Chuc Mung Giang Sinh

Happy Merry Christmas to all (that's how all the locals say it in English)! It is Christmas day and yes, I am at work, but it does not bother me whatsoever as it has been a great Christmas holiday so far.

My roomies, Caroline from England and Lora from the US, and our Christmas tree

We hosted a Xmas Eve party that I think will be memorable for all. We had homemade lasagna, gingersnaps, and shortbread cookies - that might seem easy to make, but you have to remember that most houses don't have ovens and that Lora had to go to a friend's house, do all the baking, and transport it to the house! We ate well and I was stuffed by 7:30 (party started at 7) but was able to eat the whole night long ... when else am I going to get homemade baking?! We had a gift exchange where we were able to steal other people's presents, sang lots of caroles (except for some reason the only song we all knew was Oh Come All Ye Faithful ...), and played games (Team Couch Potatoes came in a respectable 2nd place). Let's just saw the party went until 3:30am and I made it to work by 9 ...


Vietnamese santa even made a showing to our party

There were people from all over the world at our place and can you believe there were 6 Nova Scotians (either from or went to university) out of about 40 people?

I think about Christmas and how normally I spend it with my mom, stepdad, and relatives in Sydney and this year I spent it with 40 strangers ... people who I never even knew I would cross paths with ... but had a special celebration with people who were away from their family, too. And now I sound mushy, but it really felt like Xmas because we didn't need extravagent gifts or expensive presents, we had a good time because of good company.

Kate and family have arrived safely and I am so impressed with their open-mindedness and sense of adventure to really see Vietnam. They are presently in Sapa for a few days and are spending Xmas in the mountains. On their first day here they surprised me at work and walked all the way from their hotel, which is a hefty hour / hour and a half walk through major arterial roads with heavy traffic. Kate lugged a huge bag of cards and presents from home and thanks to everyone who sent me greetings, I really appreciate it :) It is kind of strange having someone from home, being here with me as you can easily get stuck in a bubble which I think was happening to me. I am glad Kate and her parents can see what I see, they got to see my house, my neighbourhood, my work, where I eat, where I hang out, and meet some of my friends.

So technically I am celebrating Xmas 12 hours earlier than everyone. My sister, Michael, and Donna & Claud just phoned and wished me a Merry Christmas. It's Xmas eve for them and they just prepared food for tomorrow's big meal. I was very jealous to hear they are having a big bowl of turnip! I really miss eating root vegetables, I am more Canadian than I sometimes realize ...

Kate, Geoff, Linda, and I will be heading to Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island for a few days then are off to Saigon. I am going in the NY's ultimate tournament and we will be celebrating NY's with ultimate players from around Asia. My aunt from Toronto is visiting family in Saigon right now and I will be visiting new family in the new year.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone. Hope you are having a monstruous turkey and turnip.

Kampuchea

The Travelling Trio have just come back from the Kingdom of Cambodia. The idea to go there got started with running in the half marathon at the Temple of Angkor Wat. We set low expectations for ourselves, but we ended up doing alright. Sarah and I made awesome running partners and ran the whole thing (in 2h32min ... not bad since we did not train at all!), we just kept pace and it helped big time that the whole course was flat and the race started before the sun was at full blast.

But visiting Siem Reap became much more than just running a half marathon, it was tough at times to really comprehend what the Cambodian people have been through and what they are going through now. There are no landmines in Siem Reap Town but if you go outside the city boundaries you have to be cautious. There is an estimated 6 million land mines left in the country and the signs of the ones that have been discovered is obvious from all the maimed people we saw. Cambodia has been in wars until the 1980's and you wonder where will they go from here. The poverty is much more extreme than I have been seeing in Hanoi. Although in Vietnam you still see a lot of serious issues, there is a feeling in the air that things are on the upswing ... I did not feel that in Cambodia. The kids did not smile as much, they weren't in school, instead they were out of the streets selling postcards or books and following foreigners around.

One of the reasons an international half marathon started in Siem Reap was to bring Cambodia on the travelling stage to encourage tourism and the registration fee goes to landmine victimes. The Angkorian temples were amazing and pretty reasonable in price if you consider what you are seeing. We paid $40 USD for a 3-day pass and although by the last day we were templed out, the sites were spectacular. The temples have both Hindu and Buddhist influences as well as being commissioned by various kings from about 900 - 1400 AD. You really do need at least 3 days to see everything, because the sites are massive.

This is about 6am. Angkor Wat is in the background and the race starts in half an hour and the sun does rise by then.

Angkor Wat is the more famous temple, but I think I enjoyed visiting Angkor Thom which was the last capital city of the Khmer Empire and is 9 km2 in area.

I believe this is Pre Rup temple, thought to be the crematarium temple

We decided to rent bikes on our second day at the temples (yes, even though we just ran a half marathon) and biked from temple to temple. That was my favorite way of touring the sites. We got to go at our own pace and took out time. We had a lonely planet book and would read the info on each temple then would go see what we just read.



We were allowed to walk everywhere and anywhere in the temples, which we were a bit surprised by since it is a UNESCO heritage site and over a thousand years old! The temples have taken a beating, especially during the wars as there are still markings of bullets and bombs. Many of the dieties and animals' heads have been removed by bandits which they have sold on the black market. The sandstone blocks are collapsing and weathering away from the rain. And as you can see from the above picture, the jungle vegetation has taken over. Trees and plants are growing over the temples, but perhaps it is a good thing because they are also keeping the foundations standing.

Mr. Tet, our favorite tuk-tuk driver. This was our main mode of transportation and Mr.Tet even took us to visit his village and family which is about an hour (by tuk-tuk) outside of Siem Reap town.

I am back in Hanoi but Cambodia has left a lasting impression. I bought a couple of novels, a history book and 'the killing fields' which we also visited. This is my small personal plug - if you have an opportunity to make a donation to landmine victims, please do. Interestingly enough, the international treaty to ban landmines was created at the Ottawa Convention in 1999. Although Canada has signed - the US, Russia, and China are not signatories.

