I am currently in the beginning of my 10 day trip north and due to the increase in exciting things that I am going to see I am going to try and post more often so that all of you will be able to experience these things with me. I may just write about each day an post them when I get good internet. There is currently a political problem with blogging right now in Vietnam because blogs have become a location for voicing negative opinions about the government and several people have been arrested for blogging so I may lose access to my blog if this happens I will find a new way to keep in contact so just keep that in mind. Also for some reason it is really hard to post pictures to my blog so I am going to put them on facebook at put the links on my blog which should work. If it doesn't just tell me and I will try another method. Here is the link http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=122630&id=502001064&l=c501f91be2 (mom just click the link or copy everything from the http to the 91be2 and put in into the address bar which is the one at the top of the screen to see the pictures if you can't figure it out ask Hilary)
Yesterday and this morning we were in Da Lat, which is the honeymoon city of Vietnam. It is this beautiful little city that has a a lot of french architecture and could easily be an slightly run down European city. Da Lat is located at about 5,000ft and it is in the midst of this huge beautiful pine forest. It was kind of a strange difference from the busy city life of Saigon. Also it was much cooler in Da Lat. The weather was in the 70's and maybe mid 60's at night and people were wearing down jackets it was odd. The city is supposed to be the most romantic city in Vietnam lots of people go there for their honey moons and it is a very touristy city. There was even a miniature Eiffel tower and a huge lake in the center of town. Da Lat is also a big farming area, they grow lots of cabbage and coffee beans and flowers. We went to this flower market it was gorgeous, with flowers everywhere. Supposedly a lot of daisy's and carnations are grown in Da Lat and then sent to the states for Valentines Day. We started our day in Da Lat at this beautiful Zen Buddhist monastery that was so peaceful. They had these nice monks and these beautiful flower gardens. It is so nice to be out of Saigon. Saigon is fun, but its so busy and the air is so dirty. Out here I feel like I can breath. We have been driving through the jungle and the forest on all of these windy roads for hours, it is so interesting. Sometimes we go up a mountain pass and on the other side there will be a beautiful lake or a valley of rice patties, or maybe a little village. It is like a new little adventure around every turn. We make frequent stops at little road side attractions. We stopped at a floating village, which is right near the boarder of Cambodia and the people in the village have no Nationality. They lost everything in the wars and when life began to settle they had no original documents so there is no way to determine whether they are Cambodian or Vietnamese and neither government wants to issue them passports so they are the floating nomads, a village of undefined people. We also stopped at a silk factory (did you know that you can eat silk worms, I didn't but people do). I should use the word factory pretty liberally because there were only maybe 24 people working there and they would spin the silk into raw silk, then they would re-spin it into fine silk string and then they would weave this beautiful intricate silk cloth. It was cool watching them spin the silk from the little cocoons.
Weasel Coffee Story
Vietnam is very well known for its delicious and strong coffee. There are many types of coffee in Vietnam, but the most famous type is Weasel Bean Coffee. The story goes like this after the coffee harvest farmers would begin pruning there coffee trees and at the base of the trees they began to notice that there was weasel poop with coffee beans in it littering the bottom of the trees, so they decided to pick up the poop. They then washed the beans and roasted them and made coffee from them and as it turns out the weasel bean coffee was the best coffee they had ever tasted and has since become a delicacy in Vietnam. Recently they discovered that the reason that this coffee was so good was because weasels only eat the ripest coffee beans so if you collect only the beans they eat you are collecting the best beans. So farmers today have started collecting the ripest beans and they separate them out and roast them separately to create this delicious coffee. In honor of the origins of this type of coffee they call it weasel bean coffee although it is no longer actually from the weasel, or at least that's what they tell me.
