May 19
Saigon
Today is Uncle Ho's birthday. I personally celebrated by going shopping. Everyone's souvenirs are on the way. :)
Friday, May 23, 2003
May 18 11 pm
I picked the wrong show to go to without a translator. So I went to this play whose name translates as something like 'Saving Face' It's based on a Moliere play but I can't imagine which one. It involves men dressed as giant butterflies and a sea captain. There were men in pig suits and an explosion of some kind. I think it involved water somehow. There were a few actors I knew. Oh and it started with the US airforce theme, although I really doubt anyone knew that.
Today I did not get out of bed until 3 pm. This is because I was suffering severely from the effects of my activities last night. It seems that there's an Irish pub in Saigon, and it is like something straight out of Dublin. I went there with Molly, her boyfriend, Nhat, and her brother, who was visiting from America. There were maps of Ireland and pictures of Irish heroes on the wall, and the crowd was decently Irish. One guy, I think he owned the place, would frequently orchestrate the chorus of drunks. "Let's have a famine song!" he'd say. "Let's have a rebel song!" Nothing like singing songs about throwing the Brits out of Ireland while sitting in the middle of Vietnam. Although at the time it didn't seem all that out of context.
The Danish man at the bar next to me said "I think you Irish only leave Ireland so you can sing sad songs about how you miss it."
At a certain point in the evening I was singing right along; later, I busted out a brogue for some reason. I stayed late talking to the bartender and his girlfriend, and I was actually the last person out of the bar. They got me a xe om home. It was good times.
Plus earlier that day I had a very enlightening interview with an actor. I will tell you about it when I get home.
I picked the wrong show to go to without a translator. So I went to this play whose name translates as something like 'Saving Face' It's based on a Moliere play but I can't imagine which one. It involves men dressed as giant butterflies and a sea captain. There were men in pig suits and an explosion of some kind. I think it involved water somehow. There were a few actors I knew. Oh and it started with the US airforce theme, although I really doubt anyone knew that.
Today I did not get out of bed until 3 pm. This is because I was suffering severely from the effects of my activities last night. It seems that there's an Irish pub in Saigon, and it is like something straight out of Dublin. I went there with Molly, her boyfriend, Nhat, and her brother, who was visiting from America. There were maps of Ireland and pictures of Irish heroes on the wall, and the crowd was decently Irish. One guy, I think he owned the place, would frequently orchestrate the chorus of drunks. "Let's have a famine song!" he'd say. "Let's have a rebel song!" Nothing like singing songs about throwing the Brits out of Ireland while sitting in the middle of Vietnam. Although at the time it didn't seem all that out of context.
The Danish man at the bar next to me said "I think you Irish only leave Ireland so you can sing sad songs about how you miss it."
At a certain point in the evening I was singing right along; later, I busted out a brogue for some reason. I stayed late talking to the bartender and his girlfriend, and I was actually the last person out of the bar. They got me a xe om home. It was good times.
Plus earlier that day I had a very enlightening interview with an actor. I will tell you about it when I get home.
May 16 10 pm
Saigon
So when I got to the theater at 9 am today, I discovered that a) No one was there and b) the rehearsal actually started at 2 pm the next day. Also the show that my advisor told me I should see tonight won't be showing anywhere in Ho Chi Minh City for the next few months. I think all that stepping on ants in my room is ruining my karma.
I actually did go to a spoken play tonight, although it was one we found at the lsat minute. The original one we planned to go to was cancelled; it was supposed to be held outside and it rained. So this play was mostly spoken, although there were songs that the actors lip synched. Really really melodramatic for no reason I can see.
Also I was on Vietnamese TV last night. There was a TV show on Co Minh Ngoc, my advisor, and a camera crew came to her class and shot footage on a day that I happened to be there. So I am famous.
Saigon
So when I got to the theater at 9 am today, I discovered that a) No one was there and b) the rehearsal actually started at 2 pm the next day. Also the show that my advisor told me I should see tonight won't be showing anywhere in Ho Chi Minh City for the next few months. I think all that stepping on ants in my room is ruining my karma.
I actually did go to a spoken play tonight, although it was one we found at the lsat minute. The original one we planned to go to was cancelled; it was supposed to be held outside and it rained. So this play was mostly spoken, although there were songs that the actors lip synched. Really really melodramatic for no reason I can see.
Also I was on Vietnamese TV last night. There was a TV show on Co Minh Ngoc, my advisor, and a camera crew came to her class and shot footage on a day that I happened to be there. So I am famous.
May 15 9 pm
Saigon
So yesterday I had the horrifying experience of calling a famous actor who I'd been told speaks English. Yup. Can we talk about how he doesn't speak a word of it and had no idea what I was saying. Mortifying. I nearly died.
Then that afternoon we three remaining SIT students had lunch with the SIT staff. It was the first time I'd seen them in 2 weeks. It was actually really cool to see them again, and we sort of just sat around talking and laughing for 2 hours.
Then this eveningI went out for coffee with Trang and Thu, two of the people from the cai loung company. They are completely awesome. I finally found out what Thu does - he's a critic. They took me to this place down the street that has a live band (piano/violin/viola) that you can make requests from. It was good.
This morning I actually had breakfast at the Continental. The food was ok, although nothing to write home about. The restaurant was entirely deserted except for us. The Contintental/Caravelle/Rex hotel district is pretty empty. It must be SARS. There were 6 staff members standing around, and as a result we were heavily waited upon. Which is a same, because I wished to steal the toothpick holder that had "Hotel Continental" written on it. Instead I had to settle for a toothpick.
Then at 2 I went to see my advisor with Thu (Translator Thu). She told me to go and see a rehearsal tomorrow and meet the actors, including the guy who most certainly doesn't speak English. I wonder what it will be like. No doubt it will not bear the slightest resemblance to my expectations.
Tonight also I went to see this Hat Boi play. Or rather part of a Hat Boi play, because before the performance they had an announcement saying they would perform excerpts, because some of the actors had been held up in traffic and could not be there.
Basically the story was about a king whose first concubine's father has betrayed the country. She wasn't in on it, but she helped destroy evidence. Like Richard Nixon. The old king's first concumbine, who still has a lot of power, wants the girl executed for the crime. The king is devastated by this, but there really isn't much he can do because a. she's guilty and b. he's a putz. So he does a little dance and signs her death warrant. This means her options are: being torn limb from limb by 5 galloping horses, dispatching herself with a knife, and hanging herself with a scarf. The couple is very sad and still very much in love. They do a sad dance where she entertains all of the neater possibilities (no horses) and eventually it ends when she hangs herself.
The thing about Har Boi is people are dramatic to the nth degree They don't just hang themselves, they do a 10 minute song and dance with scarves, knives, and poison first. They don't just sign their girlfriend's death warrant, they do a 5 minute dance with thei pen, lamenting that the pen must be used for such a purpose.
Also today I wen to Anh Hung's house and saw his son. SO CUTE!!
Saigon
So yesterday I had the horrifying experience of calling a famous actor who I'd been told speaks English. Yup. Can we talk about how he doesn't speak a word of it and had no idea what I was saying. Mortifying. I nearly died.
Then that afternoon we three remaining SIT students had lunch with the SIT staff. It was the first time I'd seen them in 2 weeks. It was actually really cool to see them again, and we sort of just sat around talking and laughing for 2 hours.
Then this eveningI went out for coffee with Trang and Thu, two of the people from the cai loung company. They are completely awesome. I finally found out what Thu does - he's a critic. They took me to this place down the street that has a live band (piano/violin/viola) that you can make requests from. It was good.
This morning I actually had breakfast at the Continental. The food was ok, although nothing to write home about. The restaurant was entirely deserted except for us. The Contintental/Caravelle/Rex hotel district is pretty empty. It must be SARS. There were 6 staff members standing around, and as a result we were heavily waited upon. Which is a same, because I wished to steal the toothpick holder that had "Hotel Continental" written on it. Instead I had to settle for a toothpick.
Then at 2 I went to see my advisor with Thu (Translator Thu). She told me to go and see a rehearsal tomorrow and meet the actors, including the guy who most certainly doesn't speak English. I wonder what it will be like. No doubt it will not bear the slightest resemblance to my expectations.