Just Trying to Get some Dough

So I am off to Cambodia tomorrow morning and the highlight of the trip will be running a half marathon at the Temple of Angkor Wat. I have not seriously trained, but my friends (Steve and Sarah - we have become the travelling trio) and I figure if we have to walk we will have a beautiful backdrop to walk along. Today, I am checking off my list of things to do before I go and the next item is to get some US dough, which US money coincidently in Vietnamese is called do, short for dollar but pronounced like dough-lar.

So I go the bank with some traveller's checks and my passport as well as some Vietnamese dongs to exchange for US money. I wait in line for about 30 minures and am then told that they can only cash my traveller's checks and need my plane ticket if I want to convert my dongs. Oh course, this is the first time I ever heard of this rule and oh course I did not bring my e-ticket and I feel a little bit impatient that I have to accept this state rule. I guess I have taken it for granted how easy it is for us to convert money in Canada and did not realize that getting foreign currency isn't so easy for locals even if they do have the money. Plus, for a vietnamese person to even go travelling it is quite a process for them to first get permission from the government and then applying for a visa.

It is common to go to a jewelly store to get your money converted although I am not really sure if it is legal. So I decided to go this route and the first store I go to, which has about 12 ladies working, are closed for lunch and will not serve me even though the doors are wide open and it is noon. They tell me to come back after lunch and I tell them I need to go back to work after lunch. So they turn me away and tell me to go 2 stores down. I say alright, find their recommendation and gladly give them my business. I finally got my US dollars but it just took me 2 hours to figure out how!

St. Joseph's Cathedral in the Old Quarter

There is a small catholic population in Hanoi and you can see in the pic that mass is well attended, so much so that there is a live recording on the screen for people who are sitting outside. I stayed near this Church in my first month (and so will kate and her parents) and was always amazed by how many people came to mass. Motorbike drivers and taxis would park in front of the church steps during the service.

I am spending Christmas with the Whitfields and they are coming next week. I haven't seen Kate in 3 months and am very excited to see familiar faces from home. We aren't exactly sure of our plans yet but likely be spending Xmas in Halong Bay and going to Saigon for New Year's Eve. I requested some things for them to takeover and here are some of the odd items I asked for: peanut butter, my jogging pants and sweatshirt, a wool sweater, maple products to give out as presents, chapstick, contacts, floss threaders, and a nalgene bottle.

So this is my first Xmas not being celebrated in Sydney. I have been home every year no matter where I have been living. I keep forgetting how close Xmas is coming up because I am not near any of the commercialism of the Xmas shopping which is actually very nice. There are some small decorations here and there, which I find more symbolic for the holidays. Tonight, I am attending a Xmas concert tonight at the school for the blind. I am looking really forward to it and singing Xmas caroles with the kids, although I don't know how excited they will be singing with me!

Lang Son City: Famous for their BBQ Duck

I was in Lang Son City which is on the border of China and located in a northeastern province of Vietnam. I was there for about 6 days for work and the mission went pretty well, especially since we had a really good interpreter which can make or break a project.

The trip started off with the hotel assigning my Canadian colleague and I the same room, because they just assumed we were a couple (which i quickly informed them we were not). Murray is a 52 year old man, happily married with 3 kids. However for the rest of the trip, the third question the locals kept asking me was (1st question, where are you from?; 2nd question, how old are you?) is he your husband. So really the whole town pretty much thought I was his mistress no matter how many times I told them I was there working with the City and their mayor.

We were working with the more senior officials, the chairman of the People's Council, as well as the chairman of the People's Committee. I kind of felt like we were in the mafia - the government cars are black with tinted windows and we were picked up and driven everywhere and escorted throughout the whole trip. Everytime we visited a site, the chairman would just give the ticket person a look and we would get waved in. I felt like VIP!

The population of Lang Son City is approximately 100,000 and even to me now seems like a small city. A lot of people who can't afford motorbikes, ride bicycles and I wanted to get this experience. So I asked the hotel if they knew where I could rent a bicycle and the hotel staff didn't have any idea, but the receptionist offered to go home and bring her bike and let me use it for the rest of the week. I thought that was pretty nice of her and got up early for a couple of the mornings and went for a bike ride through the city. Many people think I am crazy for the distances I walk and are always offering to take me by motorbike. For once I felt like I could blend in when I was on the bike and felt a little more Vietnamese.

One of the neat places we got to visit was the Friendship Gate which is the border entrance to China. We were only allowed to walk to the neutral zone but we could see part of the Great Wall on the other side - not sure if it was brought there or if it was actually built there.

Photo: Group at the Friendship Gate entrance

This picture is taken from the 0 Km line. Vietnam's main highway is Highway 1 which starts from this point and run from the very north of the country to the very south passing through Hanoi and Saigon.

Photo: The Underpass to China

There is quite a bit of Chinese influence here. When you go to the markets, all the items are from China and the vendors are Chinese who speak some Vietnamese. There was a 2-week war back in the late 70's (I may be wrong on the timeline) when China invaded Vietnam and it was this province that they destroyed. So much of the houses and buildings are relatively new since they have been rebuilt during the 80's and 90's.

We ate really well and if I did lose any weight while I have been here I definitely gained it back! One of Lang Son's famous dishes is its bbq duck which happens to be one of my favourite meats (just behind lobster). I gorged and ate half by myself while the interpreter and Murray barely finished the other half.

Photo: Furniture making business

On our way back to Hanoi, the Lang Son people arranged for us to visit an industrial village that was created in 1990 near Bac Ninh City that produces furniture. This was pretty eye-opening to see. All this furniture is done by hand and completely done by labor. There are no manufacturing shops or machinery creating the furniture, just people's bare hands, with a saw and sandpaper. This village exports a lot of its furniture around the world, so next time you see wood furniture made in Vietnam, it was probably made in a town like this.

Photo: When you buy furniture, people examine it pre-stained and pre-lacquered so they can examine the quality of the wood and craftmanship.

It was a pretty educational trip overall since I was able to participate in the mission and get to see Lang Son with local guides and oh course, have my bbq duck, which I bought one and brought to my office as a treat for lunch.

