The Beginning.

(can't post pics as our internet is quite dodgy and our photos quite large...will add once we get home)

We are in love with Vietnam!  From the perspiration from the heat, smell of cooking food and millions of people who are quick to smile it is easy to fall in love.  Well worth the 18 hours in the air and over 25 at airports.  It is easy to get swallowed up by the city, with over 6 million inhabitants and more people shoved into one square mile then I have ever seen, it is easy to become overwhelmed though the people prevent that from happening, from the young families who all come out after work into the park for their kids to play together, or the older individuals waking up early to do tai chi by the lake instead of feeling alone and separated one feels embraced and included. 

Day 2
We started our day with a lovely tour given by college students.  It is a pretty excellent program called Hanoi Kids that aims to help university students become educated about their heritage, better their English and meet new people.  Our guides were a little late and very apologetic.  Come to find out one had been in a moped wreck and banged up his knee pretty bad though he wouldn't hear of not giving us a tour.  I think every country should have a program like this!  They helped us figure out what taxi services wouldn't rip us off, how to exchange money and other cultural do's & don'ts.  They also took us to the Hoa Lo Prison, Temple of Literature, and the Army Museum.  Both guides had been trained to teach us more about their culture and these exhibits.  I learned a lot about the symbolism in their buildings and also how connected they are to the 5 elements and in most buildings (including shrines) these are incorporated.  It was important to the students that they actually helped us understand and we got some "mini tests" to see if we were paying attention.  ha!  The Hoa Lo Prison was very humbling and also insightful as our students wanted to make sure that we saw how the Vietnamese had treated our troops that had been bombed down and it seemed important to them for us to agree that they had treated them very well (which it seemed that had!).  It is crazy to see how destructive the war was to Vietnam yet it seems like little was held against us.  I wish I had more time to explore this yet I will leave it at that for now and expand later as I myself become more educated.

The students cannot and will not take any money for their tours but you can buy them lunch!  I remember what it was like to be a student so we of course went to the best place they knew and bought everything on the menu!  Ha.  It was a neat place where the tables looked like traditional Asian tables that you squat at yet when you went to squat down there was hidden space under the tables for your legs so it was actually quite comfortable.  We tried fried frog legs and squid.  I think Dinh was trying to test us but little did she know that we are willing to eat anything once.    

I think my favorite part about touring with our students were the questions they wanted to ask about our culture.  Dihn is only 21 and very obsessed with “romance” and had all sorts of questions about when we were getting married and having babies…I asked if she had met my mother and she laughed.  Her sweet nature and quick smile made it easy to feel care free as well. She told us about her parents who both worked for Hyundai and that they have to work 7 days a week and that Vietnamese typically do not get days off, except for a couple during their TET holiday.  She said if they do take time off they do not get paid and I will say it made Brent and I feel pretty privileged.  She showed us how to cross the street “safely”….you just start walking at a very constant/consistent pace and the cars/mopeds/buses/people on bikes should get out of your way…it is a very exhilarating experience I shall tell you.  Pretty much you just start walking at a very consistent and brisk pace and *hopefully* the mopeds/buses/bikes/cars will dodge you.  It is thrilling and also very humbling because each time I make it across I am thankful to still be around! 

We also were able to see the local Water Puppet Show.  We arrived and learned that this tradition only occurs in two cities in the world and started by farmers who had a little downtime in their rice paddies.  The show was very good as they had traditional singers and instruments play while telling the stories with these puppets that somehow were able to move and “talk” even though they were in the water.  It was only an hour and went quickly because even though we had no idea what they stories were about just trying to figure out how they could do it was exciting and puzzling.  The Vietnamese take a lot of pride in their heritage and the people of Hanoi take a lot of pride in their “claim to fame” as water puppet masters.