Easter in a few pictures

Our bible study group by the awesome cross on of our church members decorated.



The highlight of the day: My friend Rosy was baptized (though since she is British, I suppose she was baptised)!



In the afternoon, Sarah and I met our friend Lily in the Old Quarter. It was a beautiful day and many families were enjoying the weather. We got a few pictures of kids chasing after bubbles. This shot's a little blurry, but I like it anyway.

Tam Dao

Lam and I watching the sunset


Rosy and Lily on our walk



Rosy



We had a three day weekend in honor of the first kings of Vietnam (Hmong, I think...), so Sarah and I traveled to the village of Tam Dao with some of our students and our friends Lily and Rosy. In the past, Tam Dao was used a resort area for the French when they wanted to get away from the heat and humidity of Hanoi. Since Tam Dao has fewer cars and motorbikes than Hanoi, for me it was a great place to escape from the smog.

We all had a great time hiking to a waterfall, exploring an empty house, and walking along a river. My favorite part of the weekend was the bonfire! That was one of the things I missed most about being in Hanoi during Autumn in the States.

Work Permit Woes

When I returned to Hanoi in the fall, I was informed of new policy the government was instituting: Work Permits. I’ve heard (as yet unsubstantiated by an internet search for reliable sources) that it is a way to deal with the problem of undocumented workers from China. While I understand Vietnam’s prerogative to protect its economy, it has been very frustrating trying to navigate all of the requirements to obtain a work permit. The biggest problem as been, since this is a new program, no one really knows what we need to have, and we keep learning about different documents we need to take to multiple places to have certified. And it takes a lot of time. It takes time for documents to get to Hanoi from the U.S. It takes time for them to be translated. It takes time for them to be certified.

We’ve been working on this since October, and I still don’t have my permit yet. It’s stressful, but I have been thankful for all the work people with LCMS WM, the NIN (National Institute of Nutrition), and at Bach Khoa have been willing to do to try and make this process as easy on me as possible.

And then there are those times when it all seems overwhelming and you look up to see this staring at you. It made me feel a little better.

The man on the rock

Every once in a while I see something that makes me think “I really, really wish I had my camera with me right now.” One of those moments occurred on the way to Church last Sunday. I was looking out of the bus window and saw a man sitting on top of a large boulder, smoking a cigarette. This in and of itself was not unusual; what made it picture worthy in my mind was that this took place in the median with cars, buses, and motorbikes whizzing past him on both sides.

I laughed at first, until we went past, and I looked back. I saw the sadness underneath.

The man was not just sitting on the boulder. He had a large piece of cardboard over a ratty looking backpack. I realized then why he was sitting the middle of the road. He had no where else to go.

[Disclaimer: the information in the following paragraph is based off of information I have only heard from other people. I haven’t had time to do a good internet search to verify this information, but I still want to include it in a post. I’ve been basing my thought processes on this information, so it is still pertinent for a personal blog but please don’t quote it as fact.] I heard recently that Vietnam had been moved off the developing countries list. If true, this would be a good thing, don’t get me wrong, but there are some serious ramifications as well. Some NGO work and Foreign Aid programs would end here, support some people here depend on. I was reminded by the man on the rock, and by the woman in the picture below, there is still much work to be done in Vietnam.



*Future blog post: The conundrum of trying to help without being condescending.

No Celebration is complete without a Dragon.

Last week marked the Grand Opening of Concordia International School Ha Noi (CISH)! Though there was a week full of activities to commemorate the event, the highlight was the Grand Opening Ceremony Friday afternoon at the school campus. The ceremony had all the elements. There were speeches by those who have worked for over 5 years to make this school a reality. There was a presentation and singing by the students this school will serve. There was cake and socializing. And most importantly, there was a Dragon.

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. - Mohandas Gandhi

Post 23 - Sa Pa

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to join Ted and a visiting group from Concordia NY for a trip to Sa Pa. We took the night train Saturday evening and arrived in Sa Pa at 7 a.m. Sunday morning. After breakfast at the hotel, we set off on a walking tour of local villages inhabited by Hmong and Dao, a couple of the ethnic minority groups in Viet Nam. The region has become more and more touristy over the years, and many of the local women and girls walked with us to trying to sell to us.



It was raining during the first part of our walk, but it cleared up as we walked to the Dao village where we stopped to eat lunch. The fog of the morning gave the area a mysterious quality that created a mystical ambiance, but I was glad the rain gave way to sun by the end of the afternoon so we could see the beautiful scenery.





After lunch we returned to the hotel and split into different groups to explore the town of Sa Pa before dinner. I joined a group that explored the market place. I was proud of myself for only buying two scarves despite how ubiquitous they were and my weakness for colorful shawls.

The next morning it was pouring rain, but about half the group refused to be daunted by something as paltry as the weather and set out on a hike to see Cat Cat village, the waterfall and a demonstration of the traditional dancers. Some of the students even joined in the dancing at the end of the show.



We left Sa Pa that afternoon and traveled to another village for another hike in the rain before driving to Lao Cai to see the Chinese boarder and eating dinner. After dinner we boarded the train to return to Hanoi. We were scheduled to arrive in Hanoi at 5 a.m. on Tuesday, but due to some problems with the tracks, we were delayed and didn’t get back until 11:30. But as one of my students said today when I told them this story, “that’s so Vietnam.”

 

Post 22 - What I love about Vietnam

They don't play Frisbee here so I am automatically considered a good player based solely on the fact that I know how to play.  Awesome.

