March 6th and 7th - Hoian, farming lesson and orphanage

March 6th - Hoi An:
This morning we flew to Danang, then took a one hour bus ride to the beautiful village of Hoi An. I have been trying to figure out why I have had nothing to say in my blog, and I realized that I have had no time for me. Being a leader of a group of 34 people, and the responsibility that entails, is so different than my sabbatical year abroad. I changed the itinerary this year, adding a village homestay outside of Hanoi, and another day in the minority villages in Sapa, which meant fully packing each day in Ho Chi Minh City.

We arrived in Hoi An around 4PM, then got on our bicycles and rode the 3 miles to the beach. We will be here for 5 days, going to lessons in small groups each day - farming, fishing, cooking, and lantern making. Everything is close by, so we will have a break from the bus, and ride our bikes to our lessons each day.

Sunset on our way back from the beach

It is the newness of a foreign place that engages all of my senses, as if shouting at me, "Wake up," as if I had been only half awake, sleep walking.

March 7th: farming lesson and the orphanage:

Something shifted for me today. Maybe it is finally getting back into "travel mode," or maybe it was the bike ride through the rice fields to the farming lesson, or maybe just the change of pace in Hoi An, so different from the hectic pace of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), but I noticed for the first time everything slowing down, and the chatter in my head becoming quiet.

shrimp farming pond

On our bike ride to our farming lesson

One of my students riding a water buffalo

Our farm

religious shrine in the middle of the farm land

bug net (this is an organic farm)

farmer with his watering cans and laundry in the back ground

more laundry, still attractive to me

After a tour of the farm, students were taught how to hoe up the soil, lay down seaweed collected from the nearby ponds for fertilizer, then plant cabbage seedlings.

student attempting to use the two water can system on the seedlings

We then had a cooking lesson at the farm house.

Our cooking teacher with this delicious appetizer of pork, shrimp and mint, tied together with a scallion. Dip it in spicy fish sauce and wow - so delicious!

The farmers then prepared for us a delicious lunch. This is sesame seed rice with banana leaf fish.

In the afternoon we all went to a nearby orphanage. We purchased rice, noodles, milk for the infants, and snack food to donate to the orphanage.

Eli, on of the trip leaders, with a orphan in the baby house.

The orphange was established during the French period. In 1975, with the communist victory, the orphange was turned over to the government. There are currently 70 children in the orphanage, ranging from new-born babies to high school students. 25 of the orphans are physically or mentally disabled. Most of the orphans were given up by their parents. The government provides 360,000 dong (approximately $18) per child per month for food, housing and supplies. The rest must come from donations.

a student with an infant

This baby crawled over to me and held up his arms. He wouldn't let me put him down, and I didn't want to. I held him until he fell asleep.

This boy loved our cameras. He squealed with joy every time he viewed a picture he took.

Our whole group with the able-bodied children, who we met when they returned from school. We played a rousing game of soccer and Vietnamese hacky-sack with them.

Beginning of the Evergreen Vietnam trip

I might as well start this blog with a laundry shot.

Mekong delta floating market laundry

March 3rd - The First Morning:

After a long day of transit (20 hours from Seattle to Seoul to Ho Chi Minh City) on the first and 2nd of March, we let the students sleep in, then went exploring the city in small groups. We spent a lot of time all year during Trip Advisory class preparing the students for maximizing their experience in Vietnam with classes on addressing their fears, accepting "vulnerability" as an opportunity instead of a fear, self-reflection and meditation, and the students took their lessons to heart. They were excited to try everything. Here is my group trying their first fresh coconut juice.

We walked to Ben Thanh market, which is a huge indoor complex where just about everything is sold. We wandered through the meat market.

Students had their first bowl of pho (Vietnamese soup).

And I had my favorite dish - fresh spring rolls.

In the fruit market students saw dragon fruit.

