This is my homestay sister, My (pronounced Mee). My grew up in Ben Tre, a village in the Mekong Delta. She moved to Ho Chi Minh City about three years ago to go to school. She attends the same university as me and is studying Chinese.
I really lucked out getting such a great sister. She is showing me all around the city and making sure I have the best experiences here. She's also super sweet. For example, the first time she met our entire group, she said she had to leave for an hour to do some things. When she came back she had a birthday present for Scott and some cream for Lauren who had just burned herself.
My homestay situation is a bit different than everyone elses, but I feel I really lucked out. As most of the others are on the outskirts of HCMC, living with a wealthy family, I am experiencing the typical student lifestyle. My, her roomate Ngoc and I all live, eat, sleep, study, and do everything else in one room that they rent in a house. We also have a bathroom, where I bathe with a spigot and a bucket. There isn't any room for a bed, or a table, so we sleep on a mat on the floor and eat off of newspapers spread out on the floor. Honestly, sleeping on the floor isn't so bad- sometimes my neck is stiff, but I think that's more from the pillow than anything else.
I'll be living with My for at least another three weeks. After that, I may contribute to her rent and stay another four weeks while I do my Independent Study Project. Her roomate is moving to France on Thursday, so she does need help with the rent, and I'd be happy to keep living with her rather than have the comforts (and unexcitement) of a hotel room.
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Westerners in Ho Chi Minh
I find myself observing and analyzing the Westerners I see in Viet Nam almost as much as the Vietnamese. There are relatively few westerners here, but when there is a "Whitey" (as some of my American friends like to say) it is painfully noticeable.
There are several categories of Westerners that come to Viet Nam. The obvious one is the tourist- often families with teenage kids, couples in their twenties (usually Europeans), or older couples. These westerners generally stay in the downtown, "western-friendly" areas.
However, when I was staying in a hotel, I saw a totally different type of westerner. The hotel was in a more out-of-the-way area, so it didn't attract a lot of tourists. I've met quite a few American men who had served in Viet Nam and are now returning. A couple men that I've talked to said that they come at least once a year and try to stay for three or four weeks each time. They are taking Vietnamese courses and otherwise just hanging out in Saigon.
In the hotel, we also saw several families who were in the process of adopting a Vietnamese baby. It was so fun to see all those cute babies. I'm sitting in a cafe downtown right now and three women, each with an adorable infant, just walked out.
As a westerner, I stick out wherever I go, but I don't seem to mind. I don't get harassed like I did in Cairo, Turkey or even Costa Rica. I actually think it'll be hard to go back to the States and just blend in again.
There are several categories of Westerners that come to Viet Nam. The obvious one is the tourist- often families with teenage kids, couples in their twenties (usually Europeans), or older couples. These westerners generally stay in the downtown, "western-friendly" areas.
However, when I was staying in a hotel, I saw a totally different type of westerner. The hotel was in a more out-of-the-way area, so it didn't attract a lot of tourists. I've met quite a few American men who had served in Viet Nam and are now returning. A couple men that I've talked to said that they come at least once a year and try to stay for three or four weeks each time. They are taking Vietnamese courses and otherwise just hanging out in Saigon.
In the hotel, we also saw several families who were in the process of adopting a Vietnamese baby. It was so fun to see all those cute babies. I'm sitting in a cafe downtown right now and three women, each with an adorable infant, just walked out.
As a westerner, I stick out wherever I go, but I don't seem to mind. I don't get harassed like I did in Cairo, Turkey or even Costa Rica. I actually think it'll be hard to go back to the States and just blend in again.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Village Life in the Mekong
As part of one of our classes, and to help us get ready to do a month of independent research, we conducted three interviews with villagers in the Mekong Delta. Visiting the villages has been one of the best parts of my experience here so far. It's something that I wouldn't be able to do if I was here as just a tourist.
The people in the village were always so welcoming. They would often come out of their houses as we were walking past and invite us inside. The children liked to follow us down the road. Often times the woman would just look at us and laugh. Everyone was always in good spirits.
We worked through a translator to conduct the interviews. Our topic was dating and marriage, but we ended up getting a lot of information about their daily lives.
