A Visit to Long Khánh

My Vietnamese teacher, Thúy, invited me to her family’s house in Long Khánh, which is about 3 or 4 hours (NE) from Hồ Chí Minh City in Đồng Nai province. Although Thúy usually travels by motorbike, we went by bus. As it is rainy season, I think she didn’t want me to be stuck on the back of a bike in a monsoon rainstorm. Travelling on the bus presents its own challenges, but more about that later!

Thúy’s family has a house in Hồ Chí Minh City where she and some of her siblings and some nieces and a nephew live. Her parents, Mai Thi Xuân Quyền (mother) and Bùi Đắc Trưng, (father) come to the city from time to time, but usually her father prefers to live in the country. Thúy and her siblings take turns visiting their parents on the weekends. This past weekend, Thuy’s sisters Câm and Hà, as well as her niece, Điep were there. Her parents, extremely gracious hosts, are lovely people. I had met them at Thuy’s brother’s wedding last fall, but got a chance to know them a bit more this time.

Thúy has always referred to her family’s place in the country as a garden, but in English we might call it a small orchard, with the main fruit grown being rambutan, or quả chôm chôm. I had never seen chôm chôms in Canada, probably because they are a fairly fragile fruit and I would think they should be eaten quite soon after being harvested. I don’t know how many trees they have, but the three hectares are fairly solidly populated with mature trees that might be as high as 20 metres. In addition, there are some mangosteen, coffee, pepper, and a few jackfruit and durian trees. There are lots of chickens and a few ducks in the garden, as well as various herbs and flowers.

So, right now chôm chôms are in season and the entire vicinity, including Thúy’s family’s place, is a hive of activity with picking and packing going on from early to late, rain or shine. I think the family sells some of their fruit directly, but have now leased the remaining crop to a contractor, who has a crew on site to pick and pack the fruit. Đồng Nai province is a major chôm chôm-growing area and the fruit is sent to Hồ Chí Minh City as well as to Cambodia, Singapore and China. So, it was very interesting to see how all this activity unfolded.

We had some major rainfalls while in Long Khánh, so we had to cancel a trip to visit a mountain, but we did see lots of other things. We went to some areas in the countryside that were quite pretty. We saw quite a few rubber farms and a large park called Suối Tre Culture Site. Suối Tre harkened back to another era, it seemed to me. There were a lot of huge old trees and the entire park seemed quite quiet and deserted, in spite of having a pool, tennis courts, a bar and restaurant, a small amusement park and some trails for walking. A bit eery.

We drove around the city of Long Khánh and it seemed quite a hive of activity. We visited a chùa, or Buddhist pagoda and then walked around the grounds of an absolutely amazing Catholic seminary, St. Paul Seminary of Xuân Lộc. Apparently there are 300 seminarians studying there and the guard on duty told us there is stiff competition to enter the seminary. The place was largely deserted when we were there, as students are on summer break., so we had the grounds to ourselves. After, we watched the sun go down over a patriotic statue in a town square before heading home.

On Sunday, Thúy and I went to a different chùa in the countryside. The pagoda itself was rather small, but it had a large area with sort of a sculpture garden. Many, many statues of many incarnations of the Buddha and many statues of Quan Âm. The grounds were interesting with a combination of living and artificial plants. There were lots of incredibly vibrant bromeliads.  We met a couple of nuns there who were so gracious and welcoming. One was a young novice, named Đê Pháp, who has lived at the pagoda for four years, since she was 15. She was such a lovely young woman. Very serene and yet also very poised.

Despite its rural area (and fresh air and blue skies) Đồng Nai province, due to its proximity to Hồ Chí Minh City is positioning itself to become more industrialized. While the capital, Biên Hòa, is the chief area of development (we just changed buses there), Long Khánh looked pretty progressive, possibly because it is on the main highway between Hà Nội and Hồ Chí Minh City. There are lots of new western-style houses and several new schools in the vicinity. We also saw a couple of developments under construction near Long Khánh, including a residential area and an industrial park. Without a doubt, Việt Nam is undergoing a tremendous change right now.

While visiting Thúy’s family, I was treated to some very traditional Vietnamese food, including wonderful salads, soups, and cháo long, which roughly translates to innards porridge. Câm did most of the cooking (Can I whinge a bit about how hard it is to be the eldest daughter?) and she produced some delicious food. On Sunday, however, before we left, Thúy’s mother made homemade bánh xèo, the rice flour pancake that is so delicious.

