A Luoi

This weekend I went to A Luoi, which is very close to the border of Laos. My friend Hang, the same one that I spent that long day meditating with, invited me to accompany her to a Buddhist ceremony. To be completely honest I am not sure what we were celebrating because Hang wasn't quite sure how to translate it into English. I know that we were celebrating 30 years of something so I tried

This is where I slept. With like 100
other people.

researching it online. I really didn't find much except in 1981 all Vietnamese Buddhist sects and organizations were unified. Soooo... maybe that's what is was all about? Even though I am not sure what I was doing there I really enjoyed spending time in A Luoi. The van ride was about two and a half hours through the twisty-turny roads up and over so many mountains. We drove there on Saturday night so I didn't have the mountain views, but since we were away from cities and towns the stars were shining so bright. Hang and I just looked out the window the whole time. We arrived in A Loui and had a huge, delicious dinner, which was vegetarian of course since it was a Buddhism event. After dinner we helped set up for the following days ceremony. Finally it was bedtime– probably one of the most bizarre sleeping situations I have ever been in. I slept with literally ten nuns on a bamboo mat. At first I thought I had gotten the better end of the deal by being on the end, but that actually meant that I had no blanket. And it is cold in the mountains. I had a long night of tossing and turning, trying to stay warm.

Sunday morning started at 6:30, which was late considering that everyone else woke up much earlier to prepare breakfast. Following breakfast I did some yard work and then just took pictures of everyone preparing for the ceremony. The ceremony itself was about two hours long. There were lots of speeches and also dances by local children. The dances were really entertaining and I am sure the speeches were very interesting– I just wish I could have understood them. We had lunch and then we helped clean up. Then we had a beautiful van through the mountains back to Hue (still an enjoyable ride even though the switchbacks had some of the nuns a little carsick). All in all it was a fun weekend– and there was no meditation!

Waiting for the master to arrive.

Enlightened chicken.

cute little boys.

At the celebration.

tehe. Actually the best photo ever. Does everyone like my robe?

The view on the drive back.

Another wonderful thing about Hang, she loves che just
as much as I do!

Co Emma

Co Emma, basically translates into Ms. Emma, what students call their teachers. Today I was Co Emma because I got to teach my little first graders. All 44 of them. Oh my gosh, it was so hard. This

I wish there was a picture of me with the yardstick in my hand.

experience will definitely be a contributing factor to my research paper. It is so easy for a student to get lost in the sea of faces. I have a disadvantage since there is the huge language barrier and I don't know many (okay really any)  of the students names, but even if these children did speak English fluently, or I guess if I spoke Vietnamese fluently (haha funny), and I knew all their names I still don't think I could motivate, control, and teach 44 first grade students. There are just too many kids. If someone was misbehaving I couldn't just stop the class and tell them to focus on me. I had to decide what really was going to be distracting for other students and what I just had to let slide. So the four students whispering in the corner, well they got to whisper all class. But the student that was slamming down his desk lid over and over again– he got a rap on his desk from my yardstick. Yeah I sort of felt like a drill sergeant. I completely understand why Co Dung has the yardstick readily available at all times of the day so she can slam it down to keep students in line. It is a necessity.

Okay I am just going to be honest. These two are my favorite students.

Today the lesson was on the letter B. There were four words, Beth, boy, bag, and bird. The students really struggled with Beth. The thhh sound is difficult for all Vietnamese because th makes a t sound in Vietnamese. So for English beginners thing is ting, bath is bat, Beth is bet. It was really fun to teach the students, but like I said it was frustrating. After about ten minutes a number of students lost interest and I didn't have anyway to regain their attention. I would point at them and say "em, em"

My little kiddies.

(child, child) and ask them a question but usually they would just stare at me like a deer caught in the headlights. Some of the students were way too enthusiastic and didn't give a chance for the other students to contribute, whereas with others it was clear that they just weren't even trying to act like they were paying attention. I used the teaching method of my high school foreign language teachers and assigned each word with a gesture so students could be moving around a little. I would say, "What is this?" and point at a picture and then either an individual student or the class as a whole would answer me with, "It's a..." We repeated each word so many times. I would have them ask me, ask their desk partners, or even ask the whole class. Even so, after about an hour and a half I know that some of them still had no idea how to say bag. And it is very possible that they thought the word for girl was Beth. I can imagine that it would be really easy for the students to confuse this since they were learning boy so it would make sense to learn girl the same day. Additionally, the visual for Beth was a girl; right, super easy for the students to confuse Beth for girl and I wasn't sure how to clarify. I don't really know why this particular English book is teaching names.

This student is not that tall, he is standing on the stage. This boy
is the classroom monitor– more on that in a future post.

What was super entertaining was prior to teaching the new B words, I reviewed their old words. The week before they had been taught U words... umbrella, umpire, upside down and... Uncle Jim! It was actually the funniest thing for me to point at the picture and say, "What is this?' and in response hear, "It's a Uncle Jim!"  I didn't bother confusing them by saying, "Who is this?" and it is way above their compression level to tell them they can drop the "a." Instead I just listened to them yell, "It's a Uncle Jim." It was so hilarious. I probably made them repeat it a few times too many but it was just so entertaining. Uncle Jim, I obviously was thinking of you and wish you and Linda could have been there to laugh with me.

