thailand for physicals, two of weeks of meetings, training, and a couple days off. It will be nice to be warm and see the sun again! (And, hopefully, we'll get to see Josh and Crystal.)

Helmet Law

BEFORE: Nobody likes helmets. Hot. Ugly. Messes up your hair. Like wearing a rice cooker on your head. So, nobody wore them. Well, almost nobody. There's one in this photo from August '06. A couple years earlier, the government tried a helmet law on, but people gave them so much feedback that they limited it to a requirement to wear a helmet only on the major highways between cities.


AFTER: Nobody likes helmets. Hot. Ugly. Messes up your hair. Like wearing a rice cooker on your head. But, tired of the traumatic head injuries (and bodies) piling up, the VN government passed a law this year that requires everyone everywhere to wear one - drivers and passengers. It went into effect yesterday (15 December). I was interested to see what compliance was going to be like Saturday morning when I woke up. Much to my surprise, nearly everyone had a "mu bao hiem" on their head! I had to ride about 4 km to a meeting and could have counted the number of helmet-less drivers on the fingers of one hand - till I decided I needed both hands (and eyes) to drive.

Cops were out in force. The traffic cops even recruited help from district police, security police and a few good men from the army. Every major intersection had police standing ready to crack down on scofflaws. But I also heard a rumor that in Saigon some enterprising folks had set up helmet rental booths near the intersections of one of the main roads. If you didn't have a helmet you could pull over, rent one for a few cents and return it to another booth on the other side of the traffic stop. (Just a rumor, I'm sure.)

Enforcement is going to be strong for a few weeks at least. It will be interesting to see how long those helmets stay on.