March 29, 2012

Yesterday was a horrible day! I woke up and noticed that the diamond in my wedding ring was missing! Of course, I searched the bed linens, my bathroom, and my clothes, but not knowing exactly when it went missing I realized that it could be anywhere. I went swimming yesterday, took a shower, did the dishes. We searched the house, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Ron and I have been married 45 years. We picked out this ring together and it cost all Ron could afford at the time. About 10 years after we were married the diamond fell out then too.  It was winter time, and I had been wearing mittens and when I removed them - it was gone. It took Ron 1 whole year before he could afford to buy me a replacement stone. I've never wanted a huge ring - just the same size as when he proposed. I was dazzled by it's style and I remember looking at it constantly when it was new. Now it's gone....again. My father-in-law used to say "If a problem can be solved with money, then it's not a problem." I guess that's the way I have to look at this....again.

Ron has been invited to speak at Jinan University by one of his former students from Texas Tech. This young man is now a professor there. It's in Guangzhou, China and we need to apply for a VISA. We took a taxi to a place where a man took our picture and 1/2 hour later presented us with enough photos to attach to our applications. Then we tried to find the Chinese Embassy. We grabbed a taxi but the driver had no idea where we wanted to go, so he stopped at the Intercontinental Hotel and asked a bellman. By the time we got there, it was closed. So today at 8:30 this morning we got another taxi and this time the driver dropped us off at the wrong spot. We walked up and down and up and down and finally asked a guy who gave us an address to a completely different location and we found it. 

We took a number and when it was our turn the girl behind the glass partition was very confused. First she wanted to know if we are just tourists or do we live here. Then she questioned the reason for our wanting to go to China. We have a letter of invitation from the University there, but it needs to be in Chinese, and it needs to include an invitation for Ron's wife too...me. And to top it off, we were a month too early. Because Ron isn't going to lecture at this university until May, she said we need to come back in April and apply then. But we have to give them our passports and it takes 4-6 days to get them back. Nothing is easy in Vietnam!

Tomorrow my sister Elaine flies in from Los Angeles via Hong Kong. Can't wait to see her!

March 26, 2012

What a diverse weekend we had. Friday night we took Carie and her mother, Yen, to the Hard Rock Cafe, Ho Chi Minh City. Yen had never been there before so it was a culture shock for her as well.

There was a live band from the Philippines that played rock 'n roll, and 2 for 1 Mojitos. We had some traditional American dishes to share. First we had a combination plate with chicken wings, potato skins, chicken fingers, onion rings and taquitos. Then we ordered a hamburger with extra pickles as they have no pickles in Vietnam and it came with no pickles at all. The burger special came with fries and a Saigon Green beer, so Ron drank the beer and we shared the fries. Then we got a big plate of nachos with sour cream and guacamole. Of course we couldn't eat all this food, so we had it wrapped up for Carie to take home. The restaurant is just like the ones in America with guitars, autographs, and clothes of famous rockers. Loud too.

Then Saturday night was the annual Somerset Apartments Residents party. They transformed our pool area into a huge festival with food, drinks, lights, floating candles, dancing and the internationally famous water puppets.

The food was traditional Vietnamese with an separate section for Muslims. There were dishes I couldn't even identify, but everything was delicious and everything was free. Even the drinks.

By Sunday morning, the whole area was cleaned up and back to normal.

Sunday we had our weekly Vietnamese language lesson then took a taxi to Carie's house for lunch. Her mother fixed a corn soup with tiny birds eggs, fried scallops and a spaghetti dish with shrimp, calamari and clams.

It was out of this world good! For dessert we had pomelo, watermelon and a cake with buttercream frosting! There is a real art to carving up a pomelo. I still don't have it down pat, so her aunt gave me a demonstration right there at the table. Her aunt speaks French and Vietnamese, so I can speak a little French and a little Vietnam to her. But other than that, I just watched as she carved. I need to go to the market on Wednesday, buy another pomelo, and practice.

March 20, 2012

Our trip to Hanoi was to attend the 4th Mid-Year Enrichment Conference for U.S. Scholars and Students in Southeast Asia. We met attendees from Thailand, Philippines, Laos, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam. I'm used to going to conferences with Ron, and they are always Military, War, or International Relations related. But these scholars represented disciplines from Science, Business, Arts, Technology, and Social Sciences. Over the 2 days we were there, we heard lectures about so many diverse subjects such as: Amazonian and Malaysian Practices of Arboriculture; Vietnamese Foreign Brides in Mekong Delta; K-12 Education in Vietnam; Assessment of Children Exposed to Sex Trafficking in Cambodia; and even one on Sustainable Lobster Aquaculture in Vietnam. 