Post 21

It is very hot and very humid in this country.  This is how I feel most of the time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7GJcKuVGm8

Except I am not dead.

Post 20 - In which I battle a Cockroach.

This morning began like most Sunday mornings.  I wasted some time on the internet.  I considered getting some work done.  I watched some T.V. instead.  Eventually I decided I should shower and get ready to go to Church.

I rolled off my bed and went to the bathroom.  Just as I was about to step into shower, I was confronted by a gigantic cockroach poised for battle! (And by gigantic cockroach poised for battle, I mean a 2 cm cockroach lying on its back looking dead.  But that is practically the same).

Though the cockroach had the upper hand thanks to its sneak attack tactic (very sneaky; it had not been in the bathroom 5 minutes earlier), I quickly ran from the bathroom to prepare to meet my foe. I donned my battle dress (i.e. I put my pajamas back on) and carefully chose a weapon: 6 paper towels and a plastic bag (nothing special about the number 6; that’s just the number that was left on the roll.  If it had been a full roll it would have been 20 paper towels). I returned to the bathroom physically, if not mentally prepared to defeat my enemy.

My plan was to create a stack of paper towels and place them over the dead body of the cockroach and then pick up the stack of paper towel with the plastic bag and not have to see or touch or feel the body of the cockroach.  The plan would have worked wonderfully except for one tiny, tiny problem.  THE COCKROACH WASN’T DEAD!  AHHHHH!  SOO GROSS!  It moved! And Tried to Escape! And I had to Squish it! And It Stabbed Me! (no joke, I had a splinter of cockroach I had to dig out of my finger. Yuck, yuck, yuck!)

After a fierce struggle, I managed to get the cockroach into the plastic bag and out to trash.  It may seem that I prevailed since the cockroach is now out of my room and most likely dead, but now I am traumatized and scared to go into my bathroom.  Who is really the winner here?

 

Post 19 - My Burn and a beautiful sky

This is how my burn looks now.  It doesn't hurt very much even though it looks nasty.

I keep it covered to prevent infection.  It doesn't look as bad when you can't see it.
I went to Ba Vi on a team retreat this weekend.  This is what the sky looked like when we got there.  Then there was a huge thunderstorm.  I didn't take a picture of the storm.

Post 18 - Some Pictures

My Ao Dai!

The beginning of my "Hanoi Tattoo."  The blister is way more impressive now.

Sarah and I went on a hike/picnic with students yesterday.  We climbed a mountain to see a waterfall.

Post 17 - Tuesday

Yesterday was a pretty good day for the most part.  In the morning I went to pick up my Ao Dai (pictures to come. eventually).  In the afternoon I met Josh at the Art Museum.  I enjoyed it very much.  The first floor was mostly artifacts, but the top two floors were paintings.  I like the artifacts more, but it was still interesting to note how the European art movements affected the Vietnamese art styles.

After the art museum, we had coffee, and then I took a 25 minute walk over the Cimas house for dinner.  It was about then that my day caught up with me.  I didn't realized how much walking I had done until I sat down.  I also had not had nearly enough water to drink that day and went to bed with a horrible headache.  I learned my lesson, though, and I have been drinking a lot of water today.

Post 16 (since the 30 day thing isn't working as well as I hoped.)

I have gotten sick again.  No fun.  But I am excited about Easter on Sunday.

I have a good story to tell, but I also have a headache from the pressure in my sinuses so I will wait until I can think clearly so I can write coherently.

Day 14/15

I have gotten behind a little in my post, but that is because I have been busy doing awesome stuff.  Like looking forward to EASTER on Sunday, going to be measured for an Ao Dai and enjoying the awesome weather before it gets too hot.

 

Day 13

I missed posting yesterday, so I guess that means two posts today.

Yesterday was a very productive day. In the morning, I got up and talked to a friend on Skype. Then I put together my lesson plan (I had planned to do that over the weekend, but it didn't quite work out that way...), tidied my room and made lunch.

In the afternoon, I successfully implemented the above lesson plan, then practiced my guitar for an hour before having dinner and a walk in the park with a student. And on top of all my productiveness, the weather was gorgeous!

Conclusion: Good Day!

Day 12

Bad News: I am having troubles with my phone again...

Good News: I led Bible study today, and it went very well.  I attribute most of my success to my fellow Bible study attendees and a small amount on my preparation.

Day 11

Today was another day of chance meetings.  It always amazes me when a decision or unexpected event results in getting you exactly where you need to be at the exact right time, and that happened to me twice today.

The first time I was wondering around the Old Quarter looking for a place to eat breakfast when I made a decision to look for some new DVDs (which I did not end up getting).  If I hadn't decided to go look at DVDs, I would not have run into Pastor Scott (one of the Cats from Los Gatos) who was enjoying a Xích Lô ride. Because I ran into him, I was able to meet up with the rest of the group at their hotel right as they were about to leave to visit Hoa Lo Prison.

We got lost on the way there (because our taxi driver did not know where we wanted to go) but I pulled out my map and got us to the right place just in time to see Ted walking by! Turns out he had not gotten the memo that said the meeting place for lunch had changed from Hoa Lo Prison to the hotel.  Had we gotten to the Prison earlier, we wouldn't have run into him to tell him about the updated plans.

Pretty cool how that stuff works out.

Day 10

I am posting!  Details on the day later...

Day 9

Today was a mediocre day.  I taught in the afternoon, but I was super tired so it didn't go as well as it could have.

On the plus side, I did have a very nice dinner with Sarah in the Old Quarter.