The Elephant Story
Tomorrow we are going to ride an elephant so they told us this Vietnamese fable about elephants. Originally god gave the elephant 6 legs. The elephant only really used four of the legs, but he was very proud of his extra legs because they made him powerful and strong. At the same time God had only given the duck one leg and the dog three legs. Life was very difficult for the dog and the duck so they asked God to give them more legs like the elephant. God realized his mistake, but instead of making new legs he asked the elephant to share his extra legs with the duck and the dog. The generous elephant agreed to share his legs, but only if the duck and the dog took really good care of them. That is why when the duck sleeps it keeps its legs under its wings to protect them and the dog lifts its leg when it pees so it doesn't get the elephant's leg dirty. That is just one of many Vietnamese Fables.
My foot is healing up nicely, I may take a picture of the hole and post it cause its kinda a sweet battle wound. I am doing really well and I am happy. They claim when you travel abroad that there is a cycle, first you are in aw, then you are in the honeymoon stage then you hit the pits then t hings level out. Stepping on a nail sent me into the pits, but I am recovering and now have reached a normality with life here. I like that life in Vietnam is flexible. People don't really stick to strict schedules or specific times, if you are late no one cares, if your early no one expects you. People always seem to be very accommodating and I really like that freedom. I love you all and I hope that all is well. Feel free to shoot me and e-mail sometime if you want to keep me posted on your life my e-mail is saffordl@union.edu. Love and kisses!!
Monday, September 28, 2009
9/28/2009
Wow sorry I haven't written in awhile let me catch you all up. Thursday I went bowling with my teachers from the language school and on the walk home I stepped on a nail, that went through my shoe and into my foot. It went about a quarter of an inch into my foot and I immediately pulled it out and we went to the hospital. The hospital was actually really nice and the doctor spoke great English. They cleaned the wound and sent me home. My foot pretty bad for about 6 hours and then I was fine. I have been taking very good care of it, so far so good. This nail was actually pretty clean, but unfortunately that means that it was REALLY sharp. If you are my facebook friend you probably saw my update where I stated that I wanted to go home, the primary reason for that was my foot injury, but now that my foot is getting better I am enjoying Vietnam more.
On an entirely different note...I spent this past weekend in the Mekong Delta (or Delter as my guide liked to call it). This was by far the most amazing thing we have done on this trip so far. It was like a 6 hour bus ride, but it was worth it. We were able to go to the Region Biodiversity Lab that is doing research into natural re-vegetation, which essentially means they are trying to bring back native species after they were decimated by dioxin and napalm during the Vietnam war. This guy has been doing research for over 15 years now and has managed to get native species to grow again. It was actually really amazing to see the natural forests. We went on a walk in the woods and it was really beautiful. Although, there were a lot of leeches, which are pretty much harmless, but the idea of them is really creepy. I was bit by a few and I lived. These are considered slow leeches, so they are not a big deal. We also saw some yellow ants, that bite and if you kill one they have familial instincts (as in family loyalty), so they will all attack you. Luckily no one had any direct issues with the yellow ants. We also went to another Pagoda, which was beautiful and I met a really nice monk who I became friends with (I will post pictures soon).
The next day we went to a floating market, which was amazing. Essentially what happens is people go up river and buy goods from the farmers and then they come to this market and trade the goods. Then go back up the river and resell the newly traded goods. It is a really cool system that means that most people live on the Mekong River, so there was a lot of cool things to see. We also got to go on a Vietnamese row boat and we wore conical hats while on the row boats, which made us look really cool. The row boats took us to a sweet little restaurant where we drank wine that had a dead snake in it, which was supposed to be medicinal, but really it just tastes like tequila. For the record in Vietnam they call all alcohol wine so in fairness it could have been some other kind of alcohol and we wouldn't have known. We also got to hold/play with an anaconda. This guy eats like one duck a week and he was heavy. After that we returned to the bus and drove another 4 or 5 hours back to HCMC. We are going to be in HCMC until Thursday. Thursday the road trip to the north begins. We are planning on spending 10 days driving from HCMC to Hanoi. Our first stop is going to be Da Lat and then on Friday we head to Buon Me Thuot, where were are going to ride an elephant. I am so excited!!!
I love you all and I hope that you guys read this and know that life is not always easy, but that doesn't mean that life isn't great. Remember to avoid stepping on nails, I will tell you from personal experience that it is incredibly painful.