Chào Cờ

The past few days I have been in a bit of a funk. I think there are a few contributing factors: I'm starting to get a little  restless in Hue. It has been a very different experience to live without the other SIT students. It is weird not to see Alex, Mikala, and everyone else each morning. Erika is still in Hue but we have different schedules so sometimes we go a day or two not seeing each other (shocking since she lives across the hallway). The start of the holiday season had me thinking of how much I love this time of the year at Bowdoin– classes are wrapping up, holiday parties are being planned,  the snow is beginning to fall, and people are just so excited to return home for the long break. Also this past week everything was finalized for the Philippines and seeing my ticket reservation made me realize how far away April really is. Add on top of all this the really bad weather (it rained the entire week) and I have been stuck in a funk.

But today, I woke up before my alarm went off feeling very well rested. My morning continued to be awesome when I figured out why the shower is never hot– because I don't flip the hot water switch on (duh). So today I finally had a hot shower. On my way to school Co Dung (my collaborating teacher) saw me walking, pulled over, and told me to hop on the back of her motorbike. School this morning was really interesting because I got to watch chào cờ, the flag ceremony that is held every Monday morning. The whole school participates in singing the national anthem, listening to speeches, and recognizing students for their achievements. After the ceremony ended I took my translator of the day to a coffee shop and we just had some really wonderful conversations. I told him about my plans for the Philippines and he was so excited for me– he told me that Filipinos are some of the nicest people and the country is absolutely beautiful. When we said goodbye I stepped outside to an absolutely gorgeous day. No need for a rain jacket or poncho. I just feel very happy. Goodbye funk!

Co Dung watching over her class during chào cờ.

So. Many. Students.

Class pictures

This morning I skyped with three of my best friends. First, I skyped with Hannah in Argentina. Skyping with Hannah is always good because I think we laugh more than we talk– we are just so goofy together. Then my friend Maren, who is at ski camp in Canada joined us and she was accompanied by three of my wonderful wonderful teammates. And lastly, our friend Jess who is studying in France was added to the call from Denmark, where she is visiting her best friend who goes to Colby (boo). Since it was 4 am on Saturday morning in Denmark you can believe that Jess and her friend were pretty entertaining.  Talking with and seeing all of my friends was awesome and the absolute best way to start off my morning. The fact that we were all in different countries (and no one in America) is pretty cool– technology never ceases to amaze me. I just realized, not even different countries– but different continents as well. COOL!

This evening I am off to some remote mountain village with my friend Hang to celebrate Buddhism... that is all the text message said so I am not so sure what I am getting myself into. Whatever I end up doing I am sure it will be interesting. I sort of hope meditation won't be involved although that is wishful thinking. My poor, poor body. I will spend the night there and should be back by noon tomorrow. Expect an interesting blog post soon, with pictures! Sorry that the past few week there haven't been any pictures, since I am just in Hue all the time I don't really bring my camera around with me. That being said... I did bring it to the school on Friday so here is my little class. With their uniforms on they remind me of penguins. More pictures to come.

The class!

My notebook. Where all the magic happens.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful that my internet was good enough so I could do this:

Thanks for keeping it Asian, Hannah. (referring to the peace sign)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Two blog posts in one day. I am just oh so blog happy. 

Fun fact: This is the fourth country I have celebrated Thanksgiving in. I sort of had a boring Thanksgiving dinner, boring as in it was exciting for me but boring for all of you people who were hoping that I would eat something really Vietnamese for dinner– like dog meat. Or fertilized duck eggs. Nope, I went to a very nice restaurant and had salad, fish and I even bought a glass of red wine. I was all by myself so to pass time I took out my notebook and wrote a list of what I was thankful for– sounds cheesy but it made me feel like I was actually celebrating Thanksgiving. This feeling was reinforced when I skyped wtih my wonderful family, my favorite part of the day! To Sadie's embarrassment they went and sat outside a public library to get good internet connection.

Everyone please eat an extra piece of pie for me. Happy Thanksgiving and lots of love from Vietnam.

School Days

My ISP has finally gotten underway– this past Monday I started observing in a first grade classroom at a public school. Working in the classroom is probably one of the most interesting experiences I have had in Vietnam. There are forty-four students in the class and only one teacher. There are different teachers for art, music, physical education, and English but at any given time the student to teacher ration is 44:1. Yikes. The teachers are all so good at their job, they really know how to keep the students on task. I am trying really hard to eliminate any bias while I am observing but I can't help  compare everything to a kindergarten classroom back in America. The atmosphere is so different here in Vietnam. For example, the teacher walks around with a big yardstick and slams it down on desks when the students get out of control. She is in no way threatening the students– just getting their attention in a forceful manner. Sometimes she will use the stick to tap students on the back to make them sit up straighter, face the front of the room, stop talking, or something else along those lines. School starts at 7:00 and lets out at 4:30. It is such a long day for these kids– they have nap time and lots of little breaks throughout the day but still, it must be exhausting for them and their teachers!

