Women's Day

International Women's Day - yes, it is celebrated here as well.  I figured it was part of their Russian/Communist roots - but maybe it is really becoming more international.

So ... you know from the last post that the mall was getting ready for Women's Day.  I found more evidence today.

I don't believe I've ever seen a Rosie the Riveter poster with roses.  My mother-in-law was a Rosie Riveter.  She quit her teaching job to inspect rivets in an aircraft factory.  When I think about her doing this, I realize how much I've never experienced a "war effort."  Once, in Newcastle, the kids and I entered a Christmas wreath making contest.  It had a patriotic theme to it for some reason.  At the time, the U.S. was engaged in a "war" in the Gulf and/or Afghanistan.  As part of helping the children understand the concept of a "war effort", we did not buy anything new for the wreath, but asked friends for red, white, and blue buttons that we hot glued to the denim wreath.  We didn't win any of the prizes.

There was a display of notable women.  In case you can't enlarge this: this woman was a doctor who volunteered in 1967 to go to South Vietnam to help wounded communist soldiers and civilians.  In June 1970, she was killed in an ambush.  A U.S. Army Intelligence officer was ordered to burn her diary.  He disobeyed orders and kept it.  In 2005, he returned it to her family, who have agreed to have it published.

This woman was the first female general of the Vietnam People's Army.  The narrative also states that she was known as the "most important Southern woman revolutionary in the war."  She was in charge of an all-female force known as the Long-Haired Army.  They "engaged in espionage and combat against ARVN and U.S. forces."

Their photos were on display with other notable women: Margaret Thatcher, Princess Diana, Wilma Rudolph, Maya Angelou, Anne Frank, Malala, Amelia Earhart, Beyonce, Meryl Streep, Emma Watson, and Angelina Jolie (among others).

I have a student who become interested in the U.S. floor puzzle we have in our room this week.  It was pretty hard to NOT put this piece in place for her.

We had our Sports Day last Monday.  Imagine - Sports Day on 4 March.  Actually, it was called "Wet 'n Wild Day".  That's right ... water was a main component of this sports day.  At one point, everyone changed into their swimsuits.  It was pretty wild ... and really wet!  Sorry - no photos.

A Quiet Week in HCMC

The bougainvillea continues to be in bloom and I continue to marvel at how beautiful it is - and wonder why it hasn't stood out as much as it has this last month.  I mean, surely it was here when we arrived in July.  

The mall continues to be a place of interest.  American potatoes were the big deal today.  Free frozen french fry samples were available on the other side of this temporarily abandoned potato costume (that's got to be a fun job).

The Tupperware store got re-located this week.  A dress shop moved into the spot usually occupied by Tupperware.  Now they are against a wall, rather than in the middle of the passageway.  I guess they don't have Tupperware parties here.

S2 asks, "is that for Easter?"  Upon closer inspection, it is a display for Women's Month - so International Women's Day must be celebrated here on 8 March, just like in Russia.

I've been indulging in Nail Art.  It is way more fun that I thought it would be.  When youngest daughter was here in December, we pampered ourselves with massages, facials, manicures, pedicures, and nail art.

Mine are the purple flowers.  Hers are the galaxy/space theme.

She went with the plaid theme on her fingers, while I stuck with the same purple flower theme.  The dress code for work says nail polish should be neutral .... no one said the flowers weren't neutral.

And for Tet, I went with the traditional yellow flowers of South Vietnam (the north is pink).  The people at the nail place were really impressed that I had come up with the idea of Tet-oriented nail art, using their bank of photos of various nail art.

My nails are currently taking a break from polish, to give themselves some time to breathe.

Some things from this week

We bought a table and two chairs for the balcony.  We can now have breakfast on the balcony (if it isn't TOO hot at 6 AM) and have a glass of wine and play our daily cribbage game as the sun goes down or the moon comes up.

I'm studying Vietnamese with an app called DuoLinguo.  I can't say that it is helping me learn how to give the taxi driver directions, or ask for a half kilo of passion fruit at the market, but it is rewarding to learn about the grammar.  When my youngest was here over Christmas, she was able to help me figure out some basic grammar after seeing just 4 translated sentences.  That Linguistics major of hers is real.  This week, I felt like perhaps a subtle lesson on communism was added to my language lesson.

