May 16th through May 19th: Sapa Homestay, Ta Phin village

May 16^th through May 19^th: Sapa Homestay, Ta Phin village

May 16^th:

We left Sapa town around 1 pm and drove in a minivan for about 20 minutes to our drop-off site. We then walked for two hours through some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. When we arrived at our homestay, one student commented, “I didn’t even realize we had walked for 2 hours. It felt like 15 minutes.” The homestay has a stone and dirt floor, indoor plumbing and electricity. The girls stayed in one room with mattresses and mosquito nets, and the boys stayed in another room. The two rooms are separated by an open space with a two tables and chairs: our card playing room. There were no windows, just a large open space that has a large blue tarp that is rolled up during the day and let down at night. After relaxing for a few hours, we all helped with the dinner preparation.

cooking with our homestay family

May 17^th and 18^th:

Each day we worked for an hour or two in the morning in the rice fields, preparing the terrace, collecting the rice seedlings from one rice terrace, and finally planting the seedlings in a rice terrace. In the afternoon we spent an hour or two either searching for a river to play in, or walking to the local school for a soccer game. The rest of the time was spent relaxing, playing cards, exploring the farm (which has piglets, ducklings, and chicks), collecting insects (in David’s case), or eating delicious meals. Many students commented on how nice it was to not have a schedule, to just relax and enjoy the moment.

preparing the rice terrace

the grandchild of our homestay family

gathering the rice seedings

planting the rice seedlings in a rice terrace

after our soccer game

our homestay family with their grandshild

May 19^th:

The plan for 5 of the homestays was to get picked up by a minivan and driven to the 6^th homestay at Ban Ho village to swim in the river, eat lunch, and watch traditional dancing, before returning to Sapa town. I loved the walk so much that I arranged for whoever wanted to, to leave our homestay an hour early and start walking and then get picked up along the way. I was surprised to find that most of the students wanted to join me, even though it meant getting up at 6 am.

On the ride back to Sapa town, I asked the students to share their best experiences from the last three days. These included working in the rice field, walking through the rice terraced scenery, exploring the river, playing soccer, playing cards, and, of course, eating: garlic fries, ban mi sandwiches, and banana pancakes. Many of the students said that the Sapa homestay was the best part of the trip so far.

Favorite student quotes:

On our walk out of our homestay, Claire observed the mountains of rice terraces and reflected (after working in the rice fields at our homestay for just a few hours): “We planted one, little rice terrace. Look at how many rice terraces there are! Doing the rice farming helped me appreciate how hard farmers work.”

Adam’s quote on rice terraces: “Rice terraces are a physical manifestation of a topographical map.”

One more Claire quote on the beautiful children of the minority people: “The babies are so cute. I wish we could collect them all. . . . Not in a creepy way. “

The conclusion of two stories from our homestay:

I stayed at this homestay on the Vietnam trips in 2010 and 2011. There are two stories that I’d like to share.

Indentured servant

We met a boy named Chu during those visits at the homestay. He was from a poor family with 7 children.  As per Red Dao custom, Chu’s family traded his services to our home-stay family (which has only one son) for 4 years, and at the end of that time, our home-stay family would give Chu's family a buffalo. Chu was treated like a family member - he ate, slept and worked with the homestay family. I asked about Chu, and learned that he had fulfilled his commitment and has returned home to his family, along with a small buffalo.

Silver bracelet Offer of engagement
The Red Dao still practice arranged marriages. The boy's family will send a spokesperson, someone who can speak very well for the family, to the girl's family. They bring a silver bracelet and a bottle of rice wine. The girl's family makes a special breakfast of buffalo meat, stomach and liver, as well as other savory dishes. The girl's family holds on to the bracelet for one week. At the end of a week, the girl's family either keeps the bracelet, accepting the proposal, or rejects the proposal by the girl returning the bracelet.

Chao May, the daughter of our home stay family, received her 22nd marriage proposal the morning after we arrived at the home-stay in 2011. Needless to say, she had rejected the previous 21 proposals. Our local guide at the time explained that the home-stay parents are letting Chau May accept or reject each proposal, unlike their own arranged marriage, which was set up by their parents before they had ever even met each other. Chau May is 20 years old, and so her parents are concerned that she is becoming an "old maid." At the end of our three day home-stay, I asked Chau May what she will respond to this proposal. "I have no idea," she said. How will she decide what she will do, I asked. "I have no idea," was her reply. Our home-stay family has never met this family, so I asked the mother how the decision will be made. She said she will ask about the family this week, and then go to a "fortune teller" to look at the couple's horoscope. I asked the mother how many more rejections will she allow her daughter to make. When this question was translated, everyone just laughed.

So I asked about Chao May and learned that she accepted that marriage proposal. She now has two children, the youngest just two weeks old. Her one year old son (the child we could never get to smile, and so has been named by our group “pouting child”) is temporarily living with his grandparents at our homestay to allow Chao May time with her new infant.