Summer in Hue 2009

How can I forget?

2009-09-12T19:20:00.000-07:00

Everybody felt very strange because of the first meeting but then that sensation was disappeared. We became more friendly. Did you think so?
We had 1 month, it was not long and not short but it voiced all things. It was honest sentiment that we shared!
- Xuan, Tom, Angie, Sonny and me came to Duc Son orphanage with 4 weeks. We taught English to childrens. We had a highly valuable lesson: that was affection!
- We (Xuan, Tom, Jan, Diem, Nhan, Albert, Jeannea) had a good time together.
I will remember a good time when we spent together! I really didn't want to say goodbye! I miss all of you so much!
Thank you David!
Thank you Co Hong Anh!
Thank you Xuan, Tom, Jan, Albert!
Thank you everybody!
I hope we will have chances to meet again!
I want to say: "Nice to meet you!" and "good luck to you!"
I love all of you!

Until Next Time

2009-09-08T21:42:00.000-07:00

I've said a few words outside airport gates and beside taxi doors in Hue and in Saigon. I've sent some messages through email and facebook to people in Asia and America. Now, I want to leave one unified message to all the people I met this summer.

You all mean more to me than words could express. I will cherish my experiences this past summer for all my life. I've never felt such pain in a goodbye. I wasn't prepared to be hit by the numbing realization of seeing it all come to an end as I sat on an airport bench in Saigon. I wouldn't give up any of these feelings, though, because it was the price of having so much fun with everyone for 5 great weeks. I don't have any regrets. I'd pay the price a hundred times over to relive one minute of our time together.

Some of you, I'll see around campus. Others, I might see again on a return trip to Vietnam. For everyone else, through effort of our own or happy circumstance, I'm sure we'll meet up again somewhere down the road. I look forward to the day we can again say hello and goodbye. Until then...you know how to find me online or leave a comment if you really don't.

Hen Gap Lai, Hue!

2009-09-03T00:22:00.000-07:00

It seemed to me that the morning we left Hue was the most beautiful one. As if though every color on the earth had been magnified, every hue sharp and clear as the clouds that stood out from the sky. Starting around 5 AM, the hallway in Thanh Noi hotel slowly woke up to a quiet buzz of activity. Strolling down between the rooms, perhaps the passing stranger heard the noises of suitcases being squeezed shut, zippers being pulled, things being tossed aside, and soft sobs as reality came with the dawn. I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at my now empty room. Somehow, I felt sad to be leaving this hotel room, phuong so 40, that had been my home for the past five weeks. After weekend trips I'd rushed back to this room and thrown myself on the mattress, glad to be back. My two suitcases sat upright, stuffed to the brim with dirty laundry and souvenirs, quiet mementos of Hue. I paced up and and down between beds, searching with my eyes to make sure I'd left nothing behind. A bag with hotel donations sat on a nearby chair. Outside my room, I could hear the voices of other students as they knocked on doors to request back rented items. I opened the door to my room, palming the mushroom shaped key in one hand; pushing the door back into place with one last, final jerk. Students nodded to each other as we passed by in the hallways, still dressed in bed clothes. I heaved my luggage into the front lobby, a heavy finality settling down in my chest. Slowly, the sleek wooden chairs in front of the front desk filled up with luggage: duffle bags filled with clothing, suitcases with wheels, non la hats balanced as if it were an identifying marker on luggage.
We gathered together to say our last goodbyes; too soon the van was in the driveway. Secret and open tears were wiped away on shirt sleeves, hugs were exchanged. Goodbyes were whispered in ears, low voices murmured consolations. We would be together again, soon, one day. We believed with all our hearts. A month seemed too short. A month brought all of us together, bonded us the way things do when you eat together, learn together, travel together.
Luggage was handed up and packed in uneven piles in the van. We waved, cried our goodbyes one more time.
Hue seemed to know we were leaving. The sky was never bluer, the clouds white in bass relief. I watched the passing scenery closely as we made our way to the airport, trying to memorize Hue. The bridge that we'd often passed on many a evening, wind whistling through our hair as we laughed on motorbikes. The familiar, sleek shape of Big C, with its green and yellow colors. The daily whiz and rush of the locals on their commutes to market, to work, to family. The women, hefting loads of fruit, bread, and anything else, on shoulder poles, trotting down dusty streets. If I could, I would have rolled down the window to hear the now familiar Hue-accented Vietnamese, as familiar (although not as understandable) as English. Were we leaving? It seemed too soon.
Hue Phubai Airport rolled up, and soon we were in the mad airport rush to check in, get through security, and line up to board the plane. Before we knew it, the rickety plane was rushing down the runway, and we were soaring in the air. Hue now lay like a small green jewel beneath us, becoming smaller and smaller, until it was now an indistinguishable emerald mass bordered by a long strip of white coastline.
Tam biet, Hue. Thank you for having us for a wonderful 5 weeks. I will never forget everyone I met there--the teachers, the hotel staff, our Hue friends from the college. Thank you for opening our eyes to a new and different culture, of realizing the joys and simple pleasures of living in another country. Coming back to San Francisco, I was shocked by how large everything seemed: the airport seemed too big, the long highways with its mass of shiny cars, the rows of multi-storied houses. I started to miss Hue, to realize how appreciative I had come of Vietnam. For a month, I'd started to forget the comforts of home and realized the material luxuries I have at home--things that I didn't need. I found myself wanting to ride a motorbike through streets lined with green trees, lily-pad covered moat on one side, a wide shining river on the other. The sights of Hue filtered through my mind: children and adults flying neon-hued kites against an evening sky, streets of yellow lights strung between a canopy of trees, a man waving to us from his restaurant--his only voice the smile on his face, a gesture with hands. The old crumbling walls of the citadel, a red flag with a proud gold star waving against piles of white clouds, a pagoda with eaves like bird's wings. People squatting on the sidewalk or on miniature red chairs in the morning, gathered together around glass cups of golden tea and sugarcane juice. Sun-dappled leaves sliding against my helmet, the wind plucking at my sleeves. The noisy hum of the marketplace, the tiny corners covered with people and merchandise, women waving their hands at us, apologetic smiles and nods. The flash of a camera. A pile of leaves and trash burning in the night, a pillow of gray smoke filtering through the air. Squabbling over a restaurant bill. Laughing and poking fun at each other on a crowded morning bus ride to a school by a hillside graveyard. Woven reed sampans bobbing in the canal, framed by an arching bridge on which men and women zipped by on bikes. Stray dogs sniffing a lone bicycle wheel, lifting a leg. A trail of ants reclaiming a dead cockroach. A bridge at night, reflected in purple, blue, white, yellow, on the mirror calm surface of the river. A man dragging a bike with a stereo recording: fresh pork buns, banh bao. Tiny birds flitting in cages, birdsong like the call of a bamboo flute. The giggle of a baby boy, the excited chatter of a little girl. A bodhi tree with gnarled roots, lit up at night by white lanterns. The song of guitar strings, strummed to murmured singing.
Hue, and so much more.

Cám ơn

2009-08-30T22:59:00.000-07:00

First of all, I want to send my special thanks to Mr. Biggs and Ms Hong Anh for bringing us a chance to know and understand each others. We- both US and VN students- are really good friends. You are very considerate towards all of us.

Thank Dennis for your first talking with me. You are an awesome man and always understand me. I've not eaten your chocolate yet.... Thank you.

Angie, you're sooooo crazy and cool girl. Haha. You know, people think you are so strange in the first look. But I'm sure they will regret after that, because you are extremely warm. Thank you so much Angie. See you next summer.

Hey Sonny, thank you for teaching me a lot of badddddd things. You are so funny. I like the way you joke people. I can't imitate.

Thank Charles for teaching me the "bad word ever". You always wanted me to practice in any situation. You are well-done in guitar. Thank you for the pills, black mask and the Okinawa ribbon. When I wear both of mask and ribbon, I look like a dying H1N1 patient. Sorry man. I couldn't go to the DVD shop with you.

Kitty, thank you for the big hug. You're amazing. I dont like Kitty cat because it's fragile and just for the girls. Haha. Just kidding.

Hey Chris, I really like your laugh-out-loud. You are 35 years old? What? Wait wait. It's time to find the real happiness.

Katrina, your Vietnamese are good. You are a so friendly girl.

Hey Albert, I want to express my apology to you because although I were your partner, I could not do anything for you, could not help you to finish your work. You are a good student. Hope the best for you.

Amanda, your Hue accent is so surprised. I like hearing your voice. You are a cute girl in the group. How was the Kings Cup you drank when you took the last King?

Thank Jeanie for the good things. I know that word is really bad. I know how to use it.

Thank Sharon for your amicability. You are so nice and always smile. I really like your presentation.

Jan, you are a really good dancer. Try to practice more the "Nobody" dance moves.

Tom, I dont have too much time to talk with you but I know you are a good guy because you rarely hanged out with us. Hehe.

Hey Johnny, I felt sorry for you because you were the person who had to drink the "Kings Cup" punished beer? Try to achieve what you wish.

Thank you all,

Take care.

Hieu Le (bad guy from Hue College of Foreign Languages)

GOODBYE MESSAGE FROM ME TO ALL OF YOU!!!!

2009-08-30T04:51:00.000-07:00

I just want to thank everyone for , allowing me the oppurtunity, within these last (short) 5 weeks, to befriend and trust every single one of you;

Charles, for being such a great friend in such a short period of time...I am gonna miss you dude, good luck in Okinawa! Good times we had dude...

Angie, with your smile and care for everyone (especially me:-), I grew to love you more and more everyday (although it was hard, because of the fighting throughout the trip)!...

Dennis, for being like an older brother to Charles and I, and for being such a selfless dude...love you too dude!

(TO THE TRIPOD; MONEY WAS NEVER AN ISSUE BETWEEN US)

Katrina, for being our rock, friend, and translator; you're beautiful girl!...Love you girl!

Chris, for being the 35 year old man trapped in a 20 year old kids body...

Xuan (Sorry if i mispelled it), for being our den mother and our emotional support...

Amanda, for ALWAYS smiling and being a great friend and person...NEVER CHANGE...

Albert, who was an anchor to all of the little groups we formed throughout this trip...

Jan, for being our professional photographer and one of the most genuinely honest people I've ever met...

Jeanie, for being someone who always was there for me...

Tom, for being the dude who was missing all of the time (you are a great dude!)...

Sharon, for ALWAYS SMILING and keeping me in a good mood all of the time we were around...

Julian, for being the ECONOMIST (we will smoke one day!)...

AND Johnny, for trusting me with stories that touched my heart, you grew a lot throughout this trip, and I am proud of you...

I also want to thank Dr. Biggs, Co Hom Ang (SORRY IF I MISPELLED IT!!!) and your beautiful children (don't want to attempt to spell their names, because i will butcher them)...I appreciate you letting us in your family for the 5 weeks we were here, if there were more people like you guys in the world it would surely be a better place...

As for me, introspection and retrospection await me in Malaysia, Bangladesh, and the Philippines...

This trip had a profound influence on this surfer/gamer guy from Southern California...All of you have a special place in my heart. The experiences we shared are ones that will be with my forever...

until we meet again,

SONNY HASSAN

make the effort to stay in touch

2009-08-29T18:59:00.001-07:00

Is there anything else that needs to be said besides that?

I am desperate for some FAT!

2009-08-27T22:07:00.000-07:00

During this whole program, I have been upset with one thing. I CANNOT SEEM TO GAIN ANY WEIGHT! Before I came to Vietnam, my mother told me to eat a lot because I was too skinny. I told her do not worry because food is cheap and I will eat large portions. I did. But I still look skinny. Co Anh said that the food in Vietnam and especially Hue have barley any fat and low on carbs. Maybe that's why. But still, whenever I see people who cannot finish their foods, I offer my stomach to finish the rest. People are more than happy to see me devour their foods. Is it just me or is it the food?! Hopefully my problem will be solved once I land in Ca Mau, where I will stay for the rest of my journey in Vietnam.

Group Pics

2009-08-26T19:07:00.000-07:00

For anyone interested in group pics from the trip, mine can be found at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidbiggs/sets/72157622154808824/

Enjoy!

A Palace Under Construction

2009-08-24T22:54:00.000-07:00

For our very last tour in Hue, we visited the Old Citadel, site of the Forbidden City of the Nguyen dynasty. The citadel walls are a street away from our hotel, but there is only one proper entrance into the palace.

Flanked by time-blackened stone walls, Hue's Forbidden City is larger than it appears. During our tour we saw a model of what the City had looked like back in the peak of the old kings. It was huge! Hue's Forbidden City is a miniature of China's more famous one. I was glad I had never visited China's Forbidden City before, so I could not compare. The Nguyen citadel to me, is sure large enough...

It's amazing to imagine that around two hundred years ago, these palace grounds had been bustling hubs of activity. Concubines, eunuchs, mandarins, princes, soldiers standing alert with spears, troops of musicians and dancers in swirling colors all used to populate the overgrown grounds of the Citadel. Severely damaged by bombing during the war, the Citadel is now in the process of being rebuilt by UNESCO. It's been several years since they started, and from the looks of it, they won't be finished anytime soon. We only saw a very tiny portion of the Forbidden City, but what had been restored was simply amazing and beautiful. The mosaics decorating the faces of the buildings and gates are a testament to the Vietnamese peoples' creativity: they are made out of broken pieces of ornately decorated porcelain, pieced together to form arching trees with twisting branches, songbirds with outstretched wings and dragons with sinister grinning faces.