On an entirely different note...I spent this past weekend in the Mekong Delta (or Delter as my guide liked to call it). This was by far the most amazing thing we have done on this trip so far. It was like a 6 hour bus ride, but it was worth it. We were able to go to the Region Biodiversity Lab that is doing research into natural re-vegetation, which essentially means they are trying to bring back native species after they were decimated by dioxin and napalm during the Vietnam war. This guy has been doing research for over 15 years now and has managed to get native species to grow again. It was actually really amazing to see the natural forests. We went on a walk in the woods and it was really beautiful. Although, there were a lot of leeches, which are pretty much harmless, but the idea of them is really creepy. I was bit by a few and I lived. These are considered slow leeches, so they are not a big deal. We also saw some yellow ants, that bite and if you kill one they have familial instincts (as in family loyalty), so they will all attack you. Luckily no one had any direct issues with the yellow ants. We also went to another Pagoda, which was beautiful and I met a really nice monk who I became friends with (I will post pictures soon).
The next day we went to a floating market, which was amazing. Essentially what happens is people go up river and buy goods from the farmers and then they come to this market and trade the goods. Then go back up the river and resell the newly traded goods. It is a really cool system that means that most people live on the Mekong River, so there was a lot of cool things to see. We also got to go on a Vietnamese row boat and we wore conical hats while on the row boats, which made us look really cool. The row boats took us to a sweet little restaurant where we drank wine that had a dead snake in it, which was supposed to be medicinal, but really it just tastes like tequila. For the record in Vietnam they call all alcohol wine so in fairness it could have been some other kind of alcohol and we wouldn't have known. We also got to hold/play with an anaconda. This guy eats like one duck a week and he was heavy. After that we returned to the bus and drove another 4 or 5 hours back to HCMC. We are going to be in HCMC until Thursday. Thursday the road trip to the north begins. We are planning on spending 10 days driving from HCMC to Hanoi. Our first stop is going to be Da Lat and then on Friday we head to Buon Me Thuot, where were are going to ride an elephant. I am so excited!!!
I love you all and I hope that you guys read this and know that life is not always easy, but that doesn't mean that life isn't great. Remember to avoid stepping on nails, I will tell you from personal experience that it is incredibly painful.
Monday, September 21, 2009
9/21/2009
Saturday we visited the Chu Chu tunnels and the Cao Dai temple. Chu Chi was pretty interesting. The people there were pretty determined, carving out all those tunnels and living underground. There are these huge bomb craters everywhere. We went crawling through some of the tunnels and I of course scratched myself and bled all over the place. I also shot and M16 which was incredibly loud. Especially when there are a bunch of them being fired off at once or in sequence. My ears were ringing for a few minutes afterward. War is an ugly beast and it makes desperate people do odd and desperate things.
Mark asked us to ponder the idea that is commonly said about travelers, which is the saying that no matter where you go you always bring yourself with you. That is an odd idea for me right now because as of this moment I feel transient and without a concrete goal or purpose which is an odd feeling for me. I have always felt so determined and focused and right now I can't remember the why, I can only feel the now. I find myself asking the age old question "who am I" (while making the Zoolander face).
As of this moment the only part of myself that I can definitively say I have brought with me is love. I hold in my heart the love of my family and my friends and that I carry around with me everyday. So, ponder and love and live and such and have a nice day from Lily in Vietnam.
Mark asked us to ponder the idea that is commonly said about travelers, which is the saying that no matter where you go you always bring yourself with you. That is an odd idea for me right now because as of this moment I feel transient and without a concrete goal or purpose which is an odd feeling for me. I have always felt so determined and focused and right now I can't remember the why, I can only feel the now. I find myself asking the age old question "who am I" (while making the Zoolander face).
