Family, Fun, and the Flu

Lets face it. We've had some ups and downs this week.

Downs:
*Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
*Taking care of a baby with nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea
*Giving the tenacious flu symptoms to many members of our extended family (it's the second time we've started a familydemic. Last time it was pink eye. Sorry about that too).
*Having several people wonder out loud if your family might have acquired some intestinal parasite
*Knowing that the intestinal parasite theory is entirely possible
*Cancelling Christmas dinner because half the family was snowed in and the other half was sick

Ups:
*Everything I ordered online arrived in time!
*Family, family and more family
*It was my first Christmas morning with Bryce's family and I loved it. Adorable tree, hyper kids, delicious breakfast, lottery tickets...
*Stephanie got some books for Christmas that she's already read so guess who gets to borrow them!?!
*My tiny niece did not get sick and looked adorable in her blessing gown (see Chloe here).
*The holidays seem to be lasting a really long time since I'm not going home in a couple of days. I guess that's what it feels like to live near family. A constant party.

Jet Lag

It's really hard to explain jet lag to someone who has never had it. Our kids were surprised by how hard it was to get used to Vietnam time when we left. Maggie spent several nights not sleeping at all and several days crying with exhaustion. We tried to prepare them better for our return trip.

They were obsessed with jet lag on the plane. When we first settled into the second flight we heard Maggie say, "I'm going to get a lot of sleep so I don't get jet lag"

Then somewhere over the Atlantic she leaned forward and asked Bryce, "Do I have jet lag yet?" (It's especially cute because she says it like jet leg).

When we had landed and were taxiing our way into the "not so lovely in the snow" SeaTac Airport Maggie and Titus spent a lot of time chatting to the lady next to them. Titus politely asked her in a sympathetic tone, "Do you have jet lag too?"

The first two days we saw nary a sign of jet lag. We had happy children that slept exactly when expected. Then yesterday they slept in until noon, stayed up crying and fighting until midnight, and are well on their way to sleeping in today. I want to go wake them up but they told me not to. They said they're trying to sleep a lot so that Christmas will come faster.

Last week at this time...

This is what we were doing last week. We didn't know what we were getting into when the people at the hotel suggested we visit a nearby hot springs. It ended up being quite a resort. We were a little disappointed having imagined lounging in a natural rock lined pool overlooking the ocean (I'm not sure why we thought that, but we did). Anyway, to make up for the disappointment we got massages for the kids. The girls doing the massages thought it was hilarious. They said something to Hieu that she had a hard time translating for us. It was something like, "They say your children are... well I don't know the word in English, something like they get whatever they want..."

I told her the word she was looking for was "spoiled". So she learned a new word, the kids got massages, and we ended up enjoying the not so natural hot springs after all. Well worth the $2.50 US we spent.

This is what we're doing this week. We have come back to a world of white. White roads, white sky, white grass. The sun and massages seem a world away (which they are, I suppose). We have spent a lot of time inside since we're seriously lacking in snow gear. But, yesterday, when the sun was shining a wee bit the kids ventured outside to make a snowman. The snow didn't pack so well since it was covered with a layer of ice so they made a snow slide instead. It was a serious blow to hear that there was no way they'd be allowed to slide down the greenhouse roof. We'll try to take them sledding today.

Home Sweet Home

Here we are. Home at last. We arrived to about six inches of snow and then watched another few inches fall last night. So magical and sooo cold. We're making do with some pseudo winter gear and taking a nose dive into the Christmas season. If I can keep my eyes open I'm going to make some gingerbread today with my sisters. Sleep sounds good too.

Beaches

We finished up our trip to the south by going out to the coast and settling in for a few nights. It turns out we still love the beach. Now we're back in Hanoi and have plans to pack all day tomorrow and catch the midnight flight out. I'm a little intimidated at the prospect...

Cu Chi Tunnels

The other day we visited some nearby tunnels that were used during the war by North Vietnamese soldiers. They lived in underground rooms, linked by narrow tunnels, for months at a time while the ground above them was being bombed and gassed constantly.

Titus was especially interested in going to see the tunnels. He has been fascinated to hear about the war here and see how patience and ingenuity overcame modern firepower. We read that mines still kill over 1,000 people a year here, so Titus kept reminding us not to go off the path.

