Weekend Excursion part hai (2): Crafts Village

After a long and dirty day exploring the tunnels Crafts Village was just the place I wanted to be. Crafts Village was built on the banks of a river in the middle of a forested area. The village is almost a botanical garden- it houses over 500 tree species, hundreds of flowers and plants, and 50 species of bamboo, all native to Vietnam. It is called Crafts Village because there are artisans who reside there and create different pieces to put on display and sell to visitors. There are embroiders, weavers, potters, etc. Stepping off the bus was actually a 180º turn to what we had experienced earlier that morning.


Our rooms were set up so that the boys were all in one room and the girls all in another. Since we were out in a rural area we had mosquito nets around our beds, which is always exciting. The mattress on the beds was actually made of bamboo, very thin, very hard. But I still was able to get a great night sleep. Actually a lot of necessities were made out of bamboo– like the shower. This was actually one of the coolest showers I have ever taken, it really made me concious of how much water I use in a regular shower. Basically there was a barrel of water in a bamboo stall. There was a tap to refill the barrel right there. There was a really big bamboo ladle and that is what you used to dump water over your head. It was really cool. I have never taken a shower like that. It was cold water but it felt really good. I discovered that I had some "tunnel rash,"basically just bug bites from the tunnel. They don't hurt unless I put pressure on them, then it feels like there is a little stinger in the bite. Oh well. They will go away soon enough I hope.

After a group dinner we had a cultural exchange, which basically just consisted of a dance party. The next morning a few of us woke up extra early thinking that we were going on a 6 am paddle only to discover that it had been pushed back to 7:00. But it was fine because we were able to explore the village. We decided it is basically just a playground for adults. But actually, there was a playground. And bamboo bridges going to little islands, and lots of beautiful flora to look at. Even some fish tanks. We did get out on the water in big wooden canoes and got to explore the river. At one point we floated by a building that almost looked like a pagoda, it was a many-tiered tower, it really reflected the ancient Asian architecture. Mikala and I just looked at each other and were like is this real life right now. This is so Asia. It was a wonderful feeling.

just some causal balance drills. cross training for skiing.

 Camp counselor Mikala steers the boat!

After a breakfast of toast, eggs, and pho we were given a tour of  Crafts Village. It is a really incredible establishment geared toward being environmentally friendly. There is an emphasis on the three mother natures, one each for earth, water, and wind (I think...)  Our tour guide took us through the Country and People exhibition, which highlights the different regions of Vietnam and the diversity throughout the country. Through this tour I feel as though I really got a new perspective on the origins of Vietnamese culture. We also had the opportunity to make some of our own art. I wove a bracelet, etched into a piece of pottery, and even tried throwing on the wheel except that was a big fail.

This is a map of Vietnam made from sand from the different regions. Very cool!

All in all it was a wonderful weekend. It was nice to get out of HCMC for a few days and breathe in fresh air and not hear honking horns and the repetitive song that the ice cream vendors constantly play, WHICH I still need to try.
ps-  compliments to Mikala for all the photos!

Cu Chi Tunnels

Saturday morning after a bowl of pho for breakfast we set out to the Cu Chi Tunnels. The tunnels were used by the Cu Chi People during The Vietnam War. They are a series of underground tunnels, 200 km in length, all dug by hand. They were a real problem for the American soldiers during the war because as our tour guide repeatedly told us, "American troops- big, bulky. They don't move well in the tunnels." Also locating the tunnels was a task in itself... just check out the third picture below! I had never learned about the tunnels so I was naively expecting a system where you could run quickly from one spot to another. Not exactly the case. The first tunnel was only 20 meters long, Our guide told us this tunnel had been enlarged for tourists and we still had to crouch down in order to avoid hitting our heads. There were also torches on the side of the walls so we could see where we were going. The next tunnel that we went through was a little bit more narrow, but still very doable. 