The people in the Khmer village grew rice and also made baskets. The women worked hard all day long to make the baskets to sell at the market. The man we interviewed did not speak any Vietnamese, he only spoke Khmer. So, his answers were translated by his son to Vietnamese, and then translated for us into English. He said the younger generations speak Vietnamese because they go to Vietnamese schools, where as he attended a Khmer school. His dream for his grandchildren is to go to University and learn many foreign languages, like English or French. He doesn't know if that will happen, though, because they don't generally have enough money to send the children to school past primary school.
We sat on their porch while we talked. About twenty people were looking and listening in. They were mainly women and children. The women loved to laugh at our questions. They especially laughed when we asked how he had met his wife (they had an arranged marriage, by the way).
After the interview, they gave us a tour of their home. Their home was filled with pictures of family, posters, religious artefacts. They also showed us a box filled with some precious items. They were mostly very old coins. I thought that Zakcq would have liked to see them.
When we were done with the interview, we joined up with the rest of our group. One of the households had put some music on, and Scott (one of the American students) was dancing for everyone. The kids could hardly get enough of him.
I think we must have had such an impact on the village. I wonder what they said about us at dinner that night. I wonder what sort of questions the children were asking our parents after we left.
At the end of our program, we have a month to do independent research. Partly because of these experiences last week, I want to spend some of the time in a village. I will be looking at ancestor worship in the village of Ben Tre (my homestay sister, My, pronounced Mee, is from this village) and how recent urbanization and globalizaiton has affected those family traditions and rituals.
I'll actually be able to begin collecting information in about a week. Next Friday, My is taking me to her village to celebrate the two year death anniversary of her grandmother. I'm very excited to meet her family and see what their lives are like.
The people in the village were always so welcoming. They would often come out of their houses as we were walking past and invite us inside. The children liked to follow us down the road. Often times the woman would just look at us and laugh. Everyone was always in good spirits.
We worked through a translator to conduct the interviews. Our topic was dating and marriage, but we ended up getting a lot of information about their daily lives.
The people in the Khmer village grew rice and also made baskets. The women worked hard all day long to make the baskets to sell at the market. The man we interviewed did not speak any Vietnamese, he only spoke Khmer. So, his answers were translated by his son to Vietnamese, and then translated for us into English. He said the younger generations speak Vietnamese because they go to Vietnamese schools, where as he attended a Khmer school. His dream for his grandchildren is to go to University and learn many foreign languages, like English or French. He doesn't know if that will happen, though, because they don't generally have enough money to send the children to school past primary school.
We sat on their porch while we talked. About twenty people were looking and listening in. They were mainly women and children. The women loved to laugh at our questions. They especially laughed when we asked how he had met his wife (they had an arranged marriage, by the way).
After the interview, they gave us a tour of their home. Their home was filled with pictures of family, posters, religious artefacts. They also showed us a box filled with some precious items. They were mostly very old coins. I thought that Zakcq would have liked to see them.
When we were done with the interview, we joined up with the rest of our group. One of the households had put some music on, and Scott (one of the American students) was dancing for everyone. The kids could hardly get enough of him.
I think we must have had such an impact on the village. I wonder what they said about us at dinner that night. I wonder what sort of questions the children were asking our parents after we left.
At the end of our program, we have a month to do independent research. Partly because of these experiences last week, I want to spend some of the time in a village. I will be looking at ancestor worship in the village of Ben Tre (my homestay sister, My, pronounced Mee, is from this village) and how recent urbanization and globalizaiton has affected those family traditions and rituals.
I'll actually be able to begin collecting information in about a week. Next Friday, My is taking me to her village to celebrate the two year death anniversary of her grandmother. I'm very excited to meet her family and see what their lives are like.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Monkeys in the Mekong
I had an amazing time in the Mekong Delta last week. We took a boat ride to a wildlife reserve and walked along an elevated cement path being told we would see monkeys. I was looking high up in the trees trying to see if I could spot one. No one expected what was about to happen.
I was the first to spot the monkeys coming toward us. Suddenly there were dozens of monkeys swarming around us. They were running past me on both sides, brushing up against my legs. It was intense and very frightening! I really don't feel comfortable being in such close quarters with wild animals.