Never Underestimate a Mountain

So I and 2 friends, Steve and Sarah (fellow Canadians), hiked the highest mountain in Vietnam - Mount Fanxipan (kind of pronounced like 'fancy pants'). I am not sure where to begin or what part to write about but I will say it was hard, crazy, and at times scary just as my friend Melissa had warned. The height of the mountain is 3,143m and we started at around 1900m, however it was quite the distance just to get to the base of the mountain. We had a guide, who had a cigarette in his hand for almost the whole time, and a porter, who carried all our food, cooking stuff, sleeping bags and mats, and tent by himself in a pair of broken sandals and tatered clothes - and yet these 2 still whipped our butts up the mountain.

We hiked through fields, valleys, streams (which I fell in within the first hour and had wet feet for all of the first day and had to wear plastic bags around my feet on the second day), bamboo forests, rain forest, vertical rock faces, and other muddy and slippery surfaces. We indeed made it to the top but now we had to worry how we were going to make it down since it had rain during the night and there were some serious steep sections along the trek.

Sarah and I rejoicing that we finally made it.

It took us all day and the next morning to make it to the peak, but when we got there we were there less than 10 minutes because it was absolutely freezing and we couldn't see anything since we were in the clouds and the fog was thick. The frustrating part of the hike was on the way up to the peak, we would being going down a lot that we knew every step down was an additional step up that we would have to do later. A funny realization we had was when we were looking at the other mountains, someone said "wow, they are so high" and then we would realize "oh crap, we are going higher than those mountains".

Steve on top on the world, well on top of the mountain

We had some casualties along the way, I actually fell on a rock the day before and had cut open my shin which wouldn't stop bleeding since it was in a awkward spot and we didn't have much medical supplies on us. Luckily I had my good old hiking bandana and used that to tie around my leg, but had to be careful to not make it worse. Sarah is allergic to smoke and with our one pack a day smoker guide, one eye got really aggrevated that she could only wear one contact and her depth perception was slightly impaired. Steve became an old woman (just joking!) because we did so much trekking going up that going down was hard on the knees.

You can see our porter near the bottom corner of the pic.

The trek to the peak was beautiful and we did have some clear skies. If the fog lifted more often we would have been able to see China and Laos. I don't regret doing it and feel great that we did it, but I don't think I would volunteer to do it for a second time. We ached for days afterwards ...

So when I said our porter carried our tent, I should rephrase and say he carried our tarp!

We assumed we would be sleeping in a regular old tent, but when we saw them collecting bamboo wood for our campfire we noticed they had cut 4 fresh green bamboo sticks down. The frame of our sleeping accommodation was made out of bamboo, which I thought was pretty cool. Then they drapped a tarp over it and we slept on a tarp, all five of us together, my friends and I with our porter and guide at about 2400m up the mountain. It rained and was windy during the night and poor Sarah was on the edge, but our tarp didn't collapse, the wind just blew right threw it ...

Anyway, we survived and thinking back it wasn't that bad, but doing it once is good enough for me.

Hoa's Home Village

Photos: Sarah and I sporting our motorbike gear. The rental I was on ran out of gas (plus the front brake didn't work) and we had to coast down a hill to find a gas station.


A few friends and I took the night train to Lai Cau on our way to Sapa. Our friend, Hoa (guy with cap in photo), took us to visit his home village of Phu Thuy where he tries to visit as much as he can when he isn't working. We decided to buy candy and milk (although the candy was a bigger hit) and ended up having a huge little get-together at Hoa's family home where all the kids were told to tell the other kids to come for treats. I don't know where else you can go and just by word of mouth get all the kids of a village to come eat and play at a moment's notice.

The kids were pretty shy when they first saw us, for most it was the first time they ever seen foreigners - Steve and Trevor were almost a foot taller than the adults and Sarah has long blond hair. Hoa's family cooked us lunch and we went for a walk around the village and visited the local school to disperse more of the candy. We played with the kids and I even learned (tried to anyway) play marbles.

We took lots of photos and everywhere you turn you just want to take another photo of that child or that field. I can't imagine not having a digital camera, but another reason why it's good fto have is that we can show the kids their picture. The kids get so excited when they see their faces on the screen.


For us it was such a contrast to Hanoi, where there is a constant buzz that I almost forget what silence sounds like. It was so calm in the country and the people were very kind and gentle, that it makes me worry what will happen in the future when Vietnam's economy starts taking off and opens up to the rest of the world ... where will it leave these people?

No title today

Photo: My first rain storm in Hanoi, I actually think it might have been the tailend of a typhoon. Alex and Sarah are wading through the water - this is the end of my alley and let's just say I am applying what I learned at SURP, Hanoi has awful stormwater managment, there is pavement everywhere even where there are trees there is pavement right upto the trunk! It flooded within minutes and the hail was hail I never seen before. It was litterally the size of golfballs and I first thought who the heck is throwing rocks at us. I don't even want to get into what might have been floating in the water since garbage is regularly thrown onto the street. But I will say I took a very hot shower and used disinfectant when I got home ...

I went to Lang Son City yesterday for the day, it's about a 3.5 hour drive one way (even though it is only 162km from Hanoi - I will never complain about traffic or highways in Canada again ... it takes about an hour by car just to travel about 50km). I really got a good feel for the town which is in a northern province that borders China. I will be there next week for a week where I will be working with the City of Fredericton and Lang Son City on a Tourism Development project that has been underway for the last year. They went over their workplan with me and it looks like I'll get to do some neat activites and visit some cool places when we arrive.

I am heading to Sapa tomorrow night to hike the tallest mountain in Vietnam, Mount Fansipan. Melissa just did the hike and described it as wild, hard, and at times scary. Her group did it in 4 days (though they were doing research along the way), we are going to do it in 2 days. I am not in very good physical shape and I have been breathing in smog for the last 2 months, so this will be interesting ... I will likely complain (a lot), but I am sure we will feel very rewarded after we get to the top.

The autumn weather is setting in, people are in pants, jackets, and turtlenecks. I, however, am still wearing my short sleeved shirts and capris and everyone thinks I am crazy for sporting such light clothing for this time of year. Winter is suppose to be very cold here, not cold like Canada, but cold because it is damp and there is no indoor heating. Many people wear their outside clothes inside. I remember Lily telling me the top thing people generally talk about is the weather and I completely agree. I keep bringing it up in this blog ... but another thing I wanted to add is that I miss seeing blue skies! I always think it is going to rain because it looks cloudy but really it is a thick cloud of haze and pollution.