Visiting the tunnels was a macabre mix of tourist activities and the horrible reality of war. We laughed while we squeezed through the tiny entrances and then stood in silence while the guide explained how the Vietnamese booby traps worked. The bamboo spiked pits were the most sobering for me.

I assumed that there would still be some animosity here towards Americans considering the intensity and recent history of the war. But there just isn't any. "It's in the past," some people say. "It was the government." Some people shake their heads in amazement and say "Did you know that the American soldiers didn't even want to come to fight? The government made them." Then the conversation usually turns to the peace they've enjoyed since (no mention of the post-war poverty and struggle) and how they plan to enjoy it for years to come.

HCMC

We've headed south for our last week in Vietnam. To the great metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). My first impression is that this town has got it going on! The lights, the traffic, the swanky shops. I'm amazed and overwhelmed.

We spent the afternoon doing some child pleasing activities. A rock climbing wall, a swimming pool, a dinner with food they actually liked, and finally a small amusement park. I don't think they mind that we came after all. Enzo is exhausted. I think we're going to settle in for a quiet night with a movie before we start again tomorrow.

Here is where I publicly admit that we have bought bootlegged movies while here. I feel a little guilty sometimes. But since they usually don't work my guilt is somewhat passified.

Sorry no pictures. I forgot to bring the card reader for my cell phone camera. Dang.

Signs

You can tell this sign would be important in an emergency. The guy is obviously in a hurry (look at that stride). I kinda felt like running out the door just looking at this.

This was a fun list of rules to read at a hotel. The second one says, "Do not take with guns, explosive, drug and other banned things, animals and bad-smell food stuff also get no permission." Words to live by in this unfortunate day and age.

It was hard to explain to our friend why we thought this sign was funny. To us it sounded like if you are wearing shorts it's better to just take them off right now before going inside the pagoda.
Luckily none of us were wearing shorts.

Beginning the Goodbyes

It turns out we're leaving soon. Just as I suspected, way back in September, our departure date seems like its just around the corner. Here we were, just getting into the swing of things, and BAM! Time to go. So, this week we've started saying goodbye... and thank you.

Ba Vi National Park

We always mean to be an outdoorsy family, but in reality we only go hiking once a year and the last time we slept in the tent was in the old Orchard Park Gardens. That's why we're always surprised to be reminded of Titus' amazing ability to climb any number of steep steps in the name of hiking. He wasn't the least put off by spending two hours in the car each way getting to the park. He jumped out of the car, breathed in the bracing mountain air (it was seriously chilly), and bounded up the trail without a second thought. He might have gone up that mountain twice with the amount of times he kept coming back to encourage his slowpoke Mama. When I finally joined him at the top he sat down, sighed, and said, "Now this is the kind of view we like, right Mag?"

We could see the next mountain top, it's trees, and a bunch of misty clouds that our travel book refered to as atmospheric. Luckily, the kids didn't know we were supposed to be able to view Hanoi from the peak.

Maggie enjoyed the hike at a more relaxing and dreamy pace but was no less enthusiastic. She climbed, danced, climbed, and twirled up to the top. It was a relief to see a little color in her cheeks and sparkle in her eyes. The kids have both taken on a somewhat peaky appearance lately. It might have something to do with their polite refusal to eat anything set in front of them besides french fries and fruit.

Enzo was carried the whole way in Bryce's arms. How we forgot to bring the baby carrier on a designated hike I don't know. The downer for Enzo was him having a blowout and having to get entirely naked in a cold breeze. We told him that not many babies get to have their diapers changed on top of a mountain in front of a tiny temple. He remained, justifiably, sulky and fell asleep as soon as he got warm again.

It was a two hour drive each way that was fraught with its usual near miss collisions, honking, and dust. Our driver was a gregarious fellow that we've been with before who has the amazing ability to fit in everywhere we go. He speaks no English but it still seems like he translates for us because he obviously understands people. I might love him forever because he was really nice and found me a toilet (of sorts) when I had an inopportune bout of sore guts.

A Bummer and an Update

The bummer is that our internet access is so funky. Sometimes I can be philosophically impressed that we do get internet access out here, that I'm able to communicate with loved ones half a world away, and even do some Christmas shopping. Then the ugly ethnocentric part of me comes out and I get annoyed that we share our internet cable in the lobby with the entire guest house population (except whoever is staying in room 205, they have their own), I get impatient that things load so slowly, I get mad that I can't get into etsy and order that nightgown that was perfect for Maggie. It seems like there is a mean little elf that has been keeping track of all of the places I usually visit and has put a block on them. I have obviously not been good enough this year and am now being punished. Bryce can access a lot more sites than I can so I guess that shows his behavior. He is inclined to be much more philosophical than I am.