At one point, the monkeys grabbed a big bottle of water out of Emily's hands. They fought over it for a bit and then the winner was able to prop the bottle upside-down in a tree so that he could drink from it. It was quite a sight.
The monkeys were truly overwhelming. I remember once I looked over at my roommate Megan and one monkey was touching her bag and the other was behind her looking up her skirt.
I took lots of pictures of the monkeys- go check them out at our flickr website.
I was the first to spot the monkeys coming toward us. Suddenly there were dozens of monkeys swarming around us. They were running past me on both sides, brushing up against my legs. It was intense and very frightening! I really don't feel comfortable being in such close quarters with wild animals.
At one point, the monkeys grabbed a big bottle of water out of Emily's hands. They fought over it for a bit and then the winner was able to prop the bottle upside-down in a tree so that he could drink from it. It was quite a sight.
The monkeys were truly overwhelming. I remember once I looked over at my roommate Megan and one monkey was touching her bag and the other was behind her looking up her skirt.
I took lots of pictures of the monkeys- go check them out at our flickr website.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Karaoke!
Our group spent the evening at Sandy's family's home last night. Sandy is Vietnamese-American and part of her family lives in Ho Chi Minh City. There were about twenty members of her family at the house. It seemed like they were terrified of us. Besides her mom, dad, grandparents and a few of the kids, they didn't interact with us at all. Honestly, they were often huddled in a corner or a back hallway just staring at us. Sandy said afterward that they thought we were all so funny and beautiful. I guess they all asked Sandy if we wanted Vietnamese husbands or wives.
I came to realize as soon as I got to Viet Nam that the people here love karaoke. Sandy's family had just gotten a new karaoke machine- and they were very proud that it had English songs so that they could invite us over. So, we spent half of the time butchering American pop songs and half of the time listening to beautiful, serious traditional vietnamese songs. It was a wonderful time. Even though we didn't really mix so much with her family, we were still having fun together. During one of the songs, Sandy's family told Sandy to tell us to dance. They were entertained by anything we did.
The food was fabulous. One of her aunts grabbed my plate and heaped food on to it. Most of us went up three different times to grab more food, and still her family was saying we didn't eat enough.
It was so wonderful seeing her family interact with eachother. Grandpa was definitely the patriarch of the family. He sort of shuffled around the house in his pajamas the entire time. It was obvious everyone very much loved and respected him. They were trying to take pictures of the Americans with the grandparents, but Grandma and Grandpa were facing the wrong way the whole time- I found it endearing.
On another note, today I got a text message which was as follows: Hi Jessica! My name is Thi Thi. You will be living at my house. I'll pick you up at 6:00 tonight. I'm happy to be your friend.
Isn't that sweet? We had dinner the other night with the students we will be living with. I didn't meet Thi, but Emily did and said she's really nice. We're getting together tonight with them and she's going to pick me up on her motorbike. My new favorite thing is riding around Saigon on a motorbike.
When I get back from the Mekong Delta in a week, I'll be living with Thi. I'm really excited to see where she lives and meet her family.
I came to realize as soon as I got to Viet Nam that the people here love karaoke. Sandy's family had just gotten a new karaoke machine- and they were very proud that it had English songs so that they could invite us over. So, we spent half of the time butchering American pop songs and half of the time listening to beautiful, serious traditional vietnamese songs. It was a wonderful time. Even though we didn't really mix so much with her family, we were still having fun together. During one of the songs, Sandy's family told Sandy to tell us to dance. They were entertained by anything we did.
The food was fabulous. One of her aunts grabbed my plate and heaped food on to it. Most of us went up three different times to grab more food, and still her family was saying we didn't eat enough.
It was so wonderful seeing her family interact with eachother. Grandpa was definitely the patriarch of the family. He sort of shuffled around the house in his pajamas the entire time. It was obvious everyone very much loved and respected him. They were trying to take pictures of the Americans with the grandparents, but Grandma and Grandpa were facing the wrong way the whole time- I found it endearing.
On another note, today I got a text message which was as follows: Hi Jessica! My name is Thi Thi. You will be living at my house. I'll pick you up at 6:00 tonight. I'm happy to be your friend.
Isn't that sweet? We had dinner the other night with the students we will be living with. I didn't meet Thi, but Emily did and said she's really nice. We're getting together tonight with them and she's going to pick me up on her motorbike. My new favorite thing is riding around Saigon on a motorbike.