Flowers are in bloom through this season normally known as winter.

And while sitting on the balcony today, I spied the feet of one of our apartment geckos - I sure wish they would eat the ants faster.

Tet vacation to Laos

As someone who first heard the word Tet followed by the word Offensive, it has been a good re-framing to work on associating the word Tet with more celebratory events.  My school closed for 12 days to celebrate the Lunar New Year, as is customary in this country.  For S2 and I, this meant an opportunity for a trip to someplace we hadn't been yet ... and couldn't go when we were in this area 30 years ago.  We chose Laos.

Day 1: This was actually the last day of work as well.  Given that there are no direct flights from HCMC to anywhere in Laos, we headed to Hanoi on a midnight flight, arriving at 2 AM .  We took advantage of the Airport Pod Hotel and stayed 10 hours in a small, very simple, air-conditioned room at the airport.  Basic, but comfortable, and very needed given that about 4 hours after arrival either food poisoning or the flu hit S2.

Day 2 and 3: The flight to Luang Prabang (northern Laos) was uneventful, but the arrival at our hotel was quite pleasant.

It was enlightening from the very beginning.

The Buddhist Temples in this UNESCO World Heritage Site were worthy of the designation.

  

Day 4: From there it was up the Mekong River for two days.

The boat stopped wherever anyone wanted to get on or off.  I think this was the stop where the local shop was being re-stocked.

That evening, the boat stopped and unloaded everything and everyone.  We had a lovely evening at a family run hotel that offered free beer with dinner.

 

Day 5: Continued up the river, in a different boat - one with flexible seating, just move the "car seats" in whatever formation suits your group.  This took us to Huay Xai.

Day 6-7-and part of 8: From Huay Xai we started our first venture into eco-tourism.  We headed into the jungle with The Gibbon Expedition for a three-day, two night trip.  We used zip lines to go between tree houses, all under the auspices of protecting the habitat of gibbons.  We did not see any gibbons, but we certainly heard them.  It was a rewarding experience to think of all the hard currencies being poured into this project that is protecting the jungle from being cleared to grow rice.

 

More of Day 8: Upon leaving the jungle, we hopped a public bus to Luang Namtha.  A "truck stop" helped us understand how remote we were.

Day 9: By this time, the flu caught up with me.  I was struggling just to get to the nice clean sheets of the next hotel.  S2 worked to get us from this remote place to Vientiane, the capital of Laos.

Day 10: I stayed holed up in the air conditioned, clean sheet hotel in Vientiane.  By the end of the day I was ready to venture out for an easy stroll.  We headed down to the Mekong River.  The Promenade was full of people enjoying the sunrise across the river, Thailand in the background.  I marveled how 30 years ago we would have been able to be on THAT side of the river, but not this side.

As exercise classes appeared along the Promenande, I pondered how this country, considered one of the bottom 20 countries in the world had aspects of it that were clearly working to be part of the developed world.

During the Silent War (also known as the Vietnam War), the U.S. dropped an estimated 260 million "bombies" between 1964 and 1973 on Laos.  It is estimated that 78,000,000 of them failed to explode.  People continue to unexpectedly find them.  There are numerous rehabilitation organizations within the country helping victims of the leftover bombies.  People make jewelry, can openers, and various other decorations from the usable remnants.  Upon seeing this trash can, I wondered if it was an attempt to re-use such remnants - it was made of rubber.

Day 11: Ahh, it felt great to feel better.  I felt well enough to join in the adventure of renting a tandem bicycle and heading out for a ride.  A ride in the country side always provides such a different look at a place. 

We stopped for lunch at a place along the Nam Ngum River.  It appeared this was a place for folks in the city to come to, rent a boat equipped with a kitchen, or if they brought their lunch, they just set out for a picnic on a boat.

Day 12: I was hurting from the bike ride the day before, but I was determined to make it to the Houey Hong Centre.  It is a place dedicated to keeping the traditional weaving techniques from dying out.  Laos has some 54 ethnic groups that struggle to keep their language and culture alive.  For a fee, they taught me how to weave.  It was soothing and rewarding.  Check out the link I made if you want to learn more about it.

