3/29
Today was my third day in Vietnam. I have been to Fanny’s Ice Cream 4 times and picked up 3 of my 6 hand-made articles of clothing. Two friends and I made our way to the War Remnants Museum this afternoon which is an intense place depiciting the atrocities of the American War (Vietnam War) from the Vietnamese perspective. The exhibit focused on the massacre at My Lai as well as the legacy of deformation, erosion, and contamination that the widespread use of Agent Orange left behind. Yesterday I visited an orphanage for mentally and physically disable children. The physical disfiguration that some of these children are born with is unbelievable. Their limbs are bent at unimaginable angles, and sometimes without limbs at all. It seems impossible but children effected by Agent Orange and Dioxin are still being born. If one of their parents was exposed to it in the war they are at risk of passing it down to their kids. (Not to mention the high levels of the chemicals in the water, soil, and food.)
Despite what you would think there is little or no hostility here towards Americans. Of course there are little or no people of that generation (in their 50s/60s) around. It is still “a big deal,” as our professors explained it, to Americans because it is considered recent history.
Two nights before Vietnam I attended Professor Wager’s Community College event. We was in the infantry during the wat from 1969-70. He graduated from college on a Saturday and his draft notice was waiting for him on Monday. He was a philosophy major and debated the ethics of war extensively. In order to make his decision (fleeing to Canada or enlisting) he asked himself 3 questions. 1. Is any war moral? He decided that no- it isn’t inherently wrong to be in the army. 2. Is the Vietnam War moral? And 3. Is the way we’re fighting the Vietnam War moral? He went to Vietnam and was one of the oldest soldiers there. (Most were in their late teens and early twenties). He explained it as a bunch of college freshmen with weapons and no teachers let lose in the country. They way the war was fought- the tactics he saw implemented and the orders given- were immoral. He refused an order to board a helicopter in the invasion of Cambodia in May 1970 and was court marshaled. Despite facing jail time (5 years), demotion, and dishonorable discharge without any money- he evaded it all. His laywer was prepared to take the case all the way to the top (the illegality of the order to invade Cambodia) and instead of risking it, they let him off the hook. In part he believes it was because the military was by that time full of people who had their own doubts about the war. Wager’s ultimate message was that the army is a moral organization despite its flaws.
Today I wandered to the military surplus market in HCMC and looked through various odds and ends and remnants of the war that are all piled into this warehouse of tools and parts (that looks amazingly like Opa’s garage) and stumbled across some dog tags. Most of them were Vietnamese names but there was one American one in the mix- a Rheuben L. Early- who I know was A neg (blood type?) and a Protestant, along with his U.S. military and social security numbers. I assume that because his dog tag is still in HCMC that he died while in Vietnam- one of 59,000. And 60,000 sounds small compared to the millions of Vietnamese that were killed. I guess for this reason I find it strange that is isn’t a lingering issue here like it is at home (perhaps that is in part because they won.)
On a lighter note, HCMC has provided some great experiences. One of the many highlights thus far has been the overwhelming shopping excursions to Ben Than Market and the buying in mass amount of bootleg DVDs (including many TV shows!) Let’s just say that there will be no work being done from this point in the voyage on. (We were warned about this.)
Tomorrow I’m off to the Mekong Delta!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
First Day in Vietnam
3/27
Today was a long and exciting day in Ho Chi Minh City. I was up at 5:40 to see the sunrise but it was too hazy. Then i went to bed till 8:15 when i got up for breakfast. Then mason and I headed off the ship with a full itinerary of thigs to do. Evan and Clint wanted to do their manly stuff (getting suits made and DVD shopping). So the 2 of us did lots of shopping!! And found an amazing ice cream shop- Fanny's!- so yummy (we went there 2x). (Those were really the main two priorities on the intinerary.) We found a seamstress shop off the beaten path (undiscovered by all the SASers) and told them we'd come back after we bought fabric. So we bought enough for a few dresses at a Silk shop, then continued to Ben Than Market- where almost everything imaginable is sold for super cheap. Northface galore, designer bags, arts and crafts, t-shirts, polos...everything. I got a small northface backpack because i didn't bring a day pack with me. (If anyone wants one let me know). my small one cost $5 and i should be able to bargain that down too. they have every single style/size/color you can imagine.