  

This is the widened tunnel. Easy to move around in compared to what was to come....

 the entrance to a tunnel. now you see it....

 now you don't! Very tricky.

 going down! (in the little hole from the previous pictures)

The third tunnel was 120 meters long and had not been enlarged at all. It was on the second level, 9 feet underground. This was when it started to get a little scary. We had no light, I was using my camera to see in front of me. The ceiling was so low, at some points it was easiest for me to be on my hands and knees crawling on the ground. It was so incredibly hot down there. Beads of sweat were dripping off the tip of my nose, and as disgusting as this may sound– when the bats flew by their wings sent a gush of air that provided a temporary relief from the heat. This happened very often. I tried to keep my hair in front of my face to provide a shield from any bats that I may encounter but eventually the heat got to me and I threw it up in a bun. The heat triumphs the bats. I was relieved when Co Thanh shouted that there was light ahead of us. We emerged from the tunnel dripping wet from sweat.

 conference room on the second level down.

okay the tunnel is getting pretty small as you can see! That is Elise and Mikala doing a crab walk type deal on downwards slope.

 the group that made it through the 120 meter tunnel. Just a little sweaty.

The last tunnel that we went through was 160 meters long and was on the third level, 15 feet underground. This was the deepest level. Only eight of us decided to do it. This one was actually scary. It was so small and tight with lots of ups and downs so we were sliding on our butts or crawling on our hands and knees. I was the fifth or sixth one back and the guide had the small flashlight in the front so I actually was in the pitch black since I didn't bring my camera on our final expedition. My shoulders got scraped on the ceiling when I mistakenly thought I could spare a few inches in my crouch. At the halfway point there was an exit and we took it, so we actually didn't complete the whole tunnel. I wish we had, but at the time I was ready to get out of there. It is hard to explain what it was like to be down there. Most of the time I wasn't thinking of what could happen to me bats, creepy crawling bugs, the tunnel collapsing (not that I wasn't aware that I was 12 feet underground in an extremely enclosed space); I was constantly thinking of the American soldiers who ever so slowly crawled in these tunnels with only a pistol, inching their way along, searching for any signs of a booby trap, and when encountering a fork never knowing which turn could be fatal. But on the flip-side of that, I was thinking of the incredible determination and tactic of the Cu Chi. They built all of this by hand! They would spend days on end living six meters underground in a stuffy environment, constantly on alert for intruders and trying to survive the constant bombings of B-52s on the soil above them. I would never be able to do what both the Cu Chi and the American troops did.

Great day to wear white pants.

Later that day I felt even more confusion about the Vietnam War when we met with a Cu Chi Veteran who was the leader of a division (name not remembered right now... whoops. I will update when I have it). He fought in the tunnels until the conclusion of the war. The following text is his thoughts, and just because I am writing them down does not mean I endorse them– I just found everything he said extremely fascinating and the contrary to what I had always heard, read, and been taught.

He said the reason why the Vietnamese won was because the American troops only came for duty, then they went back. But the Cu Chi people, they were born there, they lived there, they were soldiers for a lifetime. This was the People's War. American troops were flustered and easily frustrated. But the Cu Chi people were patient with high spirits. They were soldiers day and night. The Vietnamese learned through observing the Americans. They watched them in order to defeat them. They knew that their troops were smaller and weaker than the big, strong Americans– they had to figure out a way to overcome them. Towards the end of the conversation he repeatedly said that he was glad to see a relationship between the two countries has now been established and continues to grow. He said the people don't hold grudges against Americans and they do not seek revenge.

This conversation was very engaging. I felt frustrated at times because he never talked about his emotions, he only referred to the war tactically and in the sense of a fighting unit. I asked him a question regarding his emotions on the day he learned he wouldn't have to return to the tunnels and he did not answer it at all. This could be because it was lost in translation, (he spoke no English) or maybe because he just doesn't talk about it. I am starting to think about my Independent Study Project (ISP) and maybe studying veteran's emotions instead of my original idea of something in the education system. I have a meeting with Co Thanh tomorrow so maybe I will have some clarification. The rest of my weekend wasn't as mentally exhausting but I feel as though it isn't really appropriate to move from such a serious topic to a jovial one. Plus this post has been arduous. I truly hope that I didn't offend anyone by sharing the veteran's thoughts.

The veteran and his wife, who delivered messages back and forth from the tunnel.