Tonight also I went to see this Hat Boi play. Or rather part of a Hat Boi play, because before the performance they had an announcement saying they would perform excerpts, because some of the actors had been held up in traffic and could not be there.
Basically the story was about a king whose first concubine's father has betrayed the country. She wasn't in on it, but she helped destroy evidence. Like Richard Nixon. The old king's first concumbine, who still has a lot of power, wants the girl executed for the crime. The king is devastated by this, but there really isn't much he can do because a. she's guilty and b. he's a putz. So he does a little dance and signs her death warrant. This means her options are: being torn limb from limb by 5 galloping horses, dispatching herself with a knife, and hanging herself with a scarf. The couple is very sad and still very much in love. They do a sad dance where she entertains all of the neater possibilities (no horses) and eventually it ends when she hangs herself.
The thing about Har Boi is people are dramatic to the nth degree They don't just hang themselves, they do a 10 minute song and dance with scarves, knives, and poison first. They don't just sign their girlfriend's death warrant, they do a 5 minute dance with thei pen, lamenting that the pen must be used for such a purpose.
Also today I wen to Anh Hung's house and saw his son. SO CUTE!!
May 13 10pm
Saigon
So yesterday, my afternoon interview was cancelled. I puttered around all day, going to visit Thu, going to the backpacker district with Sarah. I got souvenirs for Bozz which I will not list here. Well, all right, it was snake wine.
Yesterday, I called Co Minh Hanh, the person at the Cai Loung offices that I'd interviewed. She was very happy to hear from me and invited me to go somewhere with her that afternoon, but our collective Vietglish wasn't good enough for her to tell me where. No matter. So Thu, (not my translator, he's a guy from Cu Chi who works for the cai loung company in some capacity I haven't been able to determine), picked me up.
So we went to this building, which I later determined was the Communist Youth League building. There was a big auditorium with some policemen sitting in it. They took me backstage, where we saw Co Minh Hanh for a few seconds while she was busily powdering someone's face. I think the performers were theater students. She said to me, "The police, they have a little drama to stop fires" And then she sent us into the auditorium to watch.
And indeed they were little dramas to pervent fires. The actors acted out some unfortunate scenarios that might cause fires. Fire was usually represented by flashing red lights and panicked "Psycho" (the movie) music, although once they got a real flame onstage. In my favorite scene, fire was represented by a guy in a neon red suit who danced around and waved his arms like a fire. For some reason, he had on blue shoes. He signified the fire's destructive power by waving his hands up into the house where the fire started; destroying the roof by knocking off the roof's tiles. It was most excellent. Later, he got what was coming to him when the people who lived in the house appeared with a fire extinguisher, a fire blanket, and some water.
May 11 11 pm
Saigon
Wow I haven't been writing lately. To recap the past few days: yesterday I interviewed this Cai loung producer/director who is Thu's mom's friend. I actually did part of the interview in French, but then we switched to having Thu do Vietnamese-English translations because Thu's English could beat up my friend any day of the week.
I guess she's a good source of info - she's worked in the theater for many years and is a good source of info on various forms of theater, but ug. She just went on and on for 10 minutes when I hadn't even asked her a question, and...bah. I know it's ungrateful but blah.
Then at night Thu and I went to a Hat Boi performance called "The Human Fox" Well, it was kind of Hat Boi. Traditional Hat Boi comes from the old days; it contains a lot of Chinese and the actors sometimes communicate by gestures you're supposed to just understand (because, I suppose, if you were a classical Vietnamese person you would have learned them as a child). This particular play was done in modern language with modern costumes, but it was in the traditional style. It was about a Hat Boi actress who ran away and got involved in heroin and a bad man and that short of thing. Her Hat Boi friends try to bring her back, and they eventually succeed. Sorry that recap was utterly dreadful; it was actually a really well done play. Interestingly enough they used long stretches of ribbon to symbolize all sorts of thing - a lake, a doorway, etc. It was really innovative, and if I ever design a set I want to include it.
Today Phoung came to see me, early. I spent the whole day with her, going around her district. We went shopping at this place that was actually like an American shopping mall. It was so weird to be in a place like that again. I wonder what driving a car will be like.
Tonight I went to the Co-op mart (supermarket). I bought a big bag of groceries, so big I was having trouble carrying it. It was unimportant things - glue and scissors I needed for my project, fruit, some crackers. On the walk home, I passed this woman who was sleeping on the street. Not that that's an uncommon occurance. Lots of people do that in Saigon. They come in from the countryside, and they sell lottery tickets or beg or whatever they do, and they sleep outside because they are in the city illegally. Saigon is a significantly safer place to do that than, say New York. AsI was passing her and our eyes met. She looked longingly, she didn't actually ask me for anything. It was one of those moments when you randomly connect with someone. I had more in that bag than she had in the world. She had a sheet of some kind and a conical hat and her closes, as well as a small pack.
I wish I could say I stopped and gave her the whole bag, but I didn't know what to do and kept walking. When I got back to my room, I put all the food I had bought in my backpack to give to her. I also put $50 in an envelope. I don't know what I was thinking with that; it's about 2 months salary in the countryside. I only wanted to give her the money if I could do it in a way that she couldn't identify me, because I really can't do that for everyone. So I headed down the street to look for her. I ran into Molly on the way, and she came to. I walked all the way to the Co-op mart, but she was gone.
Saigon
Wow I haven't been writing lately. To recap the past few days: yesterday I interviewed this Cai loung producer/director who is Thu's mom's friend. I actually did part of the interview in French, but then we switched to having Thu do Vietnamese-English translations because Thu's English could beat up my friend any day of the week.
I guess she's a good source of info - she's worked in the theater for many years and is a good source of info on various forms of theater, but ug. She just went on and on for 10 minutes when I hadn't even asked her a question, and...bah. I know it's ungrateful but blah.
Then at night Thu and I went to a Hat Boi performance called "The Human Fox" Well, it was kind of Hat Boi. Traditional Hat Boi comes from the old days; it contains a lot of Chinese and the actors sometimes communicate by gestures you're supposed to just understand (because, I suppose, if you were a classical Vietnamese person you would have learned them as a child). This particular play was done in modern language with modern costumes, but it was in the traditional style. It was about a Hat Boi actress who ran away and got involved in heroin and a bad man and that short of thing. Her Hat Boi friends try to bring her back, and they eventually succeed. Sorry that recap was utterly dreadful; it was actually a really well done play. Interestingly enough they used long stretches of ribbon to symbolize all sorts of thing - a lake, a doorway, etc. It was really innovative, and if I ever design a set I want to include it.
Today Phoung came to see me, early. I spent the whole day with her, going around her district. We went shopping at this place that was actually like an American shopping mall. It was so weird to be in a place like that again. I wonder what driving a car will be like.
Tonight I went to the Co-op mart (supermarket). I bought a big bag of groceries, so big I was having trouble carrying it. It was unimportant things - glue and scissors I needed for my project, fruit, some crackers. On the walk home, I passed this woman who was sleeping on the street. Not that that's an uncommon occurance. Lots of people do that in Saigon. They come in from the countryside, and they sell lottery tickets or beg or whatever they do, and they sleep outside because they are in the city illegally. Saigon is a significantly safer place to do that than, say New York. AsI was passing her and our eyes met. She looked longingly, she didn't actually ask me for anything. It was one of those moments when you randomly connect with someone. I had more in that bag than she had in the world. She had a sheet of some kind and a conical hat and her closes, as well as a small pack.
I wish I could say I stopped and gave her the whole bag, but I didn't know what to do and kept walking. When I got back to my room, I put all the food I had bought in my backpack to give to her. I also put $50 in an envelope. I don't know what I was thinking with that; it's about 2 months salary in the countryside. I only wanted to give her the money if I could do it in a way that she couldn't identify me, because I really can't do that for everyone. So I headed down the street to look for her. I ran into Molly on the way, and she came to. I walked all the way to the Co-op mart, but she was gone.
Saturday, May 10, 2003
May 9 10 pm
Saigon
So today I behaved myself. I spent the morning reading about water puppets and cai luong, and that sort of thing. Thu picked me up at 2 and took me to see water puppets at the cultural museum. The was show actually really small, sort of more of a display than a show. They just brought out different kinds of puppets, and a tape recorded voice explained in English what they were.