So we bought even more fabric in the market (i bought lily pulitzer pink paisly) and then we went back to the seamstress. I am currently getting 4 dresses made? no- 3. and shorts and a skirt. Mason has 4 dresses and skirt. i'm going back saturday evening for fitting, mason will be gone but we'll both go back monday afternoon after our trip to cu chi tunnels. we are both really nervous/anxious/excited/intrigued for how our new wardrobe will turn out!
3/28
I have a service visit at the Hy Vong 8 School for the Deaf this afternoon.
On Sunday I'm going to the Mekong Delta, and on Monday- the Cu Chi Tunnels.
Today was a long and exciting day in Ho Chi Minh City. I was up at 5:40 to see the sunrise but it was too hazy. Then i went to bed till 8:15 when i got up for breakfast. Then mason and I headed off the ship with a full itinerary of thigs to do. Evan and Clint wanted to do their manly stuff (getting suits made and DVD shopping). So the 2 of us did lots of shopping!! And found an amazing ice cream shop- Fanny's!- so yummy (we went there 2x). (Those were really the main two priorities on the intinerary.) We found a seamstress shop off the beaten path (undiscovered by all the SASers) and told them we'd come back after we bought fabric. So we bought enough for a few dresses at a Silk shop, then continued to Ben Than Market- where almost everything imaginable is sold for super cheap. Northface galore, designer bags, arts and crafts, t-shirts, polos...everything. I got a small northface backpack because i didn't bring a day pack with me. (If anyone wants one let me know). my small one cost $5 and i should be able to bargain that down too. they have every single style/size/color you can imagine.
So we bought even more fabric in the market (i bought lily pulitzer pink paisly) and then we went back to the seamstress. I am currently getting 4 dresses made? no- 3. and shorts and a skirt. Mason has 4 dresses and skirt. i'm going back saturday evening for fitting, mason will be gone but we'll both go back monday afternoon after our trip to cu chi tunnels. we are both really nervous/anxious/excited/intrigued for how our new wardrobe will turn out!
3/28
I have a service visit at the Hy Vong 8 School for the Deaf this afternoon.
On Sunday I'm going to the Mekong Delta, and on Monday- the Cu Chi Tunnels.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Malaysia
So my Malaysian experience in a nutshell:
We arrived on Wednesday morning and my friend Evan and I were on an SAS tour of Penang’s Temples and Mosques. Malaysia is so multicultural that there are Hindu temples, Buddhist temples, Daoist temples, churches, and mosques all throughout the city. I was shocked at how clean this place it- a huge change from India. Penang still has a very colonial feel- it gained independence from Britain only 50 years ago. There are many beautiful mansions around and the Eastern & Oriental is a beautiful colonial hotel. That night a group of 6 of us took the sleeper train to Kuala Lumpur. We departed at about 10:30pm and arrived at about 8am. (We later found out the bus only took 4hours.) But it was all about the experience- which I loved! It was so fun! (Of course I didn’t get all that much sleep- maybe 5 hours max). We all had top bunks and it was extremely loud. Evan and I were near the bathroom so it reeked when the doors weren’t closed. We stopped every hour or so and my backpack was taking up the last few feet of my bed so I couldn’t stretch out. But perhaps the worst part was that they left the lights on all night! I brought my cool max cocoon with me and it was wonderful! It was a really fun experience and I highly recommend it.
Then we got off the train and went straight to the Petronas Towers in the Golden Triangle District of KL. (The subway system in KL is awesomely easy). We got free tickets for later than afternoon and spend the interim hours laying in the park in the shadow of the towers. (Then we got yelled at by a policewoman who told us we could sit, but not lie down, in the grass. Strange.) There are lots of “PDA” police here because it is such a conservative country (60% Muslim). We went to the skybridge at the Petronas which is only half way up the World’s Tallest Towers.
