A Tearful Team Goodbye & A long Walk to drop off luggage

Amazing as it seems, we did our last classes today, a bit more shopping, and then a beautiful final team meeting and dinner at the hotel.  We realized how much we had accomplished, and how we had come together as a team to achieve our goals.  We presented our team leader with a framed photo of the team(now that's something of a story, how I figured out how to get the photo printed!).  She was very touched.  The toasts were to:  the kids, the teachers, the 1000th Year Celebration, each other, the hotel staff, and Vietnamese coffee.  We all agreed to safe travels and trying to keep in touch with each other.

After packing up, Phil & I decided it would be great to leave 2 bags at the hotel we will stay in on our last night in Hanoi before we leave for the States.  It seemed a simple notion to take a taxi to the Sunway Hotel, drop the bags, and walk back "home" to the Hoa Binh Palace. well, as they say......the best laid plans.....we couldn't get a cab from the hotel because of all the people.  We walked two blocks, grabbed a cab, showed him the address, and were on our way.  Tons of traffic.  After a few minutes, he pulled over where the road was "arrested"(ie blocked off) and pointed into a huge crowed.  Needless to say, it turned out we were quite a ways from our destination.  With Phil's amazing map skills, and the help of the staff at a different hotel, we eventually found our way on foot to the Sunway.  Arriving looking like tired hobos, the staff of this very upscale hotel  looked at us askance until they found our reservation for next week in the computer!  After that they were kind and courteous, took our bags, gave us a receipt, and we were on our way back towards the Old Quarter.  there were throngs of people heading back from the celebrations, quite amazing to see.  Just as we reached our "neighborhood", we caught sight of our team members Keith & Tim, and shared a last beer with them.

Now we are exhausted, ready for our early morning departure to Saigon and the next set of adventures.

Feet are very tired again,
Barbara

Almost done with teaching & a celebratory dinner

Tomorrow is our last day of teaching, that is really hard to believe.  Believe it or not, today I taught in a "finance" class, now what to I know about finance?  Turns out, somewhat to my surprise, enough to hold my own.  These 4th year students all want to go into banking, but none of them yet have a job.  In my afternoon class the students did presentations on : the role of the Vietnamese woman in society, transportation , and literacy, not bad!  We had many opportunities to discuss some improvements in spelling and pronunciation.

After a quick trip to the hotel for a shower and change of clothes, we headed to a special restaurant for dinner with the heads of the International Cooperation Department( our sponsors while we are here).  The food was plentiful(also filled with sodium, a bit much for me) and the conversation enlightening.  We learned a lot about how this private University is run.  you won't believe it, but the yearly tuition is only $200 dollars per student.  When Phil asked the VP how they can possibly make it(they receive no government dollars), he replied " we pay the teachers very poorly".  Sadly, that is not unlike how teachers are paid in the US.

The taxi ride home brought yet another surprise; the streets around our hotel are "arrested" (aka blocked off) due to the celebrations, so the driver dropped us near the Opera House.  Big doings going on, with the street blocked off for dignitaries visiting the Opera House, and then a dramatic military parade, and we were lucky enough to be in the front row.  A real treat for sure.

Hot, sweaty, and tired, we made the trek back to the hotel.  Some sleep now before our last day of teaching tomorrow.

Tired but satisfied,
Barbara

Half day of teaching and a long walk around Hanoi

We awoke to a blissfully cooler day and the prospect of an afternoon off.  My teacher for the morning was "ill" again, it seems to be a habit that the teachers don't stay when we teach!  The class however was lots of fun and did several very engaging presentations for discussion.  Some of the questions for the day included:

• What is a Redneck?
• What do you think of President Obama
• Do you think it is safe in the USA with all the gun violence?
• What is the code of behavior where you live?

In the afternoon Phil & I headed off for an afternoon of walking and sightseeing.  With best intentions we headed to the Ho Chi Minh Museum.  It was closed when we arrived, so we headed on to the mausoleum and park.  Much of the park was closed due to the big celebrations but we got a good view of things from the outskirts.  Our walk took us to West Lake and across the viaduct where we found lunch in a traditional Vietnamese restaurant on the water.  No English speakers here.  The Vietnamese iced coffee was just perfect.  The rest of the afternoon found us wandering our way over several hours back to the Old Quarter.  We saw residential neighborhoods, a local seafood and meat market, lots of stores with lots of "stuff"(none of it very nice) and finally back to our "neighborhood" , where we stopped and picked up our custom silk items:  as promised, Phil's suit fits perfectly, as do my lovely silk pants to match my tradition AO DAI outfit.

For dinner we headed to a very traditional Noodle shop(aka street vendor) for a huge bowl of noodles, beef and vegies.  That plus a beer cost us all of $2.50 a piece, we had the chance to check out the plastic stools and local atmosphere.  The walk back home to the hotel included a stop for sugar cane/lime drinks as well as a traditional music performance at the lake.

with very tired feet, I head to bed,

Barbara

Teaching & walking, Hanoi at night!

More teaching all day, it was much less humid and hot and that was a real blessing.  The students we have taught last week seem to enjoy having us return to their classes.  I also joined a 4th year class:  one their presentations was a proposal to bring a McDonalds franchise to Vietnam!  Boy, were they ever disappointed when I told them I didn't really like McDs.  Of the over 30 kids in the 4th year class, only 3 of them know what they would like to do when they graduate, not unlike our American college students.  When I asked if they would like to return to living with their parents, there was definitely a negative reaction to that.  Todays questions from the students included what did I think of the midterm elections?  Healthcare reform?  Why did I come to Vietnam?

At lunch I had a break and took another walk in "college town", this time in the other direction and soon came upon the National Childrens hospital.  I had no idea it was so close, we are hoping to have a tour there later in the week if we can work it out.