I have to say, I have never been fed so much ... every time I turned around I was served more chôm chôms, pomelo, mangosteen ... you name it. I have to say, I had to make myself clear about my inability to eat durian, as I feared I would be served a whole one ... Thúy kept insisting that I just needed to try it again and she was sure I would like it ... nonononono Nanette! No durian, please. The word for durian in Vietnamese is "sầu riêng (one's own sorrows). I would be very sorrowful if I had to eat it, that’s for sure! I hope to see Thúy’s family again, maybe in November at Hà’s wedding. Cảm ơn bạn rất nhiều,!

OK ... now to the ride home. Thúy, Điep and I started out for Hồ Chí Minh City at about 5 p.m.. The first bus was full but we got standing room only on the second bus. They kept letting more and more people on until it really was ridiculous. It was the most bizarre ride. First of all, there was a passenger with no legs. Nobody gave him a seat and he was squished on the floor near the exit, so was constantly being stepped on, which he loudly compllained about (rightfully so). As there was virtually no air, people started to feel ill and the young woman next to Thúy threw up .. thank goodness in a rather dainty way. She continued to look ill for the remainder of the journey, but no one offered her a seat. A little boy was laid right out with heat prostration and had to lie on the floor; his mother sat down with him so the kid wouldn’t get trampled by the hordes of people who were trying to balance after two hours of standing. The traffic was terrible so the trip seemed never-ending. I had lots of opportunity to people watch ... watch Điep give killer glances at Thúy for making her come on the bus; see some pretty open flirting between some high school students; discover a sweet little Chihuahua tucked inside a woman’s bag; see numerous people sleep standing up; but more importantly, witness how people endured a very uncomfortable ride with a stoicism that was rather impressive.

Good thing Điep had had a nice long nap earlier in the day ... we were all pretty tired after 3 hours of bus ride! Thúy, Điep and I parted company part way through our second bus ride. Thúy and Điep caught another bus, while I continued on to Chợ Lớn, after which I caught a taxi. I have to say I was extremely glad the buses to Phú Mỹ Hưng had stopped running by the time I got back to the city, so I had no option but to take a taxi ,^_^, Besides, I needed the taxi to help me carry home all the fruit Thúy’s mother sent home with me. What a great weekend in the garden! Lots more photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/raven_chick. I hope all is well with everybody reading this. I hear stories about heat waves in Ontario, worse heat waves in Europe, and hail in Calgary ... so I guess some of that is par for the course. Take care and I hope everyone gets some beautiful weather at some point!

The fast-paced life I lead .....

Kind of a busy weekend, considering how lazy I have become ... yesterday was just crazy, with me having 4 activities pre-planned. A shock to my system is more like it.

First I spent the morning at Mai Tam, where I hadn’t been for almost two months. On the way I noticed large groups of people and hundreds of motorbikes at a few schools. Apparently national university entrance exams are underway and parents literally wait outside the schools for hours as their sons and daughters are sitting the exams. Such a huge pressure on those kids. As the tests are just given in major centres, huge numbers of students are coming into the cities for these most important exams. Good luck to them.

On another note, the University of Calgary – Qatar, where I worked in 2008-2009, graduated its first class of nursing students last week. What an achievement for those 24 women. I would have loved to be able to attend that event, but it sounds like 600 people did go, so I know the students had lots of support and a huge fan club (comprised of all their teachers!) However, I was able to attend the Level 7 graduation of RMIT English students and there were lots of students I had taught in Level 6 there; several of them passed with high achievement (90% in each subject). So, in a few short years, they will also have the thrill of graduating with a degree from an English-speaking university. Such an amazing undertaking!

OK, back to Mai Tam! As you may (or may not) know ... Mai Tam House of Hope is an orphanage for kids whose parents have or had HIV/AIDS, Some of the children are orphans, and many of them are abandoned and are brought to Mai Tam to be treated/raised/looked after/schooled. Some of the kids have HIV/AIDS and some don’t. There are about 30-35 kids at the place I visit. Father Toai is the person who’s overall responsible for Mai Tam, a hospice, and a couple of sheltered workshops. He is quite young (I’m guessing 35) and he has a very hard job. For example, yesterday, he buried two patients from the hospice before coming to  MaiTam, where he had to counsel kids and sort out various arrangements and meet with benefactors and give out meds and then go off to say mass. Quite the skill set! Thú is my main contact and she lives and works at Mai Tam, sort of as the manager. Several bed mothers also live and work at Mai Tam and each has several children assigned to her bedroom, but all the kids are looked after by everyone during the day. In addition, there are often mothers who live with their kids and transition them into Mai Tam when it is clear their illness is moving into the terminal stages. With various volunteers and visitors, it can be a very busy place.