 Their friendly neighbor. She was very interested in my earrings.

rub a dub dub

Today we had our first Vietnamese test. We rewarded ourselves with a day at the spa. Once again I find it necessary to say exactly what I spent for this luxurious afternoon: an hour long, full body massage was 200,000 dong ($9.61). Then I got my hair washed for an additional 60,000 dong. The hair washing included an intense head massage. My friend Mikala and I were put in a couples room for a massage (so romantic). We both were in heaven. I have never gone to a spa before and I can't believe what I have been missing out on. Granted, I would feel different about the experience if I had dropped $100– but in Vietnam the only way to spend $100 is if you buy a house. Or something like that. Mikala said at one point she looked over at me and my masseuse was standing on my butt stretching my left leg towards my head all while massaging my foot.

Like I said, we had our first Vietnamese test today. I am finding this language really difficult to understand. I don't have any problem memorizing words or phrases– it is understanding and speaking the language that really confuses me. Vietnamese is a tonal language, seven tones to be exact. The vowels are almost impossible. When our professor is going through the different sounds I think I understand, but the moment she asks me to recite a line of vowels I get all messed up. I know what it should sound like, but I just can't make it come out of my mouth correctly. I get very flustered and frustrated. I know that eventually it will click so I am just going to keep trying my hardest and really emulate the way her mouth moves while pronouncing different words, letters, and sounds in general. When we are in class I frequently think of last fall semester at Bowdoin when I was working in a kindergarten classroom in Topsham. There were countless times when I observed my correlating teacher holding up different letters and the kindergartners, in unison, repeating the sound that letter made. That is us only we are more monotonous. The nice thing about Vietnamese class was that it ended an hour early. Hooray! The reason being– we had plans to go to the War Remnants Museum but they were hosting a conference of some sort in the early afternoon, which meant in order for us to have "enough time" we had to go earlier. If that was the case, I should have gone in five hours earlier. I honestly think I could have spent half a day walking around that museum without having the slightest hint of boredom. I am definitely going to go back next week so I can take my time reading different placards and really looking at the astonishing photographs and artifacts. I will give a more detailed explanation of my visit then, so stay tuned!

Last night a few of us tried to make our way to China Town but got distracted by a pagoda. Since this was the first pagoda that I visited I found it pretty interesting. There was definitely a clash of modernity meets tradition, picture Buddhas surrounded by blinking neon lights. The actual tower itself was stunning, especially all lit up at night!

 

the pagoda

 Bobby's incense caught on fire! whoooops

 flashy

Tomorrow morning we head out on our first excursion to the Cu Chi Tunnels. It will be fun to get out of HCMC for a little bit. Not that I am sick of HCMC, there is still so much more that I want to explore.

Here are some pictures that I wanted to share! Most of them have nothing to do with this post. Enjoy!

"the lunch lady" where we got lunch today

 mysterious green drinks that tasted like a garden. both the vegetables and dirt. I don't think I would order it again but I am glad I tried it.

 Lunch today!

 ...and the remnants

 The group with  Ho Chi Minh's statue (everyone here calls him Uncle Ho)

This one is for you Mom. YAY ART

snake wine! I will try this before I leave. Those are real snakes in rice wine.

 yummy spring rolls wrapped in rice paper.

 

Alex in her poncho. Very chic.  It's the rainy season right now.

 English translations don't always render correctly, this says grilled ostrich with fat baseball

 

WOW! Mikala uses chopsticks soooo well. 

 

 and plastic spoons!!! (She is eating sweet tofu- SO GOOD!)

Snails. It's what's for dinner.

I didn't know snails could be so filling. But when you order fourteen plates of snails you get pretty full.

Katia's home-stay sister, Chip, took her to this hole-in-the-wall place a few nights ago and Katia loved it and said it was something we all had to try. A few of us girls had been shopping in the Saigon Square beforehand (great clothes, fun atmosphere, bartering skills are necessary) so we walked right from the square to find them. I wouldn't exactly say we walked to a restaurant, because it isn't what we would consider a Western restaurant. The food was being cooked outside on the street in front of the building and people were just milling around. Thank goodness that Chip had decided to join us because the menu had no English translations, so we had no idea what we were ordering and no expectations for what would be put in front of us. I think when a menu has no English translations you know that you have found a spot that not many tourists encounter. I feel like I am experiencing Vietnam in a different way than most people– it really makes me realize that I made the best decision for going abroad.