Durian

And of course, the best fruit in the world - mangosteens. As president of "Mongosteens Are The Best Fruit In The World Club," it is my priviledge, right and responsibility to share this most delicious fruit with everyone. We are in Vietnam 7 weeks earlier than normal. The mangosteen season has just begun, and they are very expensive - 200,000 dong per kilo (about $4.50 per pound), but I have to say that they are worth it. Membership in my club is free, all one has to do is agree with the name of the club. Out of my small exploring group of 5 students, I now have one new member, and two students decided to start their own club, titled "Mangosteens are the best fruit in the world, along with a number of other delicious fruit. " Personally, I like my club title better.

Banana bicycle

Street sales woman

In the afternoon we went to the War Remnants Museum, which graphically documents the American War (what we call the Vietnam War).

US plane carpet bombing

I like to start the Evergreen Vietnam experience by going to this museum. It is a very intense experience for everyone, but especially for Americans. And it helps to put the year's study in perspective (students study Vietnam's history, culture, religion, economy all year - five days a week) - this trip is not a vacation.

After about an hour and a half at the museum, we met up as a group to refective journal write and then debrief. One student said, "What really affected me was the photo of a US military man giving mouth to mouth to another soldier. And then seeing the photo of the two little Vietnamese boys shot down by our soldiers. How do these two realities exist side by side?"


Other student comments during the debriefing:
"It is sad how we can look at these photos, feel really bad, then a few minutes later, just forget and be right back in our daily reality."

"I appreciate so much how lucky I am, and how much I have."

"War is not war. It is vicious aggression and revenge."

"Even though we studied the American war, it became so much more real to me when I saw the individual faces of the people hurt by this war."

Birth defects from agent orange

Gas-masked US soldiers working with agent orange

Before and after shots, showing the rebuilding of Vietnam

March 4th: Mekong Delta all day tour:

One of the student learning to make edible rice paper.

Student and snake

Mango tree

After a 2 hour bus ride, we started the tour on a large boat through the floating market. We then walked through some villages, learned to make rice paper, watched popped rice made from hot black sand in a huge wak, watched the making of coconut candy, and ate a delicious lunch, the students boarded small row boats to explore the canals.

Students working hard on their row boat.

March 5th: I was invited by Mike, our national guide, to the wedding of his brother-in-law, as the students went to Cu Chi tunnels to explore the underground network of the communists.

Bride and Groom

The ritual gift giving

The groom give agift of gold jewlry to the bride. Here he is putting in the earrings.

We were served a great meal.

The ritualistic giving back part of the gifts.

11/27: An opportunity to help

In September of 2009 I went with my son Noah to Bodh Gaya in India, the site of where Buddha sat under the Bodhi Tree 2,500 years ago and achieved enlightenment. It was here that I met Dinu, a young man working to help support his family while attending college . I ended up spending many days with Dinu - we ate many meals together, and he toured me around Bodh Gaya, including a visit to his village and a meal at his family's home. Besides being a really nice young man, Dinu was searching for a way to help out his family, in particular, his sister Rajni. Bodh Gaya is in the state of Bihar, the poorest state in all of India. The only way out of the poverty is through education. I decided to support his sister in private school this year.

Dinu and his family, including his mother (far left) and sister Rajni (in the front with the bowl of rice)

Rajni in her new school uniform

Throughout the school year, Dinu would write me, telling me of his sister's progress in school. He even sent me her school progress reports (picture below). I will continue to support his sister's education, but Dinu has asked me if it was possible to help pay for transportation and other costs. So I thought in this time of thankfulness, it might be nice to share with others the opportunity to help make a difference for a family that is not so financially fortunate, but is working towards making their life better. If you are interested in helping out this family, please let me know. You can write me at: rleeengel@gmail.com, but let me know soon, for the school year starts in January.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is tomorrow - thus a good time to reflect on what I am thankful for (actually, I am forgetting the lesson that it is always a good time to reflect on what I am thankful for). And though there is a side to me that wants to separate out the "good stuff," I know deep down that I am thankful for everything, every event, every moment that has brought me to this place in time (for they are nothing less than "hidden blessings").

Natan, running cross country

The Yakima river - on my way back from the state cross-country tournament, I crossed over this river and had to pull over.

my deck yesterday morning - an early snow storm

stairs down the deck

A nice fire, as temperatures dipped into the teens (negative 8 degrees C)