Hospital Clinic and Water Filtering Program in Phu Ly

Phu Ly Town is the capital in Ha Nam Province and it's about an hour drive by motorbike from Hanoi. Steve's organization, Samaritan's Purse (SP), has a couple projects in Phu Ly and I was able to tag along on one of his field trips. We visited a small clinic that just received donated medical equipment and supplies from the US, but much of the equipment they had not seen before so they got a Canadian doctor to visit and look through it all to see what the clinic could really use. Although the donation was hugely generous (some of the items alone were worth hundreds of dollars), there are some things that hadn't been taken into consideration - some of the equipment was electical and there is a different voltage between North America and Vietnam, luckily they had not yet plugged in the equipment but if they did, it could have caused an electrical fire and ruined the equipment. But there is a simple solution, they will just need to buy a voltage converter which SP will purchase and donate.

Another project SP has in the town is a water filtration program - these filters are actually a Canadian product, invented at the University of Calgary. The filters are made locally (material and labour) and are given to each household that has given a week's work to the project. It uses a natual filtration process using sand to remove iron and arsenic from the water to produce clean drinking water. Not sure if you can tell in the pic, but you pour the well water through the top and the clean water comes out of the spout.

I didn't crash the motorbike!

I knew I couldn't really experience Vietnamese life until I rode a motorbike. I just was not going to drive one in Hanoi. I was out of the city yesterday for a field trip with my friend Steve to visit one of his projects in Ha Nam province. It was a nice small rural city with no traffic and Steve suggested I try to drive his organization's new bike since I wouldn't have to worry about learning how to use a clutch since I don't know how to drive a standard (to Kate's dismay).

I had to learn completely from scratch - when Steve showed me the nozzle I think I worried him when I asked what it was for ... but he rode with me so he could tell me step by step what to do. It actually wasn't very complicated and I got up to 40 clicks for a few seconds. We rode down a long not very windy road but somehow I still almost got into a few accidents! I kind of got nervous when trucks when pass us and I wasn't use to using the foot break that I had to swerve and a truck stopped and yelled some profanity at us ... oh well. I made the locals laugh with my very not smooth starts and stops. I have to say I am impressed that Steve actually trusted me with his life - I did warn him that I have a reputation for being slightly clumsy, but now I am excited to go motobiking again!

Change of Weather

I was in Nam Dinh City which is in Nam Dinh province which is about 2 hours southwest of Hanoi for work last week. It is known for their pho and they took us to one of the popular pho restaurants on our last morning. In Canada there are lots of pho restaurants opened by south vietnamese, but it is actually a northern vietnamese dish.

Well, it is technically automn but it is apparently unusually warm for this time of year. Can it really be fall when it is 30 degrees? It was cool for a few days (which I welcomed with open arms) and took out my zip-up sweater from my suitcase for the first time. I hear it has already snowed in Canada and although people are envious of my non-snow winter, I will miss walking in snow and can't believe I am not going to see it until next year. I was talking to Kersten yesterday (thanks for calling!) and in Yellowknife right now it's -30 with 20cm of snow ...

So I am sick - not sick from the food, not sick from the water, haven't had to use any of the many prescriptions I brought (even though I got licked by Sarah's landlord's dog and was paranoid I might have gotten rabies for a few days), but what got me in the end after being here for almost 2 months was the common cold! I'm congested and my throat is really dry and scratchy which I didn't know initially if it was just from the pollution. But the part that drives me nuts is when I hear "you are sick because the weather has changed" - my mom says that to me all the time and I always tell her that colds come from germs! I guess the real explanation is that maybe when the weather cools, you're immune system is weaker and germs spread faster? I don't really know the science behind how colds get passed on, maybe my health professional friends can help me out here but I refuse to think the colds are caused by the cold, perhaps it is indirectly correlated ...

Last night I was invited by the family of my old hotel for dinner. They invited a few of their other former guests and made us a huge meal - fish, duck, beef, noodle soup, it was a nice spread and very generous. Even though I don't live there anymore, I still stop by to say hello.

Sunday Morning Tea

photo: Kids playing soccer after school, Ninh Binh City

I love having a huge brunch and relaxing with a cup of tea on weekend mornings. Now that I have a ktichen and a roommate I can actually do that! Alex has been living in Vietnam for a couple of years and is returning to the US next month. She spoiled me this morning and made scrambled eggs, bacon (real bacon), and toast, then I got to make some tea and just veg for the rest of this morning.

I been here over 6 weeks now and I keep saying how fast the time is going by, but I realize I have been saying that about everything since probably university. I remember someone telling me when I was kid how the time seems to go by faster when you get older and it is so true. I remember having summer break in school and thought 2 months was forever ...

I think about my first week here and not having a clue what was going on and thinking am I crazy for coming?! But I have settled in and have met some great people and am really getting to experience life in Hanoi. My footsteps aren't as ackward anymore and I move naturally through the streets and I don't need to carry a map with me every single time I go out. People actually understand me when I speak Vietnamese.

Last night a friend hosted a bbq and he went all out. He cooked for over 20 people and had crab, marinated chicken, several different types of Malaysian curries, and salads - it was a very impressive feast. I am thinking about having a dinner party but I think I will make it a potluck or invite him to be head chef :) I admit, I have not cooked while I have been here. To my defense I was in a hotel for a while but now that I have a full kitchen I should try, but it is just so much more convenient to go out and get a bowl of pho and even cheaper than to try to go and get the ingredients yourself. I don't imagine I'll be cooking very much or basically not at all for the next 4 months. My roommates and I said we might try to cook dinner once a week to learn to cook some Vietnamese food.

The system to pay your utility bills and take out the garbage is quite interesting. Our electricity and water are extra and when your bill is due someone comes to your door with the invoice and you are expected to pay at that moment. I am still not use to paying cash for everything, so you have to make sure you have a bundle of dongs ready - it is almost like a tax man coming for collection. And the garbage pick-up is quite different - there is no "garbage day", everyday is garbage day. For our alleyway, at about 5:10pm a garbage collector comes around with their cart and rings a bell (really loudly) and you come out with your bag of garbage and dump it in their cart or you can leave it outside your gate and they will pick it up.

