Hey guys,
Sorry this blog post is getting to you kind of late, I've been underwater trying to catch up on work after the hilarity and awesomeness that was our week in Hanoi.
I was going to Hanoi this weekend for the 20th anniversary gala of the Fulbright Program, there would be fourteen out of the fifteen ETAs (Justin!!!) going to the gala as well. We were all really excited to go to the gala, but I think for most of us the main draw was being back in Hanoi, staying at the Rising Dragon Grand again and spending some quality time together.
So for me at least it was a no-brainer to come to Hanoi, and I think all of us really enjoyed our weekend there.
My travels started on Thursday morning, with our school's opening ceremony. School has been happening for the last month, but the first year students don't start until this month, so now we have the grand opening ceremony of the school. Yeah, I don't really understand it either.
I brought my camera but there never really seemed an appropriate time to take pictures so I don't have any documentation of it. The ceremony was what you would expect from a college's opening ceremony. A lot of speeches, a lot of dignified people and a lot of audience members trying to pretend they cared. Listening to speeches in a foreign language is a special kind of hell, especially when you can tell that all the people who understand the speech are bored out of their minds.
After the opening ceremony we had a lunch with the deans and the rectors of the school, as well as several important corporate sponsors. I was initially quite nervous, but everyone at my table was quite friendly and they were all very impressed by my limited Vietnamese skills. The food was delicious as usual, but the main attraction for me was the constant parade of people wanting to drink shots with me.
At a certain point in a Vietnamese party people get up and start mingling and wandering over to other tables, as is common in all cultures. In Vietnamese culture, though, if a man wanders over to your table he generally has a bottle of rượu or at least a shot glass and he probably wants to drink a shot with you. As the American guest of honor, the Head Rector of the college, both Vice-Rectors, the Dean of the Social Sciences Department, and the Vice-Dean of the Social Sciences all took shots with me, and those are just the people I remembered off the top of my head. I was even convinced to stand up and go offer to drink a shot with the head of Vietcom Bank in Bến Tre. This isn't even taking into account all the shots poured for me just at the table. Oh, and all of this is happening at around ~11 am. Some of the teachers had class in the afternoon and I don't know how they were functional.
So, after all the excitement I got on a bus to go to Ho Chi Minh City, then to catch a plane to Hanoi. Travel was stress-free, but still by the time I reached Hanoi I was exhausted.
I finally got into the Rising Dragon Grand and dragged my suitcase in the door. Huong was the receptionist, she was there for our whole time in Hanoi and she is one of the sweetest, kindest people I know.
Huong looked at me and deadpanned "Who are you? Why are you here? You can't stay here!"
Thanks Huong. Damn good to be back :)
That evening I we all got dinner at an Italian place, and I satisfied two cravings I didn't even know I had. The first was Italian food. Oh my god. I didn't even know I wanted pizza until I had the first bite of a cheese pizza, and from there it was straight heaven. The second was talking with the Fulbright ETAs again. I mean, I knew I was looking forward to seeing everyone, but I didn't even realize how much I did until I started talking. Old inside jokes were immediately brought back, and new ones were christened immediately. We laughed at each other's escapades and chuckled in commiseration over the difficulties. I really do like the chemistry we have as a group. We are definitely closer to each other because of the uniqueness and intensity of our experience, but I think we would be good friends in any other situation. Just some great people who I didn't realize how much I missed.
After dinner, the partying crew did its thing, starting off with Bia Hoi and going from bar to bar until we ended up chilling in Vanlam, Amelia and Anna's room at 4 am, watching a documentary on how Doritos are made. You know, a normal night.
We went back to Dragonfly. I'm not proud of it, but it happened.
Friday was a day of relaxation, we went to Joma's, our favorite cafe, and just sat back and talked for a while. It was really interesting to hear the different challenges all of us are facing. There are some common themes--isolation, loneliness, difficulty teaching beginning students, few English speakers around--but also some pretty stark differences. Some people have colleges that are smothering them with attention, making it so that they can't walk down the street without someone holding their hand. Other people have colleges that basically don't care what they do and give them very few resources. Some have colleges that work them to death, others have colleges that aren't using them at all. I have to say, Bến Tre definitely has its issues, but I came away from the conversation feeling like I had a pretty good deal. At least I have a normal toilet (sorry Kate!) and a fridge (sorry Michelle!).
After relaxing for the evening we headed back to the Rising Dragon to get all dressed up for the gala.
In the lobby of the Rising Dragon
Classy gentlemen
We got to the gala, and I have to say I was a bit overwhelmed. There were a lot of people there, and all of them were affiliated with the Fulbright in Vietnam program in some way, so there were a lot of diplomats, business leaders, scholars and government officials. All of them looked very official and behaved as if they belonged there, and I was reminded that just six months ago I was just another senior at University of Chicago and now I'm mingling with very important people.
The freakout passed quickly, though, and I made friends with several of the more recent Fulbright alumni, who I hopefully will see in Ho Chi Minh City at some point.
The dining room
The proceedings started with a speech from David B. Shear, the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam. Then dinner began, and afterwards we wandered around mingling for a while.
The ambassador speaks at the Gala
Our table at the Gala
With David Shear, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam
After the speeches, dinner and mingling was complete, it was time to do what we do best. Gratuitous photo shoots!
The lovely ladies of Fulbright
Andrew, why are you wearing those shades? Why?