My favorite aspect of the experience what the sign that listed the ticket prices. In Vietnamese, it said "Ve - sau nghin" tickets - six thousand dong, with the word "six thousand" written out. The only part of the sign in English said "Foreigner - 1 USD" That's more than twice as much as 6,000 dong. I thought that was cute. So when I bought the tickets, I handed the lady a dollar and 6,000 dong and said in Vietnamese, "Here's my dollar, but my friend is Vietnamese" They were ok with that.
I did get some nice pictures, and I got to talk to the puppeteers. They said water puppetry is mostly in the north; here it just in that on eplace. The only other people at the show were American tourists. I don't know if they knew what to make of me and Thu.
Saigon
So today I behaved myself. I spent the morning reading about water puppets and cai luong, and that sort of thing. Thu picked me up at 2 and took me to see water puppets at the cultural museum. The was show actually really small, sort of more of a display than a show. They just brought out different kinds of puppets, and a tape recorded voice explained in English what they were.
My favorite aspect of the experience what the sign that listed the ticket prices. In Vietnamese, it said "Ve - sau nghin" tickets - six thousand dong, with the word "six thousand" written out. The only part of the sign in English said "Foreigner - 1 USD" That's more than twice as much as 6,000 dong. I thought that was cute. So when I bought the tickets, I handed the lady a dollar and 6,000 dong and said in Vietnamese, "Here's my dollar, but my friend is Vietnamese" They were ok with that.
I did get some nice pictures, and I got to talk to the puppeteers. They said water puppetry is mostly in the north; here it just in that on eplace. The only other people at the show were American tourists. I don't know if they knew what to make of me and Thu.
May 8 11 pm
Saigon
Yesterday, I interviewed the old man Thu and I met on Monday. He's working to promote Hat Boi, which is this really traditional form of Vietnamese theater. We went to the Hat Boi theater expecting to see a big crew, and it turned out the crew at that time consisted of one elderly man named Dinh Bang Phi, who as it turns out could give us a meeting today. So we went. When we got there, Thu mentioned she'd seen him in TV the night before. Apparently he's one of the most decorated actors in southern Vietnam. Who knew. And he gave me an hour of his time, telling me the details of Hat Boi. It's a very traditional form of Vietnamese theater, full of ornate costumes and masks. It's sort of dependent upon gestures that aren't immeadiately understandable, so if you haven't been taught what they mean it can be confusing. He gave us free tickets to his next show and told us to come back and see him again. He was SO NICE.
Today was supposed to be my day to read up on theater, instead I procrastinated really badly. I hung around with Thu and bought a denim skirt on Ha Ba Trung; just because I'd really like something that goes down to my knees. Clothes shopping in Vietnam was really disheartening, as everything in the stores is too small for me. I'm lucky I found this skirt.
Saigon
Yesterday, I interviewed the old man Thu and I met on Monday. He's working to promote Hat Boi, which is this really traditional form of Vietnamese theater. We went to the Hat Boi theater expecting to see a big crew, and it turned out the crew at that time consisted of one elderly man named Dinh Bang Phi, who as it turns out could give us a meeting today. So we went. When we got there, Thu mentioned she'd seen him in TV the night before. Apparently he's one of the most decorated actors in southern Vietnam. Who knew. And he gave me an hour of his time, telling me the details of Hat Boi. It's a very traditional form of Vietnamese theater, full of ornate costumes and masks. It's sort of dependent upon gestures that aren't immeadiately understandable, so if you haven't been taught what they mean it can be confusing. He gave us free tickets to his next show and told us to come back and see him again. He was SO NICE.
Today was supposed to be my day to read up on theater, instead I procrastinated really badly. I hung around with Thu and bought a denim skirt on Ha Ba Trung; just because I'd really like something that goes down to my knees. Clothes shopping in Vietnam was really disheartening, as everything in the stores is too small for me. I'm lucky I found this skirt.
May 5
saigon
I lov emy life so much it hurts. I went to interview someone this morning; he was so sweet and bought me a Coke. Then I went to this bulding where the Cai Luong students told me they'd be performing at 2. It turns out that they meant 2 o'clock on May 18, but buy the time Thu and I figured that out we had already been in the building so long we figured we might as well talk to someone. So we randomly walked into an office and interviewed the women who was sitting there. She turned out to be Co Minh Hanh, who is an artistic director at the theater. She reminds me of my mom, if my mom were a Vietnamese theater director. She gave us an interesting interview and then asked if I wanted to come to a Cai Luong show that night. I did, and it was wonderful.
The show was in district 7, and I rode there on the back of Co Minh Hanh's motorbike. The roads aren't really paved and they're all dusty. I was wearing a long skirt and had to ride side-saddle, which actually is safer than it appears. I promise. We also got lost, and thus spent about an hour zooming around D.7
So after about an hour of searching, we arrived at the location. The play had already started. It turns out it was an outdoor stage set up in a park, which is why it was hard to find people who knew where it was. I found out that basically the production was put on by a group of actors from Saigon who go out into poor areas and perform plays for people who wouldn't ordinarily have access to them. The audience was enthralled with the show, although I drew a lot of attention simply by walking in back of the crowd. They don't get a lot of white people in the more affluent section of town where I live, and they REALLY don't get a lot of white people out in District 7.
I watched the beginning of the play, it was a comedy.
It was completely low-key and wonderful. Co Minh Hanh asked if I wanted to go backstage and meet the actors, and I said yes, and off we went. Basically backstage was a small area behind the stage where the actors were putting on their makeup. There was also a rack of costumes, and a table where people sat around eating and talking. I took a few pictures of people getting their makeup on, and then they invited me to sit down at their table with them. It was basically where the actors and people involved with the show hung out when they weren't onstage. They were talking and laughing and having a fine time, and they were totally happy when I joined them. We talked - I spoke some Vietnamese and they spoke some English and it worked. They were eating fruit and taking shots of rice wine; this grandmotherly woman who I later found out was the director of the company gave me a shot; I think she was impressed when I took it unhesitatingly. grrrrr drinking like a man. Anyway, they cai loung people from that company are just the nicest people in the world, and they invited me to go see another performance of theirs in about 10 days, in another far-flung district.
Also they invited me to come see a cai loung class that was supposedly the next morning. I went and wasn't the least bit surprised to learn that the class doesn't start until September. So I went for coffee with the people who happened to be there. And had a fine time. Today I'm interviewing this old man with glaucoma who's involved in another form of theater. He actually speaks French really well, but I'm taking Thu along to interview him in Vietnamese because I don't trust my French well enough to do the whole thing in French. It was funny - we thought we were going to this big theater where they do something called hat boi, and it ended up being just this old man in an office. No matter. It should be interesting. Basically nothing is what it's supposed to be, but it's often better.
(just a note - I completely lifted most of that text from an email I sent, because I think it describes the situation pretty well)
saigon
I lov emy life so much it hurts. I went to interview someone this morning; he was so sweet and bought me a Coke. Then I went to this bulding where the Cai Luong students told me they'd be performing at 2. It turns out that they meant 2 o'clock on May 18, but buy the time Thu and I figured that out we had already been in the building so long we figured we might as well talk to someone. So we randomly walked into an office and interviewed the women who was sitting there. She turned out to be Co Minh Hanh, who is an artistic director at the theater. She reminds me of my mom, if my mom were a Vietnamese theater director. She gave us an interesting interview and then asked if I wanted to come to a Cai Luong show that night. I did, and it was wonderful.
The show was in district 7, and I rode there on the back of Co Minh Hanh's motorbike. The roads aren't really paved and they're all dusty. I was wearing a long skirt and had to ride side-saddle, which actually is safer than it appears. I promise. We also got lost, and thus spent about an hour zooming around D.7
So after about an hour of searching, we arrived at the location. The play had already started. It turns out it was an outdoor stage set up in a park, which is why it was hard to find people who knew where it was. I found out that basically the production was put on by a group of actors from Saigon who go out into poor areas and perform plays for people who wouldn't ordinarily have access to them. The audience was enthralled with the show, although I drew a lot of attention simply by walking in back of the crowd. They don't get a lot of white people in the more affluent section of town where I live, and they REALLY don't get a lot of white people out in District 7.
I watched the beginning of the play, it was a comedy.