Going to Nam Dinh tonight for a few days for work to participate on our Saguenay / Nam Dinh municipal partnership project which is to implement a land use management GIS database. It'll be a bit tiring since I will be only communicating in French and Vietnamese the whole time since we only have a Vietnamese-French translator.

King's Bananas

I was on a work trip to Ninh Binh City which is southwest of Hanoi over the weekend. FCM & ACVN are initiating a Communities in Bloom project and Ninh Binh is one of our pilot areas.

The bananas in the pic are known as the king's bananas because way back when, only the king was allowed to eat them - they are small and sweet, I have tried them in Canada a couple of times, but they taste much better here since you can eat them right off the tree.

I finally moved into a house! After living in a guest house/hotel and out of my suitcase for 5 weeks I was ready! It is a 4 floor house, really spacious and has a small pond with fishies and a turtle. As soon as I saw it I knew it was the one. Patience paid off. I will be dedicating a separate entry to my new home once I get settled in. I am already planning a house party ...

Hanoi is gearing up for APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) conference being held in mid-November. Bush and Harper are coming, the Chinese president, and leaders from the other Asian and Pacific countries. Security has definitely been heightened - more police on the streets, stricter enforcement of traffic control, special cars for the dignitaries have been practicing their routes, street vendors are getting cleared from the sidewalks. It will be interesting to see what happens and how everything is run.

I like to add random facts as I learn them: Vietnam has a 2-child policy, I did not know this at all (and feel kind of silly that I did not know this). You hear about China's 1-child policy often, but I did not realize that VN had a similar one. I heard that VN is the 14 densist country in the world. I just did some stats for my colleague's presentation and there are 258 people per sq.km in Vietnam while there is 3.6 people per sq.km in Canada - however there is a qualifer here, 90% of the Cdn population is within 160 km of the US border.

The Birla Orphanage

My friend Steve was a CIDA intern last year with the Samaritan's Purse which is an NGO that does humanitarian work around the world. He is now working with them full time in the Vietnam office. The founder of Samaritan's Purse is actually the founder of World Vision, but he (his name escapes me right now) created SP to avoid all the red tape so that if help was needed, immediate assistance could be provided right away. SP is supporting the Birla orphanage and I eagerly accepted the invitation to visit. There are about 110 kids from the ages of 3 to 15. They were having a farewell party for Mr. John Pham (he is the older gentleman in the group photo with the glasses) because he is returning to Canada for retirement (although they say he has been retiring for the last year and keeps coming back!) and actually helped to establish Samaritan's Purse in Vietnam 12 years ago.

I wasn't sure what type of conditions to expect at the orphanage, I saw a documentary by the CBC a few years ago called 'Falling from the Sky' that partly took place in a Vietnamese orphanage, so I had that pictured in my mind - concrete walls, bare, and glum.

But as you can see at this orphanage the kids were healthy, happy, and energetic. I got to hand out ice cream and cake and it probably made them a little hyper, but it was nice to see them play and have some fun with them. I was pretty popular when I pulled out my camera. They loved having their picture taken and seeing their faces on the screen. SP has sponsored the glass of milk a day program as well as scholarships to help them go to university when they are older. There was a little Hieu there, you can't see his face but that's his hand waving to the camera (must be a Hieu trait - we like being in photos ...). I am hoping to do some volunteering with them soon.

Super Saturday: Inc. Vietnam Run & Turkey

I survived the run around West Lake and actually ran (well, jogged) most of the 13km. In the photo is Paul, my running partner, and the start/finish of the run. I would not have been able to do it without Paul! I only expected myself to run for about half an hour and thought I would be walking the rest that I even was carrying my camera with me. I couldn't convince any of my friends to come join me at 630 in the morning. I was picturing actually running around the lake, but really we ran on the streets around the lake. It is not like Ottawa where they close the streets ... we were running in the traffic, weaving around the buses and xe om's (motorbikes). So I really was not expecting to last that long, but perhaps having cars behind me made me run faster. Paul was running in front of me and he is probably about 60 and I guess my competitive side came out and I told myself I was not going to stop until he stopped and we ended up running together for the rest of the run. Good thing I ran with him, he has been in Hanoi for about a year and runs regularly around the lake. I would have gotten lost since there were no route markers.

I was rewarded in the evening. I did have turkey for Thanksgiving afterall - just a week later. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce organized a big dinner hosted at the Ambassador of Canada's home. There were probably about 70 other Canadians there and all the food was cooked in the ambassador's kitchen and was delicious. They imported turkeys and there was mash potatoes (which were first to go), cranberry sauce (not the canned stuff), stuffing, veggies, and even pumpkin pie.

So that was my Saturday, normal as always!

Women's Day & Food

Today is Vietnam Women's Day. Women are treated to flowers and small presents at work and home. I was given a bouquet of flowers and shampoo (hopefully not because they thought I needed it ...). The hard part is, but I am not particularly shocked, I was the only one given a present in the office even though I have 2 other female colleagues. You can't not accept it, but I feel a bit guilty at the same time since they weren't given anything. It is pretty common for foreigners/guests to be given special treatment and I am definitely given special treatment all the time, no matter how many times I say it is not necessary. It was very similar to when I was in Beijing when they made special food for me in the cafeteria and put me first in line when there were already people waiting.

I probably eat best at lunch. There is a lunch fund (City of Ottawa should consider that!) and we eat together everyday and we either go for bun cha, which is a noodle soup with pork, or have rice with meat and veggies. I loved bun cha the first time, but I probably had it at least 10 times since and I admit it's losing its appeal. But the part I like is when we get take-out. There are lots of nearby small eateries, that they walk the food over on a tray with dishes and chop sticks. It's not pre-packaged and you aren't using disposible utensils, so we barely have any garbage after we're done eating. Someone from the restaurant just comes back to pick up the dishes. We should spread that idea to Canada or at least do tupperware.