The update is that I haven't seen the mysterious trio again. I mentioned them to Bryce and he suggested that they might have been here with the conference of counseling psychologists that was held at the university this week. Maybe the shoe thing was some way to connect with each other... or their clients. You can never tell with counseling psychologists.

Not So Busy

We've been laying low this week. Recuperating. It has been nice and slow. A little bit hazy even, and I've really enjoyed it. I'll give you some highlights.

Titus reached a new level on pogo sticking. His previous record for consecutive jumps was 402. His new record is 620. He didn't even fall over or trip. He stopped because he was tired. Apparently it's not the legs that get tired. It's the arms.

Our clothes rack broke. I tried to fix it with blue tape but it's still leaning over a lot. I really want it to last just two more weeks.

There are some mysterious men staying at the guest house. There are three of them and I've seen them together twice. The mysterious thing about them is that they do not wear matching shoes. Three men, six different shoes. They are dressed quite nicely otherwise. I'm not sure what it means but I'm keeping my eyes peeled.

I asked Maggie what she wanted for dinner the other night and she said pasta. With red sauce and white cheese sprinkled on top. Somehow conversations like that just make us hungrier.

We have been listening to Christmas music like there's no tomorrow. The kids like the tunes with the chipmunks or the muppets. Totally fine by me.

Now I've gotta go. I'm going to go read "On the Banks of Plum Creek" to Maggie for the third time since we've been here. I wish I had brought more books.

Spring Roll Update

I had another tutorial tonight. This time from the girls who come on Tuesday evenings. We had a little party where we supplied the pizza and they supplied the spring rolls (nem). Very multi-cultural. The spring rolls today included pork, carrots, mushrooms, eggs, bean sprouts, greens (a cilantro/parsley like item), noodles, and onion. They were great.

The girls also showed me how to make the sauce for the spring rolls. Unfortunately, it sounds like I might not be able to make it. It needs to have the perfect balance of sweet, sour, salty and spicy. I might have missed the crucial age by which I need to start practicing. It is made out of fish sauce, water, sugar, lemon juice, garlic, and chiles. Bryce loved it. Lucky for me he’s a decidedly un-picky eater so I can probably try to make it and he’ll eat it even if I fail. I know, he’s quite a guy.

A Cold

There is no denying it. Enzo has quite a cold. It’s very sad to see him coughing his little heart out. Maggie and Titus are both a little sick themselves but manage to handle things with stoic maturity. But this baby…

He has a shy little look he gives me lately where it seems like he’s saying he’d rather just go to sleep on my shoulder, if that’s okay. Laying down seems to make it harder to breathe, and sleep. It’s nice for me, but I know he’d rather just be done with this thing and stop feeling so miserable.

One bummer about this cold (for me) is that it throws quite a disreputable shadow on my mothering abilities. I’m constantly given parenting advice. I live in a seemingly endless stream of well intentioned suggestions (more clothes, less clothes, more sleep, less food… just leave him in Vietnam and we’ll take care of him). Now that he’s obviously sick this is intensified. Only now there is more ammo.

I'm already pretty hard on myself so when someone looks at me as if to say, “Poor American Mama doesn’t know how to take care of her baby…” I can only agree. I spend most of the day wishing I could be sick instead.

I think he seemed a little bit better today. He smiled.

Sightseeing Sunday

On Sunday we went to Hanoi for some shameless sightseeing. We were invited to lunch by this adorable couple. They made truly amazing food.

He is a student in the advanced program who lives in Hanoi. His girlfriend is studying international business and also speaks English. After lunch they took us out to the Ho Chi Minh Complex. He impressed us with his extensive knowledge of Vietnamese history. She impressed us with her patience while Enzo tried repeatedly to eat her sweater. The only bummer was that the day ended early because the Temple of Literature was closed to tourists. We'll have to try again next week.