I have been going to class at different times throughout the day. I sit in the back of the room and observe. I almost always have a translator with me. These are University students who I have met through my Vietnamese English Club friends. When I need a translator I send out a mass text message/facebook message and with a bit of luck someone will be available or know someone who is. I am in the process of writing about five hundred different papers right now. When I find an interesting situation in the classroom I write down as much as I can in that moment and then once I return to my room I take out my laptop and type away. So right now I don't really have much of an ISP, just a lot of vignettes and my analyses. I am hoping that as I collect more examples and scenarios I will establish a strong argument about the school. But for the mean time I will just keep typing away. Here is an excerpt– still a work in progress. I will post more when they are done!

The Red Grass

It is English class and the students have just finished learning the words net, balloon, bicycle, and jump rope and are scribbling away in their English workbooks, coloring the objects and matching them to the correct word. On the opposite page is a maze that leads to the different objects– the maze is supposed to look like grass or shrubbery. The students are happily working, completing the maze, connecting the words, and coloring the objects. Suddenly, I hear the teacher raise her voice; I look up to see her standing over a desk talking to a small boy. With a select few words she firmly instructs him to do something differently in his workbook. The boy casts his eyes down at his desk, drops the crayon in his hand, and picks up another. I immediately turned to my translator and asked her what just happened. She explains to me that the teacher wanted the boy to be more, “reasonable.” I didn’t quite understand what this meant so we both got up and went to look at the boy’s workbook. Half of the grass maze had been colored red, but now his small hand was clutching a green crayon, slowly moving it back and forth over the paper filling in the remaining white spaces.

            As I returned to my desk my mind was spinning– the boy had simply been coloring the grass red, yet the teacher had spoken in such a harsh tone, directing him to be more “reasonable.” Here comes one of the difficulties of not speaking the language, am I to think that instead of “reasonable” my translator meant “realistic?” She had further explained that what they were drawing had to match the real world, leading me to believe that the teacher had said be more “realistic.” Regardless of which word the teacher used– she wasn’t impressed with the boy’s unique choice in grass color. On my way back to my desk I began glancing at other students’ work. They had all colored the balloon red, the bicycle either blue or black, the net’s handle blue, and the grass green– the hue of the colors varied but generally speaking everyone’s coloring job was identical. These colors were the exact colors of the illustrations the teacher put on the board when teaching the new words; everyone besides this one boy had produced replicas of the teacher’s visuals. Why the boy decided to color the grass red– I do not know. But I do know that when the teacher told him to put down the red crayon she was discouraging creativity. This young boy simply was generating his own idea, and he was told that it was wrong, because grass can only be one color, the realistic or reasonable color: green.

The teacher is discouraging the boy to think on his own, to be original, and to explore new ideas. Making him pick up the green crayon doesn’t just change the color of the grass, but slowly chips away at his creative thought process, deterring him from generating new and original ideas. Why doesn’t this teacher want to foster creativity? If there is no positive reinforcement on creativity at school, then where will children learn? I am not simply referring to creative as an artistic talent, but looking at the bigger picture– a child’s ability to think and act in a way that is considered original, unique, innovative, or alternative. With a teacher acting as a restraint it will be nearly impossible for children to explore and stimulate their creative thought process. This teacher is promoting conformity and imitation rather than innovative and creative thinking.

More places that are faraway

It is hard to believe that in three weeks my SIT program will be wrapping up and my semester abroad will come to an end, but me being abroad will not. I am so excited to finally share the news: I am taking the semester off and accepting an internship in the Philippines. On January 15th I will fly from Ho Chi Minh City to Manila, Philippines to start an internship under the Filipino Senator Ed Angara. I will be working directly in a program called Oh My Gulay (OMG for short). OMG stresses the importance of proper nutrition and eating healthily but also teaches children how to grow their own vegetables by establishing school gardens. I will be stationed in the Aurora Province co-monitoring five different primary schools. Every day I will be teaching children the importance of proper nutrition through lecture, games, and working together in the school gardens. OMG is literally changing children's lives. 25% of Filipino children are malnourished– this staggering figure is what first inspired Senator Angara to create an organization addressing malnourishment. What Senator Angara has done, bringing attention to a major problem and fixing it through education, is exactly the sort of work that I would someday like to find myself in. This internship will not only give me invaluable teaching experience, but also grants me the opportunity to work with government and other officials and learn the cornerstones to a non-profit.


Everything is in place, my return tickets have been changed, tickets to the Philippines have been bought, my status at Bowdoin for the 2012 spring semester is "not here" and today I got the best news– I will be funded for my work in the Philippines. I have a grant from the Mitchell Institute that will serve as a living stipend while I am in the Philippines and also offer assistance with some of the airfare. This was great news as the OMG work is unpaid. I am forever grateful for the financial assistance from the Mitchell Institute, as well as all the other opportunities they offer to their scholars. 