As of this moment the only part of myself that I can definitively say I have brought with me is love. I hold in my heart the love of my family and my friends and that I carry around with me everyday. So, ponder and love and live and such and have a nice day from Lily in Vietnam.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
8/19/2009
Finally I have made it to an internet cafe so I can upload some pictures to my blog.These pictures to the right and below is of a Cao Đài temple we went to today it was described to me as the Vatican of the Cao Đài religion. It was really beautiful very comfortable. Cao Đài is a kind of new age religion started in the 1920's or 30's. If you want to learn more google it.
To the left is a picture of Notre Dame Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh City. This was kind of a new technique I am trying in my photo class, it is a really long like 20 second exposure. I really like it I hope you do to.
This picture is a flower in front of the Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City. That is the palace in the background.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
9/18/2009
During Vietnamese class today I went out on the town to the zoo and talked to local people in Vietnamese. As it turns out my Vietnamese is bad, but not too bad, they had trouble understanding my accent, but they were able to figure it out after I said my questions a few times. I really liked this exercise because I was able to meet some locals and I survived actually speaking Vietnamese, although to be honest I have to idea what people are saying back to me. It is so hard to understand Vietnamese. It is raining again this afternoon, and we are going to a Vietnamese art museum today to learn more about the culture here, which should be fun although its raining again.
Sadly one of the girls in the group left today. She was not enjoying Vietnam. It seems so weird to me to see someone leave, I am enjoying myself immensely. The more I learn about Vietnam the more I enjoy the city. I see the Vietnamese people as a very strong people, they have overcome so much and they have come out of it all like champions. I have never seen such hard working people, that are still so willing to take the time to smile are you or talk to you. At the guest house where we are staying lots of Vietnamese business men stay here for a few nights during the week then go other places. When they are home these man love to talk to us. They practice their English and we practice our Vietnamese. They tell us stories and ask us questions it is so nice. They even recommend food for us to try. One of them even has a son learning in America, at some school in Wisconsin that I can't remember the name of. It seems to me that no matter how busy you are or how hard you work they always make time for the people around them. Another example, we were in a restaurant today and this woman stopped cooking to great us and talk to us in Vietnamese for a minute and then she went back to cooking away. The way people treat us is just so friendly. I am hoping to take some good pictures today and tomorrow and then post them soon. I love you all and I miss you, but not in the homesick kind of way in the happy where I am but wish you could all experience this with me kind of way.
Sadly one of the girls in the group left today. She was not enjoying Vietnam. It seems so weird to me to see someone leave, I am enjoying myself immensely. The more I learn about Vietnam the more I enjoy the city. I see the Vietnamese people as a very strong people, they have overcome so much and they have come out of it all like champions. I have never seen such hard working people, that are still so willing to take the time to smile are you or talk to you. At the guest house where we are staying lots of Vietnamese business men stay here for a few nights during the week then go other places. When they are home these man love to talk to us. They practice their English and we practice our Vietnamese. They tell us stories and ask us questions it is so nice. They even recommend food for us to try. One of them even has a son learning in America, at some school in Wisconsin that I can't remember the name of. It seems to me that no matter how busy you are or how hard you work they always make time for the people around them. Another example, we were in a restaurant today and this woman stopped cooking to great us and talk to us in Vietnamese for a minute and then she went back to cooking away. The way people treat us is just so friendly. I am hoping to take some good pictures today and tomorrow and then post them soon. I love you all and I miss you, but not in the homesick kind of way in the happy where I am but wish you could all experience this with me kind of way.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
9/15/09
It is Tuesday here in Saigon and we had a beautiful morning, but the rainy season is taking over this afternoon. It is hard to complain about the rain because it cools the whole city off, but makes walking around less fun. Language classes started yesterday and they are overwhelming. Vietnamese is a difficult language and on top of that learning it for four hours straight is brutal. On the bright side the teachers are incredibly nice.
We went to the beach this past Sunday and I have to say it was one of the most amazing days of my life. The beach was beautiful the weather was nice. The water was really warm and I was in great company. We were able to bring a few Vietnamese students to the beach with us, which was just so much fun. Also the food in Vietnam has been spectacular. I love eating lots of rice and noodles all the time. I am in carbohydrate heaven!!