The palace is also very colorful: the old gatehouse through which we entered into the Forbidden City is a shade of dark, fading red. Inside, restored palaces are full of scarlet columns on which gold dragons curl their serpentine bodies. A series of lone, purple columns out in a courtyard full of construction bulk tradition and laugh against a clear blue sky, towers of puffy clouds lining the horizon. Mai told me that during the Hue Festival, which occurs every two years, the Citadel is richly decorated and covered with glowing lights. I'd like to see that one day.

Some of the original buildings are still standing, and these are easy to tell apart from those newly built. Nearby a tomato red walkway on which workmen carve and paint ebony black doors, stands the old library. Its rooftop gleams with porcelain mosaics, and I glimpsed tiny figures of mandarins made out of white and blue ceramic.

As part of our tour, we dropped by the theater for a royal musical performance. Before hand, Mai and Chau saw elephants lolling around in an enclave full of tall, green grass. They looked at us and fluttered their long ears before we rushed off to catch the performance.

The theater is dark and ornately decorated. The stage is lit with dim blue lights prior to the performance, highlighting a single, gilded chair on which the emperor may have sat. The musicians were all beautifully dressed in royal robes of gleaming white, scarlet, and glittering gold thread. The performance consisted of three dances and one music number. Opening up the theater was a lion dance which seemed to tell the story of the courtship of two lions and the birth of their child. It was the most interesting lion dance I had ever seen, and thankfully our group was mature enough that the stranger elements only received illicit chuckles and amused smiles. Poor baby Kien was scared of the lion dancers, however, and bawled throughout the performance. I don't blame him, I myself was scared to death of lion dancers when I was a child. Next performance was a fan dance. The women were dressed in white and pink robes, and it was similar to another dance we'd seen in Hoi An, albeit on a much grander scale. Music followed, and we were all distracted by a certain male musician who looked as if he'd rather be anywhere but on the stage. It makes me feel bad when I see performers who do not appear to be enjoying what they are doing. I realize that this troupe, and others, perform numerous times a day for the beck and call of tourists. Yet, a smile here and there makes a whole difference when it comes to performing. The music was lively and pretty, but the bland faces of the musicians and dancers gave it a heavy, gloomy atmosphere. I was always relieved when I saw performers smiling. I don't know wherever to think this type of cultural display is good or not. On one hand, as a tourist and foreigner, I like to see and hear traditional Vietnamese culture. I don't think that is a bad thing at all--after all, culture can only be appreciated and realized when you experience it. That's why we travel, I think, to gain a greater appreciation of the beauty of the world and the uniqueness of each individual culture and people. On the other hand, I can understand where the performers are coming from. Perhaps they feel this is a type of betrayal, to flaunt themselves for people who see this type of thing as exotic. Or maybe they are just tired, the novelty and fun of the dance and music chipped away by the repetition. In any case, the musical theater, ending with a performance of dancers in bright, colorful costumes and holding lotus flower lamps, was pretty and interesting to watch. I imagined the imperial court sitting where we were, enjoying the performance: the music, the colors of the dancers' costumes. I would think it would have been much more lively, with court ladies whispering to each other behind fans, mandarins sitting stiffly, eyes riveted on the graceful forms of court dancers.

We ended our short blitz of a tiny section of the Citadel after the musical performance. This is chronically out of order, but I'd like to end this post with fish. When we first walked into the grounds of the old Citadel, we saw two deep ponds. One of them was teeming with large, golden carp. You could feed them for 2,000 dong a bag of fish food. The carp were greedy, voracious creatures. Tossing a bit of feed into the water resulted in a massive fish fight, as carp flailed their flashing gold and silver bodies, mouths round and agape, for a bit of food. It was a real sight to see.

Final Week

2009-08-24T07:31:00.000-07:00

We're in the final week of the UCR Travel Study Program in Vietnam. By the end of the weekend, our final assignments will have been turned in, and we'll all be a plane ride away from Hue.

This begs the question of what will happen to the blog as time ticks down.

Will we be too busy writing essays and cramming the last bits of unforgettable experiences into these few days to care about blogging?

Or perhaps, we'll all be stuck in our rooms working, but can't help but take a 15 minute break here and there and decide to use this time to blog.

Will our essay writings make us nostalgic for the past few weeks?

Will this spur an explosion of recollections and pictures?

Will there be reflections after the program ends?

Find out in the next 7 days.

The Beauties...

2009-08-24T02:05:00.000-07:00

Here in Vietnam, I have noticed that there are so many beautiful flowers. Some of these flowers I have never seen back in the US. Rather than pick one and take it home, I decided to take some pictures and perseve the beauty for others to enjoy. My favorite flower that I have encountered would have to be the blue-ish purple Lotus. Beauty is like a cloud, one can see it but one cannot grab it. This is one random blog coming from myself. But the main reason for this blog is to show others some of the beauties of Vietnam.

I want somebody, somebody but you (clap,clap)

2009-08-22T06:06:00.000-07:00

Throughout this program, there is one song that everyone knows. Well, mainly the chorus but it is quite catchy. In the beginning of the program I introduced this to a couple of people then it spread like wildfire! Mostly everyday, this song run through my mind constantly and I am pretty sure it does the same for others.

I want it to stop! I want to brainwash my mind with another song but the song is too catchy! It is driving me insane. I find my self doing my daily routine along with the beat. In addition, doing the choreography when I listen to it! Don't ask me how I know, I just do...

What is the song? Its Nobody by Wondergirls. CAUTION! If you have never heard of this song before try to listen to it once a week!

Caves, Seafood, and an Old Bridge

2009-08-22T00:27:00.000-07:00

An old Christmas banner raggedly graces the facade of the church

Yesterday we took a day tour of the former De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) which marked the border between North and South Vietnam back during the war. As the border, this area received a lot of fighting, and Quang Tri still bears the scars of war. Some of our Hue partners joined us for this trip, and we hopped into a small bus and took off. We made numerous stops along the way before reaching the Vinh Moc tunnels. We stopped by the remnants of a bombed out church, a memorial maintained by the local people as a reminder. The place looked oddly peaceful for being the skeletal remains of a building. Next to it a strange cow with a hump on its back grazed, mooing loudly at us when we attempted to approach it.

Group photo on the old citadel wall

Several other stops included a tank located on top of a small incline by the road, and which we had to climb up to. We also dropped by the old Quang Tri citadel, which was a part of a network of citadels built up and down the coastline during the Nguyen dynasty. Today it is the site of a war memorial honoring those soldiers who died in the fighting around Quang Tri. A small museum displays a variety of photos of the battles, along with some displays of guns and other tools used by the soldiers. The memorial itself is very beautiful: a long paintbrush gracefully silhouettes against a clear blue sky. The paintbrush is a symbol of eternal memory, a record of all those who gave their life for their country.

Afterward the bus dropped us by the old foot bridge that people used to cross the border between North and South. It is a simple bridge made of wooden slats on metal, lit up by colorful flags waving proudly in the river breeze. Beside it was the metallic latticework of the newer bridge. Finally now in what used to be North Vietnam, we stopped by a seaside restaurant to lunch on seafood. The beach here was exceptionally beautiful, the water a clear, glassy green, lapping over tide pools and dark porous rock.

Our bellies full, we made our way to the Vinh Moc tunnels. These tunnels were the homes of soldiers during the war. A short trot down a path of green bamboo led us to a small museum with a map of the tunnels and entrance 3, through which we would be entering. The tunnels had been enlarged for tourists, but it was still a slight squeeze for most of us (thank goodness most of us girls were short!). It was dark except for the orange flicker of light bulbs that regularly dotted the pathway. Sometimes they would flicker and go out for several seconds, and we would be plunged into a pool of darkness. We were all relieved when we climbed up a long flight of stairs and back into daylight, lime-green bamboo beckoning to us in a friendly breeze.

We were able to relax after the tunnels at the beach. The water was slightly warm and cool, very salty, and the waves were strong. We bobbed up and down in the water, with the realization that this may be our last time at a Vietnamese beach.

When we left the beach it was around 5 PM. For our last stop of the day before returning home to Hue, we stopped at the La Vang church. Legend has it that the Virgin Mary appeared in this area in 1798 at a time when many were falling ill to a mysterious illness. She pointed the locals to a particular leaf which cured them. A giant statue of Mary and baby Jesus stands flocked by a tall grove of statuesque La Vang trees. Here we saw syncretism at work: Western Catholicism mixed with the incense offerings of Eastern religions.

After the church night had fallen, and we wound our way through the countryside back to Hue. And thus marked our last weekend trip in Vietnam.

Happy Birthday, Charles!

2009-08-20T04:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Charles's 23rd birthday. Jeannie reserved a room for us at the fancy KFC at Truong Tien plaza. It was probably one of the best birthday parties I have ever attended. We invited our Hue partners and the xich lo drivers came as well. The party was meant to be a surprise, with Jeannie slipping invitations into our rooms at the crack of dawn. At 5 PM, we gathered at KFC, donned our party hats, and eagerly awaited Charles's arrival. I wanted to go to the bathroom to wash my hands so I walked out of the room--only to bump into Dennis and Sonny arriving with Charles in tow. I accidentally ruined the surprise because I was wearing my hat which said 'Happy Birthday' :X. (Sorry everyone!)

Despite that, things went great ^__^ Thank you Jeannie for arranging everything. For a party like this, pictures are better than words, so I'll let the rest of the entry speak for itself (just know that there was cake eating, presents, singing, and dancing with a giant chicken):

Happy Birthday, Charles!

My good friends the night before a paper is due ;)

2009-08-17T22:10:00.000-07:00

Fresh, strong cà phê sữa đá is probably amongst one of my favorite things about being here in Việt Nam. As anyone here will probably tell you, coffee is in my bloodstream. I look forward to my morning ritual of staring into the murky depths of my coffee cup (or glass since the glasses are larger here) and stirring my tiny spoon until the quarter inch of sweetened, condensed milk swirls away and disappears.

A story noticed in pictures of DaNang

2009-08-17T03:29:00.000-07:00

There's Tom rounding the corner of a building. I wonder where he's going.

Looks like he's following Amanda inside.

Oh, we're at the Cham museum. And there's Jan off in the distance, leading the whole group.

Trăm Năm Hạnh Phúc

2009-08-17T01:23:00.000-07:00

Keeping cultural customs while still keepin it real and modern, that was the feel of my cousin's wedding this past weekend in Hue and My Loi.

Day one consisted of the groom's side leaving the village to attend the restaurant wedding at Green Hotel Restuarant at 2pm. It was air-conditioned and had a sign in sheet with large professional portraits of the bride and groom at the enterance.

Day Two was a whole different game. It started at 3am in the village. The family on the groom's side walked to the outskirts of the village to hop into the 16 seaters to go rước dâu (pick up the bride). At 6am the bride and groom did their tea ceremony with their new parents and welcomed one another into the new family.

Then at 8am, after bringing the bride to the groom's side, there was another celebration, two sets of 300. The first set were the OG's, and the second set was the second generation. Bags of wetnaps were ripped, and bottles of Hudas popped opened constantly.

I met uncles, aunts, and grandparents that i have never seen before and some i will never see again. It was a wonderful experience and an unforgettable weekend. Toodles for now.

R.I.P.

O Láo

1917 - August 17, 2009

Hoan Kiem Lake & Leaving Hanoi

2009-08-16T21:34:00.000-07:00

Sleepiness got the better of Xuan, Amanda, and I, and we woke up an hour late for our morning stroll around the lake. However, it would turn out to be perfect timing. Ho Hoan Kiem, which translates to "Lake of the Returned Sword" is a five minute walk away from our Hotel in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. According to wikipedia, the lake is relatively shallow, only 7 feet at its deepest level. Yet it's miraculously home to a rare species of giant, soft-shell turtle whose occasional surface is an omen of good luck. Hoan Kiem Lake is most well known as the site of legend. According to myth, Le Loi, an emperor of Vietnam, was struggling in his battles with the Ming Chinese that had invaded Vietnam. In desperation, he sought help from a magical turtle who granted him the use of a powerful sword. With the turtle's help, Le Loi banished the invaders from Vietnam and was able to establish his kingdom. True to his word though, he returned to the lake where he met the turtle and returned the sword back to it. That lake was of course, Ho Hoan Kiem, and a small tower situated on a tiny island in the middle of the lake honors this legend.

Ho Hoan Kiem is a bustling place in the morning. Nearby and around the lake, young and old indulge in quick games of badminton, shuffling back and forth on courts chalked into the cement in front of patriotic statues and electronic billboards. Elderly folks slowly move their bodies to recordings of music, balancing green balls on soft paddles and waving red fans in dance-like movements. The Lake appears to be a favorite exercise destination, a make shift outdoor gym, possibly the most beautiful and most natural one in existence: groups of people shift their arms and legs up and down to exercise tapes, men lift weights and do sit ups on planks of wood while gazing out over the lake vista. Nearby, sitting cross-legged on small square stone platforms, people mediate with their palms on their knees. Walking around the lake is a brisk one-hour stroll amidst mangrove trees stretching their limbs and roots into the tranquil, mirror like surface of the water. The sun is not yet at its zenith, and the weather is gently warm, with a soft breeze barely rippling the lake surface. One one side of the lake is the temple, located on Jade Island. It commemorates a local hero and is home to the preserved body of one of the lake's famous turtles.

After visiting the lake, we spent our last day in Hanoi in a blissful whirlwind of shopping and eating. Fanny's Ice Cream by the lake offers creative ice cream scoops arranged like xich los and baskets of fruit. We bought bags that would have cost 100 or more back at home for only 20 bucks. Here in Vietnam you can get expensive brand names for cheap prices, but you must contend with a slight flaw in the manufacturing, whether it's a tiny tear or a malfunctioning zipper. Here in Hanoi I was able to enjoy several local delicacies: savory xoi at a local eatery, bun cha at Quan An Ngoc, and pho ga by the street. Did you know that pho, the most famous of Vietnamese dishes, originated in Hanoi?