So since my internship starts in mid-January I will have a month to relax and travel around. A majority of my time will be spent in HCMC with my homestay family. On December 14th, I will fly with them to Hanoi where one of their cousins is getting married (Vietnamese wedding take two!) and on the 17th return to HCMC to take care of my Philippines visa and extending my Vietnamese visa. I will live with my homestay family until everything is good to go with visas, then I will travel to Thailand, maybe Cambodia and on January 10th or 11th back to Vietnam to go to Phu Quoc island with my program assistant Vy. Well, all these are the tentative plans. Everything is still up in the air and could very possibly change. The only date set in stone is January 15th when I fly out to the Philippines. Schools let out the last week of March so I will have one week to travel around and see more of the country, like Puerto Princesa, one of the new 7 Wonders of the World– along with Ha Long Bay. I would just like to take this opportunity to say that I have already been to two of the new 7 Wonders, (Table Mountain in South Africa & Ha Long Bay)... if I have the opportunity to see a third I am not going to let that pass. I fly back to the states on April 7th. 


Obviously this was a really big decision to make since it meant not seeing my friends and family for seven months, missing a semester at Bowdoin, and also a ski season. But I honestly am so incredibly happy with my decision. I have been contemplating taking a semester off for awhile so it feels great to finally put my ideas into action. I guess just after the experiences I have had in Vietnam I am not ready to go back to America and settle back into my routine at Bowdoin. There is so much more I want to do and see when I am over here. The support I have received from my friends and family has just reinforced that I have made the right decision. I think my mom said it best, "Life at college or anywhere, can get stagnant, and part of what makes us all unique is the challenges, risks we take, what we learn from them, good or bad. It is always easy to do what is comfortable, and what we are familiar with, but often those off the normal track experiences make us who we really are! You are certainly getting those." Amen mother.

Where I've been

I've covered a lot!

Vietnamese: The third most difficult langauge in the world

Finally, a post on the experience of trying to learn Vietnamese: the third most difficult language in the world *read dramatically*. So why is it so hard? The tones. I think at one point I said there were seven tones in Vietnamese, that proves just how well I have mastered the language, there are actually six. They are as follows: level, high rising, falling, dipping-rising, high breaking-rising, and finally the foot stop. Some words are spelled the same way but change the tone and they mean something completely different. So basically you can have the same word, but with the six different tones it can have six  different meanings.

F, J, W, & Z do not exist in the Vietnamese alphabet (making my name Emma Ells Ames). Even with the absence of these four letters, there are a total of 29 letters in the Vietnamese alphabet. How can this be? Well it is because all the diacritics, the accents around certain letters that symbolize a different pronunciation. For example, there are three different letters A's. ,  ,  . Now, this is when it gets tricky– each of the six tones can be applied to these a's. That means that there are 18 different ways to pronounce the letter a. AHHHHH! You can have something that looks like this: or this or even this: ặ

This post is all over the place and I apologize, but I feel like I can't write one thing without explaining something else. Back to the alphabet: there are also two d's, D and Đ. D actually makes a y or z sound depending on what region you are in (Northerners dialect z, Southern y) Đ  makes the hard d sound, the way we pronounce d in English. Other very different pronunciations: X makes a ssss sound and S makes a sh sound (in the North).

I know I said that there are 29 letters in the alphabet but ng, nh, tr, th, kh, gh, & gi are also considered letters since they make their own sound– I guess it is equivalent to "ch" or "tr" in English.

So here is an example of the different tones and diacritics in Vietnamese and how much they can mess with your mind. I just took three letters "cho" and added different tones and accents to them. There are probably at least a dozen more meanings for cho if I combined accents and diacritics differently. I just didn't have the patience to do so.

dog= chó

market = chợ

for = cho

seat = chỗ

place = chổ

elbow = chỏ

wait= chờ

It is really hard to get away from the mindset that whenever I see o, it doesn't make the ohhh sound.  ô makes the oohhh sound. o almost sounds like aww. Whaatt is going on here? 

I have concluded that the reason for all the tones and accents is because Vietnamese is a monosyllabic language. If a word is more than two syllables there is a space between the syllables. For example the word for farmer is nông dân, not nôngdân. This is even seen in the names of cities, towns and provinces. Westerners write Hanoi, Vietnamese write Hà Nội.

I mentioned before that there are regional dialects– the Northern, Central, and Southern. In America each state or region has its own accent, however we can still easily understand one another. Not the case in Vietnam. Northerners complain that they can't understand the Southern accent and vice-versa. And some say that the Central accent is the hardest to understand. While getting our fortune told in Hue, (central Vietnam) Vy, who is from the south, had a hard time understanding the fortune teller. Vy was actually concerned that she wouldn't be able to translate because the fortune teller's pronunciation was so different from her own.