Saigon is an amazing city, very modern and alive. You wouldn't believe the traffic sometimes if feels like all these people do is ride motorbikes around all day. The coolest part of the city is the streets they are alive with people and vendors. The downtown part of Saigon is very tourist oriented and intimidating, but once you get to where we live life is more normal. I feel like it is nice to go to the little coffee shop down the street and get coffee with random Vietnamese people or eat lunch in a restaurant where we are the only white people. It for some odd reason makes me feel like less of a spectacle when life is not centered around trying to sell me something. Anyway I am loving Vietnam so far and I am happy to be here. This weekend we are going to the art museum and the Chu chi tunnels which should be fun. I will write a full report sometime soon.
Posting pictures is not really working out the internet where I am staying is flaky, but I am going to go to one of the wi-fi hot spots one day and post a bunch so stay tuned. I send my love home to my family and friends and I hope that everything is going well for all of you.
We went to the beach this past Sunday and I have to say it was one of the most amazing days of my life. The beach was beautiful the weather was nice. The water was really warm and I was in great company. We were able to bring a few Vietnamese students to the beach with us, which was just so much fun. Also the food in Vietnam has been spectacular. I love eating lots of rice and noodles all the time. I am in carbohydrate heaven!!
Saigon is an amazing city, very modern and alive. You wouldn't believe the traffic sometimes if feels like all these people do is ride motorbikes around all day. The coolest part of the city is the streets they are alive with people and vendors. The downtown part of Saigon is very tourist oriented and intimidating, but once you get to where we live life is more normal. I feel like it is nice to go to the little coffee shop down the street and get coffee with random Vietnamese people or eat lunch in a restaurant where we are the only white people. It for some odd reason makes me feel like less of a spectacle when life is not centered around trying to sell me something. Anyway I am loving Vietnam so far and I am happy to be here. This weekend we are going to the art museum and the Chu chi tunnels which should be fun. I will write a full report sometime soon.
Posting pictures is not really working out the internet where I am staying is flaky, but I am going to go to one of the wi-fi hot spots one day and post a bunch so stay tuned. I send my love home to my family and friends and I hope that everything is going well for all of you.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
9/10/09
I have arrived in Vietnam safely and am enjoying some coffee and down time before I head to dinner and orientation with the group. My roommate is nice and the room we are living in is shockingly nice. The buildings here are so beautiful and colorful and the people are very nice. We met a bunch of other international students who have promised to show us around. I even met someone from Colorado.
For the record so far I have seen two motor bike crashes and managed to cross the street twice, which seems like a pretty great accomplishment to me.
The plane flight went well, I took a sleeping pill for the second time in my life and slept for almost 10 hours. I also sat next to the nicest guy who saved food for me due to the fact that I slept through two out of three meals on the plane. I am so excited and I wil keep you all posted. Love and kisses.
“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” - Robert Louis Stevenson
For the record so far I have seen two motor bike crashes and managed to cross the street twice, which seems like a pretty great accomplishment to me.
The plane flight went well, I took a sleeping pill for the second time in my life and slept for almost 10 hours. I also sat next to the nicest guy who saved food for me due to the fact that I slept through two out of three meals on the plane. I am so excited and I wil keep you all posted. Love and kisses.
“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” - Robert Louis Stevenson
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
9/2/09
I am in California, currently hanging out at my Dad's house. I spent the last few days in San Diego with my cousins and their kids, which I think makes them my second cousins? I have five second cousins the oldest is two, the youngest is almost 1 month old. My mom and I went to the beach with a few of my cousins and their kids, we made sand castles and went swimming. The water was so warm much warmer than the water in Colorado. We also went to the San Diego Zoo with two of my cousins and all five second cousins, which was fun. That many kids is crazy, but fun. I got some good pictures, but I can't upload any yet. Stay tuned. I am headed to LA today and then Santa Barbra.
This is Lily saying I love you all and "Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts" (Anonymous).
This is Lily saying I love you all and "Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts" (Anonymous).
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