After the dinner we headed to La Bomba, a Hispanic bar that was our frequent haunt when we had orientation here. Enrique, the bar owner, was glad to see all of us and he gave me a big hug when he saw me (I had gone there several times with Trevor, and Trevor was the one who first met Enrique). It was great to see him again, and it was just one of those little moments that warm your heart.
Dancing it up at La Bomba
After another late night we dragged ourselves out of bed early in the morning to go play soccer! Trevor and I would be playing in the Fulbright soccer game against Vietnam Education Foundation, another U.S. Vietnam education exchange program. A whole bunch of ETAs also came to cheer us on, which was fantastic. Thanks Anna for taking the following photos!
Team picture before the game (all soccer photos credited to Anna)
Before the game
Surveying the field
Making a tackle
On a fast break
Team picture after the game
All the Fulbrighters!
With my cheerleaders, thanks so much guys!
That afternoon the rest of the Fulbrighters went to Chi Diu's house, but I had already made plans to see my family. I was sad to miss the chance to go to Chi Diu's house, but family first.
My visit to Chu Thuat's house was incredibly rewarding. Chu Thuat, my mom's cousin, does not speak any English and his daughter Thao and son Hieu only speak a little, so last time I visited a month ago communication was very limited. This time, I showed up and was able to tell them how much I liked Bến Tre and what I liked about teaching and I was able to ask them about their recent vacation to China. Not gonna lie, pretty awesome. Studying Vietnamese is really hard and is an absolute pain to work on, especially the pronunciation and the listening. It was amazing to have that work pay off in a very real, very personal way.
The whole visit to Chu Thuat's house was very informal compared to the last time I was there. No one took any photos, the lunch was relatively small although still delicious, and it was just Chu Thuat and his family there, no additional members of the family or neighbors coming by. We sat cross-legged on a raised platform in a circle instead of on the big bench and table in the center of the room. Chu Thuat and his wife chatted about going to China, while interspersing occasional questions for me. No one was particularly dressed up, and after we were done Chu Thuat asked me if I would like to take a nap before heading over to Ong Dich's house.
I almost felt like a member of the family, and not just some weird cousin from out of town. It felt real nice.
We then went to Ong Dich's house in Son Tay, and here the visit was even more informal. Ong Dich and Chu Thuat talked about Chu Thuat's trip to China, with me trying to follow the conversation. I was flattered that they didn't ask Thao to stay in the room as a translator, and it definitely made me feel like part of the exclusive crowd of adults, even if I definitely missed some stuff as a result.
Ong Dich also showed me his farm, orchard, and shop, things that I didn't even know existed. Last time I was here it was the middle of the night, so I couldn't go see any of them.
Some of Ong Dich's pigs. Apparently he has 100 pigs and 100 chickens, sells them in the market in Son Tay and Hanoi.
The orchard where he grows pomelos and bananas
The shop where they do repairs and build cages to transport animals
I had no idea Ong Dich had all of this on his property, and I was quite impressed with the sheer entrepreneurial nature of it all.
Most importantly, of course, Ong Dich also has a puppy. SUCH A GOOD BOY
That evening we had another Rising Dragon party, the hotel staff turned the dining room into our own VIP dining room and party area. The last one was pretty epic, and so we were all looking forward to another party. It didn't disappoint.
Look at all this food!
Chilling in the hotel dining room
The quintessential Quan photo
Dancing it up at the Rising Dragon Grand
We partied it up until late in the night, and then Sunday morning it was time for us all to pack up and head to our various provinces.
I had so much fun in Hanoi, I have to admit I didn't want it to end. I didn't feel sad when I left Hanoi, though, I felt excited to go back to Bến Tre, knowing that I'll have even more adventures to tell my friends about when I see them next.
It was an amazing weekend in Hanoi, and I got back completely exhausted. Luckily, my friends in Bến Tre were more than willing to pick up the slack. On Monday I went and got che with five of my third year students, these girls took me out to lunch two weeks ago and I hope they can take me to the night market at some point as well.
Mai, Oanh, Quyen and Huong. Trang took the picture
We had a great time, they have slowly gotten more and more used to joking around near me. At first they were really shy and giggly, but they slowly got more and more talkative and we got to the point where we were just making fun of each other.
After eating che we went to get ice cream at the supermarket, then we went to the arcade near the food court. So, I had two desserts and went to the arcade before having dinner. My inner ten-year old rejoices.
The arcade
It's really fantastic to have friends my age in Bến Tre, and as busy as I am I'm trying to keep a full social calendar here as well. I'm getting coffee with my students tomorrow, then on Sunday I have breakfast with Mr. Tuan and coffee with another group of students. Also Lindsay is coming to Bến Tre on Saturday. Yay!
It was a really fun time in Hanoi, but it feels strangely good to be back in Bến Tre. Hanoi is a great city, and I will definitely try to get back there at some point, but Hanoi isn't home. This is really strange for me to write, but right now, Bến Tre is.
See y'all later!
Peace,
Jefferson
P.S. Thank you so much to my wonderful family for sending me so many packages! I am now overflowing in chocolate and love, and both are so wonderful to get here. Thank you so much, Me, Dad and Minh-Anh.
P.P.S. Seriously though, they don't have good chocolate over here. Lindt truffles might as well be made of gold. SEND THEM TO ME!