We left Hanoi in a mixture of feelings. Disappointed because there's so much more to do here and we were only allowed a weekend. Relieved because we've realized how much we appreciate the quiet, sleepiness of Hue in light of the big-city bustling of Hanoi.

Greetings from Hanoi

2009-08-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

The Vietnamese coastline, as glimpsed from the plane

We arrived in Hanoi yesterday after a short one hour plane ride. Expecting to be accosted by waves of heat, we were instead greeted by overcast skies and warm, balmy weather. The weekend here so far has been an odd mixture of dazzling sunshine, blue skies, gray skies, and raindrops the size of hailstones. We experienced this almost right away. After stopping at Craft Link, a non-profit organization that sells crafts made by indigenous minority peoples, we ate lunch at the Koto Restaurant. Koto is another non-profit place, a restaurant that is staffed by young adults who grew up on the street. Koto acts as a training ground to help street children learn skills that they may be able to use in the job market (as well as for life). The portions were Western-sized, and the kids (our age, actually) were polite and vigilant in their work. I've heard of these places back in the states--bakeries where the pastry chefs are homeless, etc--and it's really neat to see one here in Vietnam. It always saddens me to see people begging on the streets here in Vietnam, and I feel guilty for not dropping a bill in their palm or hat. Koto and Craft Link offer ways for people to give aid to others less fortunate, and receive something in return. I can't say I still don't feel a twinge of guilt, however, when a beggar with one blind eye thrust his cap at me today...

Tourists in the rain

But on to more pleasant things. As soon as we stepped out from Koto, rain began to fall. I love and both dislike the rain here in Vietnam. When it rains, it pours--literally. It's nice because it gives respite from the heat, but it's not so nice because it's hard to go out in the rain. The rain began to pick up speed as we debated what to do, and just as it started to fall more forcefully, a woman appeared selling disposable rain ponchos. I quickly snapped one up for 5,000 dong, and not a moment too soon--as soon as I slipped the plastic-bag like material over my head, the raindrops grew to the size of tiny pebbles. It hurt! If I hadn't known it was rain, I would have thought they were hailstones. Armed with our plastic bag ponchos and undeterred, we followed our tour guide across the street to visit the old University of Literature. The University here is where Confucian scholars back in the Le Dynasty studied. The place is a beauty--soaring scarlet wooden gates beckon hoards of tourists hiding under the multi-colored hues of umbrellas. We passed through a small courtyard where scholars used to gather to chat and practice their memorization and music skills. The Star Gate is a portal to the Mirror Pond, in which we spotted tiny turtles with moss-covered shells and the usual goldfish. Stone turtles carrying heavy stellas bearing the names of scholars who had successfully graduated lined the sides of the pond, the architecture on both sides reflections of each other. Past this area was the Confucian Temple. I'm not sure what was in the last area of the complex, for we had to leave before I could explore it.

The drive to the hotel revealed Hanoi as a beautiful city, quite different from Saigon. It's interesting how the three major cities of Vietnam--Saigon, Hue, and Hanoi--are all unique reflections of the distinctive regions they play capital to. Saigon is a bustling metropolis, filled with billboards and overcrowded streets choked with a smog of motorbike dust. Hue is quiet and sleepy, filled with cultural relics that surround the city with an ancient ambiance. Hanoi is an odd mixture of both. There is the busyness of Saigon combined with the timelessness of Hue. Driving past Hoan Kiem Lake, where Le Loi was rumored to have returned the magic sword that enabled him to defeat the Chinese invaders back to the giant turtle that gave it to him, we glimpsed the pagoda-like silhouette of 'Turtle Tower.' Lover's Lane divides West Lake and its partner into two--an alleyway dotted with gnarled streets and stone benches where people sit resting or hawking goods. We drove through wide streets built by the French during the colonial era when they blasted down the tiny, cramped streets they hated to build roadways which would apparently prove more useful to independent, modern Vietnam and its clusters of motorbikes. Our hotel for the weekend, Boss Hotel, is located in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. This is a place filled with small streets lined with the miniature, store-front businesses that you see everywhere in Vietnam. Each street is known to sell a particular item: for example just today we walked through 'Shoe Street'. Take a look and you know why: piles of sandals line the sidewalk in front of storefronts, shelves with sparkling high heels and muted leather formal wear stack the insides of shops. Crouching outside of some stores were men and women making shoes. We witnessed a woman nailing together wooden heels with shiny lacquer designs and a man stitching together rubber sandals.

After our first day arriving in Hanoi, today we visited the Ho Chi Minh Memorial complex. A sprawling area overlooking Ba Dinh Plaza, the place is a must-stop for the Vietnamese. Uncle Ho, as they call him, lies in preserved state within the imposing, Soviet-style mausoleum. There was a long line filled with both native and foreign tourists who were waiting to see the father of modern Vietnam. I was expecting to see a more wax-like figure, but after seeing Uncle Ho's body, I'm inclined to say that I think it's the real deal. An old, wispy man lay within a glass-walled coffin, his hands crossed lightly on his chest. His skin looked pale yellow and soft, as if one touch would collapse it. He looked almost like one feigning sleep. I was, to be honest, more amazed at the fact that here was a preserved human body that had been embalmed for decades more than the fact that this was Ho Chi Minh's body. It's interesting to see how some countries preserve their revered leaders: The Soviet Union and Lenin, Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh, and China and Mao.

One Pillar Pagoda

That day was blistering hot, and after the Mausoleum we visited the old guest house where Ho Chi Minh used to stay out (he preferred the Vietnamese-style house over the bright yellow French governor's mansion), the HCM museum, and the One Pillar Pagoda. We ate lunch at an interesting place. The restaurant was very large and all the food was cooked outside in little stalls that mimicked street food eateries. After the before mentioned shopping trip down Shoe Street, we retired back to rest until dinner. A few of us went out to indulge in Hanoi's nightlife, but I was tired and went back. Tomorrow will begin bright and early--5 AM sharp for a morning stroll down Hanoi streets.

8-14-09: Hanoi, here we come!

2009-08-13T11:52:00.000-07:00

I woke up at 1:45am today. I don't know why, but my body has a propensity to wake me up at crazy times when I'm excited. Today, the cause of this excitement is our trip to Hanoi. We leave in about 5 hours, and we all couldn't be more enthused. Dr.Biggs and Co Hom Ang have informed us of many things that can be done in Hanoi with (sadly) such little time, hopefully we can get as much done as we can in our little window of time...

School Spirit in Hue

2009-08-13T11:42:00.000-07:00

I went to a restaurant called Little Italy. I didn’t have exactly have Italian food, I had a cheeseburger. It tasted great! I am a big fan of In and Out back home, so this is the closest that I can get to eating one of their burgers. As for the restaurant, it is pretty fascinating. There are writings all over the walls. The writings are from various patrons from all parts of the world. On one wall, patrons posted their currency. On another wall, the first aid kit was vandalized by a foreigner’s name. And of course, I had to leave my legacy there. I had a hard time finding a spot since all the spaces were taken. Eventually, I found a spot close to where I was seated. It was on some tiles close to the ground. I don’t think it is exactly noticeable though. Just in case you can’t read the writing on the wall here is what I meant to say: UCLA MSW 2010 (the year I am graduating from my social work program). And of course, I had to put on a cheer my team with “GO BRUINS!”

Translating Connections

2009-08-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

Travel Study/ study abroad programs bring people together in a way in which the stereotypical dormitory on a college campus cannot accomplish. Other than the program itself, the individuals on these adventures away from home initiate dialogue, which develop friendships abroad and eventually, make their way back home.

The unfamiliar surroundings and faces that remove us from our elements, place students in the same boat, so to say, while in a new and exciting place without those stable strongholds we are accustomed to. The bonds we have created over a short period of time will last long after our five-weeks encountering Vietnam and each other (based out of my own experience in other travel study programs). The small and big acts of kindness amongst people are refreshing after spending too much time in a competitive university, where I have at times awkwardly sat in a classroom of peers, who do not necessarily like to “make friends.” The friendships and connections go beyond just the students and faculty in the program.

Like other students have mentioned, for the most part people have taken very kindly to us and welcomed us into their culture. From playing cards with our motorbike business men across the street from the hotel (who wave and smile to us every morning) to our Vietnamese translators from Hue, University who graciously take time out (unpaid) of their lives to assists us in our studies and experiences in Vietnam, we as students are privileged to have such an experience.

My facebook status read “I’m sitting on top of the world, on the other side of the world… if you have a chance to study abroad, don’t pass it up.” The experience, along with the friends acquired, has become the symbolic capital, which cancel out the fees I shelled out for the program.

To be continued… “The Motorbike Diaries”

Everyone knows us!

2009-08-12T22:16:00.000-07:00

When first arriving to Hue Professor Biggs and Co Hong Anh told us that everyone knows everything about each other and word spreads very quickly. In theory, I understood what they meant but not until I started to explore around the city did I feel their words. For example, we went to find clothes that didn't make us feel like we were constantly sitting in a sauana. While we walked up the steps into the clothes shop, a man sitting on his bike and smoking a cigarette next to the steps looked at us with an expression of "Who are you?" As we walked in I could feel his gaze following us into the store. We learned to brush these stares off beacuse frankly, we stand out like Godzilla in Japan. When we were looking through clothes, I heard the man ask outloud to the lady in the store nextdoor "Who are those people?" in Vietnamese. She responded back with a tone of, "How do you not know?!" She said,"Sinh vien o khach san Thanh Noi!" Which translates into, "The students staying at the Thanh Noi hotel." When I heard that, my eyes almost popped out of my head and my jaw practically dropped to the floor. I couldn't believe it. It was only our second day in Hue, and this shop was pretty far from the hotel, yet word spread so quickly about us. I turned to my friend who spoke Vietnamese too, and she had the same suprised look as me. The phrase "Sinh vien o khach san Than Noi!" seemed to have stuck because everyday we hear it, whether it's walking around or driving past the people sitting on the sidewalk selling stuff. And yes, we hear it even when we're driving because Vietnamese people are not quiet or discreet. Personally, I think the fact that everyone knows us and knows that we're foreigners worked to our advantage. The locals are very warming to us through their smiles if we drive by, or by asking us a million questions when we're walking by. What I find most helpful about being known by the locals is that I'm able to ask them how much certain items should cost so I don't get ripped off. It makes me smile to see how excited the locals get when we ask for help and how much excess unecessary information they give us to make sure we understand. This type of sincere and welcoming environment is something that could never be found back home in the states. I know for sure that I will be very sad when I leave Hue because I'll feel like I'm leaving all my aunts and uncles.

A Friendly Encounter

2009-08-12T07:11:00.000-07:00

It was my third day in Vietnam, and Professor Biggs arranged a cyclo tour for the afternoon. It was interesting to see everyone gather in the lounge because there were so many different personalities interacting with each other. After Professor Biggs gave the word to walk outside, the students were greeted by over 20 cyclo drivers. One particular driver was looking at me with a big smile. He was a short man, wearing a beige hat, collared shirt, long pants, and sandals. He shouted “oi,“ and began to walk towards me. I gave a crooked smile, and in politeness I extended my hand to greet him. The individual aggressively grasped my hand and violently shook my arm up and down. After ten shakes, which is seven more than usual for me, I attempted to pull my arm away; however, he grasped my hand even tighter and escorted me across the street. I’m sure it was an interesting sight to see a tall American being dragged across the street by a tinier man. We walked up to his cyclo and he kindly asked me to sit down. Apparently, my driver forgot we were holding hands and we had a brief moment where we were just staring at each other. The whole time I was thinking to myself, “why is he smiling so much?” After I glanced at my hand, he laughed and finally released his grip. After a few moments of awkward silence, my driver asked me for my name. I said, “my name is Charles, what is your name?… Ian… Ti-yen… Tin?” It took me another three times to pronounce Tien correctly. Around that time everyone settled down and was prepared to go. The cyclo drivers pushed off the curb and the group began to tour a small portion of the city. Tien didn’t know much English, but he did his best to explain some historic structures. At one of the stops, Professor Biggs said it was one of the hottest days in Hue. I felt bad my driver had to push a relatively large individual around the city, so I asked Tien if he wanted a ride to the pagoda. He chuckled and said ok. I found out it was quite difficult to steer the cyclo. The passenger needs to stay completely neutral in order for the cyclo to go straight, but Tien constantly leaned to the left to talk to me. I couldn‘t understand a word he was saying because I was panicking, trying to keep the cyclo on the right side of the road. I was using all my strength to turn right to compensate for Tien’s weight on the left. We actually drifted off towards oncoming traffic (fortunately mopeds can dodge runaway cyclos). Tien didn’t know the seriousness of our predicament because he was not looking at the road, he was looking at me… he just kept smiling. Fortunately, one of the other drivers yelled at Tien to sit normally and I was able to regain control of the cyclo. At the end of the tour, I exchanged a few words with Tien and said goodbye to my smiling friend.
The next day it was around lunchtime and the students were getting ready to eat at a nearby restaurant. I walked outside, and I saw Tien waving at me from the front gate. I walked up to greet him and I found out he rented mopeds and bikes to guests at the hotel. In fact, some student were able to rent mopeds from his friends in the morning. Since Tien worked outside of the hotel, I had the pleasure of talking to him everyday. It became second nature for me to shake his hand before I left the hotel. Dennis, Angie, and Sonny (3 other students) also developed a friendly relationship with their cyclo drivers, and the four of us decided to sit outside and converse with the drivers. Angie was the only Vietnamese speaker, and she did a great job translating for the rest of us. I was able to show a few card tricks, and we played a game similar to thirteen. That day we made plans to go fishing, and eventually we were invited to his eat at Tien's house. So cheers to my first friend from Vietnam.