Later that day, we took a plane back to Hanoi, and then home to HCMC.  We arrived back home shortly after midnight and had a day to rest up and get ready to go back to work.  It was a good thing for me.  I was able to squeeze in an appointment to the doctor and discover I had developed Achilles Tendinitis.  Basically, someone set such a vigorous pace on that tandem, that the tendons on my left foot went on strike.  I'm happy to report after some days of rest, and some anti-inflammatories, I'm doing very well.

I went for a bike ride this morning

It was the first time in over two and a half years.  As expected, I did not forget how to ride a bike.  I did forget how smoothly and quietly one can move through even the largest imaginable sea of humanity with ease and grace on a bicycle.

S2 bought a bicycle a few months ago.  We scoured the bike shops we could find by internet searches and the “bike street” someone told him about.  This is a street with several, no, MANY second-hand bike stores, as well as twenty times more stores full of motorcycle parts.  It was always much more of his quest to get a bicycle than it was mine.  I was just along to help with navigating.  His mission was to get a bicycle that he could commute to work on (in his adult life, there’s only been once he couldn’t walk or ride a bike to his work place).  He found one in November and started pedaling in early December (just after the typhoon). 

It is a fairly complex sequential process for him, packing the needed clothes plus work computer and various other projects that go back and forth.  He’s able to keep all the needed toiletries in a locker at school, as well as all his dress shoes (he inherited SEVERAL pair of size 13 shoes in early October – not easy to find in southeast Asia).  Colleagues provide us with numerous photos of him cycling, as he can, at times, go faster than the faculty buses that take us home after school.  Those phones with cameras, they are everywhere.

  

Side note: The library has white carpet, so it is one of the “shoes off” venues in the school.  Yes, even the Coordinator of Library Services walks around the library with no shoes on (my classroom is also a no shoes venue).

You can imagine S2’s excitement when I showed interest this week in buying the bicycle of a departing, pregnant colleague who lives in our building.  S2 had seen the bike, knew it was suitable for me, and felt the asking price was worth it.  The colleague, departing in 2 weeks to have the baby in her home country, was asking for a deposit on 10-pages of personal items she and her husband are selling.  When I inquired if she was willing to take the whole payment now (so I could start using the bike, since she’s going to be gone for three and a half months having a baby and waiting for the baby’s passport before she returns for two weeks and then MOVES back to her home country), she was hesitant, wanting to maybe ride it one more time.  Her husband and I were able to reassure her that she might not want to ride it again AND if she did, she could certainly borrow it.  Thus, I am now the proud owner of a bicycle – a brand I’ve never heard of and can’t remember as I write this (the bicycle is in the basement, with other bicycles and countless motorcycles, and a few cars).

Once I mentioned I was interested in a ride this weekend, S2 eagerly brought it in the apartment to clean it and tune it up.  He regaled me with the numerous options – a rear hub brake, a hub-dynamo powered front headlight (that we can’t figure out how to turn off), 6-speeds with a rear derailleur, a grip shifter, a 3-cross spoke pattern, a basket, and a built-in quick lock (reminiscent of our Dutch bikes) to name the most outstanding features.  The weakest parts were the decaying side walls of both tires and a back rack that doesn’t meet our bike touring standards (not that I was planning on going for more than an hour bike ride anyhow).

We set off before 7 this morning.  I knew the hardest part of the ride would be the three left turns of the loop we would ride.  I was not disappointed, but crossing the road in HCMC is a blog entry in and of itself that I’m not ready to write about yet.

As I pedaled along with the flow of traffic, on a side street void of buses, trucks, and delivery vans (shoot, there aren't even any cars on it), in what we affectionately call “the neighborhood” I was overwhelmed with familiarity.  As I breezed along, I remember my cycling time in SE Asia, 30 years ago.  I pondered what was the same and what was different.