We stayed the night in Chinatown at the Swiss Inn. Our 4 person room with 2 bunkbeds and a shower (and breakfast) cost $15USD. The next morning we went back to the Golden Triangle to go up in the KL Menara Tower (looks like the Space Needle-Seattle). It is 430+m and we were actually higher there than the sky bridge at the Petronas towers. We had lunch in Little India and then caught a flight on AirAsia (Airline of the Year 2007!) to Langkawi Island (up near Thailand). We spend our 4th day on the Beach and at Malaysia’s longest swimming pool! It was a great day (except the sunburn on my back.) Today I wandered around Penang and hit up the Chocolate Boutique!
We are refueling in Singapore on our way to Vietnam. We’re now half way through our ports with 7 weeks to go- it is flying by!
We arrived on Wednesday morning and my friend Evan and I were on an SAS tour of Penang’s Temples and Mosques. Malaysia is so multicultural that there are Hindu temples, Buddhist temples, Daoist temples, churches, and mosques all throughout the city. I was shocked at how clean this place it- a huge change from India. Penang still has a very colonial feel- it gained independence from Britain only 50 years ago. There are many beautiful mansions around and the Eastern & Oriental is a beautiful colonial hotel. That night a group of 6 of us took the sleeper train to Kuala Lumpur. We departed at about 10:30pm and arrived at about 8am. (We later found out the bus only took 4hours.) But it was all about the experience- which I loved! It was so fun! (Of course I didn’t get all that much sleep- maybe 5 hours max). We all had top bunks and it was extremely loud. Evan and I were near the bathroom so it reeked when the doors weren’t closed. We stopped every hour or so and my backpack was taking up the last few feet of my bed so I couldn’t stretch out. But perhaps the worst part was that they left the lights on all night! I brought my cool max cocoon with me and it was wonderful! It was a really fun experience and I highly recommend it.
Then we got off the train and went straight to the Petronas Towers in the Golden Triangle District of KL. (The subway system in KL is awesomely easy). We got free tickets for later than afternoon and spend the interim hours laying in the park in the shadow of the towers. (Then we got yelled at by a policewoman who told us we could sit, but not lie down, in the grass. Strange.) There are lots of “PDA” police here because it is such a conservative country (60% Muslim). We went to the skybridge at the Petronas which is only half way up the World’s Tallest Towers.
We stayed the night in Chinatown at the Swiss Inn. Our 4 person room with 2 bunkbeds and a shower (and breakfast) cost $15USD. The next morning we went back to the Golden Triangle to go up in the KL Menara Tower (looks like the Space Needle-Seattle). It is 430+m and we were actually higher there than the sky bridge at the Petronas towers. We had lunch in Little India and then caught a flight on AirAsia (Airline of the Year 2007!) to Langkawi Island (up near Thailand). We spend our 4th day on the Beach and at Malaysia’s longest swimming pool! It was a great day (except the sunburn on my back.) Today I wandered around Penang and hit up the Chocolate Boutique!
We are refueling in Singapore on our way to Vietnam. We’re now half way through our ports with 7 weeks to go- it is flying by!
