My Canadian captured this amazing photo from the back of a mototaxi on the way into town. What a cute little boy!
Cat Lem, Yen Bai Province
September 27th, 2011
One of my students grandmothers told me that I am going to have a wonderful future because I have small, lady-like, soft hands…sometimes I love Asia.
September 8th, 2011
Body Language in Vietnam
My Canadian is incredibly good at noticing little things about people’s behaviors. Two things he’s pointed out to me are particularly interesting:
1) When shaking hands with someone, Vietnamese people often place one hand on the inside of their elbow as a sign of respect
2) When handing money to each other, the Vietnamese use two hands, not one.
August 4th, 2011
July 20th, 2011
In twenty-five years of wandering the world, I have learned two things: the first is that when you travel, at some point you will find yourself in a dire predicament – out of money, out of food, unable to find a hotel room, lost in the big city or on a remote trail, stranded in the middle of nowhere. The second is that someone will miraculously emerge to take care of you – to lend you money, feed you, put you up for the night, lead you to where you want to go. Whatever the situation dramatic or mundane, some stranger will save you.
This is true. (via taekim)
This happened to me about 50 times in Ghana but there haven’t been that many times I’ve been “stranded” in Vietnam. One moment does come to mind, however. I was on my way to work and my moto just completely broke down. I was standing there by the side of the road fiddling about, trying to figure out what to do when two men pop out of the Vespa store in front of me. They look at me as if to ask “can I help?” and I nod gratefully, gesturing to my bike and giving a quizzical shrug. They set to work, first trying to restart it with the kick start. When that fails, to my horror, they begin to disassemble my moto where the engine is. They say something to each other in rapid Vietnamese and seem to agree on whats wrong. They gesture for me to wait and a moment later they come back with some odd-looking spray can. My guess, as to what they did and how they tried to point out what was wrong, a lot of mud had gotten through the cracks of my bike and into the engine over the previous few rainy days. They put the engine bits back together, try to start it and lo! success!! They pat the bike happily with a satisfied look on their faces and smile at me. I reach for my wallet but they wave me off and go back to their shop. Strangers can be truly wonderful.
(Source: youmightfindyourself, via taekim)
June 17th, 2011
Intense statue in the Old Quarter. Taken by my Canadian.
June 16th, 2011
A few weeks ago one of my classes took my Canadian and I out for dinner at a restaurant serving traditional foods from Hue (the ancient Vietnamese capital). They proceeded to order almost everything on the menu and helped us try a bit of it all. 
There were spicy soups, noodles, and do-it-yourself spring rolls. It was delicious and entirely overwhelming…
June 7th, 2011
“To residents of Hanoi during the war, “Kham Thien” has special meaning. It is a name symbolic of the terrible suffering and tragedy visited upon the civilian population during the Christmas bombings of 1972.
On December 13, 1972, the Paris peace talks had stalled. Washington determined Hanoi was only using the bombing halt, called as a result of the scheduled talks, to continue infiltrating troops into the south. President Nixon wanted to send Hanoi a strong message - one designated to bring the Vietnamese back to the negotiating table. On December 18, 1972, Nixon authorized Operation Linebacker II, or what came to be known as the “Christmas Bombing” of Hanoi and Haiphong. Conducted by the US Air Force, the operation continued through December 29.
Daytime attacks were conducted by tactical strike aircraft; night attacks by B-52s and F-111s. Military targets such as airfields, antiaircraft batteries, surface-to-air missile sites, railroads and storage facilities were hit repeatedly during the eleven-day period.
The actual damage inflicted upon Hanoi and Haiphong during this bombing period was not limited to just military targets. An unfortunate consequence of war is that collateral damage always occurs. On the evening of December 26, US aircraft inflicted extensive collateral damage upon the residents of Hanoi as thirty-nine bombs fell on Kham Thien Street.”
from “Bare feet, Iron Will” by James G. Zumwalt
When I first moved to Hanoi, my apartment was on Kham Thien Street. Even though the war between the USA and Vietnam is still a prevalent part of our cultural history in the States, it isn’t talked about with the same frequency or intensity here. Although we study the Vietnam War in school in the USA, I hadn’t know the details of the “Christmas Bombings” when I moved here. When I found myself at the Hanoi Hilton for the second time with my Canadian, I noticed a picture I hadn’t paid attention to the first time. My breath caught in my throat as I read the caption “Kham Thien Street, December 1972.” I couldn’t believe that the street I had lived so happily on for four months was simply a pile of rubble just 40 years earlier. I don’t have the constant reminder of the war here that I was expecting but every now and then something will remind me of the horrors experienced here and the true resilience of the Vietnamese people.
May 14th, 2011
Some American stole my ipod. He was from Houston though so it’s understandable.
Random Vietnamese guy I met today
May 12th, 2011
I love your smile. It helped me to feel less nervous.
What my student said to me at the end of the speaking portion of her IELTS test