The same:

•         the sea of humanity out moving, working, playing, eating, and shopping at such an early hour,
•         the wide variety of items being transported on two wheels, or maybe three wheels
•         the number of two-wheeled vehicles carrying two or more people (I have seen five on a motorbike, but two, three, and four are most common)
•         the bright red, pink, yellow, and sometimes orange and purple, of the ubiquitous flowers that can grow anywhere and everywhere (as we approach the annual Tet celebration, yellow is the most predominant color in both flower and decorations)
•        the familiar thwack of a meat cleaver hitting a chopping board as the open-air butcher prepares the meat for the day
•        the baskets of fresh vegetables and fruits, many uncommon to North American supermarkets
•         the stainless-steel fabricators selling shoe racks, shower racks, water racks, and my favorite – the porch swing (I want to get one for our balcony but it would have to be a one-seater given the narrowness of the balcony)
•         the BIG wooden furniture shops (are those pieces made in the back, or delivered to such neighborhood shops – and if they are delivered, what motorized transport delivers them?)
•         the countless clothing stores (where do they get all that clothing?)
•         the basic, simple, plain café – plastic knee-high chairs and tables set up out to the very edge of the street, yet traffic is of no concern to the person enjoying their morning coffee or tea
•         the occasional jeweler (selling gold and silver, most likely with a scale)
•         the recognition that I am entitled to just as much road space as anyone else

The difference:

•         the overwhelming presence of countless motorbikes
•         the constant noise, including honking from the countless motorbikes
•         the gritty, sooty feel of the air from the exhaust of the countless motorbikes
•         the lack of open sewer ditches – they have concrete covering now with regularly spaced storm drains
•         the number of plastic bags and bottles in the piles of trash that are being swept up by the stick-broom sweepers (the street cleaners) – the world really needs to do something about our addiction to plastic

We pedaled along this neighborhood artery (although we had to be well out of the range of “our neighborhood”) until a cross street that takes us past our school and ties into the more heavily traveled divided highway that brings us back home.  We pedaled side-by-side on the cross street, reminiscent of the old days, sharing impressions and feelings, as it had so little traffic on it.  We passed a turkey farm, a geese farm, a number of construction projects, including an obvious subdivision with a security gate that does not let stray bicyclists in, and lots of trees before we could see the two 6-story buildings we lovingly call “our school”.  I’ve recently befriended a young man who waits on the sidewalk for HIS bus transport to work at the same time I wait for MY bus transport to work.  He’s mentioned more than once how BIG my school is.  From this vantage point, I had a new understanding of his perspective.

Side note: The gardeners took all the Pre-K students to the mango trees on campus this week.  All 36 students, all 3 teachers, all 3 teaching assistants, and all 4 nannies were given a mango to take home.

It seemed like an easy glide home on the big highway; two bridges, one stoplight and Sunday morning traffic.  Sure, there were the vendors selling fresh coconuts (and the odd-vehicle stopped at the side of the road to buy one), and the quail vendors – selling both live and dead plucked quails (but THAT vendor wasn’t using a blow torch to remove all the feathers as I’ve seen before), but I didn’t see anyone fishing in the median ponds, full of slightly more water this week due to the unusually high tides brought on by the waning moon.

Yes, I’m sure to take another bike ride here, one day.  It might not be for a few weeks, as we’ve got a long break coming up this week.  The Tet Celebration (Lunar New Year) sees families return to the ancestral home to spend a day showing respect for and honoring the FATHER and his side of the family, another day showing respect for and honoring the MOTHER and her side of the family, a third day showing respect for and honoring the TEACHERS and their families, and a lot of eating and visiting.  We’re going to Laos, but don’t expect an update for at least two weeks.

You can watch me disappear in this series of photos taken today.

Typhoon, Concert and Shopping

It had been comfortably breezy all day.  The air conditioner wasn't turned on at all and the windows with screens were left open all day.   Then, late on 24 November, it started raining.  It was a steady mist, very pleasant, and the screened windows stayed open all night.

I headed out Sunday morning to do the grocery shopping.  I didn't need my umbrella to get into the taxi, but I did need it when I got out of the taxi and headed into the shopping mall.  I got my shopping done, went to the underground taxi stand and joined the unusually long line to wait for a taxi.  My wait wasn't as long as I anticipated.  I was somewhat surprised at the downpour the taxi pulled.  The driver maneuvered through the traffic and the occasional large puddle.  Once it turned onto the road I live on, the puddles became large ponds and the water level approached the door of the cab.