Here is a story about the difficulty of differentiating the tones and sounds of letters. When I was at the pagoda last Sunday it was someone's birthday so after lunch we had birthday cake (yum). I was sitting across the table from the birthday boy and there was one piece of cake left. I tried to say, ăn bánh– eat the cake. Everyone burst out laughing. Why? Because I had actually said ăn bảng– eat the table. G and H sound ridiculously similar in Vietnamese. I have learned that the best way to deal with embarrassing situations like this is to just laugh along. Vietnamese really appreciate the fact that I even try to learn their difficult language, and are easily impressed when I am able to successfully communicate a phrase or two. So until I leave Vietnam I am going to keep stumbling along, laughing the whole way. 

I have yellow hair

Xin lỗi for the lack of blog posts recently. This week has been a whole lot of me being unproductive, which is nothing anyone really wants to read about. Yesterday was a different story though– I mean I guess in the grand scheme of things I was still incredibly unproductive as I did zero work for my Independent Study Project, but I did get to a new province, which is experiential learning... right? Yesterday morning  I woke up bright and early to catch a 6:30 train to Quang Tri Province. Quang Tri Province is where one of my new friends, new as in I met her two nights ago new, lives and she invited me to visit her family. I am so glad I decided to go with her because I needed something fun to do. The following picture is a facebook status by my friend Thien, it basically sums up my day. I saw this and giggled– this girl is so enthusiastic about life– I love it! We really did have an amazing time together, I am so lucky to have met her.

I can elaborate. The train was jam-packed with students going home to see their families for the weekend. I had to sit on a little red stool in the middle of the aisle for half the ride. I felt fortunate that I even had a seat– a lot of people were standing! I would also like to point out that I was the only Westerner on the train, and I was getting lots of stares. Hue locals see a plethora of tourists everyday, however no one ever takes the train to the small villages surrounding Hue. So people were shocked to see me happily sitting on my little red stool just riding the train like it was my job. When we arrived in Quang Tri province I got even more looks. People were absolutely astounded to see me there. I think my hair was the deal breaker. I lost counts of how many times I was told that I had yellow hair.

Thien's family. This was our after our first lunch.

Thien has the nicest family. She is the eldest of four children, one of her siblings goes to school in Da Nang (so he wasn't there), the younger sister is 16, and the youngest brother is 10. Her siblings are learning English so I spent most of the day talking about my dogs, favorite colors, hobbies, and sounds that animals make. Regardless, it was so fun to talk to them and listen to them speak English. I am glad I was able to help them practice and when appropriate correct their pronunciation. They were really shy at first, but as the day went on they warmed up and were eager to start new conversations. I don't know if it was because I was figuring out the best way to state a sentence simply or if the children were just more comfortable speaking in English, but it seemed like their English improved– they were able string together sentences with much more ease. I was so impressed.

Working on their English! Of course I practiced my
Vietnamese as well.

Family friends fishing!

I also went fishing for catfish (or as I so foolishly said to my mom over skype "I went cat fishing"). Thien's family has a man-made catfish pond behind their house– I guess there are over 100 catfish swimming around, which the family fishes for everyday. I was under the impression that this is their main source of protein.
 
My eating yesterday could be described as a marathon– I legitimately had four meals. And I didn't eat dinner. That breaks down into two breakfasts and two lunches. Let me explain. On the train Thien brought me banh mi cá (fish sandwich with veggies, soysauce, and hot sauce). Since I had been up so early I didn't have the chance to grab breakfast so I eagerly accepted. Of course, I should have known that we would eat when we arrived at her house. Vietnamese loooove to feed people and I have learned that even if you aren't hungry you should eat because otherwise you hurt their feelings– this cultural norm  is bad for my caloric intake, good for my taste buds. So we arrived at her house and I had cháo cá, porridge with catfish– amazingly good, probably one of my new favorite foods. Goal for tomorrow: find cháo cá on the street. I need to be wary though because I know Erika has gotten some porridge that had pig intestines in it. I want to avoid that. Righto so those were my two breakfasts.

Frying Banh loc

Lunch round one was absolutely delicious. There was catfish, fish soup, and then some other fish that was cooked with ginger and was amazingly good! We also had tofu and bean sprouts, shrimp and vegetables, and then some raw vegetables. Everything was delicious and I really enjoyed eating a meal with a Vietnamese family again– I miss my HCMC homestay family! After lunch Thien announced it was nap time– I love the Vietnamese siestas, it is like being in kindergarten all over again, an hour plus of either sleeping or just resting– brilliant. I am bringing it back to the states. When we woke up it was time to start preparing for our second lunch of banh loc. Banh Loc is like a dumpling, it is a tapioca flour dough stuffed with shrimp, mushrooms, and vegetables. We all helped roll out the dough, fold the stuffing inside, and fry them. While in the middle of helping fry the banh loc, someone enthusiastically waved a bag of crabs in front my face indicating that we were going to eat even more food. Sure enough, the crabs were cooked and served alongside the banh loc. I just love food.

We spent the rest of the afternoon playing outside, catching more fish, and taking photos. The kids loved to use my camera, which worked out well for me because it meant I got to be in a lot of the photos versus just taking them. I really, really, really enjoyed my day. I met the most generous and kind people and had the opportunity to observe a completely new lifestyle. I am so grateful that I met Thien and she invited me to accompany her back to her home. She is so happy, energetic, and fun to be around. I am looking forward to spending more time with her in the next three weeks.