It was completely low-key and wonderful. Co Minh Hanh asked if I wanted to go backstage and meet the actors, and I said yes, and off we went. Basically backstage was a small area behind the stage where the actors were putting on their makeup. There was also a rack of costumes, and a table where people sat around eating and talking. I took a few pictures of people getting their makeup on, and then they invited me to sit down at their table with them. It was basically where the actors and people involved with the show hung out when they weren't onstage. They were talking and laughing and having a fine time, and they were totally happy when I joined them. We talked - I spoke some Vietnamese and they spoke some English and it worked. They were eating fruit and taking shots of rice wine; this grandmotherly woman who I later found out was the director of the company gave me a shot; I think she was impressed when I took it unhesitatingly. grrrrr drinking like a man. Anyway, they cai loung people from that company are just the nicest people in the world, and they invited me to go see another performance of theirs in about 10 days, in another far-flung district.
Also they invited me to come see a cai loung class that was supposedly the next morning. I went and wasn't the least bit surprised to learn that the class doesn't start until September. So I went for coffee with the people who happened to be there. And had a fine time. Today I'm interviewing this old man with glaucoma who's involved in another form of theater. He actually speaks French really well, but I'm taking Thu along to interview him in Vietnamese because I don't trust my French well enough to do the whole thing in French. It was funny - we thought we were going to this big theater where they do something called hat boi, and it ended up being just this old man in an office. No matter. It should be interesting. Basically nothing is what it's supposed to be, but it's often better.
(just a note - I completely lifted most of that text from an email I sent, because I think it describes the situation pretty well)
May 4
Saigon - day 2 of the rainy season
So yesterday Sarah, Thu and I went to see a Cai Luong (renovated opera - like a Vietnamese musical) performace with a group of Cai Loung students we met at the class. They are allowed to go for free because they are students, and they hooked the 3 of us up with free tickets as well. They even argued with the usher that we should be allowed to sit with them, instead of in the seat numbers that were printed on our tickets. It didn't work, but they definitely went to bat for us.
The show itself was something like an American musical, in that some of it was spoken, some of it was sung. There was no dancing. The songs were traditional style, as were the instruments. The set and the costumes were decently complex - it wasn't like some forms of Vietnamese theater which have no set.
The story was about a girl and boy who are in love but whose families won't allow them to marry. The girl is pregnant, but she hasn't told anyone. The boy's parents make him get married to someone else, and the girl gives them the baby to raise. They tell the man's wife that the baby is just a regular orphan. Later on, the son grows up and wants to get married. He's noticed his father seems to be doting on this strange woman (who is actually his real mother) and he asks her to leave their family alone, for fear she'll split his parents up. Fortunately, the father comes clean about the situation to his wife and son, and...and that's really all I know about the story, because at that exact moment the electricity went out. The actors stopped singing right away, and everyone sat in the dark for a few minutes. Then the cast members decided it would be a good time to bow and everyone applauded and we called it a night.
A word about the audience - it did not look like a typical American theater audience, particularly one going to see famous actors. It looked like a cross section of the people you might see walking down the street. No one was particularly dressed up, and some people in the balcony section where we were sitting were seated on the floor with babies on their laps.
The house was never totally dark, and it's considered acceptable to talk to people during the show. You can also eat watermelon seeds. They're quite good.
Generally the audience didn't take itself too seriously at all. It was what I think the audience at the Globe must have been like. No one was really interested in criticizing the performance or showing their sophistication. They were just there to have a good time.
Today I went out with Sarah into Cholon, just to walk around. we found this market on a map and decided to go there -- it ended up being the one Phuong took us to at the beginning of the program. Good to know where it is now.
Saigon - day 2 of the rainy season
So yesterday Sarah, Thu and I went to see a Cai Luong (renovated opera - like a Vietnamese musical) performace with a group of Cai Loung students we met at the class. They are allowed to go for free because they are students, and they hooked the 3 of us up with free tickets as well. They even argued with the usher that we should be allowed to sit with them, instead of in the seat numbers that were printed on our tickets. It didn't work, but they definitely went to bat for us.
The show itself was something like an American musical, in that some of it was spoken, some of it was sung. There was no dancing. The songs were traditional style, as were the instruments. The set and the costumes were decently complex - it wasn't like some forms of Vietnamese theater which have no set.
The story was about a girl and boy who are in love but whose families won't allow them to marry. The girl is pregnant, but she hasn't told anyone. The boy's parents make him get married to someone else, and the girl gives them the baby to raise. They tell the man's wife that the baby is just a regular orphan. Later on, the son grows up and wants to get married. He's noticed his father seems to be doting on this strange woman (who is actually his real mother) and he asks her to leave their family alone, for fear she'll split his parents up. Fortunately, the father comes clean about the situation to his wife and son, and...and that's really all I know about the story, because at that exact moment the electricity went out. The actors stopped singing right away, and everyone sat in the dark for a few minutes. Then the cast members decided it would be a good time to bow and everyone applauded and we called it a night.
A word about the audience - it did not look like a typical American theater audience, particularly one going to see famous actors. It looked like a cross section of the people you might see walking down the street. No one was particularly dressed up, and some people in the balcony section where we were sitting were seated on the floor with babies on their laps.
The house was never totally dark, and it's considered acceptable to talk to people during the show. You can also eat watermelon seeds. They're quite good.
Generally the audience didn't take itself too seriously at all. It was what I think the audience at the Globe must have been like. No one was really interested in criticizing the performance or showing their sophistication. They were just there to have a good time.
Today I went out with Sarah into Cholon, just to walk around. we found this market on a map and decided to go there -- it ended up being the one Phuong took us to at the beginning of the program. Good to know where it is now.
May 2 11 pm
Saigon
OK basically I hung around and did nothing yesterday. This morning, though, I woke up and got a list of questions to ask the actors and Thu translated them for me. I also called my advisor; she said she's read over my email and my idea (to do my project on theater people and why they do what they do, as well as what kind of thing is being done here) was fine. So I went to the theater at 2 today with Thu and her cousin. Co Minh Ngoc was really busy as always and was pretty much directing a group of theater students. She old me I could interview them, and sent various people over for me to talk to. None of them really spoke English, but they were so nice and friendly, and Thu is a really good translator.
I interviewed a few people. Mostly, they go to school during the day and perform at night for money. Some of the I think are going to be well known, but VN is such an unstuck-up society that they were perfectly willing to talk to me.
Then Sarah and I took xe oms threw a pen at a map and took xe oms to the place where the pen landed. We're trying to explore different neighborhoods. We ended up eating at this place that sold, among other things, camel's hump, bull testes, fox meat, and a lot of other generally uneaten animails. There were also jars filled with snake wine, piglet wine, what appeared to be crow wine, and some hard-to-identify sea creature wine.
I had vegetables and garlic. Call me old fashioned.
Saigon
OK basically I hung around and did nothing yesterday. This morning, though, I woke up and got a list of questions to ask the actors and Thu translated them for me. I also called my advisor; she said she's read over my email and my idea (to do my project on theater people and why they do what they do, as well as what kind of thing is being done here) was fine. So I went to the theater at 2 today with Thu and her cousin. Co Minh Ngoc was really busy as always and was pretty much directing a group of theater students. She old me I could interview them, and sent various people over for me to talk to. None of them really spoke English, but they were so nice and friendly, and Thu is a really good translator.
I interviewed a few people. Mostly, they go to school during the day and perform at night for money. Some of the I think are going to be well known, but VN is such an unstuck-up society that they were perfectly willing to talk to me.
Then Sarah and I took xe oms threw a pen at a map and took xe oms to the place where the pen landed. We're trying to explore different neighborhoods. We ended up eating at this place that sold, among other things, camel's hump, bull testes, fox meat, and a lot of other generally uneaten animails. There were also jars filled with snake wine, piglet wine, what appeared to be crow wine, and some hard-to-identify sea creature wine.
I had vegetables and garlic. Call me old fashioned.
April 30 10 pm
Saigon
There are days when you have intense intercultural experiences that lead to staggering cultural insights, and there are days when you have your picture taken in front of the a giant ice sculpture of the Taj Mahal. Today I had my picture taken in front of a giant ice sculpture of the Taj Mahal.
