5/16 through 5/18: Mike's home

5/16:
In the morning, Ha and I (and my back pack, which was pretty awkward) drove an hour on his motor scooter to Mike's village. We got there just as Mike's party was starting - a reunion of his high school buddies (actually, I think the party was waiting for us to show up before starting). There must have been a million people. All the men sat in the living room, while the women and children hung out in the hallway and kitchen.

Mike's friends started arriving at his house at 5AM to prepare the food. The women did the food prep, the men did the cooking.

The food - bamboo shoots with beef bone, chicken, fried taro, pork, fried morning glory greens with garlic

Ha with a chicken foot

Ha told me that you give the chicken foot ( a delicacy in Vietnam, more expensive than the meat) to someone you love. Ha put the chicken foot in my bowl. I lovingly transferred it to his bowl. Vietnam has cultural rules about everything, but especially about eating. For example, you always serve someone else before serving yourself (or you are very rude), and if you are going to invite someone to join you for a meal, you should do it before you start eating (or you are very rude). I happened to break both of these rules at some point during the Evergreen school trip.

I had a little too much to drink

The "keger" is called "fresh beer" in Vietnam. The men went through almost two of them before the party ended (women don't drink in Vietnam). And there are so many rules about drinking! I thought I had outgrown peer pressure, but experienced it first-hand at this party, having to drink full glasses of beer ("tram phan tram," meaning "bottom's up") repeatedly, until finally, when my health (or sanity) was threatened, and at the risk of being rude, I had to stop.

Mike and Ha had a little too much to drink also

5/17: My last full day in Vietnam, which was a great last day

Mike making lunch

Lunch: fried sweet potato creepers (the king of the vegetables), soup, and delicious prawns (which you dip in a mixture of salt, lime and chili - yum!)

After lunch we ate bananas for dessert - these really fat ones I called "fat boys." (Mike thought this was their true name in English. He should know by now that I am always telling lies.) I bit into a seed in the banana. Having never experienced a banana seed, Mike explained to me that these are bananas from the country side, and there is a special kind of banana grown in the country side that has seeds, which are used for medicinal purposes. These bananas we were eating were not that special medicinal banana, but due to being grown near the medicinal bananas, they too sometimes have seeds.

Later that day Mike's mother-in-law and sister-in-law arrived at his house. It turned out that they are really not in-laws yet. Mike's wife's brother is engaged to the daughter (though no date has been set), yet they are already part of the family. I wondered where they were going to stay. The daughter was only here for a few hours before Mike took her to the airport to visit Hai's brother, who is living in Saigon. Mike explained to me that the mother will sleep with him and Hai and their daughter Trang, no problem. Mike's wife's soon-to-be mother-in-law was so excited to talk to me, having never met an American.

Mike's father Do Van Ngu, at the entrance to Mike's house

Mike's father is a veteran of the American War, having fought in 1971 and 1972, until he was injured in Quan Tri province (the same place where we visited the land mine victims through Peace Trees). The bunker he was hiding in was bombed. Five of his comrads were killed, but he survived, being protected by the dead bodies that rolled on top of him.

In the afternoon, Mike walked me around his village for a few hours. We stopped at his father's house, where Mike grew up. On the third floor is the family alter, where his ancestors are worshipped, as well as photos and medals from his father's miltary career.

This is a photo of a military reunion in Quan Tri. Mike's father is the third from the right in the back.

Lotus pond and cows in the country side

Another country side photo - fish pond

Mike in his family's original home - a one room house. to Mike's left is the kitchen, and to his right is where the kids slept (three boys and a girl). His parents' bed was on the other side of the family alter, situated in the middle of the room.

We visited his uncle's pig farm (it seems just about everyone in the village is related to Mike).

Watering the pigs

Mike kept telling me it was time to go, but I was having too much fun. The pigs loved to be sprayed with the water.

His uncle also raises ducks.

They have really funny looking chickens in the country side, though they are very delicious.

Woman (maybe the one person we met not related to Mike) slicing the banana trunk for chicken and pig food.

Mike told me that her husband is the hardest working man in the village. He rides his bicycle 20 kilometers into Hanoi every day to collect scrap iron.

I met another man, in the house where Mike's grandmother on his mother's side lives, who works as a security guard at night and makes rice wine by day. I got the whole explanation of the distilling process, and a sample as well.

This woman (I think she is some distant cousin) is making offerings that are used at funerals, burned to provide the dead with whatever he or she needs in the afterlife.

In the evening we walked in the village to watch the kids flying kites, while the adults were playing volley ball. Here, Trang, Mike's daughter, is showing her girl friends her photos.

Later, after dark, Mike and I walked along the lake to the pagoda.

Dinner: chicken, fried tofu, soup with tamarind, fish and pineapple, beef with fried flower buds (the queen of the vegetables), pickled eggplants, and cucumber salad.

Hai, Mike's wife, who has been reading my blog, knew how much I loved mangosteens, so guess what was for dessert.

Mike's dad with Trang after dinner.

Spending the day in Mike's village was such a treat for me. I learned so much about the culture of Vietnam. Mike and I talked a lot about next year trying to figure out a way to bring the students to his village. Since he knows everyone, he could arrange homestays for the students. Then they too could play with the pigs.

If anyone gets the opportunity to come to Vietnam, I so highly recommend Mike, if you need to organize anything. contact him by Email at: mike@iexplorevietnam.com, or check out his wesite at: http://www.iexplorevietnam.com/