They had cute little chicks running around their yard.

Preparing lunch.

I thought it was hilarious that he was playing with
crabs and little action figures. Solid.

Ironically, I am sore

This past Sunday I had the experience of a life time. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to write the following adventure. My morning of meditation turned into a whole day of meditation. My new friend, Hang, picked me up at my hotel at 6:45. When we arrived at the pagoda she gave me a little tour and told me the plan for the day. She also showed me the proper meditation form, the lotus position, and informed me that we would be meditating for thirty minutes– and that there would be two sessions of meditation. Right then I should have known I was in trouble. My body is not meant to sit still for thirty minutes, but more on that later.

When everyone had arrived, about 20 people, one of the monks struck the gong/bell (not sure what to call it) to signal the start of the day. Here is an interesting fact– the bells at pagodas are very different than bells at churches. Bells at pagodas are struck from the outside, whereas in churches the pendulum sways back and forth to hit the inside of the bell. The sounds are completely different. Hang explained that the church bells mean "hurry, hurry, time to start" whereas in the pagoda they signal slowing down, relaxing, and gaining control.

Everyone was given a robe and then we lined up in front of our own individual bamboo mats (I wish I had a picture of me in my robe!). The next thirty minutes consisted of singing songs of homage to Buddha. I was given a copy of the songs so I was able to sing along (I kept my voice very low). I really enjoyed the singing because I was able to practice my Vietnamese pronunciation. Throughout the songs when the bell was rung everyone would touch their forehead to the ground. I was right next to Hang so I just followed her lead even though I had no idea what was going on! She told me afterwards that I did I very good job and I was basically a Buddhist. Don't worry I didn't let it go to my head– this statement reminds me of the time when Vy Ho (our Vietnamese tutor) told our class that we were almost fluent in Vietnamese. Haha funny.

Next was meditation round one. In meditation people sit in the lotus position:

My legs don't fold up like that. So I just sat cross-legged. That was okay with everyone, not a big deal. The left hand goes on top of the right with the two thumbs touching in the middle and pointed away from the body. The hands rest in the lap. This means that all five points, the two feet, two hands, and belly button are aligned. The back needs to be straight, shoulders relaxed, and breathing steady. For thirty minutes no movement. Oh. my. god. I think five minutes in my muscles starting twitching, more like convulsing. I don't even like sitting cross-legged for three minutes, let alone thirty. I just stuck with it  and tried to focus on my breathing. It was hard to relax because my body was so tense and I was so aware of the muscle spasms and trying to stop them. I honestly think I would have been much more successful at meditating had I been sitting in a position that was comfortable for me. Seriously, try sitting cross legged, with your hands in your lap, and back straight for ten minutes– get back to me on how that goes for you.

I have never been so happy to hear a bell ring in my life, signaling the end of thirty minutes. My right foot had lost all sensation. The master instructed us to stretch out our bodies, but we moved from top down so first our heads, then our shoulders, backs, legs, and finally I was able to tend to my foot. Then we walked around the pagoda for probably ten minutes while listening to this very relaxing music. Hang told me to be aware of my every step– to feel my feet hitting the ground, and be conscious of each breath I took.

After meditation we watched a movie on Buddhism. Hang said it was destiny that I came with her today because the movie was a western made film on the history of Buddha– so it was a perfect introduction for me. I found it very informative but at the same time I was a little embarrassed to be watching the movie as educational and insightful, whereas the Vietnamese had been instructed to criticize and discuss the western view of Buddhism portrayed in the movie.

By now it was around 11:00 and we started preparing for lunch. I was starving because I hadn't eaten any breakfast thinking that everything at the pagoda would last thirty minutes tops. I am really glad my stomach didn't grumble during meditation, now that would have been embarrassing. Lunch was delicious and very enjoyable. I love just sitting at the table and listening to everyone speak Vietnamese. It is a very interesting sensation to be oblivious to the conversation. It's like when you are in class and you didn't do the reading so you have no idea what people are talking about. But the difference is in Vietnam I am not expected to be able to understand what is going on. I just sit there and smile and hold my chopsticks and that is completely acceptable. One of the eldest members asked Hang if that was my first time meditating. When Hang told her yes the woman said she was very impressed that I did such a good job and was so quiet. That made me really happy that I had fully participated in and completed the meditation even though at times I just wanted to stretch my legs out, or move my hands onto my thighs to support my back.

After lunch was nap time. I stretched out onto a bamboo mat and passed out. At 2:00 we were awoken by the bell and it was time for meditation round two. This time I think I did a better job with focusing on my breathing. I was most definitely not comfortable but I think I was more successful with slowing down my mind– it wasn't racing like the first time. Counting my breaths really helped me focus.

The rest of the day was filled with youth group activities. We learned about predicting the weather through signs of nature, sang songs, did some kung fu like exercises in the courtyard, and then I was asked to lead some English games and discussions regarding the differences in American and Vietnamese youth. At 6:00 the day was over, only a mere 11 hours after I had first arrived at the pagoda. Hang and I went to dinner, then I returned to my hotel and fell asleep, waking up feeling very sore from meditating– how ironic.