What happened was, I went to the park that Thu invited me to. It turns out she meant a theme park - she took me to this Disneyland-type place, which was packed. Everyone had the day off, and they wanted to hang out in the theme park. There were a couple of rides in the front of the place - a swinging pirateship ride and a version of the swing ride. There were also a small zoo, and several sections of something like a botanical garden, with one part devoted entirely to cactus plants.
There was also a place where you could buy a ticket to go inside a giant (baseball field-sized) room that held 20 foot high ice sculptures of many of the world's famous buildings, including Angkor Wat, the Taj Mahal, Big Ben, and the Roman Colisseum. The Taj Mahal was the prettiest, so Thu and I had our picture taken there.
The one thing I can say about my life is it's not predictable.
Also, since I was definitely the only foreigner in the park, 2 groups of people stopped and wanted their pictures taken with me. The first group was very nice; they asked politely and said thank you. The second group seemed to regard me as just another object to stand in front of. Thu says I should start charging people to have their pictures taken with me.
I'm starting to think Liberation Day, at least in Saigon is sort of like Memorial Day in the States. You know someone, somewhere, is doing something to commemorate the day, but you personally go out and have fun. There are tons of flags on the streets; in that respect it looks like the Fourth of July with a different color scheme.
I went for a walk through District 1 tonight. There was nothing going on at the palace, but there was a huge crowd gathered in front of the opera house between the Continental and the Caravelle. Whatever they were watching seemed to be taking a break; there was a stage but no one was on it, and there was music playing. I didn't stick around for long.
Saigon
There are days when you have intense intercultural experiences that lead to staggering cultural insights, and there are days when you have your picture taken in front of the a giant ice sculpture of the Taj Mahal. Today I had my picture taken in front of a giant ice sculpture of the Taj Mahal.
What happened was, I went to the park that Thu invited me to. It turns out she meant a theme park - she took me to this Disneyland-type place, which was packed. Everyone had the day off, and they wanted to hang out in the theme park. There were a couple of rides in the front of the place - a swinging pirateship ride and a version of the swing ride. There were also a small zoo, and several sections of something like a botanical garden, with one part devoted entirely to cactus plants.
There was also a place where you could buy a ticket to go inside a giant (baseball field-sized) room that held 20 foot high ice sculptures of many of the world's famous buildings, including Angkor Wat, the Taj Mahal, Big Ben, and the Roman Colisseum. The Taj Mahal was the prettiest, so Thu and I had our picture taken there.
The one thing I can say about my life is it's not predictable.
Also, since I was definitely the only foreigner in the park, 2 groups of people stopped and wanted their pictures taken with me. The first group was very nice; they asked politely and said thank you. The second group seemed to regard me as just another object to stand in front of. Thu says I should start charging people to have their pictures taken with me.
I'm starting to think Liberation Day, at least in Saigon is sort of like Memorial Day in the States. You know someone, somewhere, is doing something to commemorate the day, but you personally go out and have fun. There are tons of flags on the streets; in that respect it looks like the Fourth of July with a different color scheme.
I went for a walk through District 1 tonight. There was nothing going on at the palace, but there was a huge crowd gathered in front of the opera house between the Continental and the Caravelle. Whatever they were watching seemed to be taking a break; there was a stage but no one was on it, and there was music playing. I didn't stick around for long.
Friday, May 09, 2003
April 29 10 pm
Saigon
Busy day today. I got up early and went to VNN. There's an article about SARS and study abroad in the Free Press, and it has 2 paragraphs about an SMC student studying abroad in Ho Chi Minh City. hahaha. Anyway, I had to rush back to meet Thu, who took me to her home district for lunch. We had yummy chicken in the market there, and then we walked around the market. I bought all the things I've been wanting to get, since I knew no one would rip me off with Thu. I got fruit, mosquito netting, driving gloves - all sorts of things.
This afternoon, I went to Reunification Palace, which was called Independence Palace under the Saigon government. It was was the place where the South Vietnamese president lived; President Diem commissioned it as a place for himself and his family to live, and then his successors continued to build it as a place for themselves to live after they assassinated Diem. That was good of them. The palace is sort of nice, although it suffers from an overdose of 60s architecture. It's pretty much preserved the way it was in 1975 when South Vietnam surrendered. There are 4 stories; the upper ones have rooms for the president's receptions and personal use. It's like the White House. The basement was covered with maps. It was Saigon's war room; there were rooms for teletype, a machine with a direct line to Washington, and the president's war room. There was also a map of pre-1975 Saigon. I checked out the street names. Tu Xuong, where I live, has the same name; so do Pasteur Street and Le Quy Don, but Nam Ky was something else.
At the end of the tour, we watched a documentary about the palace and the war. It was a little harsh to America, although that's pretty much to be expected. Tomorrow I'm going to the park with Thu to see the festivals!
Saigon
Busy day today. I got up early and went to VNN. There's an article about SARS and study abroad in the Free Press, and it has 2 paragraphs about an SMC student studying abroad in Ho Chi Minh City. hahaha. Anyway, I had to rush back to meet Thu, who took me to her home district for lunch. We had yummy chicken in the market there, and then we walked around the market. I bought all the things I've been wanting to get, since I knew no one would rip me off with Thu. I got fruit, mosquito netting, driving gloves - all sorts of things.
This afternoon, I went to Reunification Palace, which was called Independence Palace under the Saigon government. It was was the place where the South Vietnamese president lived; President Diem commissioned it as a place for himself and his family to live, and then his successors continued to build it as a place for themselves to live after they assassinated Diem. That was good of them. The palace is sort of nice, although it suffers from an overdose of 60s architecture. It's pretty much preserved the way it was in 1975 when South Vietnam surrendered. There are 4 stories; the upper ones have rooms for the president's receptions and personal use. It's like the White House. The basement was covered with maps. It was Saigon's war room; there were rooms for teletype, a machine with a direct line to Washington, and the president's war room. There was also a map of pre-1975 Saigon. I checked out the street names. Tu Xuong, where I live, has the same name; so do Pasteur Street and Le Quy Don, but Nam Ky was something else.
At the end of the tour, we watched a documentary about the palace and the war. It was a little harsh to America, although that's pretty much to be expected. Tomorrow I'm going to the park with Thu to see the festivals!
Tuesday, April 29, 2003
April 28, 11 pm
Saigon
Today I was semi-productive. I got up at 8, had breakfast, and went to VNN. My advisor still hasn't emailed me, but Hung said she's probably busy esp. with the holiday approaching. He gave me the address of the theater and I went today with Sarah and had a Sprite in the canteen. Just hanging out actually helped; I feel more comfortable with the place. Sarah wants to do her ISP on Buddhist social organizations, and so I went with her to a place that helps street children. We heard about it at the Bodhi Tree, the vegetarian restaurant that sells the street children's art. We walked in to the facility unannounced and met a series of nice and friendly people who gave us a tour of the place. It's several stories, with rooms for counselling, for the kids to sleep, and for the kids to play. They even have a place for the kids to learn Akido. Everything's bright and cheerful.
Amazingly enough, one of the staffers is heading to Brattleboro, Vermont to get a master's degree from SIT. What a small world. I told her a little about Vermont and we exchanged email addresses. I hope she likes it. I think Vermont in the winter is just about as far removed from Saigon as any place could get.
When I got back to Dai Ket, I found that my friend Thu had left me 2 books about Vietnamese theater - in English! - along with a note saying maybe we can go to the theater together after the holiday. Thu rocks my world. That was just what I needed.
This evening, Sarah and I went out to dinner with Co Hai, who also rocks my world. Afterwards we went to this cafe that had a live band. It wasn't like a US live band. It consisted of a piano, a violin, and a saxophone. They played about half Vietnamese songs and half American songs, including Sounds of Silence by Simon and Garfunkle. The violin played the vocals part.
Random side note: The rainy season hasn't started yet, but the God of Annoying Weather has been compensating by making it ungodly hot. It was 97 degrees in the shade at 3 pm today. I checked.
Saigon
Today I was semi-productive. I got up at 8, had breakfast, and went to VNN. My advisor still hasn't emailed me, but Hung said she's probably busy esp. with the holiday approaching. He gave me the address of the theater and I went today with Sarah and had a Sprite in the canteen. Just hanging out actually helped; I feel more comfortable with the place. Sarah wants to do her ISP on Buddhist social organizations, and so I went with her to a place that helps street children. We heard about it at the Bodhi Tree, the vegetarian restaurant that sells the street children's art. We walked in to the facility unannounced and met a series of nice and friendly people who gave us a tour of the place. It's several stories, with rooms for counselling, for the kids to sleep, and for the kids to play. They even have a place for the kids to learn Akido. Everything's bright and cheerful.
