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."

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.

Custas

The Diplomacy Academy of Vietnam's turn to Ring the Golden Bell (a game show for college students) has come and gone for another year.

The format has changed from last year. Gone are the graduation robes, sitting on the floor, and the opposing team. Now students compete to see how far they can get before giving a wrong answer. The winners get a cash prize.

More interesting this year than the game itself was the Custas commercial from the show's sponsor. Custas are a popular snack cake around here. Though the commercial is probably a "you had to see it" kind of thing, I'll try to describe it anyway.

Opening scene: A little girl, about 5-6 years old is fishing in a green plastic bucket.

Next scene: A mom comes home with a bag of groceries that has a box of Custas poking out of the top.

Next scene: The little girl is fishing with her grandfather at a small pond, sitting next to the same green plastic bucket. They are laughing. The grandpa hands her a Custas.

Next scene: Back in the kitchen the mom calls to her daughter, who shouts with excitement when she sees the box. She grabs it and runs off shouting, "Ong oi! Ong oi!" ("Grandpa! Grandpa!")

Final scene: The little girl places the box of cakes on the family altar in front of the picture of her deceased grandpa.

Very touching. Very sad.

(Click here for an explanation of the family altar written by one of Doug Young's students back in 2005.)

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!

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.