I found the best sandwich shop for Vietnamese subs, my roommate Kate does not share my love for them, but maybe she'll change her mind when I take her to this place at Xmas. They are only 5000 dongs which is about 30 cents Canadian. Eating locally and street food is very cheap - I know it doesn't sound very appetizing, but street food really means to eat on the street, there are lots of little tables set on on the sidewalks and you sit on even tinier stools, and they bring out the food from the kitchen since there isn't any room to sit inside. Once you want to sit at a proper table or have Western/European food it is a bit more expensive. I find the street food a lot tastier and it's more easy going sittin' at a street table.

My favorite beverage is the fresh juice, which is unbelieveably cheap, I don't know why it has to be that expensive in Canada. I have fresh mango juice almost everyday and we usually go to sugarcane juice after ultimate. It is litterally costs cents to have juice with no preservatives or artifical flavour, all they usually do is just peel it and blend it up.

In about 15 hours I am participating in a charity run/walk tomorrow morning. It's organized by the Asia Development Bank and it's to raise scholarship money for disadvantaged and disabled Vietnamese children. It is around West Lake, which is what Hanoi is famous for. It's 13km in perimeter and I haven't gone running since I have been here, I haven't been up that early since I've been here, plus it's suppose to be between 24 and 33 degress and my favorite, it is suppose to be really humid. I asked if there would be water stations and the organizer told me that they have motorbikes that drive around the lake dropping off water to the runners. I guess I could always just hop on the back of one if I am really desperate ...

Name Tracing

I had an interesting Vietnamese lesson yesterday. My teacher and I went over the origins of my name and he said I had a very interesting one. He also said he could see what my parents were trying to do with the formation of mine and my sister's name.

For those of you who don't know my full name it's (written in the Vietnamese order): Nguyen Thi Dao Ngoc Hieu (Cdn way would be Hieu Ngoc Thi Dao Nguyen). For one Nguyen is the most common Vietnamese name you'll see. Considering there are about 84 million people in Vietnam (compared to Canada's 33 million) Mr. Hung said about 50% of the population has the family name Nguyen, so think twice before asking me if I am related to so and so just because we have the same last name ...

Dao is my mom's maiden name, so it is there to carry on my mother's side of the family. Thi is a traditional middle name for women while Ngoc (means Pearl) is a modern middle name and normally people only have one middle name. For women you carry on your mom's middle name which my mom's is Ngoc and for sons they would carry on their dad's middle name. In the old times almost all women had the middle name Thi, but other names started becoming popular that it started to die out. So really my middle names are a combination of traditional and modern Vietnamese names.

Mr. Hung also said I was 'special' to have the name Hieu since only about 10% of Hieu's are females. Not that I am complaining, but my sister's name means beautiful while mine means to love your parents?! That must be why I am the one with the heavy conscience and my sister likes to shop ... joking Diem!

Ramblings

I am a first time blogger and having a little bit of a hard time uploading photos to my blog. It seems like I can only do one per posting because if I upload a few, the images don't appear. So if fellow bloggers can give me some advice on how to deal with this, please let me know! I have lots of pics to show. This pic is also of Hoa Lu.

I started my Vietnamese lessons last week and I think my teacher (I actually have to call him teacher) thinks I am lying when I tell him that I really cannot read or write Vietnamese. Most of the words I know are just by memorization. I had 2 lessons and I am already practicing to read even though we haven't gone through the whole alphabet yet! But the lessons are definitely helping, I can tell that I am able to communicate better and starting to get a little more confidence. The only part I find frustrating is that many of the words that I do know are pronounced differently in North Vietnamese, but I would rather keep my southern roots. It is a big compliment when he says I sound Vietnamese and I know I am pronouncing it wrong when he tells me that's how a foreigner would say it (ouch!).

There is the International Film Festival on Women & Migration this week. I went to a film yesterday called 'Dying to Leave' which was about migrants who escape by container boats or taken advantage of by trafficers. It was pretty depressing, but quite eye opening - when you think of migration you might think it might be a developing world problem, but you have to think where these people are trying to go ... it's the places where we don't think it's a problem. There was a story about a girl from Eastern Europe who was told by a friend that she could get her a job in Italy since she was not able to find work in her home country. When the girl said she didn't have a passport, the friend said she would lend her the money - she doesn't know that she is being set up and the friend oh course makes a commission for every person she hooks. The girl goes on a bus thinking she is heading to Italy, but soon finds out she is getting dropped off in Albania and is sold then forced to pay back her 'debt' over the next 5 years until the authorities recognize she is a victim of trafficing. I am hoping to catch a few more films this week. It is an impressive set up - the films are in English, but they have headphones for the Vietnamese and offer simultaneous translation.

I feel like I have a blind date tonight, but really I am meeting this guy from England that might be a potential roommate for dinner. We have emailed a few times and he hasn't find an apartment either and suggested that it might be easier to get a few people together and rent a flat instead of looking for a room to sublet. I am pretty quick to assess whether I am going to be friends with someone in the first few minutes (I know you aren't suppose to judge a book by its cover, but I like to think I have good intuition), so we'll see if we make a good match (as roommates). If that doesn't work, there is a guy from Paris who is arriving in Hanoi next week also looking for a roommate, but I haven't told either about the other because well I figure it's better to wait and see ... plus it'll be funny because they probably don't know I am female because my name is more common for a male, but I have been told a few girls are named Hieu. They probably suffered the same fate as I, their fathers really wanted a son. Hieu actually means to love ones parents.

Hoa Lu: Ancient capital of Vietnam

I decided to take a day trip outside the city over the weekend to get some fresh air and a break from the city buzz. I went to Hoa Lu, which is in Nim Binh province 96km south of Hanoi. In travel time, it is about a 2 hour car ride.

It is known as the ancient capital of Vietnam because in the 10th century the Vietnamese defeated the Chinese occupiers who had been in power for almost a thousand years.

It was absolutely beautiful, one of the reasons it was chosen as the capital because of all the mountains that surround the city which would have made it difficult for invaders to penetrate the area.

In terms of weather Hanoi hasn't been too hot, just really humid - but just going a bit south, the weather was extremely warm. I was silly and did not come prepared at all, no hat, no sunscreen, but least I remembered to bring water and toilet paper ...