Amazingly enough, one of the staffers is heading to Brattleboro, Vermont to get a master's degree from SIT. What a small world. I told her a little about Vermont and we exchanged email addresses. I hope she likes it. I think Vermont in the winter is just about as far removed from Saigon as any place could get.
When I got back to Dai Ket, I found that my friend Thu had left me 2 books about Vietnamese theater - in English! - along with a note saying maybe we can go to the theater together after the holiday. Thu rocks my world. That was just what I needed.
This evening, Sarah and I went out to dinner with Co Hai, who also rocks my world. Afterwards we went to this cafe that had a live band. It wasn't like a US live band. It consisted of a piano, a violin, and a saxophone. They played about half Vietnamese songs and half American songs, including Sounds of Silence by Simon and Garfunkle. The violin played the vocals part.
Random side note: The rainy season hasn't started yet, but the God of Annoying Weather has been compensating by making it ungodly hot. It was 97 degrees in the shade at 3 pm today. I checked.
April 27 9 pm
Saigon
Sorry, I just left the journal on my bed and now I've completely forgotten where I was going with that. Last night we all went out to celebrate Molly's birthday/ most people's last day on the program. First we went to the Thai restaurant, where I had some really spicey food and also people brought in a big birthday cake for Rustem, whose birthday is Wednesday. I presented Molly with her Guiness. I'm really excited about going to the Irish pub this weekend. I need something to look forward to, because the stress of everyone leaving and my starting ISP is kind of overwhelming. Stu did not give us a whole lot of direction, which I've heard is just kind of the way SIT handles ISPs. I emailed my advisor yesterday to try to get things started. I don't know how often she checks her email, but I'm going to give her a few days to respond because she reads English a lot better than she speaks it. I want to study how people get in/stay in the theater industry here. I've heard that she's been very helpful in the past, but I just get nervous having only one contact. Stu says maybe I should go hang out in front of some theaters and try to get a feel for things until she responds. I will, and I am so counting those hours.
I'm sure things will settle down. It's just stressful right now.
This morning, I got up early to say good-bye to people. I have a single now that Crystal's left for Cambodia. I spent the day fairly normally. I went to Ben Thanh Market looking for mosquito netting. People tell me it's there, but I can't find it. So I am still netting-less, which is bad because there have started to be mosquitos in the room. Tomorrow the plan is to get some coffee in front of the theater and just hang out.
I realize I've been doing a lousy job of keeping up the journal as of late; basically in the last few days we've been finishing up the academic part of the program. The Culture and Development final was a few days ago, and it wasn't bad at all - we just had to discuss women in Vietnam and how tourism has affected the country. Not so bad. We also each had to give a presentation on different aspects of Vietnamese culture and history. Mine was on US and Russian influences. Cliff notes version: US: A lot of American pop culture now, the south is more capitalist, during the war there was a lot of deforrestation everywhere, in recent years it's become very common to learn English. Russia: once supplied tons of aid in the early 80s, glastnost lead to doi moi, Marxist-Leninism is still taught in schools, many school subjects are still politicized.
That's about it. It's pretty quiet with everyone gone. I'm going to finish Robert McNamara's book, In Retrospect, tonight. It's an interesting thing to read in Vietnam. He's very contrite, suitably so. He really didn't know a lot about Vietnam, and things spun out of control.
It's amazing to me that he didn't consider how people here would react to a foreign army, even what he would have considered to be a well-intentioned one. It's very deep in the culture here to dislike foreign soldiers. The Vietnamese have been kicking people out of their country since before Columbus discovered America. Most of the national heroes are people who fought against foreign invasions, and there have been a lot of them - the Chinese, the Mongols, the French, to some extent the US. You can't go more than a few blocks without seeing a statue dedicated to, say, the guy who drove out the Mongols in the 12th century. I've never been to a Vietnamese city that didn't have a street named after the Trung sisters. They lead an army that drove Chinese invaders out of Vietnam in 40 CE. The Chinese came back 3 years later, and the sisters drowned themselves to avoid capture. You don't have need to be a long-term success to be revered for your foreigner-quashing abilities.
This April 30 is Liberation Day in Vietnam. It commemorates the day in 1975 when Saigon either fell or was liberated, depending on your perspective. It's a big holiday. Everyone has off from work on that day and May 1. We're advised to keep a low profile as Americans, but it's not really considered a big deal. I just won't go out and wave the stars and stripes or anything.
The TV's been showing a lot of documentaries on Lenin and Stalin. I imagine they'd be quite interesting if I spoke Vietnamese better. Even so, it's interesting to see them portrayed in a positive light, particularly as someone who grew up on the opposite side of the cold war. I was only 8 when the Soviet Union collapsed so I it's perhaps less intense for me than it would be for other Americans. I never viewed the Russians as my enemies, but I also never associated their leaders and symbols with postive qualities. So much depends on one's perspective.
Also, if you're interested, I know where you can buy a giant plastic hammer and sickle on Ha Ba Trung.
Saigon
Sorry, I just left the journal on my bed and now I've completely forgotten where I was going with that. Last night we all went out to celebrate Molly's birthday/ most people's last day on the program. First we went to the Thai restaurant, where I had some really spicey food and also people brought in a big birthday cake for Rustem, whose birthday is Wednesday. I presented Molly with her Guiness. I'm really excited about going to the Irish pub this weekend. I need something to look forward to, because the stress of everyone leaving and my starting ISP is kind of overwhelming. Stu did not give us a whole lot of direction, which I've heard is just kind of the way SIT handles ISPs. I emailed my advisor yesterday to try to get things started. I don't know how often she checks her email, but I'm going to give her a few days to respond because she reads English a lot better than she speaks it. I want to study how people get in/stay in the theater industry here. I've heard that she's been very helpful in the past, but I just get nervous having only one contact. Stu says maybe I should go hang out in front of some theaters and try to get a feel for things until she responds. I will, and I am so counting those hours.
I'm sure things will settle down. It's just stressful right now.
This morning, I got up early to say good-bye to people. I have a single now that Crystal's left for Cambodia. I spent the day fairly normally. I went to Ben Thanh Market looking for mosquito netting. People tell me it's there, but I can't find it. So I am still netting-less, which is bad because there have started to be mosquitos in the room. Tomorrow the plan is to get some coffee in front of the theater and just hang out.
I realize I've been doing a lousy job of keeping up the journal as of late; basically in the last few days we've been finishing up the academic part of the program. The Culture and Development final was a few days ago, and it wasn't bad at all - we just had to discuss women in Vietnam and how tourism has affected the country. Not so bad. We also each had to give a presentation on different aspects of Vietnamese culture and history. Mine was on US and Russian influences. Cliff notes version: US: A lot of American pop culture now, the south is more capitalist, during the war there was a lot of deforrestation everywhere, in recent years it's become very common to learn English. Russia: once supplied tons of aid in the early 80s, glastnost lead to doi moi, Marxist-Leninism is still taught in schools, many school subjects are still politicized.
That's about it. It's pretty quiet with everyone gone. I'm going to finish Robert McNamara's book, In Retrospect, tonight. It's an interesting thing to read in Vietnam. He's very contrite, suitably so. He really didn't know a lot about Vietnam, and things spun out of control.
It's amazing to me that he didn't consider how people here would react to a foreign army, even what he would have considered to be a well-intentioned one. It's very deep in the culture here to dislike foreign soldiers. The Vietnamese have been kicking people out of their country since before Columbus discovered America. Most of the national heroes are people who fought against foreign invasions, and there have been a lot of them - the Chinese, the Mongols, the French, to some extent the US. You can't go more than a few blocks without seeing a statue dedicated to, say, the guy who drove out the Mongols in the 12th century. I've never been to a Vietnamese city that didn't have a street named after the Trung sisters. They lead an army that drove Chinese invaders out of Vietnam in 40 CE. The Chinese came back 3 years later, and the sisters drowned themselves to avoid capture. You don't have need to be a long-term success to be revered for your foreigner-quashing abilities.