I am so lucky to have had such an amazing experience– so many people pay to go on retreats like this, and I got to do it for free through the connection of a Vietnamese friend. I have a new understanding and appreciation for Buddhism and their values. Was I enlightened... well no, but it was reinforced that I am not flexible. While meditating I made a vow to stretch everyday, (starting today since yesterday I was too sore.) All in all this was one of the most interesting and educational days I have had since arriving in Vietnam.

Back in Hue

I'm on my own in the wonderful city of Hue.Yesterday I went grocery shopping at the supermarket and a typical Vietnamese outdoor market. I got some of my favorite Vietnamese foods as well as an American delicacy I haven't had in a while. I picked up vinamilk yogurt– so good and doesn't make my stomach hurt like most yogurts do, soy milk– it is sweetened here, dried peaches, jackfruit chips, some typical Vietnamese crackers, pomelo, jackfruit, and then wait for it... peanut butter! I figure that since I am on my own now I really don't want to eat every meal all alone at restaurants so I will sometimes just eat in my room. Don't start thinking that I am living a depressing, lonely, isolated life. Erika will be joining me in Hue soon and I already have had two lunch dates with different Vietnamese students. Also last night I hung out with twenty plus Vietnamese students at their English Club meeting. Then we all went to karaoke. The highlight of the night: singing Everybody Rock Your Body by the Backstreet Boys. I am proud to say that I actually had to look at the screen a few times to read the words. I never, ever thought I would be able to forget the lyrics to a Backstreet Boys song considering the number of times I replayed their cds. Things are looking up.

So I got to Hue via a night bus. I meant to take a picture but I never did. Sorry. It was an interesting experience. There must be about 40 beds in the bus because I was #31 and there were still beds behind me. The beds were adjustable so I could lie horizontally but the seat could also be converted so I was sitting upright. I had a top bed, meaning I was swaying back and forth the whole time. I really didn't want to have to go to the bathroom on the bus so I didn't drink any water leading up to my trip and only allowed myself to sip water throughout the bus ride. Yup, 13 hours without going to the bathroom. When I arrived at my hotel, I handed over my passport, received my key, and bolted upstairs to my room. I think the only thing I really miss about the states is a good bathroom. Honestly, it really is a terrible surprise to walk into a bathroom stall to see a simple hole in the ground– no toilet. I am way over the fact that there usually is no toilet paper, but I am still adjusting the the no toilet bit.

It was exciting to be on the bus all by myself though. And I really enjoyed walking around the city yesterday and today and not needing to be back at any certain time. I feel so independent. I am so happy to be back in Hue– this city is the perfect size for me. It is small and manageable, but there is lots to do and see. I am thrilled to be here again. Yesterday marked the official start of the Independent Study Project (ISP). I am going to be studying in one elementary school in Hue, originally it was two but I have decided to focus solely on one. And when I say "I have decided" I mean that the private school didn't approve me so I only have one school. But that is fine with me because I would rather focus on the public school, making my ISP a case study. The primary goal of the study is to explore the societal norms that are taught to young children in Vietnam, and how these norms are reflected in the current Vietnamese society. I will observe what the students are taught, the teaching style, and how children receive certain lessons. I chose this topic because it is directly related to both my focuses of study: anthropology and education. I love studying education so much– and elementary education especially because it is the first time a child has the opportunity to fully interact in a society, to measure up to certain expectations, and be taught how to properly behave in a social setting. All of these are values that can be taught in a home, but when other children are put into the picture a whole other dimension is added. Elementary education is crucial in the development of a child becoming a social being. Vietnam is developing rapidly and so much is balanced on the ability for citizens to successfully fit into and keep up with this fast-paced society; seeing how students are prepped for this will be fascinating. Obviously there is a huge language barrier but I am hoping with the help of body language, tones of voices, and translators (I am in the process of recruiting University volunteers) I will gather substantial data. It will be interesting to see where my research leads to and what I conclude. I only have one month– better get cracking.

On that note... today I did absolutely nothing productive for my ISP. Instead I rode around on the back of a motorbike, drank tea, explored a market, ate lunch with my friend Huong, and then got an hour long body massage in the VIP room of the spa (FOR FREE). I also got an invite to use a rooftop pool whenever I want. I am love love loving Hue. Tomorrow I am going to a pagoda with my new friend Hang. We are going to go meditate and then eat at a vegetarian restaurant. I am so excited to try meditating!