Eating Hue

2009-08-12T06:42:00.000-07:00

Seafood by the beach in Hoi An

One thing we learned about Hue and food is that many Vietnamese dishes originated in Hue due to the enormous appetites of the Emperors. This of course means that Hue is a city of good eats. As students living in a hotel for five weeks, we eat out every single day. A breakfast buffet is provided courtesy of the hotel, and is actually pretty tasty. They have a different noodle soup every day (like pho or bun bo Hue), a spread of local fruits, fried banana crepes, etc. Yet, it's when it comes time to scrounge around the city for lunch and dinner when things get interesting, food-wise.

The Che Lady in Hoi An: Her che, or sweet dessert soup, contains agar jelly, grass jelly, basil seeds, and a dash of ginger flavoured syrup. A refeshing street-side sweet for a hot day ;)

Exploring the local neighborhood reveals a plethora of places to eat. Most of these are family operated cafes which spill over into the street. And of course, there is the street food. Every night, Mai Thuc Loan street comes alive with the smells of street-side grilled duck, noodle soups, nuoc mia (sugarcane juice) venders, and com tam (broken rice dishes). On one of the first nights we enjoyed bun rieu (crab noodle soup) from a street side stall which was evidently good and popular from the amount of people scoffing down grub from infant size tables and plastic stools. Street food here is the cheapest of all good eats here in Hue. They usually cost less than a dollar for one good sized bowl of hot, steaming noodles. Another day we had a hot bowl of pho, crouching over our bowls to the sound of motorbikes buzzing past.

Our first two weeks we chowed down on local grub, but soon enough the pinings for a good burger or fried chicken got the better of us, and we taxied through the citadel to Truong Tien Plaza to enjoy Ga Ran Kentucky (or KFC, as it's called back in the states). KFC is different here. They have less choices, but different types of food: for example, KFC here in Hue serves soft serve ice cream and seafood choices. The service is pretty fancy, too--you order and then the cashier, like a waiter, brings your food to you in a clean white dish. Food at the Big C supermarket isn't bad either. Tonight a few of us enjoyed Thai-style hotpot in the canteen (thanks, Sonny!):

"Saigon Pizza" from Little Italy: the interesting ingredient are the sweet Vietnamese sausages

The backpacker district also contains international grub, albeit more expensive than the local eats. There's Little Italy, which we've all frequented several times. The restaurant has an expansive menu featuring everying from burgers to spaghetti and of course, pizza. It's pretty darn good pizza, too (not to mention they have free delivery!). Yesterday we visited La Carambole, a restaurant whose sign brags about being mentioned in Lonely Planet and the Michelin foodie guide. They serve a plethora of local and European dishes such as banh khoai and savory crepes with aubergine and cheese.

Banh Khoai

Coming to Hue, I've learned to like plenty of new dishes. I'm especially partial to the rice-flour glutinous types, such as banh beo, banh nam, and banh loc. Thanks to Co Cuc and Co Thao from cooking class, we can bring a taste of Hue back with us when we go back home. However, it just won't be the same as eating in Hue.

Some rice flour dishes: banh nam (left) and banh loc (?) (right)

What the Vietnamese Stamps Look Like

2009-08-12T05:04:00.000-07:00

The Vietnamese stamps that one uses to mail a postcard are shown to the left. The white one with a picture of Ho Chi Minh is the one that costs 4,000 dong. This is on the left. The colorful one (with orange and green) shows a jeep being driven down the Ho Chi Minh Trail during a bombing attack. This is the one on the right. It costs 2,000 dong. One needs 2 of the Ho Chi Minh stamps and 1 of the jeep stamps to add up to the 10,000 dong needed to send a postcard to the U.S.

For the Sake of Brevity...

2009-08-11T19:45:00.001-07:00

This blog is one that I originally posted on my personal blog, but I'm posting it on the group blog because I thought it would be an enjoyable read for you all...

Professor Biggs' daughter, Xu Ang, and I at the tomb of Ming Mangh
Making our wishes on our paper mini-boats...
Our wishes floating down the river...

Todays blog consists of two different days and nights (Yesterday, August 10 and Today, August 11^th) , for the sake of brevity.

August 10^th consisted of more rain, but by midday, the storm clouds cleared up. The day consisted of a day trip to the tomb of the second emperor of Vietnam, Ming Mangh. According to historians, Ming Mangh had concubines that added up to more than 1500. That’s the life.

We arrived to the tomb at around noon, while it was still raining as hard as news footage of hurricanes. But the funny thing is, as we arrived their, the skies cleared up. This tomb was a very eloquent, and sometimes eccentric, tomb that was the size of a mall. Complete with; river delta, superannuated buildings, colorful pagodas, and vast vegetation as far as the eyes could see. The day, although raining just minutes before we arrived, was a very humid one. Maybe it was the trees, or maybe it’s just how Vietnam is, but humidity seems to follow you everywhere. We took pictures, cooled ourselves off with ice cream, and made jokes about the brothels that Ming Mangh procured as leader of Vietnam. We skipped stones along the river, ate exotic fruits, and hiked long trails. Innocent, nostalgic, gorgeous…

We left the tomb on a different vehicle than we arrived. Instead of leaving on a bus, in which we arrived on, we left on a dragon boat. We were told that the boat ride came accompanied with live music along the lighted river bank. Excited, the band boarded the bus dressed in traditional Vietnamese garb and carried with them traditional Vietnamese instruments. Songs were song, instruments were played. There was something about live, traditional, and lyric-less, music while the sun was setting along the backdrop of a riverbank that really pulled a string in my heart. I could see people driving by from where our boat was, like little glowing ants. Everything seemed so miniscule to me, all the while the female singers were singing in Vietnamese. Not a word sung was understood by me, but somehow I knew that she was singing about love. Her voice just exuded with that sort of thing. Before our time with this lovely band was over, they asked us to light candles on colorful mini-boats (about the size of apples) and make wishes as we set them free to the mouth of the river. As I looked across the boat in each of my compadres’ faces, I could tell that wishes were made from the heart. The boats floated away, along with our heartfelt wishes.

We ate dinner at a floating restaurant along the river. Not 100 yards away was the location of our wishes, floating down the Perfume River. Places like this, which I’ve been to in OrangeCounty, usually cost an arm and a leg. Here, though, the priciest item was crab that went for about 5 dollars. Now, I understand that we have to pay extra for stuff in the States because we’re also paying for the venue, the waiters’ salary, and the extra cost to run stuff, but come on, a whole 50 dollars extra per plate? That is ridiculous.

Dinner was great. As usual, we drank, and lamented on the day that past us by so fast...

Today (August 11^th) was a day in which past by too fast. I woke up to the sounds of my air conditioning whirling to continue its frantic pace of keeping me cool during these humid days. The weather outside was grey, complete with a light pouring of rain on my window. In California, rainy days require winter-like clothing. Here, though, you can wear board shorts and a tee in the rain if you wanted. I decided to go with the latter and wear very light clothing. Class went by slow as usually, but the information shared to us was very enlightening.

We all got back to our hotel rooms at about noon. Our usual routine after class is lunch, exploring, then dinner. Today it seemed that the weather drained all of us. Knowing that some of us, including myself, had our responsibility to the orphanage today I decided to nap for 30 minutes. I don’t know what it was, but I turned on a little bit of Bob Marley (this and the rain mixed make a very stress-free atmosphere), and faded away...

I abruptly woke up to hard knocks on my door telling me that it was 3pm. 30 minutes had turned into 2 hours. I had overslept. Aside from this, it turned out that the torrential rains knocked out our electricity for the unforeseen future. The hotel employees were walking around with flashlights, filling in holes in the ceilings with bags, and handing out candles to each hotel room. Honestly, the rain made me drowsy and lethargic, so going to the orphanage was the last thing I wanted to do. But after thinking it through, I knew that I couldn’t flake on kids who needed people like me the most. I decided to go and not skip out on them.

At the orphanage we played hangman and practiced grammar. The kids are growing on us more and more as everyday passes. I’ve been working with kids, teaching and such, for the past 2 years, and for some reason these kids strike a different chord within me. Something about their innocence, some of them not knowing what a watch looks like, really ignites my spirit to teach. They need positive influences in their lives, and I’m glad I can be one of them. Nevertheless, the nun shared with us information that she hadn’t in the past. In turns out that some of these kids were lost children from the typhoon that struck Vietnam in the early 90’s. Most the children survived, but heartbreakingly, the parents did not. Now if you believe in a God or not, isn’t it miraculous that these children survived something that adults could not? Amazing…

Dinner was as eventful as ever. We decided to eat in the backpackers (travelers area) district to have dinner. We stayed clear of this place prior to tonight because of all the Europeans gathering around this area, over populating it, this making it less authentic. But honestly, it turned out to be a great place, full of lively restaurants and beautiful lighting. Dinner took place at a restaurant owned by an expat that settled in Hue after meeting a beautiful Viet woman. Although I didn’t meet the owner, it seemed as though he was a surfer because of the beach music playing the background and the Hawaiian décor on the walls. All-in-all, a great place, complete with awesome food...

We ended the night at a bar called “Brown Eyes,” probably named after the almond-shaped brown eyes the owner had. Beautiful. Something about a lively environment, along with beautiful girls alluring you in with fliers for free drinks that a man cannot decline. A lively place awaited us fresh with Frenchman and Aussies (always a good bunch to drink with). Black lights, fully stocked bar, modern art, and graffiti walls were what this bar offered, and we gladly accepted. Pictures of Che Guevarra, half-naked women, Marilyn Monroe, and Darwin-esque paintings were juxtaposed on the wall. The waitress offered us our drinks and offered me a guitar to play. As we drank, I tried to play tunes of The Beatles to no avail, the strings were rusted, and the guitar was out of tune. Regardless, we all enjoyed the night, laughing and drinking our worries away. Nonetheless, the bar is a place I will return to in the near future. The ambiance was too good for me not to do so and the cheap drinks were more than a plus. Perfect lighting, great drinks, and great people always add up to a great night, no matter what...

A beautiful night indeed…

Live from Vietnam, Sonny

Ruins & Music

2009-08-10T23:04:00.000-07:00

One thing I like about Hue that makes the city stand apart from Saigon is the amount of historical monuments and ruins dotting the region. A short walk away from our hotel is the 'Forbidden Kingdom' of the Nguyen kings, the last reigning dynasty in Vietnam. Our first weekend in Hue we took a bus ride to My Son, the religious center of old Champa. The ruins here are magnificent, and it is such a shame that most of them were destroyed in the bombing during the war. The Champa build with intricately stacked red bricks in which carvings of Hindu gods reside in hidden niches. It always amazes me to see palaces and temples carved out of stone in an era in which modern stonecutting tools and machinery had not yet been invented. What labor it must have taken to build the entire religious complex in My Son; what amazing dedication. Stepping into the hallowed out buildings makes me shiver--there is a certain sense of frozen time hanging in the darkness: the smell of mildew, the soft buzz of insects hiding in the thick forest that gently envelopes the ruins as if protecting it from further damage. I'd learned about the linga and yoni in Religious Myths & Rituals class at UCR, and it was amazing to see the Champa versions of these Shiva shrines in real life. Vietnam often conjures up pictures of Chinese style palaces and pagodas, but here, lying quietly on the slopes of a mountain, sits a relic of a kingdom whose cultural allegiance lies with India.

In class, we have been learning about the Nguyen kings of Vietnam. Gia Long and Minh Mang, two of the most well known and influential rulers in the history of modern Vietnam, were just names on paper--old figures whose contributions to the country are now remembered between the pages of a textbook. Yesterday we took a visit to Minh Mang's tomb, a massive mausoleum spread out between the curling embrace of a lake. Seeing a still living monument to a king who lived hundreds of years ago brought him to life. We saw the courtyard where detailed statues of mandarins, horses and elephants stood eternally watchfully. I imagined how it must have been like back in the days, when the tomb was still being built and scores of workers, officials, and overseers carefully directed the construction. Housed in a pavilion overlooking the courtyard was a large stella on which was written a dedication from Minh Mang's song, Thieu Tri, to his father. The characters were done in Chinese-style Nom script. You wonder as to the relationship between father and son, two kings who both contributed to the building of a nation.

After the visit to the tomb, we hopped into a 'dragon boat' to lazily float down the Perfume River back to Hue. A light breeze rifled through the boat as we made headway, and along the riverbanks rose the green mountains of Hue. We passed by sampans anchored along the riverside--floating hammocks with a sheet of tin nailed over one end that served as homes for families. Laundry in primary colors waved at us from the sampans, hanging on invisible cords. We waved at the families and the children playing along the river.

When we arrived back in Hue, a party of musicians specializing in traditional music climbed aboard. The women were bedecked in colorful ao dai in white, purple and blue, their moon-shaped hats twinkling with sequined flowers and swirls. The men pulled on their own hats and costume in blue and white. Earlier, two weeks ago in Hoi An, we had also witnessed a traditional concert. The songs in Hoi An were cheerful and upbeat, and they made you want to tap your feet and jump up and dance along. The songs and music played yesterday were of a different beat. There was a certain mournful quality that was hard to ignore, even as the women clinked tiny teacups together and tapped wooden, branch like tambourines. Listening, as I did in Hoi An, I wondered as to the content of their songs. What songs were they singing? Were they songs that dreamed of Hue, of family, ancestors, and country? One appeared to be a love song, with a duet between a female singer and a male musician. Traditional songs are both different and similar to the popular songs we heard at karaoke a few days ago. The melodies of course, are products of their time. Yet the way the songs are sung, the lyrics perhaps, seem similar. I cannot understand or read them, but I get the impression that the songs have to do with Vietnam herself: whether it is extolling her beauty or speaking of the roots that continually draw her people back to her. Or perhaps I'm just being too sentimental.