This April 30 is Liberation Day in Vietnam. It commemorates the day in 1975 when Saigon either fell or was liberated, depending on your perspective. It's a big holiday. Everyone has off from work on that day and May 1. We're advised to keep a low profile as Americans, but it's not really considered a big deal. I just won't go out and wave the stars and stripes or anything.
The TV's been showing a lot of documentaries on Lenin and Stalin. I imagine they'd be quite interesting if I spoke Vietnamese better. Even so, it's interesting to see them portrayed in a positive light, particularly as someone who grew up on the opposite side of the cold war. I was only 8 when the Soviet Union collapsed so I it's perhaps less intense for me than it would be for other Americans. I never viewed the Russians as my enemies, but I also never associated their leaders and symbols with postive qualities. So much depends on one's perspective.
Also, if you're interested, I know where you can buy a giant plastic hammer and sickle on Ha Ba Trung.
April 26 4 pm
Saigon
Stressful couple days and now today! Sorry I haven't been keeping up to date. I just went to District 1 with Sarah to check snail mail at the univerisity (the mailroom was locked) and to get Molly some Guiness for her 21st birthday (accomplished). There is one Irish pub in Saigon. It's called Sheridan's and being there was a great experience. The bartender had 2 different kinds of Guiness, and I asked for the kind with that ping pong ball in it. I HAVE HAD THAT KIND OF BEER BEFORE AND SO I KNEW WHAT WAS IN IT. THAT'S RIGHT IT WAS FAMILIAR. Sorry about that. It's just that l relish the rare moments when I'm completely familiar with what's going on. Anyway, the place also had a genial Irish bartender/owner, who told me that they play traditional Irish music every Saturday. They have a band called Whiskey in the Jar. So....
Saigon
Stressful couple days and now today! Sorry I haven't been keeping up to date. I just went to District 1 with Sarah to check snail mail at the univerisity (the mailroom was locked) and to get Molly some Guiness for her 21st birthday (accomplished). There is one Irish pub in Saigon. It's called Sheridan's and being there was a great experience. The bartender had 2 different kinds of Guiness, and I asked for the kind with that ping pong ball in it. I HAVE HAD THAT KIND OF BEER BEFORE AND SO I KNEW WHAT WAS IN IT. THAT'S RIGHT IT WAS FAMILIAR. Sorry about that. It's just that l relish the rare moments when I'm completely familiar with what's going on. Anyway, the place also had a genial Irish bartender/owner, who told me that they play traditional Irish music every Saturday. They have a band called Whiskey in the Jar. So....
April 23
Back in Saigon
So yesterday we came back from Mui Ne. I ate a banana pancake that morning because the pancakes there are incredible. They're more like crepes with banana in the middle. Wonderful. We stopped at a nouc mam ( Vietnamese fish sauce) factory and I bought a bottle for my parents. Won't they be thrilled.
Ho Chi Minh City is the same as ever. I spent the day running random errands, going to the bank, and doing homework. I also went to the backpacker district and bought a Ben Folds Five CD because I've recently been gripped by the strange desire to listen to their music.
The restaurant where I are dinner today sells street children's art to help raise money for them. I think that might be a good gift for some people.
So twas a good but uneventful day.
Back in Saigon
So yesterday we came back from Mui Ne. I ate a banana pancake that morning because the pancakes there are incredible. They're more like crepes with banana in the middle. Wonderful. We stopped at a nouc mam ( Vietnamese fish sauce) factory and I bought a bottle for my parents. Won't they be thrilled.
Ho Chi Minh City is the same as ever. I spent the day running random errands, going to the bank, and doing homework. I also went to the backpacker district and bought a Ben Folds Five CD because I've recently been gripped by the strange desire to listen to their music.
The restaurant where I are dinner today sells street children's art to help raise money for them. I think that might be a good gift for some people.
So twas a good but uneventful day.
April 21 10 am
On the beach in Mui Ne
We arrive in Mui Ne a few hours after I finished my last entry. It's beautiful - really unspoiled at not too touristy. It's basically a fishing village on the coast with some beach resorts. All the resorts have been built in the past few years, when the government opened the area up to tourism. I've heard that there are plans to open up more resorts. I think eventually this area will be as touristy as Nha Trang. But not yet.
On our first night here, a bunch of us xe om-ed (a xe om is a motorcyle taxi) to the huge red sand dunes that are just out of town. This area is dryer than other places we've been to, and there are places in the landscape where there is no greenery, just patches of red sand. The dunes are entirely red sand, and if you stand and face them they just seem to continue on forever. They might as well be the Sahara.
Also on the dunes are a group of small children who have makeshift sleds that you can rent to slide down the dunes, very much like sledding in the snow. The sleds are basically pieces of flexible plastic. The kids crowded around us as soon as we got there, grabbing our hands and pulling us up the hill. We talked to them for awhile in our limited Vietnamese, which is actually decent for basic introductions. They were very persistant about our buying sled rides, so eventually I bought 2.
Sliding down sand dunes is one of the coolest activities one can engage in. You start out at the top of the hill, and then the kids give you a push and you're off. You zoom down the hill until you fall of your sled. I got about halfway and then rolled down the remainder of the hill, which of course did not hurt because I was in a giant sandbox.
I ended up with sand in every corner of my clothing. Also I think red sand dune has a tendency to stain. But no matter.
Later, Barrett and I were assigned to go into a hotel and interview some there about the hotel industry. We met a guy who spoke pretty good English; he told us that there are plans for more hotels in the future. He said that people often learn English and go into tourism if they fail their university enterance exams. There's a lot of money in it. After that, I was forced to take a nap and be a beach bum for the rest of the day. But hey, you do what you have to do.
Sunrise is Mui Ne is supposed to be beautiful. I'm sure it is, but I was so bleary-eyed at 6 am this morning that I just staggered out of my room, took a few pictures, and staggered back in. So we'll have to wait and see how the pictures come out.
I also had lunch with Stu, Hung, and Tang, and they told me I should try to get a job at the Saigon Times if I come back here. It's in English, so maybe I could check over the articles to make sure everything makes sense. How fabulous would that be?
On the beach in Mui Ne
We arrive in Mui Ne a few hours after I finished my last entry. It's beautiful - really unspoiled at not too touristy. It's basically a fishing village on the coast with some beach resorts. All the resorts have been built in the past few years, when the government opened the area up to tourism. I've heard that there are plans to open up more resorts. I think eventually this area will be as touristy as Nha Trang. But not yet.
On our first night here, a bunch of us xe om-ed (a xe om is a motorcyle taxi) to the huge red sand dunes that are just out of town. This area is dryer than other places we've been to, and there are places in the landscape where there is no greenery, just patches of red sand. The dunes are entirely red sand, and if you stand and face them they just seem to continue on forever. They might as well be the Sahara.
Also on the dunes are a group of small children who have makeshift sleds that you can rent to slide down the dunes, very much like sledding in the snow. The sleds are basically pieces of flexible plastic. The kids crowded around us as soon as we got there, grabbing our hands and pulling us up the hill. We talked to them for awhile in our limited Vietnamese, which is actually decent for basic introductions. They were very persistant about our buying sled rides, so eventually I bought 2.
Sliding down sand dunes is one of the coolest activities one can engage in. You start out at the top of the hill, and then the kids give you a push and you're off. You zoom down the hill until you fall of your sled. I got about halfway and then rolled down the remainder of the hill, which of course did not hurt because I was in a giant sandbox.
I ended up with sand in every corner of my clothing. Also I think red sand dune has a tendency to stain. But no matter.
Later, Barrett and I were assigned to go into a hotel and interview some there about the hotel industry. We met a guy who spoke pretty good English; he told us that there are plans for more hotels in the future. He said that people often learn English and go into tourism if they fail their university enterance exams. There's a lot of money in it. After that, I was forced to take a nap and be a beach bum for the rest of the day. But hey, you do what you have to do.
Sunrise is Mui Ne is supposed to be beautiful. I'm sure it is, but I was so bleary-eyed at 6 am this morning that I just staggered out of my room, took a few pictures, and staggered back in. So we'll have to wait and see how the pictures come out.