Ha Long Bay

Two days ago we ended the grandest of all excursions with a trip to Ha Long Bay. Imagine the floating islands in the movie Avatar; now add water. That is what Ha Long Bay looks like and it is absolutely gorgeous. When we arrived at Ha Long Bay we boarded a private boat and ate lunch while looking out at these things:

So what are these "things?" UNESCO gave the best geological explanation so I decided to borrow their words...." The geomorphology of Ha Long Bay is known as a drowned karst landscape due to the exceptional combination of its limestone karst features which have been subject to repeated regression and transgression of the sea over geological time. The limesones of Ha Long Bay have been eroded into a mature landscape of fengcong (clusters of conical peaks) and fenglin (isolated tower feature) karst features modified by sea invasion at a later stage." There are thousands of these limestone karsts scattered across Ha Long Bay. I had no idea what a karst was, and I am assuming that everyone, excluding my lovely sister Hannah the geology major, is also clueless (or maybe I just really don't know my earth science) Anyways the definition of a karst: a landscape underlain by limestone that has been eroded by dissolution, producing ridges, towers, fissures, sinkholes, and other characteristic landforms.  I can't even describe how amazing it was to just to stare at these magnificent works of nature. But it got ten times better when we got to kayak around them! Mikala and I paired up in a tandem kayak and explored the bay. Since I have already lost one camera to Vietnam I decided to play it safe and leave it on the boat, but I really wish I had brought it since it would have been perfectly okay in the kayak. However, Alex was brave and brought hers so I am stealing a few of her photos.

Some of the karsts formed really cool caves. Photo: Alex

Photo: Alex

Photo: Alex

But our day wasn't over. We went spelunking in two ginormous caves. I actually felt very light headed when I emerged from cave number two because my head was constantly swiveling and looking up then down to see all of the amazing stalagmites and stalactites.

That little white speck in the middle is Katia. I am telling you this cave was HUGE!

I'm not really sure what the purpose of the
colored lights was.

We boarded the boat and headed back to shore while watching another beautiful sunset.

Goodbye sun.

Hello moon.

Our boat.

Day 2 in Sa Pa: more mountains, rice fields, and a service learning project

The school and our project.

Day 2 in Sa Pa was very long, but an amazing day. We woke up pretty early, had breakfast, and went to a local elementary school to help build a playground. Or that is what we were told– I am not quite sure what we were actually accomplishing while at the school. Basically we transported sand, dirt, and rocks from one big pile to another and then spread this out to form what I guess is the foundation for the playground. We accomplished a lot and everyone was very grateful for what we did– but it would be nice to see the fruits of our labor. I guess now I have to go back to Sa Pa to see the end result! After we finished working we had lunch at the school with the teachers and parents who had been working beside us. This lunch turned into an excuse for everyone to take lots of shots of rice wine. Not my favorite. Following the rice wine was a cultural exchange. Guess what we sang... (if you guessed Build Me Up Buttercup you're correct). I think that we got the better end of the deal because the children's performance was much more impressive and entertaining.

Chicken feet at lunch. I was very close to trying it but
someone beat me to it.

 

On top of the big rock!

After we said goodbye to the teachers, parents, and students we hopped back in the van and drove about 45 minutes to a small Hmong village to visit the house of one of the Hmong students we met the day before. We had to walk about 30 minutes to get there and were accompanied by some local children. The girl I talked with was very friendly and chatty. She kept inviting me to come back to her village and told me once I was married and had kids I had to bring them back to meet her. Her sister is my age and married with a baby. The sister, husband, and baby all live with the parents of the two sisters. The husband had to pay a lot to marry the sister– she said 4 million dong ($200). I am not sure if she translated that correctly because it seems like an awful lot. We also chatted about our pets. She told me she had a dog that doesn't have a name. I asked her why it wasn't named and she responded that it didn't need a name because they were just going to eat it someday. In case you didn't know– Northern Vietnam is famous for eating dogs. She asked me if I had ever eaten one of my dogs. I wish I could have seen the look on my face when she asked me that! Once again I was amazed by the differences in our cultures. When we finally arrived at the house of the Hmong student we climbed up a huge rock and had a fantastic view of the valley and mountains. The family had cooked a lot of corn for us so we ate that as

My "guide."

well as drank the water that it had been boiled in. It was actually really sweet– strange because I would never ever think to drink that back in the states. If you haven't picked up on it, Vietnamese don't waste food. Chicken feet, pig hoof, intestine, and lots of other organs are commonly found in Vietnamese cuisine. Anyways, yes I ate corn and drank corn water. Unfortunately, we were really pressed for time so we had to say goodbye quickly and start walking back to the bus, once again accompanied by the local children. As we neared the bus they all started to ask us if we would buy something from them. Surprise, surprise. Since I really had enjoyed the conversations with my "guide" I bought a little bracelet from her. We returned to the hotel, showered, had a quick dinner, and took a night train back to Hanoi. We arrived at 4 in the morning, checked into the hotel, and went back to bed.

Katia and I found cute puppies. I hope they never
end up on a plate :(

We visited her house

Walking back to the bus I followed a young boy carrying
a load of bamboo.

so so so beautiful!

Today we went to Ha Long Bay. It was beautiful. Pictures and information to come. Hannah, prepare yourself for lots and lots of pictures of... wait for it.... ROCKS (oh how I love my sister the geology major). Tomorrow I return to Hue– by myself!!– to start my ISP. I am very excited but also a little nervous. It will be interesting to be alone after having been with the group for three weeks straight.