Night Vision

Before our camera met its untimely demise Bryce and Titus spent a few hours one night experimenting with some settings. When we were uploading pictures the other night I saw them for the first time. I thought they were very cool. I liked this one a lot. It's what the guest house sign might look like to a frog at night.I just like this one because that kid is so dang cute. I know he's hard to see, it was dark, after all, but just look at those cheeks.

Bat Trang Village

We visited Bat Trang Village today. The village is well known for its ceramics. We were lucky enough to get to go with some students from Bryce's class. One of them lives in the village and invited us to his home to see their ceramics being made and to have lunch with his family. They were lovely and gave us the inside scoop on the whole process.
This guy was making containers for the pieces to be fired in. He was mixing materials with his feet here in a cool little dance. Bryce and Titus worked together to make a snail with their hands. You can kind of see the big block of clay in the background.There is a woman there who paints the same design on tea cups all day. Her hands moved so fast it was impossible to tell what she did and when. One second the cup was blank and then next it was finished and nestled in stacks with hundreds of others. She let Titus and Maggie paint a few cups of their own. They had some very original, if less precise, designs.
This family made tea cups and tea pots. These are the cup molds. In the background you can see the door to the kiln. It's coal powered and wasn't on today.
We also went shopping. There were so many beautiful things. I kept trying to remind myself that ceramics aren't easy to take home in your luggage. Of course, I bought stuff anyway. What else could I do on a beautiful sunny day in a town full of shops?

Thanksgiving

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving… We decided to mark the holiday by learning a new recipe. Spring Rolls! We love the Vietnamese Spring Rolls. So flavorful and delicate. So hot and crispy. Delicious! I wanted to be sure to have a Spring Roll Tutorial before I left and, thankfully, Miss Hieu and Miss Nham said they were free Thursday evening. We followed up the meal with a cake that was decorated with ambiguous white birds. I thought they were doves, everyone else said chickens (Titus thought maybe swans). It wasn’t quite turkey and pumpkin pie but it was a great day. Memorable. Here’s the recipe as far as I can tell:

Vietnamese Spring Rolls:

Pork (ground, or super duper finely chopped)

Mushrooms, maybe 8-10 (cooked and finely chopped)

1 Onion (thinly sliced)

Bean Sprouts, maybe 1 ½ cups (chopped into ½ inch pieces)

Noodles, 1 bunch (thin vermicelli type noodles, maybe rice based, maybe not)

Wrappers (thin, papery, definitely rice based)

Salt (might be mixed with MSG)

Pepper

Oil for frying

Prepare ingredients. Set noodles in water for about 5 minutes and then cut into ½ inch pieces. Place all ingredients except the wrappers in a bowl and mix together well. Season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in shallow frying pain on medium (maybe low) heat. Place about 3 Tbs of filling mixture onto one end of wrapper and roll it into a parcel, folding in the edges as you go. Repeat until all of the mixture is used. Fry parcels for about 10 minutes until outside is golden brown and inside is well cooked. Serve with sweetened fish sauce.

We’ve had these spring rolls made with a variety of ingredients. If you’re near the sea they might be made with shrimp instead of pork. If you’re vegetarian the meat might be substituted with chopped egg, cabbage, and carrots. No need to be fussy.

Squids, Snails, Science.

Every job seems to have its perks. The other day, over a lunch of rice and vegetables (what else?), Bryce realized a major job perk. Access to microscopes!! His class was dissecting animals that day. If we wanted to we could come down and have a peek at the end of the day. You've never seen such excitement at the prospect of seeing some guts.Titus seemed to be a natural with the microscope. He was giving Maggie pointers about how to use it after being an expert himself for only about 15 seconds. I think his favorite part was writing with the squid ink when they dissected the squid. He wrote "He He."
Maggie was amazingly adept with the scalpel and scissors. She followed instructions perfectly. The project brought out her curious side and she kept asking scientific questions like, "Is this one a girl or a boy? How can you tell it's a girl?"

I mostly watched and tried to keep Enzo from touching anything in the lab. Besides the squid, they dissected snails. The snails were alive when they started dissecting them. I'm not sure that's ethical. It might be as bad as that machine that breaks sheep legs so vet students can practice setting them. That still bothers me.

But anyway, the dissection project was very interesting. I love job perks.