I had originally planned on trying a few snails and then getting dinner elsewhere, but my taste buds had an alternative plan. Each time a new plate of snails was placed in front of me my mouth started watering. I tried every single kind and liked all but two, one of which was just because the overwhelming spice. I couldn't tell you what kind of snails they were, what they were cooked in or any of that important information. I can only tell you that they were amazing.

The atmosphere of the place only added to the experience. Like I said before, there weren't really any tourists there so we sort of stuck out. The fact that a group of ten American students were just crowded around little red plastic tables, sitting on the plastic stools that are actually six inches off the ground, eating snails made it the perfect night. I love Vietnam.

 outside the restaurant

grilling some snails

 I do know that this one was made in coconut juice

 Chip and Erica! (note the low tables)

 So yummy!

 These were the spicy ones.

the love story of a dragon and a fairy and also pronoun struggles

Yesterday marked the first day of the new semester. Fun, fun, fun! Every morning we walk to the University of Economics at Ho Chi Minh City. It is about a five minute walk and on the way it is imperative for me to get my cafe den da (black coffee with ice). The only problem is it has too much ice, not enough coffee. But then again it only costs 40 cents so it is okay if I get more than one every day. When I go back to the states I don't know how in the world I am going to adjust to paying 2 or 3 dollars for a coffee. America= failing on the whole money situation.

We didn't have Vietnamese class yesterday, instead we finished up our SIT orientation. There were two presentations, one on the University and one on the city in general. There was a section on traffic. It went exactly like this:

Things to remember while crossing the street:

Cyclos do not give way (never)

Motorbikes do not give way (never)

 Cars do not give way (never)

Truly, words of wisdom. Then the Chief of Public Affairs from the U.S Consulate came into our classroom and talked with us. It was really interesting to hear how he ended up working for the Consulate. I guess anyone can take a test, for free, and if you pass then you have an oral examination– basically a series of interviews. Then they do a background check and if you are clean enough then you get a job. He has worked in some really cool places. This is his fourth location and he has only been here for three weeks. It almost sounds like my dream job. After we said goodbye to him we had a group lunch at a restaurant across from the University. Co Thanh has been showing us a lot of good restaurants to eat at since we are responsible for finding our own food from now on. I definitely am going to return to some of them, but I also want to keep exploring and finding my own favorite places.

Even though we didn't have Vietnamese yesterday we did have a lecture in our History and Culture of Vietnam class. It was fairly interesting. We talked about the legend of Vietnam, which our professor repeatedly called bullshit but a nice story. This is the story in a nutshell: A male dragon from the ocean and a female fairy from the mountains fall in love, have 100 sons, get divorced, decide not to have joint custody and just divvy up the sons, the dragon returns to the sea, and the fairy hightails back to the mountains with her fifty boys who become the first people of Vietnam. Boom.

Another weird, but true, piece of history: the Chinese Emperor named Vietnam. It was after the Chinese were defeated for probably the millionth time by the Vietnamese and the King of Vietnam wrote a letter to the emperor of China being like, will you please give our country a name. I like Nam Viet. What do you think? And then the Emperor was like no, that is a terrible name it should be Viet Nam. A little bit comical.

After class a few of us went to the Ben Thanh Market. It was an adventure per usual. I got exactly what I was looking for: a leather (supposedly) messenger bag. I wanted a bag that my laptop would fit in but it wouldn't be obvious that I was carrying around an expensive piece of equipment. After we were done our shopping we went and found a place to eat. There were a lot of locals sitting outside the "restaurant" so we decided to go for it. I had noodles with shrimp and squid.

This morning was our first Vietnamese class. Just riding the struggle bus. There are 8 ways to say "you." 8. As in how many legs a spider has. That's not normal. And there are 5 ways to say I. Omg good thing I get to sit through 2.5 hours of class every morning so maybe by the end of the semester I will get it right.

Did I eat cockroach juice last night?

That is the question of the day. After reading an article for class that mentioned banh xeo (translation: rice pancakes) are sometimes made with cockroach juice I am curious to know if the one I had last night was made with this magical ingredient. And by curious I mean I don't actually want to know.