2009-08-10T22:54:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Nhan

So today after the boat tour me,Albert,Genie, Diem, Jan took a taxi back to the hotel to so we can make it in time for nhan's birthday surprise. it was seven o clock when we left the hotel and nhan said she will not be back until 8, so we thought we had enough time to grab dinner buy her a cake and then surprise her, but as Prof Biggs said in class here in Vietnam things never go as planned. so after getting some pho at a local restaurant we started to bike towards the cake store and just as we left the restaurant my pedal (which has been shaky for a while) suddenly falls off. thankfully it did not happen when we went up the bridge or in the middle of the intersection, Xuan would of killed me (she was riding on the back the whole time). This is the part where it gets even better, so we go to a local bike repair guy that was right around the corner. At first, I thought it would only take about 5 minutes to screw the pedal back on but it took him almost half an hour. about half way through me and diem decide it would be best if we went to get the cake first but both of the stores we went to could not provide with the cake that we needed so we had to go back empty handed. by the time we got back the bike repair started to work on another one of our bikes that no one asked him to. that took another 20 minutes, finally when he was done with Diem's bike he started work on Albert’s bike (at this point Jan and Johnny had removed their bikes so he doesn't grab them and "repair" it) just as we thought that it was over we paid him and started leaving, as we started to pedal our way out Diem's bike would not move so we had to wait another ten minutes for him to fix it. So, in all he took about an hour to fix our bikes, fixed the wrong bike, and fix the wrong bike wrong, and then he even tried to rip us off at the end(we even had enough time for Kung Fu lessons)(o and Johnny almost lost a tooth). This guy ruined our plan a but luckily we were still able to take nhan out to get some ice cream.

Confessions of a Hotel Guest

2009-08-10T08:28:00.000-07:00

Here at Thanh Noi Hotel, the housekeeping staff are the most kindest staff ever. Every morning they welcome us with a good morning, clean out our rooms while we're at school, and assist us with anything we need to make us feel right at home. But sadly, I have a confession to make. While we're at school, they leave us a fruit to eat every day along with our morning breakfast ticket. The first couple of days I did not bother to eat the fruits because I thought I had to pay for them. I was wrong. Then one day while I was in my room, a housekeeping staff asked me why I did not eat or touch any of the fruits. I did not want to tell her that I thought I had to pay for them so I lied. I said that the fruits were too sweet. I know I should not have lied but I did not know what else to do. Then she said she'll give me fruits that are not as sweet. In my head I thought to myself, "okay I really have to eat the fruits."

You're probably thinking that was my confession right? Sadly, no. My confession is that I hide the fruits in my drawer everyday so I would not disappoint the staff. I can eat the fruits but I do not crave for it in the morning and when the afternoon comes around I forget all about it until the next day when I stash away another tropical and not as sweet fruit.

Impressions (written a few days ago)

2009-08-09T00:48:00.001-07:00

As I sit here typing this, the air conditioning is softly whirring in my hotel room and the heady scent of incense from the incense coil that Sonny so kindly shared fills my head with memories of temples, heat and the ever present small Buddhist shrines that lined the streets last night on my bike ride home.

I've avoided writing anything that matters this trip-- matters in terms of personal thoughts, feelings, impressions for various reasons. It was too hot, I was too tired, my thoughts were too jumbled. In the end, I think that what I was really avoiding was myself.

Why did I come to Viet Nam? Purportedly, it was to learn about Viet Nam history and travel writing and to participate in an oral history project. But this may have just been me kidding myself, hiding the truth under my hands as my fingers struggled to keep it all inside. What I really came here for was to find out about my family -- about this tropical country that my parents grew up in, about the ways they did or didn't have enough growing up, about how Viet Nam has changed since the stories my parents told me of. It has been confusing, contrary and muddled, but above all so inexplicably insightful and wonderful. I feel like I've lived my life with my eyes only partially open and my heart is ready to burst.

Through all of this overwhelming feeling-- this tangle of family and history, of pride and loss, love and nostalgia, there is this:

The sound of honking fading away as Januar cycled us through the evening streets of Hue after a lovely dinner. The feel of the cool night air on my legs, the brush of tendrils of my hair blown into my face, the soft glow of street lights and the murmur of voices of people still sitting on stoops and street corners.

It was so lovely then and I forgot all of the things I am meant to remember-- but perhaps this is how it is meant to be. Amanda says that she feels much calmer here, much slower, and I am starting to believe that there is an indolence that lingers in the air and settles on our moist skin, sinking into our bloodstream. It is something that reminds us to take things slowly, to grasp this intoxicating country that we are visiting and welcome it all in, arms wide open. I finally feel ready.

Hoi An and Fashion!

2009-08-08T22:11:00.000-07:00

Beautiful, filled with half-naked tourists and brimming with shops and souvenirs, the city of Hoi An was a wonderful place to visit. It was all little streets decorated with pretty lanterns and smiling people, ready to cater to foreigners' every whim. A lovely veneer to a grim reality…

After waking to a crazy rooster that would cock-a-doodle-do and gurgle from 4 am to 10pm at night... me, Xuan and Angie went on a mission to find converters and order up some fine fashion. Angie had already been accosted by a vivacious warm tailor, named Em Ma, right by the bridge by our hotel. Her quaint shop was a little ways away, complete with a pregnant shop girl and a toddler napping on a mat in the back room.

From just fashion magazines, fabric and some dubious sweatshop labor down the street somewhere; Em Ma crafted me an amazing white,black pinstriped jacket with purple silk lining and matching pants. Perfect fit, I was elated!

But, the more time we spent with this little tailor, the more she opened up to us. There’s a certain sort of candidness that comes from being impoverished and it seems as though everyone in Vietnam has a tragic past and story to tell. Sit down and ask them how they are doing and they’ll tell you everything you reluctantly wanted or didn’t want to know.

Over bottles of chilled water, in this humid little shop, we learned her life’s story. Em Ma, was a woman climbing up the working class ladder. She came from nearly the lowest rung of society as a fisherman’s wife. Supporting four children without help from her bum husband, developing arthritis, getting back surgery, having a good for nothing family overseas, getting barely 4 hours of sleep a day, she worked incredibly hard to gain her place as a tailor.

Her story was heart wrenching. It didn’t help that when we came in for our second fitting, she and girl-with-a-bun-in-the-oven, were eating their first meal since 11am and it was nearly 9pm when we came in…Preggers was a whole whopping 7 and a half months into her pregnancy and preggers had to walk about 20 blocks home later…and preggers had been hauling heavy things that even a non-preggers girl would have trouble with. Oie...

After that…Haggling? Forget it.

Saying no to 4ft prune faced grandmothers selling you things you don’t need. Forget it.

Feeling somewhat okay with being privileged? Forget it.

Everyone in Vietnam had a story like theirs…of loss, of struggle, of poverty, of survival.

My fabulous suit had come at a price and that price was my ignorance.

A Visit to the Tailor and then Karaoke Afterwards

2009-08-08T10:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Co Hong Anh took a few of us to the Western Tailor to get clothes made. Several of our group had already gone the day before to get traditional Vietnamese clothes, or ao dai, made. Before our trip to the tailor's, we first had to get the fabric for the clothes. We took a taxi out to a fabric shop. Fabric shops here are a rainbow of color and a feast for the eyes: bolts and drapes of velvet and silk ranging from royal purple to night black embroidered with sequined phoenix tails, blooming roses, and colorful swirls. The boys picked out lined felts and stiff lined cloth for suits and shirts while us girls reveled in the silk and velvet and pondered over which of the beautiful designs would make the best dresses. After buying the cloth we met up with Co Hong Anh to go to the tailor's to turn the fabric into usable clothing. The tailor shop is owned by a husband and wife team who were patient with us as we attempted to describe what sorts of clothes we wanted made. We pointed, flipped through fashion magazines, pulled pictures from the internet, drew, and verbally described our desired dress wear. The wife jotted down our descriptions and through Co Hong Anh working as an interpreter made comments and suggestions. The husband would then take our measurements for the clothes. Co Hong Ang mentioned that the Vietnamese have their own distinct type of style, and sometimes the clothes you want made won't turn out to be exactly as you wanted, with added bows and frills to spice up what the Vietnamese find ordinary and bland. I'm curious now to see how my finished dress will look like...

In the evening we headed to the backpacker district for karaoke with our Hue partners. A wedding had just taken place at the restaurant/karaoke house, and we were able to catch a glimpse of the bride in her white gown. This marked the first time I'd seen a Vietnamese wedding here in which the bride is not wearing the gold and red ao dai but a Western style white gown. The karaoke was quite successful with a mixture of Western and Vietnamese songs. The Hue students turned out to be beautiful singers, and we all enjoyed listening and watching them sing. Vietnamese popular music is very beautiful and catchy. Our own part of the tableau combined a mixture of Disney songs, Michael Jackson, and other oldie rock and pop tunes. Everyone was in good spirits, dancing to the music and belting out the lyrics. It was a long and tiring, but happy day, and unfortunately for me, no progress had been made on that essay. Time to get to work today...

Vietnam Postcards

2009-08-08T05:22:00.000-07:00

Postcards

Many of the vendors in Hue sell postcards, with scenes of Viet Nam on them. A good vendor can be found just over the Trang Tien bridge, on Hùng Vu’o’ng Street.

Stamps to send postcards to the United States cost 10,000 dong. 2 types of stamps are sold that serve this purpose: one with a picture of Ho Chi Minh for 4,000 dong, and one with a picture of a jeep being driven through a war scene for 2,000 dong.

A post office that sells these stamps is located on Hoàng Hoa Thàm Street. This is just off of Hùng Vu’o’ng Street, 1 long block to the right and down a little side street from the vendor who sells the postcards.

Past Summers in Hue

2009-08-08T04:45:00.000-07:00

I thought some of this year's students might like to check out the goings on of the program in 2007 when we were last here. One big difference in Huế this year is that the internet is much faster, and its easier to upload pictures to blogspot.com. Everyone in the group is posting - not just me, so the stories in 2009 are excellent! For any of you 2006 or 2007 folks out there, enjoy the new pics and remember your warm, sultry time in Charming Huế!!!

2007 Program:

http://summerinhue2007.blogspot.com

2006 Program:

http://ucrss.blogspot.com

Prof Biggs & Cô Hồng Anh Pics:

http://scuppy.blogspot.com

Housekeeper with a Sense of Humor

2009-08-07T04:19:00.003-07:00

I walked into my room today and saw this:

Apparently the housekeeper who tidies my room has a sense of humor :)

Grilling in the Garden

2009-08-06T08:41:00.000-07:00

Y Thao Garden, site of our cooking class, is a lush place filled with fish-tail palms, tranquil pools floating with lily pads, and glowing red paper lanterns. It is apparently named after our cooking instructor, Co Cuc's daughter, Co Thao. While Chris was privy to the full attention of Co Cuc due to his French, Co Thao became the focus of our attention as our cooking teacher for the day. The day was long, a full four hours stuffed with a dish per hour. The first day we learned how to make some popular and famous Hue dishes, such as spring rolls (nem ran) and banh khoai, the Hue version of the Southern banh xeo. We donned our clean cloth aprons and got to work. The banh khoai pans were uniquely homemade, appearing to be cut from the bottom of large cans with a sheet of rolled aluminum for a handle. These beat-up relics worked surprisingly well, making delicious banh khoai crepes. Co Thao was a gracious host, smiling and joking along with us and answering all our questions about Hue cuisine and the dishes we were making. After the end of our first long cooking day, we were served a generous feast of dishes we've made and others that we didn't. These included lotus seed rice served wrapped and steamed in banana leaf, and a fig salad served with shrimp chips. Dessert, along with our appetizer, spring rolls served in a carrot and pineapple peacock centerpiece, stole our attention. When dessert arrived, we were all taken aback. It came in a decorated clay plot, sprouting out of shiny plastic leaves. In fact, it looked more like a pot of plastic flowers they had decided to decorate our table with. Soon enough we found that the flowers were actually cakes made from a type of green bean and dipped in a shiny colorful coat of agar. The flowers were so delicate and creatively designed: there were cakes that were mini dragonfruits, cashew apples, cherries, and peaches. We took turns shuttling the vases down the table so we could pose beside this creative edible arrangement. Co Cuc is not just an amazing cook, but a creative one at that :D
The second day of cooking class we learned how to make Hue's most famous signature dish: Bun Bo Hue (Hue-style beef noodle soup). The broth is made from boiling pork feet with lemon grass, scallions, and peppers. A bit of oil, garlic, and chili powder is then added for a bit of kick (which I sadly couldn't handle, since I get heartburn from spicy stuff). Aside from the Bun Bo, we also learned how to grill, Vietnamese style. We marinated pork in lemon grass, garlic, and sesame seed. Co Thao and Co Cuc's assistants heated up traditional clay-pot ovens and we used a type of cage like griddle which clamped over the pork. Grilling was certainly one of the highlights of the day ^__^ We also learned how to make a type of noodle dish with wood-ear mushrooms, wet rice flour spring rolls with the pork we grilled, and steamed fish. We could barely eat all the food afterward at the dinner they again generously provided. Co Cuc and her daughter-in-law came out to answer our questions about Hue traditional cuisine. We learned how the cuisine is spread from mother to daughter through generations, and how in general, men don't really cook. Hue is also the origin of many Vietnamese dishes because it was the capital of the Nguyen dynasty, and emperors always have a penchance for good eats. The pineapple-carrot nem ran peacock we had the first day was an example of presentation in royal dishes, and which continues to be an important aspect of formal food today.
I feel a little sad that our cooking adventures with Co Cuc and Co Thao are almost over. Tomorrow we will interview them, but there will be no more cooking with them :( However, their kindness and generosity will always live on in the new cooking skills we have acquired and will undoubtedly put to good use back at home. I can't wait to reveal the culinary genius of banh khoai, bun bo Hue, grilled pork, and nem ran to my family back in the states...