India
Namaste! This is the Sanskrit way to say “hello.” Literally it means “I see God in you.” My time in India has been wonderful. I unfortunately was not on a trip to the Taj Mahal in Agra but I had a great time in Chennai and its surrounding areas. Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu, one of 4 South Indian states. Chennai has a population of 7.5 million. Upon arrival on the 11th I attended a yoga demonstration and bought a great poster with all the Sanskrit pose names. I went on a City Orientation Tour that day which stopped at some of the most well known sites in Chennai- St. Thomas Basilica, the Kapaleeshwar Temple, Fort St. George’s museum detailing India’s history under British rule, and Marina Beach (the second longest beach in the world). Marina Beach is essentially a fishing village. Thatch-roofed huts line the beach and fishing boats and nets are everywhere. The beach is completely covered in trash. This area was hit by the Christmas Day tsunami of 2004. Today on my FDP, Socioeconomic Problems of Chennai, we visited a slum along the beach and talked to some its residents and were bombarded by excited kids. It is amazing to see the poverty they live in- it is unfathomable. The food is swarmed by flies, their huts are dark and unfurnished, and the water would make us sick instantly. The ocean is violent and I can’t believe there are so many young kids running around so close to it and even swimming in it. 250 million Indians live in desperate poverty.
The port area is a very sketchy area and we had to walk through the cargo-loading areas and often wade through tar and oil slicks. It is the dirtiest place I’ve ever seen and people work there all day long without shoes or gloves.
On my second day in Chennai I did a little shopping at Spencer Plaza- pashminas galore. Then in the afternoon I visited the Bala Mandir Orphanage. We saw kids of all ages- from day care to high school- and all of them were excited to see us. They were obsessed with our cameras! They love to shake hands and they were very cute. The high school girls were extremely talkative- and many spoke English very well. Their school buildings were sparse and the power went in and out while we were there, but they seem to have very dedicated teachers.
The next day I was on an overnight SAS trip to Kanchepuram/Mamallapuram. There were only 8 students accompanied by Dean Enbohm, Student Life Director Al, and 2 life-long learners: 80-year old-Nancy and Ernest from Sri Lanka. We visited 3 temples in Kanchepuram (the Golden City)- which were all extremely beautiful and fascinating. I didn’t know much about Hinduism before arriving here but our adorable guide, Kala, taught us all so much. We had a great Indian lunch at a local hotel and visited a silk house- Sreenivas- which is know for child-free labor.
The port area is a very sketchy area and we had to walk through the cargo-loading areas and often wade through tar and oil slicks. It is the dirtiest place I’ve ever seen and people work there all day long without shoes or gloves.
On my second day in Chennai I did a little shopping at Spencer Plaza- pashminas galore. Then in the afternoon I visited the Bala Mandir Orphanage. We saw kids of all ages- from day care to high school- and all of them were excited to see us. They were obsessed with our cameras! They love to shake hands and they were very cute. The high school girls were extremely talkative- and many spoke English very well. Their school buildings were sparse and the power went in and out while we were there, but they seem to have very dedicated teachers.
The next day I was on an overnight SAS trip to Kanchepuram/Mamallapuram. There were only 8 students accompanied by Dean Enbohm, Student Life Director Al, and 2 life-long learners: 80-year old-Nancy and Ernest from Sri Lanka. We visited 3 temples in Kanchepuram (the Golden City)- which were all extremely beautiful and fascinating. I didn’t know much about Hinduism before arriving here but our adorable guide, Kala, taught us all so much. We had a great Indian lunch at a local hotel and visited a silk house- Sreenivas- which is know for child-free labor.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Mauritius
Mauritius has some beautiful beaches, lots of tortoises, and some great chocolate cake! On our first day (March 1) Evan, Mason, and I went with our adoptive mom Tatjana (who is also Global Studies coordinator and a Bio prof) and the inter-port lecturer Dennis to La Vanille Tortoise and Crocodile Park on the South part of the island. We had a lot of fun there- we did get to cuddle some tortoises and when they are not lying around looking like big rocks they are procreating- quite a humorous sight. The males can weigh up to 250 kg and the females up to 150 kg. There was one tortoise who kept following us around! And when we pet him he started making a Darth Vader-like sound (his form of purring). We also saw fruit bats, geckos, iguanas, crocs, monkeys, turtles, birds, donkeys, and lots of insects.