I went with a small tour group and there were 4 French people from France who knew very little English. My good old French immersion came in handy, I ended up translating most of the tour and when the guide found out I knew some Vietnamese, so she kept asking me what the English words were for certain things. Juggling three languages, in which 2 I am not really that great in, was a bit tiring, but it made me really appreciate languages. Everytime people talk about Canada (locals and foreigners), they say it's the country with 2 languages except there is a misconception that everyone in Canada speaks both French and English. Because I could speak in French and Vietnamese, I was able to meet more people and help out. It made me appreciate Canada having 2 official languages and it is nice to know we are known for that.

The Stuggle for Breakfast

Who needs breakfast, anyway, really? I know it is suppose to be the most important meal of the day and I use to get mad at my old roommate Jessica for not eating breakfast. I always ate breakfast, sometimes 2.

This makes me remember a time when I was in Uganda with a Dal study program in undergrad and we visited a small rural school. There was art work decorating the classroom and some of the drawings were the children's ideas of foreigners. One drawing which I remember vividly, was a crayon picture of a mazungo (white person) and it said he eats breakfast. Eating 'breakfast' is a meal of the developed world and eating three meals a day was such a strange idea to the child. I am not dissing breakfast, but I had breakfast for the first time yesterday since I've been here ...

Eating breakfast in Hanoi is not expensive, but a bit of a hassle to get. Typical Vietnamese breakfast food is similar to what you would eat for lunch: noodle soup or rice, so when you are already eating that twice a day, your palette just wants to taste something else. I was discussing the troubles of getting breakfast with my Cdn friend Scott and his solution is having a cigarette (which is suppose to suppress your appetite) with a cup of coffee.

My first plan was just to wait it out until lunchtime. I don't get to work until 9/9:30 and we usually have lunch at 11:30, that I thought I could just wait since I am not expending that much energy anyway. But I was starving once I sat at my desk for like 5 minutes. So I when I realized starving my self was not going to work, my second plan was to buy fruit from the local stands and juice. However, everything is sold by the kg and I would just want to buy 2 bananas. I really didn't have a clue how much it should be and getting strange looks from the vendor when they didn't understand what you are saying, just does not make you want to go back for more. The boxes of juice and soy milk I bought tasted horrible and I know now not to buy those brands.

What I really needed to find was a grocery store, which I finally found 2 days ago! I was able to buy cereal (which is actually expensive because it is imported for people like me) and milk (but the milk is in those tetrapacks, so I won't be getting any fresh milk while I am here), plus yogurt. My colleague, Ms. Linh, took me to a market today and helped me buy some fruit. So now I know how to order it and have a better idea of how much it should be. The struggle for breakfast has finally ended and I am much more productive at work now ...

The Weekend

There are I think about 3.5 million people in Hanoi which includes a small expat community. There are quite a few foreigners here - the people I met are usually here to teach english, work with a NGO, or work with their consulate. I went out with 2 Canadians who work with WUSC (I have become an honourary WUSC member since they usually let me tag along to their outings) on Saturday night and we learned to make deep fried and fresh springrolls at one of their colleagues' homes. We went out dancing and ended up at a place where there was salsa-ing and for those of you who have seen me salsa ... you know I can't! But the funny thing is I went for coffee that afternoon with the captain of the utlimate club and met one of her friends and I ended up running into her friend that evening.

I emailed the Hanoi Ultimate Club before I came - the captain was super nice and said I could join and play with them. There is quite an ultimate network in Asia, they just came back from a tournament in Singapore and are planning to go to Saigon at Xmas. So I went to my first scrimmage on Sunday and well, I definitely was not in good form. I blame it on the humidity ...

In Ottawa, it is so competitive to get a field, so you can just imagine how hard it would be to find a decent field in Hanoi. It was definitely in the outskirts of town and the field was patchy, barely any grass and it is more like playing on a baseball field. But it was great to run around and get some excercise. There are a lot of locals who play ultimate and it's funny to hear them talk Vietnamese on the field using ultimate terminolgy like stacking, the cup, zone, etc.

So my other run-in was that there were 2 guys who came out to play who were out the night before at the same club I was at. They are both American, one is down visiting his friend who is working with the Clinton Foundation and actually just lives down the block from where I am staying. It was nice to meet Benny because he is Vietnamese-American and has worked in Vietnam before. So they took me under their wing and invited me out for dinner afterward and then to a party.

I had a late night, but the best time to motorbike is at night. The streets are so quiet, hardly anyone is on the street and for the first time since I have been here - it wasn't noisy. Everyone goes to bed pretty early and I guess many locals who live with their parents have strict curfews. The bars are suppose to close at 11, but with expats the authorities are a little more lenient.

On another note: Happy Belated Birthday to Andrew and Kalle, I had a Tiger beer for you guys on Saturday!

One Week

So it has been a week and I am trying to decide if it feels like I have been here for a long time or I still feel like I just got here. I think the internship is going to go by really fast, so I am just trying to soak everything in and not to rush it. I think that's one thing I learned about myself - I am always in a rush, trying to get as much stuff done as possible, always trying to be efficient. I am finally learning how to relax and just taking it easy. Things don't have to be done that very next minute.

I like writing the blog because it gives me a chance to reflect about the day and remind myself that I actually did that and I didn't make it up in my head. I like knowing that people are reading my blog, so please comment! I think all you have to do is click on the comment link and then you can post. Comment about anything, it doesn't have to be about the postings, just anything in general or something about yourself.

With the internet I really don't feel that far away. I like being able to read the CBC and know what is happening in Canada. I keep reading about the mayoral race in Ottawa and I am curious to see who will win in November, I have my preference, so we'll see if he wins.

Yesterday was a pretty full day (same day as the snake day). I had a full day at the office, I am beginning to work on my work plan for the next 5 months. I checked out some expat restaurants for apt postings, looked at an apt (it was nice, good price, but way too far away, so the hunt continues), and then went to get some dinner. Getting dinner is sometimes of a challenge because since I am eating alone, I want to go somewhere where I can sit at a small table, look inconspicuous, but also be able to read the menu and order in my minimal vietnamese.