Bonne nuit, Viet Nam

2009-08-04T08:39:00.000-07:00

A busy day ends with me back in my room, forty thousand dong richer after a coup at poker (played, in true Hue style, with toothpicks instead of poker chips). Who says old dogs can’t learn new tricks?

My day was filled with banh mi, incense, and the familiar sound of Vietnamese-accented French. First, I was treated to my cooking teacher’s well-developed, deep Parisian accent, as she tried to reinvent Hue imperial cuisine for a young American vegetarian (this process included what seemed to be improvising recipes on the spot, such as lemongrass and sesame seed tofu). After four hours in the kitchen, nodding and responding “oui” and “je comprends", I was fully ready for relaxation.

Unfortunately, though, upon leaving the cooking school, I found myself lost in the labyrinth that is backstreet Hue. I wandered for a good forty-five minutes in the dark, before walking into a secluded café where I happened to run into an art teacher from Hue University who spoke enough English to communicate with me. He was kind enough to order me a taxi.

I managed to get back to the hotel in time to fulfill an evening coffee appointment that I had with Ms. Thi, a lovely and kind Vietnamese teacher at the University who was originally supposed to be my partner on a project I was going to undertake (on French culture here in Central Vietnam). She brought along her husband, who, like her, prefers to speak in French, and who, also like her, is as charming and likeable as can be. We all got on motorbikes and ended up in a little café with good views of the French, Eiffel-built bridge on the Perfume River, sipping coffee and smoking cigarettes and chewing on watermelon seeds (apparently, this is usual snacking fare). I might have shut my eyes and been on the banks of the Seine. It was all very, very French.

Sometime in the coffee conversation, we ended up talking about the war (“la guerre americaine”). I am cautious enough to know that bringing it up myself in casual conversation with a Vietnamese acquaintance might be considered impolite and/or insensitive, but it came up nonetheless. What was clear from the conversation was that the war is just as taboo here as it once was in the US, and that the Vietnamese (at least the two affable, well-educated, young “vietnamiens” that I was talking with) would rather have it forgotten.

I, who am neither a Vietnam War buff nor a big fan of the whole war and blood and guns scene in general, was perfectly content to let the talk return to the familiar terrain of having my Vietnamese hosts try to marry me off.

With that, I bid the day, and Vietnam, “bonne nuit".

A Fruitful Country

2009-08-03T22:32:00.000-07:00

One thing I envy about the Vietnamese is their access to fresh, tropical fruits. They have many different types of fruits here that are not available in the United States. Here is a short guide to the fruits we've encountered so far:

Mangosteen & Rambutan (left and right, respectively)

Many of us have encountered mangosteen for the first time here in Vietnam. The fruit has a rubbery, dark purple outer rind which encases a soft, white, segmented fruit inside. Mangosteen has a sweet and sourish taste, and we all pretty much went ga-ga over how good it was. Its Vietnamese name is 'mang cut.'

Rambutan is ubiquitous here in Vietnam. Our hotel provides us with a fresh bunch of rambutan as a part of their daily fruit rotational. We have dubbed it 'the furry fruit' because of its appearance. In appearance, the edible fruit looks similar to lychee and longan. It is more chewy and less juicy than lychee, and the pit inside has a wooden texture, like a small mango pit. It is called 'chom chom' in Vietnamese.

Langsat is another fruit unique to Southeast Asia, and I've never seen it before in the states (not even at Asian groceries). The fruit comes in bunches attached to a small branch, almost like a mutated corn. Although it looks somewhat similar to longan, there are several distinctive differences. First, langsat is soft while longan's outer peel is stiff and scaly. Second, the taste is completely different. Langsat tastes like grapefruit, and its pits are bitter when bitten into. A Vietnamese friend taught me how to eat langsat, or bon bon as it's called in Vietnamese: 'Massage' the langsat with your hand to make it easier to peel and sweeter. (Image courtesy of google image search)

When you walk around the streets bordering Hue's citadel walls, you see many women and men squatting on the ground by piles of longan. Longan literally means 'dragon eye' in Chinese. It is a small, round, translucent fruit when peeled, encasing a round, black shiny pit. The Vietnamese spelling is 'long nhan.'

When we visited a traditional Vietnamese garden house as part of our tour of Hue, our gracious hostess served us this fruit from her garden. I don't know yet what this fruit is. It looks like a tiny cherry or plum, and has a slight bitter taste and translucent flesh.

Jackfruit was another fruit grown in the Vietnamese garden. It can grow up to huge sizes, and you can see many fruit venders selling peeled jackfruit. It is called 'mit' in Vietnamese.

We have dragonfruit every morning as part of our hotel breakfast buffet spread. The fruit is one of the most recognizable here, with its bright pink rind and dragon-snout shape. It uniquely grows on a long, cactus-like hanging vine. The flesh inside is white with tiny black edible seeds, and has a refreshing, albeit slightly bland, taste. Here in Vietnam it is called 'thanh long.'
(Thanks to Wikipedia for the Vietnamese names of some of the fruit)

Once in a Lifetime

2009-08-02T07:21:00.000-07:00

It was our first night in Hoi An. For many of us, it was also the first time we had the opportunity to explore Vietnam outside of Hue.

One group followed a dirt path and found a restaurant nestled among decades old houses. It was the Sleepy Gecko, the most wonderful establishment in all the country. It was run by an ex-pat and filled with ex-pats. All night long, stories were traded and the food never stopped coming. Potato salad, hot off the grill barbecue, and even pizza were to be had, and due to the generosity of the host all of it was free. The hours flew by with the tastes of home and the company of newly made friends. Australians, English, American -all were brothers and sisters at the Gecko. It was the most unlikely paradise to be found in this small corner of Southeast Asia.

The other group walked across the bridge into the city proper. By coincidence, they met the tour guide along the way. He brought the group to a restaurant where the drivers of the tour bus were already waiting. Each had a seat at a table and each ordered the same. Chicken with rice, a small bowl of soup and a cold glass of iced tea. There was a certain wistfullness and even nostalgia in the air even as the group partook of the simple, but good meal. Would such an experience ever occur again in the group's lifetime? To eat as the locals ate, to drink the drink of the locals, to sit together and figuratively break bread. It was like being home, except the group's home was now Vietnam, if only for the duration of the meal.

Afterwards, the second group continued to wander the city. From the middle of the river to the air above the streets, lanterns hung festively. The shops beckoned with their wares. How many decades or perhaps centuries had some of these shops been standing? How many generations had worked at perfecting the production of the finest cloths and tailoring? People wandered carefree. The city struck the perfect balance between bustling and overcrowded. It was majesty of a lost era.

On the way back to the hotel, the group found a cafe set up in the playground of a school. The branches of a tree bedecked with lights provided enough cover for all the tables. At the cost of fifty cents each, the group had deliciously sweet flan in little tin containers and refreshingly sour yoghurt drinks chilled with ice. To sit on little plastic stools in the near dark and enjoy the some of the greatest and most inexpensive snacks of the group's lives, this was the Vietnam they had searched for.

The two groups met back at the hotel pool. The cool waters washed away the heat and exhaustion of the day. Stories of their experiences were told. The first group proclaimed the Gecko as heaven on earth. The second group expoused the beauty of the city and the simple wonder of yoghurt and flan.

Plans were made. The next day, everyone would tour the city, enjoy some sweets, and then retire to the Gecko. It was to be the greatest night of summer.

Then it rained all afternoon, and everyone holed up in their rooms with nothing to do but study.

Or if you, dear reader, do so wish, you may choose to believe that the rain cleared up and the show went on without a hitch.

Or perhaps what really happened was a compromise between the drab rain and the wonder of Hoi An.

We're all Millionaires

2009-07-30T08:07:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you don't really have anything substantial or thought provoking to write about? Just write a list, which is what I'm going to do (another example of lazy writing, announcing what I'm going to write about instead of letting the writing announce itself).

Anyways, I'm converting the prices of some of the items I've seen around town into USD. I'm using 18,400 dong = 1 USD, which is the conversion rate at the gold shops around here. $100 will get you over 1.8 million in the local currency.

Can of Schweppes soda water (club soda) at the market: $.18

same soda water at restaurant: $1.35

decent bike for cruisin' the streets: $40

glass of fruit juice at the hotel cafe: $.50

bowl of some of the best noodles I've ever had (I think it's called bun real): $.44 !!

1.5L bottle of Aquafina: $.32

silk painting sold in a restaurant: $2.50

same painting sold on the street: $.55 (I totally fell for this scam)

cell phone including 2hours worth of minutes: $22 and up (I know because I lost (read "possibly got pickpocketed") the phone I brought)

fruit smoothie: $.65

packet of wetnaps: $.22

laundry: $1/kilo

As you might notice, drinks dominate the list. I'm drinking like 2L of water a day, one or two cans of tonic water or soda water, and whatever (actually typed that as water at first) else gets served during meals. It is hot and humid here. That and the cheap prices just make you want to drink. I literally just got back from the hotel cafe where I dropped 9000 (less than $.50) on soda chanh (club soda with lime, ice, and sugar).

To the Citadel, negotiating vegetarianism, and other tales

2009-07-30T01:23:00.000-07:00

Alright, so Charles and I (C. Records, Esquire) just returned from a two hour whirlwind tour of the inside of the Citadel and the buildings within. Some of the structures have been fully restored, with various degrees of success, while a variety of others are in serious disrepair. What was really amazing (to me at least), was the complete accessibility of the structures and their vulnerability to tourists and to the elements. Overgrown with weeds and grasses and trees, some of the buildings looked as though they were receding back into nature.

Other highlights included observing an impromptu sword fight (with wood beams) of some very loud and blonde Scandinavian tourists atop the ruins of a temple. The buddha within me was amused, though my sense is that it was bad karma for them. In other words, watch out Hans and Olaf!

In other news, yours truly, the only vegetarian in the group, am finding it somewhat problematic to remain on the straight and narrow. Pork, I am happy to say, is thoroughly avoidable in this city, but fish seems to be in everything. Therefore, I'm sad to say, I've fallen off the wagon a couple of times in the past couple of days and given in to the urge to ingest things that formerly moved. I'm going to try to go out of my way more to avoid the fish in future, and to relegate myself to things with roots and seeds and cellulose.

Thought of the day: There is officially no reason to return to the United States.

Visit to a local Orphanage

2009-07-29T18:30:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, July 28^th, the whole class planned a trip to go and visit a local orphanage call Duc Son. We were accompanied by Co Anh, Professor Bigg’s wife, and student volunteers from Hue University. We took three cabs and the travel was not far from our hotel. As we approached the orphanage, we were enthusiastic to see the kids and wanted to start playing with them.

As we got off the cab, we met the head nun who was in charge of the facility and she let us in with open arms. She gave us a brief description of the place, with the help of Co Anh as the translator, and said that the entire class who came meant a lot towards the orphans.

Here in Duc Son, there are about 192 orphans. The age varies from the youngest child at 2 month old to a 3^rd year college student. The orphans can stay at the facility until they decide to leave and can live on their own. When I was looking at these kids they’re faces glow with hope and happiness. So I decided to meet some of them.

One orphan that I met was a little girl who was practicing her writing skills. Since she was so shy she would not tell me her name or say anything to me. All she would you when I say something was stare at me like I was some sort of alien. However, I didn’t give up. I gave her a sheet of stickers and action spoke louder than words. Once she took the stickers, a smile lit up and then I knew that was a start for me. I asked her to continue what she was doing. On two full page of her note book, she repeatedly wrote the word “chá.” Her penmanship was consistently perfect. Although I don’t know her name or the things about her, I knew that she’s an amazing child and she yearning to learn.

Let me just say that the girls at the orphanage are very nice and respectful; however, some of the boys were very mean. I hate to say it but they were mean towards me. As I sat with the little girl, some of the boys surrounded me out of nowhere like a zebra trapped by a group of lions. The stared at me, pointed, laughed and said the words “Con Ga!” The word con ga means chicken. At first I did not know why they said it but then it hit me. My hair style was in a fohawk and it looked like a head of a chicken or a rooster. They kept on laughing and touching my hair, but I didn’t mind must because boys will be boys. I wish I had pictures of this event, but I don't.

After that chicken ordeal, one of the nuns told the kids to get together and sing. They sang various songs and the rest of us joined in. Most of us don’t know the songs so we just clapped or pretended to know the words.

Finally, I met another kid but he was a bit younger than most of the boys. I don’t know his name either since he was 2 years old and could not talk yet. But I have to say he was adorable and barely knows how to walk. However, there is a trick. The trick to make him walk is to show an object and as he stands, just tease him with it. It’s fun, mean, and adorable at the same time. I did it with my camera but I let him play with it for awhile.

In the end, we could not stay long because Co Anh told us it was time to go. Some of us wanted to stay a little longer and some wanted to take the kids home. We were glad that we went. Some of us will return to do our internship at the orphanage, and other like myself will do other type of internship. However, I would like to go back before I leave.

Welcome to Hue !!!

2009-07-26T08:33:00.000-07:00

This is what greets most Summer Sessions students upon arrival: brilliant skies, warm weather, and super friendly people. After five days in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), we were so happy to pop out of the plane and find this! No traffic jams, mountains in the distance, and clean air.