A year ago Mai Tam and its residents were in dire straits, as they were evicted (or rather squatting as there was no place for them to go) and miraculously, money came through for the purpose-built house that now is Mai Tam. You can read lots more about Mai Tam on their website.

So ... since my last visit, several of the children had grown and three of the babies are walking now! All girls, they are so adorable.. SiSi and SuSu and Boi Boi. I can’t get straight on what is a nickname and what is a real name. They are all just going concerns.

There are at least 6 new children ... several little babies among them. Almost everyone seemed in good shape, but with 20+ toddlers there are bound to be squabbles and tears from time to time ... and one in particular seemed so sad. His mother and father died just a month ago. There were three other volunteers there ... Ricky, who often goes to Mai Tam with his aunt, his friend Chau, and another woman named Van, who is sponsoring two of the kids. In addition to that, she teaches English to the older kids on Saturday mornings. What a commitment!

I was lucky enough to be able to hold little Miss Quỳ for much of the time. Poor Quỳ ... her mother, father and older sister have all died. She is a very easy baby and everyone loves her as she is so calm and placid. The kids, especially one girl named Thao, schlep her around like she is a rag doll.

I had to draw the line when Miss Thao wanted to colour her eyes with crayon. But as calm as Quỳ is, I guess she doesn’t like to sleep in a crib. The mums said she would just cry. So, after I gave her her bottle, I laid her out on the floor, like all the big kids. So angelic! It takes me over an hour to get to the orphanage, so sometimes I really have to give myself a pep talk, but I am usually very glad once I get there. While it can be sad, it is inspiring at the same time.

Van very kindly gave me a ride to District 1 for my dental appointment. I spent a few minutes sitting in the park near Notre Dame Church waiting for my allotted time. It is strange, because in that park people are not permitted to walk or sit on the grass. So there were great groups of people sitting on the sidewalks ... playing guitar, singing, taking photographs, couples chatting and school chums hanging out. There was even a soap opera being filmed nearby. People occasionally stopped to talk, as there were lots of volunteers trying to raise money for their pet project. It was nice to interact with them. In Phú Mỹ Hưng, people just do not speak to strangers. Or at least to this stranger.

Then off to the Starlight Dental Clinic. I had been there for an appointment when I was having some tooth sensitivity in March and needed to go back for another check-up. I have been extremely impressed with the facilities and the treatment so far. The cleaning is done with salt water, I think and the x-rays and so on are state-of-the-art. Some people prefer to go to the European dentists at the clinic (mostly French, if I am not mistaken) but the Vietnamese dentist I have seen has very good English and seems to do a very thorough and professional job.

After my dental appointment, Thúy picked me up and we went back to my place for our Vietnamese lesson and then we went to her friend Wally’s place for dinner. Wally, who hails from Singapore, lives in a villa in Hưng Thai, a ritzy area of Phú Mỹ Hưng, which is a lot like some compounds in Doha. He was very kind to invite us for dinner.  So the day encompassed the gamut ... sadness, joy, tenderness, trauma, laughter, dread, curiosity, challenge, familiarity, difficulty, flavour, confusion, clarity, questions, answers, satisfaction, trepidation, friendship, generosity ... Just like my little buddy, Huy, I'm trying to live life large in a small sort of way.

All These Geese are Swans

I don’t know what it is that cracks me up about these geese, but I just get the biggest kick out of them. I often see them in the morning when I am on the xe om going to work and then I will occasionally see them when I walk home. They are usually out foraging ... but their territory is not a meadow or a pasture or a riverside ... it is đường Nguyễn Văn Linh, which is a busy city street ... a divided six-lane busy city street. I worry about the four of them, as they waddle out into traffic sometimes. Silly geese.

