Time to breathe

We've been in Hanoi for a week and it's been great. Hanoi is really the poets' city where everyone wears darker clothing and the skies are grey. The cafes and pubs are cozier than the garish ones of Saigon, and the lakes and trees dull down the constant hum of motorbikes and mayhem. We've been truly chilling. Playing scrabble by the lake and in comfortable cafes. Spending hours lying on couches in restaurants that exist solely for the purpose of comfort. Sleeping till noon every day and then rolling over and sleeping some more because there's nothing urgent to take care of. We swept through Halong Bay and admired the enormous limestone structures that peered at us through the mist. Uncle Ho's embalmed body was locked away during Tet and we were unable to visit his corpse due to the holy nature of the past week. The entire city has shut down and we're in a Vietnam that I never knew existed. The only shops that peek through are the tourist galleries and jewellery stores where they charge more for an item than most Vietnamese make in a week. But it's been a fantastic getaway from the powerful energy of Saigon. While I count myself lucky to have a moment of pause and relaxation in HCMC, there has been little else to do here besides think. I'm writing this hours before I return to the noise and smog to meet my mother who is touching down in Asia for the first time in her life. Seeing her will remind me of my first encounter with the tangled traffic and buzz of life in the city that took me a minute to love but I still do not understand.

The

6 years ago a 16 year old boy named The left the countryside of Vietnam to re-build his life in Saigon. He was tired of his one room home and poor family. He wanted more than his tiny village had to offer. And he had dreams of money and success and a richer life in a big city. He came to Saigon and worked in restaurants and on the street. He taught himself English until he could afford lessons, and later he became a real estate agent for foreigners in need of homes.

He came into my life about three months ago when I was looking for a house in Saigon. The worked hard to find us the perfect home and continued to work tirelessly for our comfort and pleasure once the commission had been paid. He has become an essential and central part of my life in Saigon. Any question I have or task I need to face, The is the go to man. I consider him to be one of the closer friends I've made here.

He returned to his home for the first time 4 days ago. The poverty of his family and the simple countryside of his village was still there. But The went home a different boy, with money and flashy clothing and western friends. He invited our group to his home which took us two hours, countless country paths and a lot of near accidents to reach. We hesitantly entered his home where his family had gathered in a room where everyone eats, sleeps and lives. The communication lines were impossible to overcome and we smiled at the shocked and curious faces of our hosts, many of whom had never seen white faces in their lives. We ate their Tet feast at the table while the family crowded on a bed behind us.

We were taken from home to home, winding our way through dirt roads while a hoard of children tagged behind us calling out the few English words they knew. We were told that the last foreigners to reach the town were members of the U.S army. But unlike us, they had arrived with weapons and the intention to kill. We drank and laughed with those that had fought back. The seemed out of place in his Hip Hop shirt and fashionable clothing. He hardly interacted with them besides when he acted as a translator for us. And then he packed up his expensive duffel bag and piled into our van that took us back to Hanoi where the sight of foreigners is not a once in a lifetime experience.

Year of the rooster

It's a new year and we're all older than we were yesterday. Midnight brought in a new lunar year, fireworks and a renewed hope that this year will be luckier than the last. Sucess will be abundant, money will be plentiful and love will be in the air. The year of the rooster will probably be the same same but different to ones gone before and life will continue as per usual. But the expectation of happier moments and wealthier times was fervent in the air last night as the government burst colors through the sky and the crowds cheered. Fireworks were followed by a frantic effort to pull down all the trees in the neighborhood. Apparently it doesn't matter if the trees have bad luck, just as long as the people collect good omens. It was obvious to us just how special the moment was but we felt separate from the celebrations. We can not understand just how meaningful this day is for the Vietnamese because of the color of our skins and the language that we speak.

For the next few days we must be on our best behavior. No arguments, negative thoughts or bad actions. It's bad luck for those who have had an accident or lost a job, a relative to enter people's homes. Tomorrow Mike and I will bring all three curses to The's home when we enter the region of bird flu in order to experience what the New Year is actually about. But for now it's observation and guessing. Because we are not nor will we ever be Vietnamese.

Woof!

We met up with about 30 of our students last night and were surprised if not deterred when we pulled up to a dog meat restaurant. I, being the only vegetarian and avid lover of dogs, was somewhat put off but I persevered as I was excited to see the kids who keep me going on a day to day basis.

Out came dog liver, intestine, unknown body parts and fat. Some of the students enthusiastically dug in while others informed me that the tradition was quite unappealing but came along so as not to offend their colleagues. Matt gorged himself on poor Fifi and Fido's various body parts, inhaling the experience as though there was nothing less delicious in the world. Other members of our Western party tried the food tentatively and came to an agreement that it's not all that dog gone spectacular. The evening continued with regular Mot, hai, ba YO! cheersing of Hanoi vodka with an exceedingly high proof and it wasn't long before the dog intestine in front of me failed to remind me of my pet pooches I've loved over the years.

Hanoi

We flew up to Hanoi on Friday evening for some cooler temperatures and a change of pace. Hanoi is exceedingly charming and more peaceful than Saigon and it's refreshing to be in a more quiet city with greyer skies.

My immediate impression of Hanoi was that it was far less overwhelming than Saigon is. Our ride to the airport in Saigon was crazy and hair raising with 8 or more near accidents and a driver who cracked his knuckles at every traffic light. Our ride back, however, was slow and tranquil with a driver who stared off in the distance as though meditating on his life. It was midnight and, while the streets of HCMC were still throbbing with life and adventure, Hanoi's narrow lanes were quiet and dark. Yesterday we took a stroll along Hoang Kiem lake, a grey mass of water that would calm the most anxious explorer.

You can feel a different influence on your senses and the air hangs in a less frantic way. I love Saigon and am constantly invigorated by it but it's a welcome change to feel a mist in the air and a feeling of tranquility, although I'm sure I will welcome the return to the heat and the adventure in a week.

Chuc mung Nam moi!

Happy New Year once again! This time it's the Vietnamese traditional New Year celebration called Tet and we have a week off of work to celebrate. So 6 of us including Carrie, Matt, Mike, Craig and Dave will venture up to Ha Noi to explore the capital and wear some warmer clothing. It's apparently quite bitter in Ha Noi right now so we're half scared, half excited to experience the cold for the first time in 10 months!

Sorry I've been so MIA recently, I've had tons to take care of and tons to do and have thoroughly neglected my blog. But I'll make a concerted effort to update more frequently, especially now that I know my students are reading it!!

Students' blogs

I have my advanced students blogging again. Check out what they have to say at...

Hieu

Thien

Minh

Phong

Hoa

Vinh

Tung

Hoang

Dung

Khuong