Fond Farewell

2007-08-02T05:37:00.000-07:00

What goes up must come down, and all good things eventually come to an end. As we approached another full moon (ngày rằm), the UCR Summer Session Program came to a close with a final, uproarious outdoor party on a hot summer's night in Hue with live dj'ed music, first techno, then Cá Huế, then a little dance music to get people jumping. I hope that some of the students will continue to post their pics here when they get back, but for me, el profesor, I am signing out after the next post until next year... Before I do, I owe many people my sincere thanks for a great program this summer. In no specific order...

Thanks Cậu Chưởng (Mẹ Nguyện's cousin) for a great tour of the Palace and for a great meal prepared by Mợ Hoa at your place.

Thanks Bradley, Huy, Lộc and Thái for good times, especially some smoky afternoons with Craven A and cà phê sửa đá off Hùng Vương. Special thanks to Huy in particular who single-handedly did much of the work with contracts, tours, personnel at Hue University and infecting almost every event with his optimism, humor and enthusiasm.

Pictured here are Ms. Kim Dung (lower right) and Anh Hồng and Chị Thủ (lower center) sitting next to Tony and Châu. Thanks, Dung, for all of your help with visas, foreign affairs, and the paperwork involved with university and city authorities with our group's visit. Missing from our outing today was Rector Phước who had to be at a public ceremony in the mountains. Thanks Dr. Phước in absentia. No stay at the Thanh Noi would be complete without the wonderful care of the housekeeping and restaurant staff. Mr. Hồng and Ms. Thủy supervise the housekeeping and personally handled care for our group's rooms this summer.

Thanks aunties, cousins and uncle! Thanks Chị Mỹ! Dr. Mỹ is not only the Head of the Vietnamese Studies Section at HUCFL that sponsors our program in Huế but as of last summer we found out she is a cousin-in-law, a niece of O Sương and Chú Huyên. She is an important behind-the-scenes player in the program, and we thank you profusely. Pictured in the center in the green áo dài is the rock upon which our family's stay in Huế is based, the veritable Thím Lạc. Every day we ate lunch at her home, wonderful home-cooked feasts prepared fresh each morning. In the blue áo dài next to Thím is O Hồng who lent us her bicycle and since 1997 has been another generous auntie to Hồng Anh.

Especially, thanks to the students for this year - Tony, Lidia, Chau (back row), Vicky, Jonathan, Tri, and Albert (lower right) - for being great students. Your diligence, always getting up and going out there - to class, to the internships - and especially your flexibility and tolerance made this an especially enjoyable course to teach. Also pictured here are some of the other staff (housekeeping, restaurant, reception) who again made our stay at Thanh Noi a flawless one.

Not pictured here are Anh Hùng and Anh Quan - restaurant managers - who set up our farewell party in the courtyard with fresh potted flowers and custom-printed menus. This party was by far our best success for welcome and farewell gatherings, and we've decided to hold all future gatherings in the same space.

Besides the UCR students, this program couldn't have been nearly as much fun this year without the participation of nine student volunteers from Hue University who partnered with the UCR students on their internships. A very sincere THANK YOU to you all for riding the American students around Hue, for interpretation, and for your fun attitude. It was great getting to know you and I am sure to make participation from local students a bigger fixture in next year's program.

This picture I think captures the general mood.

Thanks Quyen and Duc. They are stunned by how funny the jumping shots look.

On Scuppy duty, Chú Nghiên (Ba Tô's cousin) is the other half of the rock upon which my family's stay depends. He's endlessly funny and a wonderful master of ceremonies. Thanks, Chú Nghiên, for your humor and for your incredible contacts throughout the arts scene in Hue.

Finally, thanks to Chị Hương along with Chị Mỹ for your assistance with the language class, for your wonderful staff, and for some good meals in the evenings. We look forward to seeing you again soon in Huế or elsewhere in the future.

Thanks to Family in Saigon - Hẹn Gạp Lại!

2007-07-30T06:53:00.000-07:00

On our overnight in Saigon before catching the flight home, we visited with Em Thảo, her boyfriend Christiaan, and our friend Thơ from Cần Thơ. In the pic on the left, we were watching the many cool features of my new camera, plugged into the tv set and able to remotely shoot pics with a little infrared controller. THANKS as always to dear sis Thảo for her care and consideration of us as we passed through SG yet again. Thanks for visiting us in Hue and for taking time from the startup company to đi chơi.

Musical Boat Dinner

2007-07-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

Sunday night we went out on one of the dragon boats, double-hulled house boats that are effectively floating restaurants and stages where musicians perform traditional Hue tunes. It was also Tam's birthday, and she was surprised to receive a birthday card from some of the students who made it themselves (!) in the arts and crafts section of the main bookstore in town. Trang, another local student, took a stab at interpreting for the mc who only spoke Vietnamese.

Firpo's Visit

2007-07-23T17:27:00.000-07:00

Each weekend we have been in Hue, we've had visitors this summer; I guess we're getting popular. Christina Firpo stopped over for a night and we visited the palace and all the amazing mosaic work being done in various restored gates and buildings. The neo-classical world was nothing if not colorful. Besides visiting thepalace, we had a most excellent motorbike trip on the "great circuit" here from Khai Dinh's Tomb to Minh Mang's Tomb to the new highway to Linh Mu Pagoda and then back into the city. Pictured below are scenes from Quoc Hoc Academy where Ba To went to school, a stone mandarin wearing shades, and Khai Dinh's opulent, crazy mosaic palace.

Boat Trip to the Tombs

2007-07-22T08:12:00.000-07:00

We finally got ourselves to visit some of the kings' tombs this summer. The group picture didn't quite work out as planned as Albert took the chance to visit family in Singapore, but nevertheless we had a great boat trip up the Perfume River and visited the island temple to the Heavenly Lady (an old Cham goddess) and Minh Mang's Tomb. The boat provided a good breeze so Xuan Anh finally got to fly her mermaid kite from the bow. The Tien Ca (mermaid) kite finally got a chance to fly. She's also sporting a very dep conical hat with Hue tourist sites embroidered on the outside.

Vicky gets her fortune told at the Heavenly Mother Temple

People Living Underground

2007-07-21T23:13:00.000-07:00

After the DMZ we headed north and then directly east along the river to a village located along the coast called Vinh Moc. This place was one of many coastal villages that were heavily shelled by US airplanes and ships throughout the war. So, to cope, people developed a network of trenches above-ground and tunnels underground where they lived most of the time for several years during the worst of the shelling. An estimated 7000 lbs of bombs were dropped per person.

This is by far one of the most impressive war sites because in walking through the maze of underground tunnels, you get a very real sense of the extreme conditions under which people attempted to survive this war.

This year we've developed a jumping theme to group shots. It is what it is ...

Pi

Crossing the Ben Hai River

2007-07-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

Hien Luong Bridge across the Ben Hai River was the official dividing line between North and South VN during the war. During prisoner exchanges in the early 1970's, NLF or People's Army prisoners were exchanged for South VN and US prisoners (usually officers) along this bridge. Looking north to the North VN gate, Tony (Hai) and Chau re-enact a friendly crossing over. To the left is the newer highway bridge crossing here. And farther in the distance is construction going on for a new interstate-style highway bridge - the beat goes on...

Yey! We're free!!! More re-enactments.

Traveling to the DMZ - Dong Ha

2007-07-20T18:11:00.000-07:00

We are nearing the end of the summer course and the lecture class has reached the 15-odd years that American advisors then troops worked in Vietnam, building up an unbelievable infrastructure of bases, air hangers, jet landing strips in the jungle, and basically a whole lot of pavement. At a major highway junction just south of the former demilitarized zone (DMZ), there was once a relatively large marine air base at Dong Ha. Now all that remains of it are a few of these very heavy duty airplane hangers built out of corrugated aluminum filled with concrete on the outside. This particular hangar survived whereas most have since been scrapped because after 1975 it was used as a theater for performances.

When it came time to dismantle this one, the town Department of Cultural Affairs had already claimed it as city property and since then they have abandoned using it for performances (they have a brand spanking new theater) but maintain it as a historical ruin of the American occupation. Makes for a very striking ruin especially on such a sunny day.

On our way through Dong Ha we stopped at a cafe favored by one of many NGO's that operate in the DMZ doing rehabilitation work: clearing landmines, giving people with legs and arms blown off prosthetics, digging out unexploded bombs etc. Fortunately, the majority of unexploded ordnance has been dug up now in the area--this snapshot shows a picture of work going on about eight or nine years ago. However, there is still a lot of material left in the hills and even more across the border in Laos on what used to be the "HCM Trail."

The Hanoi Trip July 12-15

2007-07-18T17:28:00.000-07:00

From Thursday to Sunday we traveled and played Ha Noi style. The first stop on any city tour, Ngoc Son Pagoda on a little island in the Lake of the Restored Sword, Hoan Kiem, in downtown Hanoi. This lake has these giant tortoises that live several hundred years and only occassionally show up on the surface. Its the site for a King Arthur type story where a VN leader against the Chinese in 1427 received a magical sword from the lake and then returned it after winning the country's independence. The students were so happy upon learning this they jumped up and down and got a little crazy.

Most people think that study abroad is something that 20-yr-olds with a little disposable summer income do, but this year's experience with two older students, Albert and Tony, has proven to me that its really ideal to have more mature students on the program as well. Both of these guys have been great assets for their ability to organize outings, to hold up in foreign settings, and to engage with their Vietnamese partners in the internships. Also, I think the older one is, the more one appreciates that chance to be able to spend five weeks off of work learning and traveling.

No trip to Hanoi is complete without a visit to Ba Dinh Square and the Vietnamese version of the Washington Mall and Washington Monument, the oh-so-retro Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and associated sites around it. Here Chau Mai demonstrates his athletic prowess hurdling over the "do not enter" sign. On our morning visit, the mausoleum was closed, so we didn't get to go inside the frigid aircon and view "Uncle" Ho lying in eternal repose. However, we did visit the also air-conned HCM Museum nearby; just seeing what Hanoi is first-hand, and seeing a little more tangible evidence about "the north" and this enigmatic historical figure was a great experience.

How happy is our group? Just look at them!

Scuppy and Hong Anh joined us for this excursion to the national mall, here posing in front of a bamboo grove.

Here is Xuan Anh crawling onto the turtles that carry on their backs the names of those people who passed the national exams and received their PhD's. The steles date back to the 1400's and are one of the oldest archaeological remains in good standing in Hanoi. The site here is part of a larger courtyard and campus for Vietnam's first national university which dates to the 11th century in the same spot.

For the grandparents, another cute kid pic. Here seated in front of the entrance to a Temple for Confucius.

Student Trip to Bach Ma

2007-07-11T22:46:00.000-07:00

Last weekend (July 6-8) was a free weekend and six of the students went with the Vietnamese students to nearby Bach Ma National Park. This mountainous rain forest is home to some recently discovered species of deer and other mammals - some of the only new species discovered in the past sixty years. The trails in the park follow along several small rivers and pictured below are pictures from one day hike.

Student Shots - Hoi An, Noon Gate, My Son

2007-07-11T22:01:00.000-07:00

It's a little bit slow adding pictures from our hotel in Hue, so the students asked me to post some of their pics from my memory stick to the blog. Below are shots (top to bottom) of: an outdoor lecture at a coconut juice stand, a coconut juice at the beach near Hue, Lidia as the god Siva at My Son, Lidia and Vicky in the jeep at My Son, the class receiving flowers from Hue University for July 4th, Albert playing the drum at the noon gate, a funky group picture at the noon gate, and the non-funky picture. Pictured along with the Summer Session students are some Hue University students who have been partnering with them on individual internship projects.

Free Weekend July 6-8

2007-07-10T00:58:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the free weekend in the program, no activities planned. Six out of seven students headed to the mountains to Bach Ma Natl Park with the Vietnamese students for an overnight trekking trip. While they hiked some seven kilomteres through mountainous jungles, Hong Anh, Xuan Anh and I opted for a more relaxed weekend trip to the beach on Saturday. We visited Canh Duong Beach about half-way to Da Nang and a lovely protected cove with a nice shallow, sandy beach as well as covered shade areas where our car parked and we ate freshly caught seafood.

Joining us on this trip were Thao, sister Dung, and Dung's friend May all travelling from Saigon to Hue for the weekend. Thao is pictured here in a basket boat parked on the sand. OK, we couldn't resist. Everyone took basket boat pictures. They are like giant floating cereal bowls.

No trip to Vietnam is complete without a picture in or near some kind of fishing boat. These boats are quite interesting, made of interwoven strips of bamboo then sealed with tar. There is a kind of near-shore squid-fishing boat also made from thick, basket-like interwoven bamboo. Why? Because in this region, there's a kind of sea worm that bores through wood. Bamboo is more fibrous, especially when coated with tar; and it can be more easily replaced. These are paddled with a single oar with the boatman standing in it, used for near-shore activities, getting back and forth to the boats etc.

All weekend people were burning votive paper and laying out incense in front of their homes. It isn't the full-moon period of the lunar month, so I was curious. It was an anniversary of an 1885 uprising in the citadel against the French where some 1000-2000 locals died, especially members of the royal family. The French troops were ordered to massacre civilians in retaliation for the newly crowned king Ham Nghi who urged all Vietnamese to fight.

Dung and May standing in front of a circular window of the palace gate. For her many admirers, here are some more pictures of Xuan Anh for the grandparents, some taken by Auntie MayMay.