Vinh City

Can I say just one more time that we loved our trip south to Vinh City. The wide streets, tree lined boulevards, hillsides, and pine forests. Wonderful and welcoming people. Seeing some things that appear to be the same throughout Vietnam... and some things that are different. Here are some snapshots from the phones. We went to a pagoda on the top of a small mountain. The mountain was covered with meticulously planted pine trees that helped maintain an unbelievably peaceful atmosphere in the pagoda. Titus and Maggie were most impressed with this carving. As far as they're concerned its a liger. See the tiny mane?

We went to another amusement park. There were huge insects all over and the kids wanted their picture taken on each one.

The beach was great. There weren't very many people there but the ones who were there all wanted to take pictures of the crazy American kids who were swimming in such "cold" weather.A nice walk we wen t on in the hilly forest. Hieu's dad gave Enzo this do rag with Texas written over the top. We felt even more conspicuous while he was wearing it (if that's possible). Enzo loved this old woman and she loved him. She was tiny and bent and insisted on holding him. They almost fell down together because he made her so top heavy. They had to make do with alternative forms of bonding. Mostly Enzo pulled on her face while she smiled at him.

Weekend Away

Four out of the five members of our family went on our first train ride this weekend! We went to Vinh Friday on the night train. I can't string my thoughts together so I'll just write down some brief memories of our quick trip.

We finally started using the camera function on our phones. Our real camera plummeted to its untimely death in the sleeper car on Friday night. I won't tell you who helped it to plummet.

If he's tired enough Titus can fall asleep on the sidewalk with his head pillowed on his backpack. This new found skill came in handy a couple of times while waiting for trains and buses.

We love the beach. Take us to a beach and we'll be your best friends forever.

Tropical storms sure can deposit a lot of debris

It was a weekend of Ho Chi Minh. Statues, busts, pictures, temples, clocks... We joined the domestic tourists at the sites as they paid homage to their revered leader.

I can tell why everyone here seems to like Enzo. He really is a great baby. He managed to be downright jolly after getting only half of his normal sleep and got yet another woman to offer to keep him when I go back to the US. I said no...again.

There are some people who believe that bringing a certain kind of incense into their house will bring bad luck, or even death. You really have to be careful with incense. I wish we had known that before Maggie and Titus decided to start collecting incense sticks. Sorry doesn't even begin to cover it.

Maggie had the unfortunate, though inevitable, realization that using public bathrooms is quite a risky business. She got stuck behind a rusty lock in a bathroom with worse than dubious cleaning practices and has vowed to hold it from now on. I can see why the Lonely Planet suggests that you might rather pee behind a tree.

It was a relief to get back on the train on Sunday night. We were exhausted. But the trip went by so fast. We blinked and it was over.

Happy Teacher's Day

Vietnam has some great national holiday traditions. Yesterday was Teacher’s Day and the culmination of a whole week of teacher loving. There were bouquets and gifts, speeches and dances…singing. Bryce was quite overwhelmed. He annoyed everyone by trying to keep working through it all. I was even congratulated, even though I’m only a fake teacher, with a lovely visit from some guys in my English class. Thanks for the presents guys!

I’m afraid I had to disappoint everyone again by explaining that there was a teacher’s day in the US but it wasn’t celebrated with such fervor. I was solemnly told that teachers are very important and should be revered because they hold the key for educating future generations. Without teachers, how could any country keep going? Indeed.

Last year, in California, we watched while thousands of teachers (and librarians and teaching assistants) lost their jobs in spite of fervent fundraising and protesting by concerned citizens. Budget cuts, etc. What does this say about how America values teachers? What does it say about how we value educating future generations?

One thing is for sure. It is way more fun to appreciate our educators (even fake ones, like me). So, how about a little more celebrating and a little less laying-off?

Happy Teacher’s Day!

Playground

Construction on the outdoor kitchen seems to be at a standstill and the workers have left several piles of debris just begging to be turned into something amazing (I mean besides an amazing kitchen). The kids decided to create a playground. So far, they have made a passable teeter-totter, an art table with a basket full of “supplies”, hopscotch, and a chalkboard for playing pictionary. They were delighted to find the old bricks drew a chalk-like orange line, just where it was wanted. Unfortunately, the brick drawing was cut short by a young man in a dark suit who repeatedly uttered the mysterious warning, “do not finish, do not finish.” It was another one of those times that I wish I spoke fluent Vietnamese. We got the message, and quit with the bricks, but I do wonder what he meant exactly…

Keeping Them Busy

Lately I've been guilty of just keeping the kids busy as opposed to helping them have "enriching" experiences. In the past few weeks they have spent considerable time on such lengthy activities as trying to crack open coconuts with broken tiles and "weeding" the lilypad ponds.