After another lovely dinner with our team, Phil & I strolled around Hoan Kiem Lake again.  With the actual BIG day of the 1000th Anniversary celebration approaching, they have now closed the roads around the lake to cars and motorbikes.  the streets are filled with people strolling and enjoying the lights and sounds of all the celebration activities.  It is quite a sight to behold.  Unfortunately along with all the people comes an incredible amount of pollution.  By the time we returned to the hotel our eyes and lungs were burning. It is amazing to see how happy all of the Vietnamese are to be joining in this holiday. The lights and music are spectacular.

Barbara

Back to work & an afternoon tour with some students

After a relaxing weekend, we headed back to work this morning.  At least the temperature was a bit cooler and the air seemed less humid. Our schedule at the University is similar to last week, so it was gratifying to greet some familiar student and faculty faces this morning.  Vietnamese students are not so different from American students:  only two of 30 had completed the assignment to bring in a visual aid to use in a presentation.  Their teacher said to me:  "they are lazy", so they will have to do the work now!  Breaking up into small groups, they were able to be very creative in finding or making up visual aids out of every day items.  During our lunch break, I took a short walk around  "college town", the few blocks right near the school.  Mostly small street side cafes(aka plastic stools with street vendors) book stores, food markets, and places to have a haircut.

After class in the afternoon, 6 student volunteers hosted us in a trip to several wonderful Hanoi sites including theTemple of Literature, where we were treated to a performance of traditional dance and marching, as well the oldest pagoda in Vietnam.  The students were so accomodating, really wanted to please us, and very enjoyed speaking English with us.  We hope to host some of them some day in the United States.

Dinner was a special treat: a Cha Ca restaurant, where fish and vegies are grilled right at the table, eaten over noodles and sauce. A quick walk home ended with a lovely cooling rain.(with a quick stop at a magnifcent art gallery where we saw oil paintings by a wonderful Vietnamese artist, a relief to see some real art amongst all the souvenirs).

Off to bed, more tomorrow,

Barbara

Halong Bay & a visit with a traditional family(rice wine included)

Left the bustling city early Saturday am and headed for the north and towards Halong Bay.  Stopped to see how rice is planted and harvested, this appears to be back breaking labor to me as much of it is still done by hand. The fields are often not far from the big road with motorbikes and other traffic rushing by.  We had a roadside fruit snack of passion fruit and pineapple, seated on the ubiquitous plastic chairs.

On arrival(finally, after a lot of traffic) at Halong Bay, we were warmly greeted by the lovely staff of the Halong Jasmine, a luxurious yacht, serving 48 passengers, and newly built in 2007.  After settling in to our gorgeous cabins, we enjoyed a huge seafood lunch. The bay is truly impossible to describe, the pictures will tell the story of this magical place with enormous rock "towers" and islands throughout as far as the eye can see.  There are many beautiful boats, large and small, dotting the scene.  After lunch we took the launches to the floating fishing villages, where we transferred to a sampan and were rowed around the village by a native woman.  These villages are quite unique:  the houses and the schools are all floating, the life is completely on the water.  The "mini" grocery boat shows up daily, featuring oreos and other necessary items.  On return from the tour, we enjoyed a quick swim off the yacht in the very salty water of the bay.

A delicious BBQ dinner on board was followed by star gazing and then to bed.  This morning we rose early, for tai chi on the upper deck, then headed for a visit to a very large, 3 room cavern high on one of the hills.  The requisite stalagtites and stalagmites were amazing.  The return to the boat featured a quick shower, and wonderful brunch buffet with the best pho we've had yet. A peaceful sail returned us to the Halong Bay harbor, where our guide and driver were waiting for us.

The drive back to Hanoi featured some more shopping(hand painted pottery and silk ) and then a visit to Mr Han and his family in their home, with rice wine and a fresh pear. The Hans  were friendly and welcoming, we were able to tour their small home(complete with chickens and a pig) as well as the beautiful village church that he is caretaker for.  This Catholic church was built with monies donated by a supporter from San Fransisco.

The return drive to Hanoi featured a view of the beautiful mosaic wall that lines one of the main streets of Hanoi, developed for the 100th year celebration, and constructed by artists over a 2 year period.  A magnificent display of creativity.  We were welcomed back to the hotel by staff and our fellow Global volunteers, ready to restart our work at the University tomorrow. A lovely weekend respite from the heat and hustle bustle of Hanoi,

Barbara

Morning teaching and Phil orders a custom made suit!

We were so tired last night that we slept incredibly well.  Awoke this am to discover that we would have the afternoon off.  Our team leader was worried that with all the traffic for the big celebration that we might have trouble getting a taxi to get back to our hotel.  So we had a relatively easy morning of teaching just 2 hours and then returned to the Old District.  Phil and I treated ourselves to a lovely lunch at the Metropole Hotel, a lovely restored hotel that was originally built in 1902.  We got my camera fixed(that's a whole other story....lets just say that my SD card seems to still be in my computer, which is on the kitchen counter in Denver) and then spent several hours on silk row.

Phil ordered a custom made suit(can you believe it?) as well as several custom shirts.  The material and workmanship is just gorgeous, and all will be ready before we depart from Hanoi next week.  I ordered a tradional tunic and pants. We had a hot but exciting walk around the lake, saw a performance by some students, and headed back for a team meeting and dinner.  Not our favorite meal so far, oh well, we really can't complain.

We enjoyed watching fireworks and playing scrabble from the 8th floor of our hotel, which has a marvelous view of the lake the festivities.

Tomorrow morning we leave for our trip to Halong Bay as we have the weekend off.  Looking forward to getting out of the city, and seeing this very famous landmark.  No internet and not sure about cell service, will be back in touch on Sunday,

Feet feeling much better,

Barbara