I also had lunch with Stu, Hung, and Tang, and they told me I should try to get a job at the Saigon Times if I come back here. It's in English, so maybe I could check over the articles to make sure everything makes sense. How fabulous would that be?
Monday, April 28, 2003
April 19, 2 pm
In a bus outside a Cham village somewhere
I'm not sure where we are exactly, it's about 3 hours away from Nha Trang. We've stopped in a village that makes clay pots and clay mini-oven things. They said the women make the pottery while the men go into the jungle and get firewood to fire the pots. They share the work. Cham society is matriarachal, like Co Ho, and girls get married at 17 or 18 or at the latest 20. So I am already an old maid at 21. One of the girls who was showing us some pottery was exactly my age. She'd been married for 5 years already and had 2 kids, and that was pretty typical. My life could have been so different if I'd grown up in a different society.
Barrett was filming some kids with a digital video camera, the kind with a viewing screen, and he turned the screen around so the kids could see themselves on TV. They went wild, jumping up and down and screaming. Clearly they've never seen their image captured and shown on a TV display at Sears.
We left Nha Trang early this morning. Molly and I went shopping for snacks before the bus left and we had to take 1 person cyclo back to the hotel. I was sitting half on her lap and half on a metal bar. It was good times.
Yesterday, we had most of the day off, and Sarah and I got to spend the better part of the afternoon swimming in the ocean and sitting on the beach looking out at the ocean. As I've mentioned, Nha Trang is heaven. As I was sitting there, I realized it was one of the high points of my life. I didn't want anything, everything around me was beautiful, and I was just really happy.
Yesterday also Sarah decided to make a full deck of cards by picking up the cards in the street. For some reason, the cities in Vietnam, especially Nha Trang, have a lot of random playing cards lying around. You just walk down the street and there is a 9 of hearts. So anyway, we were picking up some cards need a restaurant, and this random guy came running out and said "Here! Here! Have a deck of cards!" Crazy foreigners. So now I have a new deck of cards.
In a bus outside a Cham village somewhere
I'm not sure where we are exactly, it's about 3 hours away from Nha Trang. We've stopped in a village that makes clay pots and clay mini-oven things. They said the women make the pottery while the men go into the jungle and get firewood to fire the pots. They share the work. Cham society is matriarachal, like Co Ho, and girls get married at 17 or 18 or at the latest 20. So I am already an old maid at 21. One of the girls who was showing us some pottery was exactly my age. She'd been married for 5 years already and had 2 kids, and that was pretty typical. My life could have been so different if I'd grown up in a different society.
Barrett was filming some kids with a digital video camera, the kind with a viewing screen, and he turned the screen around so the kids could see themselves on TV. They went wild, jumping up and down and screaming. Clearly they've never seen their image captured and shown on a TV display at Sears.
We left Nha Trang early this morning. Molly and I went shopping for snacks before the bus left and we had to take 1 person cyclo back to the hotel. I was sitting half on her lap and half on a metal bar. It was good times.
Yesterday, we had most of the day off, and Sarah and I got to spend the better part of the afternoon swimming in the ocean and sitting on the beach looking out at the ocean. As I've mentioned, Nha Trang is heaven. As I was sitting there, I realized it was one of the high points of my life. I didn't want anything, everything around me was beautiful, and I was just really happy.
Yesterday also Sarah decided to make a full deck of cards by picking up the cards in the street. For some reason, the cities in Vietnam, especially Nha Trang, have a lot of random playing cards lying around. You just walk down the street and there is a 9 of hearts. So anyway, we were picking up some cards need a restaurant, and this random guy came running out and said "Here! Here! Have a deck of cards!" Crazy foreigners. So now I have a new deck of cards.
Thursday, April 17, 2003
April 17 10:30 am
Nha Trang
So yesterday I got college credit for snorkeling in the ocean. More on that later.
Yesterday morning we woke up early and headed out by boat to one of the islands around Nha Trang. The boat that took us most of the way looked sort of like the shrimping boats from Forrest Gump. When we got close to shore, a group of people in basket boats arrived to take us to shore. A basket boat is exactly what it sounds like, it looks like the bottom half of a wicker basket. It's a perfect circle, and it's rowed by 2 people whosit across from each other. The 2 passengers also sit across from each other, perpendicular to the rowers. It's the only way to balance the boat. I want to buy one and row it home across the Pacific. Those things are excellent.
Anyway, we got off at the island and went to visit the elementary school there. We had a short intro by the principal, he told us a bit about the school there. Most of the children come from fishing families and they sometimes have to take off from school to help with the fishing. We went into the schoolyard to see the kids for a few minutes, but for the most part they were either shy or not that interested in us. It was surprising, because kids in HCMC often crowd around me and/ or follow me. The island kids did like Adam quite a bit because he could lift them into the air with one hand.
After that, we went snorkeling. Actually I went with only the goggles because I have a tendancy to inhale water if I snorkel. We jumped off the boat and swam over to the coral reef. Did you know coral comes in colors other than pink and white? Because I didn't, but this reef was white/gray/purplish. Also I saw schools of tropical fish zipping along below me. They didn't seem too interested in me, but I was near the surface far away from them.
Nha Trang is literally one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to in my life. The water is bright blue-green and so clean you can see straight to the bottom. The water is sometimes interrupted by green mountainous islands with trees that cascade down towards the sea. The water has the occasional brightly colored tourist and fishing boats that seem completely natural in the landscape. It's heaven. Go google some pictures of it or something.
Also, there is an establishment where you can get 2 drinks for $1.30.
This morning, we got up early again and made a few stops. The first was to a pagoda that had a huge shrine (or whatever the equilvalent) to the monks who had self-immolated to protest the actions of the American-backed South Vietnamese government, which had persecuted Buddhists. It was a huge white statue of Buddha, and its pedestal had portraits of the monks who died.
There were more than the usual number of children selling postcards hanging out outside, and Anh Tang stopped and played cards with them. They looked really excited to have the adult attention.
Later we stopped and looked at some more Cham towers. Really once you've seen one Cham tower you've seen them all.
Nha Trang
So yesterday I got college credit for snorkeling in the ocean. More on that later.
Yesterday morning we woke up early and headed out by boat to one of the islands around Nha Trang. The boat that took us most of the way looked sort of like the shrimping boats from Forrest Gump. When we got close to shore, a group of people in basket boats arrived to take us to shore. A basket boat is exactly what it sounds like, it looks like the bottom half of a wicker basket. It's a perfect circle, and it's rowed by 2 people whosit across from each other. The 2 passengers also sit across from each other, perpendicular to the rowers. It's the only way to balance the boat. I want to buy one and row it home across the Pacific. Those things are excellent.
Anyway, we got off at the island and went to visit the elementary school there. We had a short intro by the principal, he told us a bit about the school there. Most of the children come from fishing families and they sometimes have to take off from school to help with the fishing. We went into the schoolyard to see the kids for a few minutes, but for the most part they were either shy or not that interested in us. It was surprising, because kids in HCMC often crowd around me and/ or follow me. The island kids did like Adam quite a bit because he could lift them into the air with one hand.
After that, we went snorkeling. Actually I went with only the goggles because I have a tendancy to inhale water if I snorkel. We jumped off the boat and swam over to the coral reef. Did you know coral comes in colors other than pink and white? Because I didn't, but this reef was white/gray/purplish. Also I saw schools of tropical fish zipping along below me. They didn't seem too interested in me, but I was near the surface far away from them.
Nha Trang is literally one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to in my life. The water is bright blue-green and so clean you can see straight to the bottom. The water is sometimes interrupted by green mountainous islands with trees that cascade down towards the sea. The water has the occasional brightly colored tourist and fishing boats that seem completely natural in the landscape. It's heaven. Go google some pictures of it or something.
Also, there is an establishment where you can get 2 drinks for $1.30.
This morning, we got up early again and made a few stops. The first was to a pagoda that had a huge shrine (or whatever the equilvalent) to the monks who had self-immolated to protest the actions of the American-backed South Vietnamese government, which had persecuted Buddhists. It was a huge white statue of Buddha, and its pedestal had portraits of the monks who died.
There were more than the usual number of children selling postcards hanging out outside, and Anh Tang stopped and played cards with them. They looked really excited to have the adult attention.
Later we stopped and looked at some more Cham towers. Really once you've seen one Cham tower you've seen them all.
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