Yesterday, since Bryce was still gone, we started another activity that was meant to fill in time but ended up being quite telling and fun. We sat down with a bowl of beads and some fishing line and proceeded to make some necklaces. It was interesting to see the different approaches they took to the beading. Titus was very methodical and determined. He was characterized by sayng, "I'm going to make the most beautiful necklace for you, Maggie." Maggie was a little more spontaneous with her designs and shied away from patterns. Enzo didn't enjoy it at all sine we kept the bead bowl away from his remarkably sticky fingers. "Beads aren't for babies, Enzo," Maggie sang repeatedly.

All in all we had a good time and now they have several necklaces that they intend to sell and thereby make a fortune.

Alone in Asia

I’m not really alone after all since I have three children with me. Bryce has left for the weekend. Off to an interview in Bangkok (gulp). So, to counteract the despondence I felt at being left without my other half, I decided to live it up (after all, I’d probably rather be here than facing an interview!).

And what says “live it up” better than a wedding? So, off we went this morning to a beautiful Vietnamese wedding. I ironed and wore shoes for the first time since we’ve been here. The groom is an acquaintance of ours for whom I have a special place in my heart since he once jiggled Enzo to sleep while watching soccer on TV. He looked appropriately dazed in his spiffy suit. His bride was stunning and they embarked on their life together with flair and pizzazz. Blasts of shiny confetti rained down on the couple and their parents while they cut the cake and drank a toast with magenta champagne (champagne is my best guess. I'm definitely no expert). The wedding was just what we needed. Titus and Maggie even had the distinction of being the only two guests to have any wedding cake.

Our New Neighbors

The guest house has been innundated with people this week. Most of the new people at the guest house are lecturers from other universities who are here for a huge badminton tournament. We even met the defending champs from last year's doubles competition. They are a loud boisterous bunch who are especially happy (and perhaps a little tipsy) after a big win. Titus and Maggie will even talk to them, which is huge, since they usually pretend not to understand people when they speak to them in English (of course, sometimes they really don't understand). The best thing about having these badminton guys here is that one of them loves to sing and is really good at it. He sings constantly and, after two days, I'm still not tired of it. Who knew how great badminton was?

For my Ferry Friends

Growing up on Vashon Island meant that I spent a lot of time with ferries. They feature strongly in my memories and, like many islanders, I have a passionate love/hate relationship with ferries. Anyway, one of the highlights of the weekend was riding the ferry to Cat Ba Island. I thought I would do a comparison between the Cat Ba Ferries and the the beloved Washington State Ferries (WSF).

-It was kinda hard to tell who the ferry workers were in Cat Ba. Some of them were wearing uniforms (more like the army variety) and some were wearing business suits. The anonymity of the workers didn't seem to hinder their performance as they got down to business and loaded the ferries on time! This all boils down to a definite absence of the power trip sometimes found among WSF workers (Mad Marge - need I say more?).
- The ferries were loaded and unloaded in a somewhat random fashion. Cars, buses, motorbikes, and pedestrians got on and off at their leisure. It was a little alarming for someone used to the more orderly approach of WSF. - The ferry docks were essentially concrete slabs and there was usually more than one ferry there at a time. Imagine all of these ferries loading and unloading in their special way and you get the picture of the relative chaos that reigned. Still, everyone seemed to get to the right place and this was all done without blinking lights and walkie talkies (I'm just saying that might be one way to keep the WSF ticket prices down).

- There was a snack place on the Cat Ba ferries and, believe it or not, I could afford the snacks.

- The bathroom on the ferry was a wooden outhouse with a drop box philosophy. The lock on the door was broken which gave way to the obvious problem of the door being opened at inconvenient times. Give me a WSF bathroom any day.
-Undoubtably, WSF is faster. I had to keep looking around to see if we were moving. There wasn't much of a wake.

- We ended up eating our lunch on the Cat Ba Ferry sitting in a circle on the floor (not a lot of benches to be had). Of course, it was the floor of the control room at the top of the ferry. The WSF have plenty of padded benches and tables but I've never been in the control room. I guess it's a toss up which I would prefer.