When I get back from the Mekong Delta in a week, I'll be living with Thi. I'm really excited to see where she lives and meet her family.
My afternoon with Uy
Last Sunday, I decided to get out by myself and explore Saigon a bit. I met many people along the way, but the most memorable person I met was Uy. She was my tour guide at the Reunification Palace. We got to talking, and she invited me to join her when she went to worship at a pagoda later that afternoon.
She picked me up outside of the Reunification Palace on her motorbike after she got off of work. There I was zipping through Saigon on the back of a Vietnamese girl's motorbike thinking "this is amazing!"
The pagoda that she goes to is known as one of the most beautiful, colorful pagodas in Vietnam. There were a couple dozen people inside and another dozen in front in the courtyard. My first impression was that there was a lot going on. It's difficult to describe (and I'll get some better pictures when I go back) but the inside was full of statues, shrines, insence, urns, murals and candles.
Uy gave me some incense sticks and told me to wish good things for myself as I held the incense between my hands and bowed my head. Then I waved the insence up and down a few times and stuck one in a bowl full of sand so that the insence was sticking out and continuing to burn. We then went to several different stations in several different rooms and did the same thing. It was a wonderful experience to have her show me how she worships and learn about the Vietnamese culture in such an intimate way.
She picked me up outside of the Reunification Palace on her motorbike after she got off of work. There I was zipping through Saigon on the back of a Vietnamese girl's motorbike thinking "this is amazing!"
The pagoda that she goes to is known as one of the most beautiful, colorful pagodas in Vietnam. There were a couple dozen people inside and another dozen in front in the courtyard. My first impression was that there was a lot going on. It's difficult to describe (and I'll get some better pictures when I go back) but the inside was full of statues, shrines, insence, urns, murals and candles.
Uy gave me some incense sticks and told me to wish good things for myself as I held the incense between my hands and bowed my head. Then I waved the insence up and down a few times and stuck one in a bowl full of sand so that the insence was sticking out and continuing to burn. We then went to several different stations in several different rooms and did the same thing. It was a wonderful experience to have her show me how she worships and learn about the Vietnamese culture in such an intimate way.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
The Market
Shopping in Viet Nam is quite an experience. I can find just about anything in an outdoor market or along the sides of the streets. The other day we bought plastic hangars for our room for under thirty cents. Communicating with the vendors is still pretty difficult, so when I ask about the price, the woman (yes, it's almost always a woman) either shows me the correct bill or types the price in to a calculator. It would be perfectly acceptable to try to get a lower price, but I figure a few cents is worth so much more to them than it is to me- so I always give them the asking price if I want the item.
Friday, February 24, 2006
My Typical Day
My day starts with going down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. Usually, I choose a noodle soup. Also, Viet Nam has the most spectacular coffee. It is very thick, and it is served with sweetened condensed milk. It's amazing.
At about 7:20, I start walking with some other girls to the university. It takes us quite a while to get there because we sometimes have to wait a while at the street corners in order to get up enough nerve to cross the street.
I attend Vietnamese class from 8:00-10:00 and its one of the best parts of the day. It really feels like we're singing sometimes. We have two teachers who switch off each day. The female teacher is very graceful and poised. The male teacher speaks English with an Australian accent and he's pretty funny.
At 10:00, we attend lectures on various topics related to Vietnamese culture and development. Today, a professor lectured on the five different stages of Vietnamese urbanization. Yesterday, we attended a lecture on Confucianism.
When we are let out of class at 12:00, we eat at the canteen at the university. The first two days, the food there was a novelty, but now it's getting really old. It's very fatty and bland- like cafeteria food anywhere, I guess.
After lunch, it is extremely hot. We walk back to our hotel and sit in air-conditioning for at least a couple of hours. We have between fifty and seventy pages of reading to do each day. On top of that, I need to study my vietnamese. In addtion, I need to have a firm idea of what I would like to do my Independent Study Project on by early next week. So, I spend a good amount of time in the afternoons studying.
Otherwise, I've been walking around the city, trying new restaurants, checking out the markets, hanging out at internet cafes and hanging out with the other students.