I found this great little restaurant that make noodles with fried pork and vegetables. They make only this dish, so there is no need to struggle with ordering. When I went to pay, they charged me for a beer that I did not order (there happen to be an empty bottle next to where I was sitting) so I am trying to explain that I did not order that beer. My message wasn't getting across, so I thought screw it, I'll just pay for the beer. So I gave the waitress a 50, 000 dong (vietnamese currency) bill and I was given the change. I am talking to an older Aussie man behind me and then the waitress comes to me and tells me that the bill is a fake! I don't have any other change on me and I think the bill is real anyway because I got it from the bank, so I am in a little bit of a bind - customers around me are staring, my vietnamese is horrible, I am accused of giving them fake money, I have no other money ... but I stayed calm. The Aussie offers to pay for my meal, the waitress gives back the 'fake bill' and I try to be the honest Canadian I am and give back the change that was given to me earlier, but I think there was such a confusion, that she forgot that she got me change that she didn't take it. So really I made money from the dinner because, I got the 50 back, with the change, and the Aussie paid for my dinner. I really hope he didn't think I scammed him ...

and after that is the snake experience which can be read in my previous posting!

Two Beating Hearts

Did you know that a snake has 2 hearts? Do you know how I know that snakes have 2 hearts?

I was invited by my colleague, Mr. Hung, to go out for drinks and celebrate the Lunar Festival (I think it is kind of equivalent to our thanksgiving except it is more for the kids, but I'll have to investigate it more) last night. I am thinking he is going to be picking me up by motorbike and we are going to check out a parade and go to a bar or something. So I am waiting outside my hotel with my helment in hand. Instead, I am picked up by his friend who is driving a SUV and their first impression of me is holding my big blue helment - they probably think I am scared for my life to go out on the streets. And to own a car in Vietnam is very expensive because they are really high tariffs for imports, which I just learned that morning. So I was caught off guard being in a vehicle.

So I am hanging out with 4 other people about my age and all they tell me is that we are going to a traditional village outside Hanoi to celebrate the festival. We go to a restaurant that is off a lake and I finally understand that we are going out for dinner to celebrate the festival. All of a sudden the restaurant owner is holding a live snake in front of our table. I read in my guidebook how animal blood is quite popular to drink and I remember thinking to myself that I will try almost anything, but only if it's cooked.

So guess what we had for dinner? ... the snake was gutted and that's when I saw the 2 hearts which were still pumping in a shot glass. We all had a shot of snakes blood that is mixed with Vodca. I figured it wouldn't kill me and since I was being treated, I really didn't want to refuse - even though a girl who was sitting next to me didn't have it. We had snake in probably 10 different dishes: fried snake meat, snake soup, snake bone, snake mixed with pork, snake with vegetables, etc. I really think I could handle the eating part of Fear Factor.

So many of you are probably quite grossed out by this, but I have always thought who are we to judge other cultures' cuisines? I am here to be immersed in the country so I am going to be as open minded as possible. If you have a chance to try snake, go for it!

Rainy day at the office

I am getting set-up at my desk. I have my laptop and fast internet (horray!). I can actually view my blog now and I have to say it looks pretty nice :)

There are 6 people who work at the Association of Cities of Vietnam (ACVN) office and they officially welcomed me this morning at their monthly meeting. I was a little worried about their impressions of me, but they have been nothing but nice and very accommodating. I think they are worried that I don't have an apt yet that they said they don't expect me to do work until I am settled in (no complaints there), plus they are going to check some of their own contacts. I am looking forward to working with them and they seem excited to help improve my vietnamese and show me the vietnamese customs. They think of me as a vietnamese first rather than a foreigner, which I do appreciate.

So the apt hunt goes on and I have viewed 2. One was quite small and a bit deteriorated, but the girl who is looking for a roommate was super nice, however it is not exactly what I am looking for ... hopefully we can still become friends. The second I saw was beautiful, but a bit extravagent (and pricey) having 4 floors, spacious bedrooms, a housekeeper and a private courtyard. I was tempted but it is out of my price range. Tomorrow I am looking at another, so hopefully the third will be just right ...

My big purchase today was a bright metallic blue bike helment. My size only came in one colour, because yes, Yvonne, my head is abnormally large. Only foreigners wear them and the odd local. I wear it proudly as I would rather have a little peace of mind as I am on a bike that heads straight towards buses and oncoming traffic. I look quite attractive because part of the standard attire is sunglasses (for the flying debris and bugs) and a cloth facial mask (for the fumes and smog). Most only wear the sunglasses and mask and a bonnet rather than the helment. I need to invest in a mask as I am started to feel it in my lungs. I hope I do not develop aesthma!

My Motorcycle Diary

Today was my first day on a motorbike and oh course, I went big and did it in the motorbike capital of the world! It is the main mode of transportation for the Vietnamese and it is just plain wild.

I thought I was taking the bus to work this morning, but my colleague, Ms. Thuy, picked me up in her white Honda - I guess it was a miscommunication. There are more motorbikes than cars and just picture weaving between cars and buses and motorbikes going every which way even if it's a one way street. I was holding my breath, but then just learned to let go and take it all in. There are litterally hundreds maybe thousands of motorbikes on the roads. Plus, they park on the sidewalks so you can just imagine what is it like for a pedestrian. I am trying to determine which is safer - walking or riding a motorbike?

First 2 days in Hanoi

Well, I made it. I am officially in Hanoi. My flight over was actually pleasent (and it was with Air Canada!). It was about 23 hours total with the stopovers in Toronto and Hong Kong and the time difference is now 12 hours since Vietnam does not observe day light savings time.

I was greeted at the airport by one of my future colleagues with a bouquet of flowers and was taken out to dinner. The hotel I am staying is pretty comfy, but now I am looking for an apartment. I was hoping it would just happen, but not so ... turns out it is all about timing and talking to the right people, in other words I need to schmooze ...

My initial thoughts? I naively thought that if I was going to fit in anywhere and not seem like a foreigner, it would be here. But it is far from the truth, I feel like the biggest foreigner and just plain ackward. The little vietnamese I know isn't taking me very far since the south and north dialects are actually quite different. Once I find a room, I will be enlisting myself in some vietnamese classes right away!