- There is a definite theme of safety in the WSF system. Bright orange vests, warnings, posters, drills... Bryce used to get nervous when we parked in a cross-hatched area of the car deck. We didn't really notice that same theme here. There were some orange life rings that were obviously very accessible since the students seemed to have a good time playing with them.

- After taking the Cat Ba Ferry we started to realize all of the paint that must go into keeping the WSF system going. Paint for the outside, the inside, the warning signs, the car deck... It is a lot of paint, but I think it is worth it. The alternative is an amazing amount of rust and bewildered passengers.

Field Trip Weekend

This weekend we joined Bryce's students on a field trip. He teaches the second and third year students in the Advanced Training Program for Crop Science. These guys are crazy smart and are doing their degrees in Engish. They are also super nice. They have been known to translate for us and to graciously help us buy fruit. I also get to have English classes with the second years which is a lot of fun.

Some of the students on our bus. There were about 100 people on the trip in all.

So, essentially the field trip was a quest to find animals for the students to see as part of their animal biology class. We went east to Haiphong and then took the ferry to Cat Ba Island where we fell madly in love with the beautiful sub tropical paradise. We are currently plotting ways to sneak back. The kids on the deck of the hotel. Titus and Maggie had a great time even though they didn't get to go swimming (no time).

Bryce, Enzo, and the sunset.

It was a fast paced, whirlwind field trip. In fact, it might just be the craziest field trip ever (since the promised animals were few and far between). Still, we had a good time and thoroughly enjoyed the students.

The students gamely checking out the only live animals they got to see up close... clams.

The End of an Era

The water has receded now. We're just situated in the middle of a rather muddy puddle. I've learned a few things from this.
1. There is a limit to how many treats my kids will eat. I can tell you from first hand experience that it is rather important for your food storage to include more than choco-pies and halloween candy.
2. There are some women who look amazing in heels even while walking down a flooded sidewalk. I will never be one of those women (sigh).
3. Running water is more important to me than electricity. Candles can even make washing one's hands quite romantic.
4. Life always goes on.

Tuesday

Tuesday Morning:

The water level is slowly going down. It has gone down about six inches so far. They now say that this is the worst flooding in Hanoi for 40 years, and the worst flooding here ever. The water level in the drainage canals and lakes near the university are at the same level as the streets.

We are lucky to have power from a generator during the day (between 10 am and 5 pm). Occasionally we have internet access too. Sadly, there is no running water anymore. We can flush the toilet with brownish water that I suspect is pumped in from outside the front steps (not sure I want to know where it goes). We are using bottled water for drinking and brushing teeth but it seems it will still be a little while until I have a shower.

Bryce and Maggie waded out this morning for some breakfast. It seems that fruit and veggies have doubled in price. The market has only a few vendors and they're taking advantage of it.

All in all, we're doing well. Yet again, I have been reminded of how easy my life usually is.

Sunday

Sunday Morning:

We woke up this morning to find the guest house surrounded by water. Somehow, during the night, even though the rain had stopped, the water rose higher and higher. There has been intermittent rain today and since morning we have watched the water level rise another six inches or so.

Bryce found an online article in English this morning that informed us that we are experiencing the worst flooding in the area for 24 years. In Hanoi city the water is chest deep in places. There have been 19 deaths there as a result of the water. The dean of Bryce’s department stopped by this morning to soberly warn us not to let the children play outside. I think he feels somewhat responsible for our safety.

Here, near the university, the water is about knee deep and the atmosphere is still playful. Every time the rain stops the students head outside and start splashing each other with the murky water and shrieking like monkeys.

Fishing

Yesterday morning the there were several places the little ponds had swelled beyond their banks and the streets were still ankle deep in water. Our friend said it was perfect weather for fishing. We took some buckets out to the fields behind the agronomy building and started picking up the tiny silver fish that had been stranded there by receding water. We waded through deeper water just for fun before we were chased inside by more pounding rain. Now we have two buckets with live fish sitting in our room. We never got around to asking what they were for.