Anyway, I just wanted to give you all a little picture of what I've been doing lately.
At about 7:20, I start walking with some other girls to the university. It takes us quite a while to get there because we sometimes have to wait a while at the street corners in order to get up enough nerve to cross the street.
I attend Vietnamese class from 8:00-10:00 and its one of the best parts of the day. It really feels like we're singing sometimes. We have two teachers who switch off each day. The female teacher is very graceful and poised. The male teacher speaks English with an Australian accent and he's pretty funny.
At 10:00, we attend lectures on various topics related to Vietnamese culture and development. Today, a professor lectured on the five different stages of Vietnamese urbanization. Yesterday, we attended a lecture on Confucianism.
When we are let out of class at 12:00, we eat at the canteen at the university. The first two days, the food there was a novelty, but now it's getting really old. It's very fatty and bland- like cafeteria food anywhere, I guess.
After lunch, it is extremely hot. We walk back to our hotel and sit in air-conditioning for at least a couple of hours. We have between fifty and seventy pages of reading to do each day. On top of that, I need to study my vietnamese. In addtion, I need to have a firm idea of what I would like to do my Independent Study Project on by early next week. So, I spend a good amount of time in the afternoons studying.
Otherwise, I've been walking around the city, trying new restaurants, checking out the markets, hanging out at internet cafes and hanging out with the other students.
Anyway, I just wanted to give you all a little picture of what I've been doing lately.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
3.5 Million Scooters
There are 3.5 Million motorbikes in Saigon. Nothing can prepare you for what that looks and feels and smells like!
Forget diarrhea, typhoid, mosquitos, side-effects of Malaria pills and rabies- the most dangerous part about living in Saigon is the traffic! The streets are filled with motorbikes. They are often are often at least 12 motorbikes across a lane- each direction. You can't wait for a lull in the traffic here- it will never come. You must simply walk out in to traffic. It is the responsibility of the driver not to hit you. It is completely counterintuitive to put so much trust in to dozens of motorbikes going at a good pace, swirving and accelerating. Honestly, sometimes I have to just look at the ground in front of me and not even take notice of what is coming at me. The worst thing I could do would be to freak out and either stop in my tracks or start running across the road. Sometimes it feels as though the red sea is parting as I walk out in to a sea of motorbikes and I don't get hit.
More dangerous is the crime that comes with all of the motorbikes. It is very common for someone riding by on a motorbike to grab a pedestrian's bag. If the bag is slung over your shoulder, you would very possibly be dragged with the bag. Americans have gotten seriously hurt in this way in the past. On our first night in HCMC, one girl's bag was snatched (it had a very flimsy strap, so it just broke) and another girl's bag was almost snatched but she was able to swat the driver's hand away.
Because of this danger, I avoid carrying a bag when at all possible. If I do need to carry a bag, I carry it on the opposite side of traffic, I hold on tight, and I certainly don't wrap it around my body.
Forget diarrhea, typhoid, mosquitos, side-effects of Malaria pills and rabies- the most dangerous part about living in Saigon is the traffic! The streets are filled with motorbikes. They are often are often at least 12 motorbikes across a lane- each direction. You can't wait for a lull in the traffic here- it will never come. You must simply walk out in to traffic. It is the responsibility of the driver not to hit you. It is completely counterintuitive to put so much trust in to dozens of motorbikes going at a good pace, swirving and accelerating. Honestly, sometimes I have to just look at the ground in front of me and not even take notice of what is coming at me. The worst thing I could do would be to freak out and either stop in my tracks or start running across the road. Sometimes it feels as though the red sea is parting as I walk out in to a sea of motorbikes and I don't get hit.
More dangerous is the crime that comes with all of the motorbikes. It is very common for someone riding by on a motorbike to grab a pedestrian's bag. If the bag is slung over your shoulder, you would very possibly be dragged with the bag. Americans have gotten seriously hurt in this way in the past. On our first night in HCMC, one girl's bag was snatched (it had a very flimsy strap, so it just broke) and another girl's bag was almost snatched but she was able to swat the driver's hand away.
Because of this danger, I avoid carrying a bag when at all possible. If I do need to carry a bag, I carry it on the opposite side of traffic, I hold on tight, and I certainly don't wrap it around my body.
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