"cheese"

the "ugly face"

"goggle face"

"hat head"

Scuppy Tribute in Pictures

2007-07-05T07:04:00.000-07:00

July 4th at Duc Son Orphanage

2007-07-05T01:35:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we visited an orphanage and school run by one of the most famous nuns in Hue, Co Minh Tu, who since during wartime has dedicated her life to loving and caring for abandoned and orphaned children as well as children with special needs. Lidia Tutarovina is doing her internship with the orphanage, writing a fundraising pamphlet about the orphanage's activities in English and teaching an English class to advanced students and nuns two afternoons per week. Unlike most institutions in Vietnam, Duc Son Orphanage does not require extensive permissions to work with foreigners and Minh Tu has received numerous awards even from the state. Why? Because all she does is care for children that nobody else wants. For any group that comes with cares for helping the children, they are welcomed with open arms. On this occassion, Lidia, Jonathan Chang and Vicky Nguyen as well as several partner students from the College of Foreign Languages and my colleague Huy as well as Co Hong Anh and Scuppy visited. Right after Minh Tu explained that she preferred not to receive large donations of candy because it rotted the kids teeth, we presented her with a big bag of candy. She laughed and said she appreciated the spirit of our generosity and I promised next year I'd come with toothbrushes and toothpaste. We presented her with pencils from UC Riverside - perhaps some graduate from Duc Son will attend UCR in the future? And we presented her with a 500.000 VND donation which she will sue to purchase formula for the infants that she cares for.

Duc Son is not an adoption agency and does not advocate putting children up for international adoption because of the unwanted attention and "market-influence" that brings into the community. Instead, Minh Tu explained that the purpose of her orphanage is to fill the kids with love and attention so they may grow up to be "complete" individuals even though they lack parents and family that is so important in Vietnamese culture. She likened the children to houses that if not kept up and filled with good atmosphere would have their windows closed, fall into disrepair. The Orphanage readily accepts children who have been abandoned...there are the usual stories: babies left on the steps of the orphanage, side of the road, born with severe deformities... as well as kids whose parents suffer mental illness, other severe disabilities, were simply too poor or who died in the flood of 1999. Pictured above is a guest member of our course, Dr. Floyd Killough, who also visited the orphanage. He has been volunteering his time working with some famous doctors at Hue Medical College who are doing research on rehabilitating kids born with genetic disorders--many associated with exposure to dioxin left as a residue of Agent Orange, the chemical defoliant sprayed in the hills about 50 km west of Hue on the "Ho Chi Minh Trail".

At the orphanage, Floyd introduced me to Le Dang Kiet, a 2-yr-old born a few months before Scuppy whose parents were deficient in Vitamin A. Vitamin deficiency is especially common in the highlands among some very impoverished communities, and it often affects the eyes. One couple living near the orphanage actually tried to adopt Kiet, but they themselves were too poor to look after him safely, to keep him from falling or bumping into things, and so they brought him back. Women living near the orphanage routinely donate hours of time to care for such kids. Floyd explained to me that while he was blind right now, one of his eyes could be restored to vision if he receives a transplant, and such an operation in Hue would cost only $3000.

Floyd is here with one of many American aid groups called Vets with a Mission where American veterans of the war in Vietnam come back and provide expert medical and professional support. Floyd is working in particular to bring much-needed laboratory and research equipment to the local hospital. On his first trip here, outside Quang Tri in January 1968, the pilot told passengers that below them in the city of Hue, the VC flag had been raised over the city. The NLF controlled Hue for ten days during the Tet Offensive.

The Most Beautiful Truckstop in the World

2007-07-04T18:16:00.000-07:00

After visiting the My Son monuments, brick towers built in a Hindu style by the Chams from the 10th to 14th centuries on a hill that gets pretty hot in summer, we headed by bus back through Da Nang to Hue. One member of the group complained of being hungry, and pretty soon we had a fullscale turista insurgency on our hands, so the bus pulled off near Lang Co Beach into a roadside truckstop. Fresh seafood was cooked to order and cold beers and Cokes were had for a slight markup on the regular in-town price. What I didn't expect was to have this incredibly scenic view out the back of the Tam Giang Lagoon, a large shallow estuary between Hue and the beach. Pictured here is an ideal family Christmas photo. Now if I can only get around to sending out the cards...

The light was just perfect, making everything sparkle in the late afternoon just after a thundershower had passed.

We Love Hoi An

2007-07-03T07:50:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we traveled to Hoi An for the first weekend trip. Hoi An is this sixteenth century trading port where Portuguese, Japanese and Chinese all lived together and had raucous parties all night long. This picture is taken from one of many tourist shops - the towns entire economy appears to be about beach resorts, silk pajamas, and late night clubs.

Hoi An is also known for its lanterns. Its one of those weird things that started here back about ten years ago, maybe one shop that made lanterns the old-fashioned way, that has mushroomed into a nation-wide phenomenon. Every backpacker joint and tourist shop from Hanoi to Saigon now sells these lanterns. They are like beacons attracting all manner of scantily clad tourist to buy some statues or order a cafe sua da (ice milk coffee).

Yep, Hoi An brings out the best in tourists. There was a full-moon festival when we went, and the students hooked up with a few Vietnamese pop stars and spent the evening at the beach with Vicky returning to show an autographed poster of the main pop icon. Scuppy, Hong Anh and I opted for more staid entertainment. We rode swan boats and wandered among the carnival.

This picture is for the grandparents reading this and Scuppy's many admirers...

It's this pretty, really. I shot this at 5:15 am walking across the river from our hotel to the main downtown market.

The Green Zone in 1966 ... Danang

2007-07-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we stopped off in Danang at the former US military headquarters for I Corps that is now a divisional headquarters for the VN army and has a military museum. Visiting military museums tend to all fall into the same pattern of the long narrative of resistance against foreign agression, but I nevertheless think its important to show the students some of the hardware to get a sense of just how different this place was in 1965 with thousands of helicopters and hundreds of thousands of Americans moving about. I snapped this picture of Vietnamese kids dressed in their patriotic red scarves (elementary school uniforms) crawling around on the remarkably well-preserved equipment.

The other detail that often gets lost on students is the ordnance that the United States dropped on Vietnam. Its impressive just to get a sight of some of the larger bunker busters and to think how many millions of tons of sucvh weapons fell from the sky. A friend here told me that after the war, people began mining unexploded ordnance for scrap. The metal used is of such high quality that it has significant value as scrap. A bomb like this, once defused and cut apart, might sell for four or five hundred dollars as scrap. I think this story, scrapping bombs for cash, is perhaps even more incredible.

Visiting the Sites in Hue

2007-07-03T07:22:00.000-07:00

I've been experimenting with different times to visit sites in Hue to avoid the heat. In short, there is no way to do this. We visited this circa-1840 ampitheater for tiger and elephant fights last Thursday for about twenty minutes before heading home, and it was hot outside, but "cool" to drive through a few alleys and just come upon this place where the old Vietnamese kings used to park their war elephants. The local kids, out of school for summer, have a lively trade going in postcards, water, bracelets, and fans. They pop out of their houses when the vans roll up looking remarkably fresh!

Last week I tried lecturing on the Nguyen Lords and "localization"- incorporating local sites/beliefs into state forms - at Thien Mu (Heavenly Mother) pagoda. Heat-wise it worked out fine. Started at 8am and went home about 1045. The place had been an important temple to the Cham deity Po Nagar (Uma) before 1600 and the first Nguyen Lord, Nguyen Hoang, made a big deal of erecting a new Vietnamese temple to the Vietnamized Po Nagar (Thien Y A Na) in 1601. The tower is an interesting blend of architectural styles, not the typical Vietnamese Buddhist pagoda.

No trip in Hue is complete without a visit to the Noon Gate (Ngo Mon) completed in 1833 as a copy of a similar gate to the Forbidden City in Beijing. The palace area is huge, and it really is worth three or four hours, a guidebook, and some music or a friend for the long walks. Today we took the quick tour, visiting some of the buildings. Our guide, Mr. Chuong, explained how the tile roof-ends are done in the shape of bats (called "phuc" in Chinese) that suggest a kind of visual homonym to the word "phuoc" which means happiness. The lanterns are there on the front of the gate for a night festival that ends this weekend.

We have yet to visit the royal tombs, but I expect that to be an afternoon boat trip sort of thing with music following on the river.

College of Foreign Languages

2007-06-30T00:26:00.000-07:00

On Monday, we started our first day of classes at the same time that a group from the University of Washington started their course of study. The UCR students are to the left and above is a sign welcoming each program. Pictured next to me (David) is Dean Phuoc and to his left, Dr. Christoph Geibel, head of the Washington group. Christoph served on my dissertation committee during my graduate study at the University of Washington; and I assisted him in leading a trip to Hanoi in 2000. So our association with study abroad trips goes back a few years. When Christoph asked me about possible hosts for his program open to U.S. students this summer, I sent him right to Hue. Having two American groups here seems to be fun for the students, both the Americans and the Vietnamese. The UW group will leave Hue in another week and spend two weeks in the former De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) working with veterans' groups on tree-planting and other rehabilitation projects. The UCR group will participate in service-learning internships in the city of Hue working with Vietnamese students at Hue Hospital, Thuong Lac Free Health Clinic, the Hue Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Hue Sports Center, and Duc Son Orphanage. Also in this picture, far left, is Mr. Huy, the logistics person in the Department of Vietnamese Studies who is largely responsible for organizing these programs.

Each year we have a welcome ceremony and this year, the College supplied each UCR student with Hue University logo gear. Sporting the ballcaps are Chau, Tri and Jonathan. Not pictured here are the Vietnamese students who will work with them on their service projects this summer.

Classes take place in this room, part of the ground floor of an old, French-era villa where the college has its temporary campus until the new, modern campus is completed this summer. Each room comes with ethernet, lcd projector, aircon, ceiling fans, and flowers (only on the first day!). Like UCR, Hue University is going through a massive building phase, and all of the various colleges around town will move to a new, American-style campus complete with green space and kids throwing frisbees on the grass.

Our Hotel in Hue

2007-06-30T00:07:00.000-07:00

"Welcome to Thanh Noi Hotel" the neon sign reads. We are located at this very fine local-style garden hotel in Hue, inside the walls of the old city that people in Vietnam call the citadel ("thanh" in Vietnamese). Xuan Anh is standing on the steps of the reception next to a very fancy looking Mercedes - great advertising for the place. No doubt it probably belongs to the Mayor or Vice-Mayor of the city since the hotel belongs to the City of Hue.

One of the great features of this little hotel is the very clean, small pool in the garden area. Here pictured are a couple of Italian kids who woke me up from my siesta screaming in Italian while doing cannonballs into the pool. Students are usually reading in the mid-day and resting after lectures, but the pool is a great and useful feature for the early morning or later in the evening. The staff at Thanh Noi Hotel know us well from last year, too, so there's no problem taking late-night dips.

Another nice feature of Thanh Noi is its garden-house style restaurant. Here under a very old Bodhi tree, breakfast is included free each morning, a great buffet of fresh tropical fruits, coffee & tea, some Asian breakfast dishes, and eggs cooked to order. During our stay here, there is a steady flow of European and American families and tourists passing through Hue. Its ideal, too, not having to clean a single dish during the program! In the far distance, you can just make out the wall surrounding the old, 19th century palace.

I didn't get a photo of the room in here yet, but its a standard room, fresh sheets changed daily, a fast laundry service, very clean floors, bathroom with shower or tub, and most important of all for us, a strong air conditioner. The rooms also come equipped with BBC, MTV, the Vietnamese broadcast channels, and a few European channels (Television Monde and a German channel). One thing we like here very much is the staff; they have all been working at the hotel for years and are relatively happy working there - so we feel secure there. They are constantly sweeping, cleaning floors and windows, and there day and night. This is relatively rare outside the five-star resorts, and I think it has to do with the management - esp. the Vice-Manager who is a graduate of the school that hosts us in Hue.

We've Arrived

2007-06-25T20:00:00.000-07:00

To all those interested in following the adventures of David, Hong Anh, Xuan Anh as well as the seven students in this year's program (from left: Jonathan, Tri, Tony, Albert, Vicky, Lidia, and Chau) we have arrived and are finally getting up online. At Co Hong Anh's prompting, everyone this year has bought a bicycle for fun cruising around town. (All have helmets, too.) Bikes here are cheaper to buy ($40) and resell ($20) than to rent daily from the hotel. Tri and Jonathan will be working at Bac Si Que's medical clinic for poor people, and Lidia will be working at the Duc Son Orphanage, so there may be an option for donating the bicycles for needy children instead. Hue is perhaps the most bikeable city, especially in the Old City (Thanh Noi) where we stay. Last night under the near-full moon, the group biked the main streets along the Perfume River, nearly empty after 10pm.

The Backpack Carrier

2007-06-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Hue on a sweltering June afternoon, the plane parking on the tarmac and us walking to the gate. Vietnam Airlines has lost its old Soviet-style block-letter logo and opted for the more inviting Lotus, symbol of pure quality service and a flight on Boeing equipment that practically levitates you from Saigon to Hue, Hanoi and any number of other destinations. I just read in the Vietnam News that the government has purchased four new Boeing 787's for its fleet, the Dreamliners.

Hong Anh is very proud of this latest child-carrying device. Its compact, crushable, and very comfortable. The Ergo Baby Carrier can be worn in front, back or on your hip, and makes for a great stroller substitute. A good workout too!

Family in Saigon

2007-06-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

On our way to Hue, we stopped in to stay with Thao and my adopted family in Vietnam. Thao lives in Thanh Binh District, just beyond downtown, in a highrise where she also manages about 8 programmers working for an Australian software company. Pictured here at dinner are Mama Hiep, Thao, and her niece and nephew, Cun and Bin, as well as us with a sleeping jetlagged Xuan Anh.

Xuan Anh and Cun get acquainted.

Feeding elephants sugarcane at the zoo. While the San Diego Zoo might be our favorite zoo back home, few places will let you feed the elephants anymore like the Saigon city zoo. Here the elephants wait patiently while Xuan Anh and the gang savor the moment. It looks like Bean is actually taking a few licks of his before giving it off.