Halloween Week Highlights

1. We put together the “costumes” for the kids with the clothes we have here. Titus was Spiderman (spidey jammies, gray gloves, black socks). Maggie changed her costume daily between a Vietnamese lady (her new ao dai), a gymnastics teacher (swimming suit and leggings), and a “matchy matchy girl” (she picked out a shirt and skirt that matched each other. I think it was her favorite costume). They both seemed totally happy with what they came up with.
2. Candy, candy, and more candy. The huge pile of candy flanked happy, eager children seems to show the essence of Halloween. The candy looked way better than it tasted but the kids still loved it with predictable passion.
3. The three rust colored pumpkins were brought in by a friend of a friend on his motorbike from hours away. We had them in our room all week and finally carved them today with some friends.
4. My English classes took on a Halloween theme and became more party-like as the week went on. I was totally impressed with the proper students who threw caution to the wind and did the apple under the chin game. I’d like to see these guys get down when it’s not 8:00 in the morning on a school day! It was actually great of them to be so into it since Titus and Maggie came with me seeking some Halloween cheer.
   
5. It rained today. A huge torrential downpour that was deafening as it came down. The courtyard filled with water several inches deep. There was a pervasive foggy mist swirling through the trees and houses. Every few minutes we saw the bright flash of lightning and heard ear splitting thunder that went on and on, as if a cosmic bowling ball had been rolled across the purple sky. Perfect spooky weather for Halloween when you’re not trick-or-treating outdoors.
6. It rained more and more. The roads turned into rivers. The power cut out several times today including while we were carving pumpkins and trick-or-treating around the empty guest house rooms. We ended up doing these festivities by candlelight. Then we slogged through the pouring rain in knee deep water to the restaurant, where the power was still out, and ate dinner by candlelight as well.
7. “Goodbye,” we said to our friends who had shared the evening with us. Everyone had rolled their pants up over their knees. We were huddled under umbrellas and nearly shouted to be heard over the pounding rain. “Happy Halloween.”

Happy Anniversary!

It's my parents Anniversary today!

I wish them happiness in their next 38 years together.

And I thank them profusely for their constant love and support,

and for their countless sacrifices over the years for me.

Thank you Mom and Dad!

I love you.

Streetwiser

While we were in Davis we always wondered why the Asian population there seemed to always walk or bike in the middle of the street. Sometimes there would be a group, walking or biking together, that would take up the whole street. It seemed that no matter what came up behind them (car, bus, truck…) they would hold their course and amazingly seem totally oblivious that something wanted to pass them by. I think I finally understand!! That’s totally the way you go down the street around here. There is a general understanding about what side of the street you should be on, but nothing that can’t be ignored if you’re really in a hurry. The way the cars and buses get through is by honking loudly and, magically, people move out of their way. It's amazing how well this system works. After a few weeks of this I no longer jump out of my skin when a bus honks right behind me and then speeds by with inches to spare. Still, I realize that I'm probably a bit of a menace here since there are nuances to the system that I'm still figuring out (like how to cross the street).
So I want to apologize to anyone in Davis that I was secretly annoyed with for not getting out of my way when I was driving. I'm sorry I creeped along behind you like a menacing snail. I understand now.

A Picture is Worth 1000 Dong...

Bryce and I spent last night perusing through pictures. At first we were distracted by some old ones of Titus and Mugs in Provo. But then we got down to work and put together a short slideshow of the last month or so. You can view it by going here. We were surprised to see all of the things we had done. On a day to day basis life seems so constant.

A Cut and a Shave

Bryce finally got his hair cut by a street barber. We were walking to the swimming pool again in Hanoi and were hailed by this guy, waiting in his chair, for a customer. He told Bryce, with very expressive Vietnamese, that his hair was way too long. After some quick negotiations Bryce sat down.

I was totally impressed with the way this guy used the scissors and the hand powered clippers as if they were extensions of his own body. Titus and Maggie were totally impressed with his broom. It was made of twigs and looked like something from Harry Potter. They took turns riding it up and down the sidewalk.

When all was said and done Bryce wasn’t too impressed at all. The cut included a shave but the straight razor hurt (the barber was pretty frugal with the shaving cream and for some reason shaved Bryce’s forehead…). The thinning scissors also hurt and might have been used too much because now Bryce has some short hair scattered all over his head that insists on sticking straight up. Bryce was also left with the dreaded “shelf”. Not enough blending. I guess it’s a good thing Bryce normally cuts his own hair.

The next day Bryce found out he paid way too much. Three dollars for a cut sounds cheap until you hear you should have only paid one.