 

we love cockroach juice. nom nom nom

Regardless of what bug juice is squirted into banh xeo, it's pretty delicious, as everything else here. Tonight was most definitely my favorite meal because I went to my homestay's house and got to meet my new and improved (just kidding, Mom) family. They live in this beautiful house in what appears to be a nice part of the city. There are two daughters in the family, one named Trinh and the other I call Jessica. Thank you impossible to pronounce Vietnamese names. Trinh is going to be 18 in a few weeks and Jessica is 13. Their English is incredible. Both the mother and father speak very little English. The father is a professor of Computer Science at the University of Ho Chi Minh City. Then they have the most adorable grandparents ever. The daughters and I talked for a few hours before dinner in English the whole time (obviously since I know how to say hello, thank you, seafood, and 1, 2, 3, cheers! in Vietnamese) but when we got to dinner it was quiet because I couldn't understand anything that they were saying and they didn't really know what I was saying. I honestly wanted to burst out laughing at one point because I couldn't believe that I was sitting around a table in this beautiful home, eating this amazing Vietnamese dish with a Vietnamese family. But what completes the image is the the fact that I hold the bowl of rice or soup up to my mouth and shovel it in with my chopsticks. I absolutely love it. I don't know why it never crossed my mind that I would be using chopsticks at every meal. Life is too good. I return to my family in one month and that is when I will live with them for three weeks. Prior to this visit I was really nervous about my homestay but now I am ecstatic. They were so warm and welcoming and I am excited that when I return I will have a month of intense Vietnamese under my belt. Maybe I can say something constructive at the dinner table. Like "Yum." That would be a good start.

More food: this morning my roommate, and I woke up hungry so we roamed the streets until we found a nice little breakfast place. I got watermelon juice and then we split a plate of watermelon. Clearly I like my watermelon. I also had it for dessert tonight. We ended up staying in the cafe for a few hours just talking. By that point we were hungry again, which was justified since it was almost lunchtime and we only ate watermelon for breakfast so we went to a street vendor that was recommended to us by our program director and got baguettes with egg, soy sauce, and vegetables. 8,000 dong aka 40 cents. SO YUMMY! I guess the safest thing to do around here is get a recommendation from a local for which street vendors to buy from. If a local buys there then it can't be sketchy, right? Alex tried to get some sticky rice but they put some weird stuff on it that neither of us felt very good about. We don't have any of the basic Vietnamese to say stop or no when they keep piling stuff on. It is sort of frustrating because sometimes I start speaking Spanish on instinct just thinking that if I speak in another foreign language I will be understood. Not exactly the case. Soon enough I am sure I will be able to tell street vendors what I want. (Don't cross your fingers because here in Vietnam that means female sexual organs).

Okay, this blogpost is chronologically backwards. I'll keep that up. Yesterday I strapped on my Pretty Dog helmet and rode around with a new BELL member, Titu. Each SIT student was given a "task." Mine was to go to an art museum. Maybe five years ago I would have considered that a task but I really enjoyed myself. It was interesting to see how much Vietnam's history influenced and was reflected in the pieces of art. Here were some of my favorite masterpieces.

 

 throw them up Titu

yin-yang sculpture

After the art museum we went to a market and I got a Rolex watch. And by Rolex I mean a knockoff. As you can imagine the word "market" suggests bartering, which is probably one of my favorite things to do while traveling. I got the vendor down to half his original asking price. Okay, so then I actually went and spent big money on a new phone, SIM card, and minutes. I decided to splurge and pay a little extra to get a phone that was pink instead of gray. Like I said, big money: $34. Being reconnected feels so good, not that I receive many texts, let alone phone calls. Guess I need more freeeends. Come visit me in Vietnam???

Tomorrow is Monday, meaning classes officially start. Vietnamese every day for 2.5 hours in the morning and then a history/culture class for 2 hours in the afternoon. That's it. Life is rough. That is a joke. I don't know what I am going to do with all my spare time. Thank goodness I have a whole city to explore and I easily get lost.