Fulbright Scholars and Students

Ron's lecture was entitled "Teaching the War in Vietnam...In Vietnam." He did a great job and included PowerPoint slides about the war. The conclusion of his talk was about how when Vietnam students are asked what they think about when they think about the U.S.A. they say Hollywood, Rock-in-Roll, Hip Hop; but when American students are asked what they think about when they think about Vietnam, they say WAR! Hopefully, over time, that will change as more and more people visit this country and discover how friendly it is and how the people love America.

The receptions, breakfasts, and luncheons were all spectacular spreads of food. Consequently, Ron and I found the work-out room at our hotel - the Hanoi Hilton - and ran on the treadmill every day! 

Friday was the last day of lectures, and there was a reception at the Vietnam History Museum and the food and drinks were served in a courtyard outside the museum. There was traditional Vietnam music being played by a "band" and even though it was a misty evening, we had a good time. In fact, the weather was cloudy and misty for the entire weekend. The people who live there said the sun has shone maybe 4 days since they all arrived in January! During the day we walked down to the Hoa Lo Prison Museum. During the war, US POWs nicknamed it the "Hanoi Hilton" and ironically that's the hotel where we're staying this weekend! Those incarcerated at the prison included Senator John McCain and Pete Peterson, who later became the first US Ambassador to a unified Vietnam in 1995. This prison was actually built in 1896. There were gruesome exhibits in dark chambers including a guillotine that was used to behead Vietnamese revolutionaries during the colonial period.

Saturday, we toured Hanoi's Women's Museum. It's relatively new with some powerful tributes to women soldiers of the revolution and great exhibits from the international women's movement protesting against the American War. 

These women had more than one child killed in the war.

Sunday we walked down to pay our respects to Uncle Ho (that's Ho Chi Minh). He's laid out in a huge Mausoleum and the line to get in stretched for about a mile! I had to check my camera, and there were no hats allowed, only long pants, no talking, hands at your sides, double file lines, and absolutely no photography inside. Outside it was really hot - inside it was freezing! He's laying in a glass sarcophagus, and there are armed guards dressed in white military uniforms everywhere. The crowd is very respectful. 

The museum was closed by the time we saw his body, (it closes from 11:30 - 2:00) so we walked down to the Temple of Literature founded in1070 and dedicated to Confucius and honors Vietnam's finest scholars. It has beautiful well kept landscapes and courtyards and was a welcome retreat from the busy Hanoi streets.

 Then we walked back to the Ho Chi Minh Museum which is a huge concrete building dedicated to the life of Ho Chi Minh. There are some fascinating photos and mementos of his life.

,

Maxine & Uncle Ho

Behind the museum was Ho Chi Minh's house where he lived on and off from 1958 to 1969. It's in a well-tended garden next to a carp-filled pond. It's not really known how much time he actually spent here because it would have been a target for US bombers had they known where he was.

Ron and our guide who was practicing her English.

I liked Hanoi and want to go back someday to see the Museum of Ethnology, the Museum of Vietnamese revolution and shop in the Old Quarter.

March 12, 2012

Ron bought me this bouquet for International Women's Day on the street on the way home from school. There were 2 young girls selling flowers and he selected any kind that he wanted. They assembled them, put a bow around them and charged him 10.000 dong. That's 50 cents! He paid them $1.00 and they giggled and jumped up and down!

I made sure I put them in the refrigerator when the maids came so they didn't think it was for them!

The International Women's Day celebration at the University was very elaborate. They had a seat of honor for Ron in the front row and there was music, dancing, singing and modeling. Then he was asked to come up on stage and tell what International Women's Day meant to him! He told me he said a few words but was caught completely off guard. Then the female staff came on stage and he went down the line and kissed every single one of them per instruction!

                                        All of his students wanted their picture taken with him!

There are several things I had on my "To Do" list that I want to accomplish before I go home. One of them was to go to the movies. So Sunday after our language class with Carie, the 3 of us took a taxi to a huge movie theater which was on the 7th floor of a very large mall. "This Means War" with Reese Witherspoon was playing in one of several stadium-seated theaters. We were able to get 3 tickets - 1 regular ticket for 100.000 dong ($5) and 2 senior tickets for 75.000 dong ($3.75) each! And the best thing was that it was a reserved seat!

Of course, what is a movie without popcorn? So Ron ordered the special which was 2 drinks and a popcorn and they asked him if he wanted the popcorn sweet or salty.

