Cafe and Appearances

I went to see my host family from ho chi minh city for dinner today. It was really nice. I then went with my former host sister Anh to drink some milk shakes at a local "upscale coffee shop" where we proceeded to drink fruit shakes. After that I came back to the hotel where Hai Minh and I are roomies. We conversed on the importance on appearance in the work place and just in general. Knowing that I will turn 21 soon is a big wake up call. So now I am putting more effort into the way I look and today I put on my contacts and some make up (with help from Hai Minh). I think I look very different but it's a welcomed change as people seem to think I look better! Take a look!

The Cu Chi Tunnels, Vung Tao..I ate a Snail and I Seriously Didn't Like it!

On Friday I went to visit the Cu Chi tunnels. It is amazing what war can do to people... The introductory video that we watched was anything but pleasant and one could really see the hatred that the Vietnamese following the initial end of the war held for those 'savage' Americans. In addition, we saw traps that the Cu Chi people set up to "capture" and to kill the Americans-I felt a little uneasy after that.I also went into one of the tunnels, it was pretty dark and a very intense experience. I did it fine (I was surprised too) but someone behind me started freaking out and so we all tried to hurry out of the tunnel so that the person could get out.

Today I went to Vung Tao (the beach!) and it was really fun. I went with Vi's family, Co Thanh's son (the academic director's) and with Thuy (her picture is here-it is one of the earlier ones). I have been working on my ISP proposal as the first draft is due tomorrow (Monday). I am glad that I got to take a break from working/studying. I ate a snail and it was very disgusting...After a couple of bites I seriously didn't know what to do. They didn't want me to throw it away so I put the whole thing in my mouth and it took me about 10 minutes to chew it to a point where I would be ok with swallowing it. In order to help my discomfort at having a snail in my mouth I ate A LOT of spicy sauce/chilly, ginger and some leaves (don't know what type). At least now I can say, ' I ate a snail and I didn't like it'.

After this week we are off to the capital, Hanoi! It should be interesting given that a lot of people in the South don't seem to think well of the Northerners. For example some people have told me to beware of the Northerners because they are not honest and straightforward people like they are (the southerners, especially in the Mekong).

We are Dropping Like Flies

Since we have been back from our central excursion more and more people in our group seem to be getting sick. I was sick today (just felt really weak and nauseous) and after lunch slept for a good chunk of the afternoon. Unfortunately, some people in my group haven't been as fortunate as being able to sleep off whatever it is that they currently have. Our illnesses range from cold, mild upset stomachs, to food poisoning and dengue fever. I am especially worried about the boy with dengue because his heart rate has been low and he hasn't been able to eat anything... I can only pray he gets better and that there aren't any complications, such as internal bleeding. This is all a part of the experience abroad, especially in a developing country (some risk is involved). I never realized how clean we Americans are! In America we have so many health standards and things are just generally more sanitary- we complain that we are still lacking in this and that... but really, we have it pretty good!

Academically:
I now have established three contacts for my ISP, one of them being my ISP advisor. I also have my homestay family's support and will be staying with them while I do my research in Can Tho. I still haven't come up with a focus for my ISP; I have my overall topic but I haven't found exactly what I will be answering. I think that as I talk to more people, especially people who are more familiar with this topic than I am that I will be able to find exactly what I need. In the meantime I am working on my final project and on the parts of my ISP proposal that I am able to at this time.

Why does it always come back to Japanese?

I should go to bed right now... for some reason I just felt like posting because I can. I really miss learning Japanese. I really want to keep learning it when I come back. Vietnamese is interesting to learn and is another language that I can add to my list however, I love the way Japanese sounds! I can't help it...sometimes I want to find a word to say in Vietnamese but when I don't know it the word will pop up in Japanese if I happen to know or remember it. At this point I can say my Vietnamese is beating my Japanese (I am sad about this). I want to see Japan so badly and to watch Gackt in one of his concerts (is a dream of mine), but I think that by the end of the program my thoughts may be more focused on coming home. Who knows? Maybe I will get the travel bug after coming back and may work towards traveling to another country.

Back to Saigon For Two Weeks

Yesterday the group and I took a flight out from Hue back to Saigon. A lot will be happening these two weeks that I will be here. I have my final exam, my final Vietnamese exam and I need to write my ISP proposal properly so the paperwork necessary can be done for me to do research in Can Tho. However, I changed my topic again! I don't think that I will change it though. The idea of doing this topic is very exciting. I am thinking about researching how sustainable tourism is in Can Tho or something to that effect. You know, Can Tho is promoting tourism more than ever, especially this year. During our excursion to Central Vietnam we spoke to an SIT alum by the name of Lucas Thornblade. He gave us some advice on conducting our field research and told us about his experiences concerning his own ISP. After talking with him (and later Hai Minh) I realized that I should do an ISP for ME and not anyone else. My ISP should be something that I care about and will enjoy learning about and it's not as though I wouldn't enjoy learning about the previous two topics but honestly, I only have a month to do this! I shouldn't be taking on anything too grand because this is a research paper that will only scratch the surface.

The Old Capital: Hue City

I am currently in the old capital of Hue where the last Vietnamese dynasty, the Nguyen dynasty ruled. Today we saw the most famous pagoda in Hue which was built by the king. It was said that the king had 500 wives and hundreds of children. We also saw a pagoda dedicated to the king and queen, as well as where a famous monk who burned himself to protest against the Party was buried.




The pic above is a pic of Hai Minh (classmate) and I =)
(Click on the pictures to make them bigger!)

The Village of Hope- Da Nang Viet Nam

From their website: "The Village of Hope Children's Center, established by East Meets West in 1993, serves orphaned, at-risk and deaf children in Central Vietnam. East Meets West initially funded the construction of the Village with a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). A wide range of activities are made available to all of the children, including: athletics, music, dance, art, theater training, and English as a second language instruction."http://www.eastmeetswest.org/programs/villageofhope.html

You know, I went here today and it hit me...I want to help these children. I am thinking about putting together a video concerning my visit there and would like to put it up on youtube in the near future. Right now they are not doing very well in terms of funding and even so, the NGO does not want to close it down- because it honestly works well. If one were to see all the things that the children here are learning and in how many ways they are benefiting from being in this village one would be astounded. The artwork, paintings, sculptures and and embroideries made by these children is top notch. A couple of students from the SIT program and myself are thinking that maybe we can bring some of their work to the U.S. in order to sell it in our campuses, in this way we could help funraise. You know, it only takes 650 dollars a year, not a month, but a year to support one child? Even if all I can do is raise enough money to help one child I still believe it's worth it. I'm going to email my school and keep in touch with the project coordinator here in Viet Nam and will try to find out how feasible this is and when it could be done. However, for now my group and I will just go to Metro (a huge international supermarket) to buy the children some much desired snacks!