One more food promo:

Crazy crosswalks

Well, I made it! No lost luggage, missed flights, or bad episodes on the plane. Not that the 16 hour plane ride from Newark to Hong Kong was enjoyable. I think I watched six movies. Maybe I slept for two hours. It wasn't the best. But it doesn't matter because I don't have to make the return trip for awhile! On my last flight from Hong Kong to Vietnam I sat next to a guy from Salt Lake City who has lived in Vietnam for the past year. Among many other things, he told me that in the first two weeks I would get sick from the change in diet. More on that later.

The first two days have been a whirlwind. Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City is such an interesting place, I have never seen anything like it. First off, it is a pretty big city but it is sprawling, besides one 80 story building there aren't really any skyscrapers, which can make the city seem large and intimidating. Also, it seems to be that the city isn't as conventional as say New York or Boston, there aren't really blocks so it is hard to judge how far you have walked. And then there is getting around the city. As a pedestrian, it is extremely dangerous if you haven't been instructed how to cross a street. There are the occasional stoplights and "cross now" signs, but generally speaking pedestrians just charge into the road and the motorbikes will swerve around them, inches from hitting somebody. The first day Thanh, our academic director, told us to walk at a steady pace with our eyes on our destination and that you are never ever to run across a road. It is pretty scary. After just two days of crossing the street I feel more comfortable but it is going to take a lot of practice before I have the confidence that I am not going to get plowed over.

The food here is soooo good. I have made the decision to put aside my localvore diet (for those that don't know I try to only eat meat that is from local and organic farms). I didn't want to miss out on all the extraordinary tastes that Vietnam has to offer. I am still very conscious about what I am eating and I am more likely going to eat more poultry than red meat. Yesterday for breakfast I had my first bowl of pho soup with duck. It is so different to eat soup for breakfast versus a bagel or bowl of cereal, I think it is much healthier. Thus far, all of our meals have been group meals that are paid for by the program. But starting in the next few days we get a stipend of 9 US dollars a day for three meals. That may seem like nothing, but pho costs less than 2 dollars. So really I can budget $2 for breakfast, $2 for lunch, and then $5 for an "extravagant" dinner. Everything is so cheap. It is wonderful. Yesterday a few of us went out to a small bar and a beer was only 40 cents– 12,000 dong.

So as I alluded to earlier I have had a bout with food poisoning slash maybe sun poisoning. It was a rough way to spend my first night in Vietnam, (Spencer, if you're reading this you would have been proud of me). I started to feel really sick at dinner so I only ordered a salad and after not even being able to manage to put a piece of lettuce into my mouth, I decided it would be a good idea to leave the table and make my way back to the guest house. This morning I tried to stomach some breakfast only to return to my room and go back to bed, which was unfortunate because I missed some of orientation. I woke up at 2:00 and felt so much better. I was able to meet up with the group to tour the reunification palace, which is where the Vietnam War ended when the North Vietnamese army crashed a tank through the gates and declared victory. After exploring the palace, which was beautifully furnished and had a rather creepy basement, I rode around on the back of a motorbike for an hour. It is the best way to see the city. I just want to throw out there that my helmet has a sticker on it that says "Pretty Dog." Awesome. Vietnam has recently implemented a new law that requires all drivers and passengers to wear helmets, since traffic accidents are the number one cause of death in the country. That being said, the drivers are so alert. They see everything around them. But it isn't defensive driving, you have to be aggressive otherwise you won't get anywhere. There are some really stupid people that drive on the wrong side of the road in order to get to places faster, they are probably the ones responsible for accidents. Honestly the traffic is crazy. I don't understand how they do it. You come inches away from getting t-boned all the time. But it is an organized crazy, there is some system that they all understand and I think the only people that mess up that system are the foreign pedestrians who don't understand how to cross the street (soon to be not me). I was riding with this Vietnamese student that requested I call him King. I guess that his Vietnamese name translates into King?... anyways he is from a volunteer group at the University of Economics. He is going to show me more of the city tomorrow and probably will take me to get my new cell phone. It is so weird to not have one.

Happy Independence Day! September 2, 1945 Vietnam declared independence from France. The city celebrated tonight with fireworks which we watched from the top floor of Thanh's apartment building. Then we went out to this posh club but we were all wearing shorts, t-shirts, and sandals. We almost didn't get in because we didn't meet the dress code. We definitely stood out!