I believe in perpetuating the stereotype that Americans are good tippers, so this taxi driver was the recipient of my intent.  He cheerily helped carry my bags of groceries through the torrential rain to a covered part of the apartment building. 

This was the typhoon that had been predicted on Friday.  It was the equivalent of a blizzard of rain.  We lack some basic infrastructure here - things like storm drains, holding ponds, well, really, a basic drainage system.  At unusually high tides, many roads are flooded, so during this typhoon, the same systems were taxed.  By early Sunday evening, the Ministry of Education cancelled public school due to the amount of water on the roads (I suspect knowledge about high tides played a part in the decision as well).  By 9:00 that night I'd received notification that my school was cancelled the next day.  The glorious "snow day" was now a "typhoon day".

The next day, the sun came out and like in "The Eency, Weency Spider" ... dried up all the rain.  Well, most of it.  Over 11 inches of rain fell in less than 24 hours.  There are still some places that have large bodies of water that were not there before the typhoon.  I am baffled by the men fishing in them.  Perhaps they don't realize that it is not a body of water that is connected to a source of fish - or maybe at high tide it is. 

We went to a Christmas concert at St. Paul's Convent last weekend.  It was a lovely cathedral that looked just like it was transported from France.  The bizarre part was the uncomfortable heat, despite the enormous fans, while listening to Christmas Carols.  I also felt like it was a new look at parenthood.  There were a number of families present.  Children were plugged into devices, playing games and eating Pringle's potato chips while the remarkable orchestra and the stunning voices performed.

I was grocery shopping yesterday.  The shopping basket isn't nearly as full as it was when I was doing the weekly shopping for a family of 4.  While living in Europe, I was the odd one out with my incredibly loaded shopping cart.  It is much more common for Europeans to shop every day (the fridge just isn't that big).  Consequently, at the check-out lines I frequently received stares and glares of "how-dare-you-buy-so-much-and-take-up-so-much-of-my-time-waiting-for-you-to-get-through-the-checkout-lane". 

Not-so-here - but I also don't find a need to make sure I'm in the shortest line.  I enjoy just watching.   I joined a line where the woman ahead of me had two completely full shopping carts.  It took quite a while to get her items scanned and packed.  I was able to get my items on the conveyor belt without having to wait for the belt to move at all.  I was surprised when the woman ahead of me picked up two items that I had, said something to the cashier, who took the items from her, called for another employee to come, and they had a discussion about something.  I was able to figure out the woman wanted some of these items as well.  I stepped in to explain where I got each item, and off someone went to get some of these for the woman in front of me.  I felt somewhat smug thinking that my careful shopping had helped out this woman AND the store.  Certainly a shopping experience I'd never had before.

Photos:

This is a pillow on a motorbike.  The child would rest his/her head on the pink pillow, perhaps to sleep, definitely to cushion the head from the bouncing while riding.

But First Coffee

New Photos

Last week was the local Terry Fox run - I did not participate, but S2 did.  Last year there were over 17,000 people who participated.  I haven't heard numbers for this year.  There were at least 3,176.

Don't come to Vietnam to avoid Black Friday.

  

Wait a minute!  I thought Black Friday had something to do with Thanksgiving.  I did go to the mall today.  Everything I bought, apart from groceries, was on sale.

Yes, we are embracing Christmas as well.

Advent Calendars

Disney's Magic of Christmas (center stage in the mall - where the yellow happy faces and the Halloween photo shoot was previously)

  

I didn't get this photo taken quickly enough.  The little boy was pointing to Santa just before I took the photo.  Yes, how does a Vietnamese father explain who Santa is to his little boy?

Regardless, my favorite mall find this week was Dinosaur World.  Yes, you can pay to ride those dinosaurs.

But the highlight of the weekend might have been the rooftop showing of "Rocky Horror Picture Show" that we went to.  It was our 2nd date (back in 1981).  The showing started at 7:30, thus it was easily my favorite viewing ever, because I was able to stay awake for the whole thing.

None of the previous showings I've been to included the cues on their own screen.