It's hard to read, but the sign on the left says Popcorn Salty and the sign on the right says Popcorn Sweet 

(I think).

Wednesday we leave for Hanoi where Ron is delivering a paper at the 4th Mid-Year Enrichment Conference for U.S. Scholars and Students in South East Asia. His speech is called "Teaching the War in Vietnam...In Vietnam." We're staying at the Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel which is a 5 star hotel. The conference starts Wednesday and runs through Friday. Then we're going to take a few extra days and he is going to show me around Hanoi and we'll return on Monday. 

March 8, 2012

Today is International Women's Day!!! Yay women! It's like Valentines Day around this city with flowers and gifts for sale everywhere. If it's "International" then why haven't I ever heard of it? The restaurants are having specials for dinner including a gift or rose for the women. Ron got an e-mail one hour before his 1:30 class that it had been cancelled because of Women's Day. They are having a special celebration at the school. He was busy preparing for class when he got the notice. A little late. Now his syllabus is all screwed up as far as what topics he'll cover on which days. Half the time he goes to school and they've changed his room to a completely different floor without telling him. The students seem to know, but no one bothers to tell him! Another challenge here in Vietnam...

Tuesday I took a cab to the Ben Thanh Market all by myself. Now, that probably doesn't sound like a big deal, but it's a BIG DEAL! This place is hard to explain. It's a huge market place with row after row of booths selling jewelry, shirts, shoes, souvenirs, art work, fruit, vegetables, nuts, fish, eel, you name it. The owners of the booths come out and say "You wanna buy?" and "Hello Madame you need a shirt?"

I swear to you that there was an old women sitting right next to the fish section with a box of bras!

The main reason I went to the market was because I remembered when Carie and I went there a few weeks ago that there was a nail shop right across the street and I desperately needed a pedicure. The market is huge, and I got so lost trying to find it, but when I got there, they were very nice and I finally got my manicure/pedicure which cost me 160,000 dong. That's $8 US.

Tuesday night, which is Tuesday morning in Lubbock, I FaceTimed my friends at The Falls again.

FaceTime

It's always fun saying Hello. I just hope they don't forget about me....

March 5, 2012

We have met some very interesting people here at the Somerset Apartments. One man, his wife, their daughter and their daughter's friend were all here vacationing from Vancouver, Canada. He's a hockey player and cop who works in anti-terrorism efforts in Canada. They were celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary and then heading over to Thailand for a wedding. Come to find out...his brother lives in Lubbock, Texas! What a small world!

I mentioned before about the Russian couple we've met - Alex and Attiune (sp?). She made up some yoghurt and brought a couple of jars up for us to taste. It was actually very good.

There are several Australian families, lots of Japanese, Middle Easterners and European people here They all dress so differently when they take their children swimming. The Japanese kids wear long sleeves and long pants, the Middle Easterners wear the same long sleeves but also some even wear head coverings. And the Europeans wear thongs...even the men! Whoo Hoo!

Another man we met here's name is Martin Dockery. He wrote a book called "Lost in Translation - Vietnam: A Combat Advisor's Story." He is married to a Vietnamese woman and they have 7-year old twins. He is good friends with James Bradley who wrote "Flags of Our Fathers" which was made into a  movie produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Clint Eastwood. It was about the 6 men who raised the flag at the battle of Iwo Jima and one of them was his father. Well come to find out, Mr. Bradley just arrived in Saigon and we were able to have dinner with them all Saturday night. We ate at a place called Jaspas and Martin brought along his wife and 2 children. It was so interesting talking with James (as he likes to be called). He's also written a book called "Fly Boys: a True Story of Courage" and his newest book is called "Imperial Cruise: a Secret History of Empire and War" which is about the aftermath of the Spanish American/Philippine War. He's here in Vietnam working on his new project about the Vietnam War and an area of Laos that was bombed during the war. His 2 daughters live in Saigon. One is older, married, and has a job here and the other is only 16 and going to high school.

On Sunday, after our Vietnam language class, Carie, Ron and I met James down at the bar by the pool. He introduced us to a man by the name of John Hawkins who was an advisor during the Vietnam war and now lives here in Saigon. Then James' 2 daughters arrived, their friends, John's personal assistant and her boyfriend, and another Vietnam vet who is a friend of James and by the time the evening rolled around, there must have been 12 of us sitting by the pool.

                                        Ron and James Bradley talking, and talking, and talking.....

Now Ron is helping by introducing him to his Vietnam War friends and scholars and enjoying the process which is his own research field. He will be in and out of Vietnam the next few weeks, and we hope to see him again.