For lunch we went to the restaurant inside the park and Dennis treated us all to chocolate cake (since he had hyped it up so much!) It was really good! I tried a piece of his crocodile steak- It wasn’t bad. Since Mauritius was a French colony for a short time the French language is still widely spoken and most restaurants menus are in French. It also means they have a lot of baguettes- which is what I ate!
On our second day the three of us visited the Pampalmousses Botanical Gardens and the Sugar Museum. At the end of the sugar tour we got to try all 12 different types of Mauritian sugar! We spent the last few hours of the day at the beautiful Trois Aux Biches.
The next morning we had a Service Visit to an elderly home (but we were all disappointed because we didn’t actually service anyone). We then visited a random grave site (also disappointing) and finally (after our trip had already run over by an hour) went to a teen center. The teens at this school had failed their CP exam (High School entrance exam). They don’t get a second chance at this test and this teen center is a type of vocational school- teaching them the arts (and crafts) of basket weaving and necklace making. Unfortunately there are some really young kids there as well- as young as 9 years old- and these kids are already destined to a life without formal education.
On our last day we signed up for a Medicine in Mauritius field trip but it wasn’t worth it. We had a great Indian lunch of 7 different types of curries, naan, and rice- served on banana leaves and eaten with our hands. (But Evan, Mason, and I skipped out on the end of the tour).
The highlight of the day was probably when we hit a pedestrian with our bus. We heard a large thump, looked out the back window and there was a man staggering and clutching is arm. Our guide claims he was a drug addict faking injury trying to get money from us.
One night we went up to Grand Baie (the big resort/beach area). We had our cab driver drop us off at the beach at about 5:30 pm (the sun was setting) and he looked at us like we were truly crazy. We had a great dinner at Don Camillo (excellent pizza)- but we had to walk through a gas station to get there.
Overall we had an interesting time on Mauritius- we saw and did a lot and didn’t even get as much beach time as we hoped!
Apparently SAS is not going back (some of the students are giving us a bad rap)- next fall they are going to Namibia instead (I am extremely jealous).
For lunch we went to the restaurant inside the park and Dennis treated us all to chocolate cake (since he had hyped it up so much!) It was really good! I tried a piece of his crocodile steak- It wasn’t bad. Since Mauritius was a French colony for a short time the French language is still widely spoken and most restaurants menus are in French. It also means they have a lot of baguettes- which is what I ate!
On our second day the three of us visited the Pampalmousses Botanical Gardens and the Sugar Museum. At the end of the sugar tour we got to try all 12 different types of Mauritian sugar! We spent the last few hours of the day at the beautiful Trois Aux Biches.
The next morning we had a Service Visit to an elderly home (but we were all disappointed because we didn’t actually service anyone). We then visited a random grave site (also disappointing) and finally (after our trip had already run over by an hour) went to a teen center. The teens at this school had failed their CP exam (High School entrance exam). They don’t get a second chance at this test and this teen center is a type of vocational school- teaching them the arts (and crafts) of basket weaving and necklace making. Unfortunately there are some really young kids there as well- as young as 9 years old- and these kids are already destined to a life without formal education.
On our last day we signed up for a Medicine in Mauritius field trip but it wasn’t worth it. We had a great Indian lunch of 7 different types of curries, naan, and rice- served on banana leaves and eaten with our hands. (But Evan, Mason, and I skipped out on the end of the tour).
The highlight of the day was probably when we hit a pedestrian with our bus. We heard a large thump, looked out the back window and there was a man staggering and clutching is arm. Our guide claims he was a drug addict faking injury trying to get money from us.
One night we went up to Grand Baie (the big resort/beach area). We had our cab driver drop us off at the beach at about 5:30 pm (the sun was setting) and he looked at us like we were truly crazy. We had a great dinner at Don Camillo (excellent pizza)- but we had to walk through a gas station to get there.
Overall we had an interesting time on Mauritius- we saw and did a lot and didn’t even get as much beach time as we hoped!
Apparently SAS is not going back (some of the students are giving us a bad rap)- next fall they are going to Namibia instead (I am extremely jealous).
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