And as you can see, there are all manner of vehicles they have to contend with ... including the ones that go the wrong way down a one-way street!
Today on my way to work, I noticed they were dirtier than usual; as it had rained last night, there were quite a few mud puddles for them to muck about in. They looked like they were enjoying themselves immensely. This afternoon, I took a taxi home due to a monsoonly torrential downpour, so I didn’t see them. But I hoped that they were safe and having a splashing great time. Silly goose.

A Week In

So, I have met all my new classes now and the students seem very nice. As WPP is not a mandatory class, I hope that students will be coming because they want to be there and see value in the learning related to workplace preparation. I only see students for 2 hours a week and so that is not much time to cover all the areas in our curriculum ... and I wonder about the relationships I will develop with students when I see them so little and when they are (rightfully) focused on their degree program and future careers.
This question popped into my mind yesterday when I saw two groups of students from my first and third Level 6 classes. I was so happy to see them and hear about their degree programs. And I was struck by how close they had remained, even though they had all gone off to various degree programs ... commerce, design, professional communications, IT, accounting and BIS. I loved seeing them all sitting around and hanging out ... I know they often go out for coffee, play basketball, tour around, eat lunch together and so on. That bonding and those close-knit relationships are things I really love about ESL and hope that that sort of mutual support and care can be carried over to WPP as well.
There is so much to learn about career development and workplace expectations in the Vietnamese context. I have started to learn a little bit about that and while I am grateful that I know the content of the WPP material really well, I am glad I have a bit of a gentle introduction to WPP as I begin to meet people at RMIT and both local and multinational employers and try to make sense of their standards and expectations of RMIT grads. I attended a networking event this past week, at a fancy restaurant called Shri, which I enjoyed a lot. I look forward to going to more such events and meeting people, especially employers, in the community. And of course, what would a networking event be without food? In this case, there were delicious canapés, which I accompanied with watermelon juice. I thought about the mango margaritas, but felt perhaps my tenure at RMIT was a bit too tenuous to go there just yet.
On to more food ... before I went home for holidays, my Vietnamese teacher, Thúy took me to a couple of places for noodles for my birthday. One was very reminiscent of some of the noodle places I used to go to in China, where the noodles were made in front of our eyes. These pics were taken at that location ... it was a lovely evening and the food was really delicious. I need to look for the card so I can find the address and go back one of these days. The young man in these pics, Loc, did agree to have his photo taken, but I think it wasn’t his preference. Owell. It really is for educational purposes ...

First there was measuring (by weight) the flour, eggs, oil, and water to make the dough.

Then came a whole lot of mixing ... all by hand. Can you imagine how strong his hands and forearms must be?

After this part, the dough was allowed to rest for a few minutes, while Loc prepared the kneading and cutting surface.The dough was divided into parts and rolled out into sections. Each section was then worked. Loc pulled and twisted and tossed the ropes of dough into the air. Each successive pass and combination of 'moves' meant the strands of noodles got thinner and thinner. It was really an interesting sight. I wonder if Marco Polo saw people making noodles in this manner 700 years ago.

When Loc had gotten the noodles to the desired thinness, he would toss them behind him to the broth area, where the noodles would be immersed into broth to be cooked and then to be combined with meat, seafood, or vegetables and served. Really delicious.
Hope all is well with you all and that summer is going well. School is out for some of you and I hope that means some great days by a lake, listening to loons, and having an occasional paddle for exercise. Others are traveling ... if so, I hope your trips are full of fun and light on stress. If your summer is focused on work, know that I am with you! Our time will come soon enough ... says the one who just returned from 6 weeks away ...

Back at It

I have been back in Vietnam and I have to say it has been a bit dislocating ... I was not exactly ready to come back and I have had fairly severe (for me) jet lag, which is just now beginning to abate. And the weather ... hothothot ... and my phone didn’t work and I have a new job. But I feel like I am on the road to normalcy and things are starting to feel a bit more regular now.
It seems much focus this week has been on food, glorious food. On Saturday I did have delicious phở' from my favourite Phu My Hung restaurant Phở' 36. Then my new colleagues and I went for lunch at a Korean barbecue restaurant one lunch hour. It was nice to spend time with them all and get to know them a bit better. Then one evening, Barbara and Sara (RMIT colleagues who work in the English department) and I went to a restaurant called la brasserie, before going to the English Department trivia night at the Tavern Restaurant. Barbara and Sara had been to the restaurant before and said it was good, so we agreed to meet there for 6 ... plenty of time to get to the first question, which was set for 7:30. We were soooo wrong. The meal was right out of Fawlty Towers. From bringing red wine instead of white to bringing my main course 45 minutes before Barbara and Sara’s to overcharging me for my meal to not bringing Barbara and Sara’s dessert, the whole thing was quite a fiasco. And of course, we were waaaay late. The food was pretty good, however. We didn’t win trivia either.
So, considering our experience at la brasserie, last night’s meal at Cham Charm was quite wonderful. We went there to bid Barbara a fond adieu, as she is heading off to Australia for a month’s holidays. Cham Charm is a high-end restaurant in Phu My Hung ... not too near my part of PMH ... around a 7-minute taxi drive. It is probably the nicest restaurant I have been to in Vietnam, along with its sister restaurant, the Ming Dynasty.The decor is Champa, similar to what you would find in some parts of Central Vietnam (My Son) or Angkor but the cuisine is very eclectic ... Japanese, Thai, Indian, Vietnamese, and some Western ... with a major focus on seafood, particularly oysters. Yumyumyum. And the desserts ... omigoodness, they were great.We had a lovely time, enjoyed the physical surroundings immensely, and were enchanted by some of the beautiful customers. The little girls are not all sisters, although they were wearing matching ao dais. Their parents told us the kids were 3,3, 2 and 6 (from left to right). And, as it was buffet and/or cooked in front of you, we did not have to wait for anything. Well, we did have to wait a couple of minutes for slab ice cream, as there was a bit of a line from time to time. Very lovely evening!

As always, more pics on flickr ... http://www.flickr.com/photos/raven_chick. Hope all is well with people who have to do their own cooking:-)

Leaving Again

Today as I was pulling out a particularly pernicious and persistent patch of binderweed (which you all by now know is the bane of my gardening existence) the words from 59th Street Bridge Song came tripping into my head ... life I love you, all is groovy. Haha, it seemd ironic, as I was trying to KILL as much binderweed as DEAD as I possibly could at the time.

But then more lyrics came into my mind ... Slow down, you move too fast ... you’ve got to make the morning last ... and there was another timely message. Time is speeding up as I prepare to go back to Ho Chi Minh City. So many things not accomplished ... I never got to Stratford, Toronto, Ann Arbor, or the Detroit Institute of Art ... all of which were on my agenda. So many people still to see. So much of my garden still untended. Appointments unmade or unkept. Various things unkempt:-) But I still got to see and do plenty and so there is much to be grateful for ... even if it wasn’t quite enough.Errol and I had a lovely visit with old friends Betty and Stephen in Goderich last weekend. Errol and I used to work at Homestead Group Home years and years ago when we lived in our little log cabin in the woods by the lake. Long ago and far away. So it was very nice to reconnect with them. Errol and Steve had gone down to West Virginia together last fall to visit our friend, Patrick, but I hadn’t seen Betty and Stephen for two years. They have a large property that is part therapeutic treatment centre and part hobby farm ... and if I think my garden is a lot of work, well I need look no further than Homestead to know what work really is! And it was great to see the kennels, the stable, the chickens, the art and play therapy facilities, and the biggest attraction of all ... pregnant ewes and baby lambs. Before heading off to Goderich, I had just finished reading ‘The Barn at the End of the World: The Apprenticeship of a Quaker, Buddhist Shepherd’ by Mary Rose O'Reilley. She discusses at some length the challenges of raising sheep, especially keeping some of the babies alive. It is an interesting book and her descriptions of being at the Buddhist centre in Plum Village in France were quite interesting ... especially those relating to Western/Vietnamese interaction/communication.
So food for thought as I begin to prepare physically and psychologically for Vietnam. I hope all my stuff will fit into my suitcase and that it is not too late to get a decent seat on the plane(s). While the weather here is beautiful (today) I understand it is incredibly hot and there are frequent power outages in Ho Chi Minh City(although perhaps not in D7 so far). A new job awaits and I do hope I have made a wise decision there. And I hope I am not leaving too much of a mess for Errol and Cait to clean up. Worryworting to the end ... it is what I do, no? I hope this finds youall very well and ready for a wonderful summer ... seems strange to have my holiday over already :-(. But best wishes for great hiking, canoeing, theatre-going, vacationing, travelling, working, playing, parenting, relationship-building, journeying, adventuring ... living! Life I love you, all is groovy ... even if I do have deeds to do and promises to keep.