SATA Vietnam 2006 Blog

With all the recent news about bird flu spreading around the world, I think it may be appropriate to write about what I've seen here and my feelings about the matter. Before the semester, I was somewhat worried about bird flu. After more than a month of being in Hanoi, I am no more worried than before I left. We've been very near chickens many times, but just walking by them. Some of us, including myself, have even eaten chicken. It is true that chicken is not readily abundant, but it is also not impossible to find in the city. Most of the restaurants that we go to don't serve chicken, even though it is on the menu. Of the fourteen of us, nobody goes out of their way to avoid birds or chicken. My attitude towards the situation is that we have to live with it and there isn't anything we can do to prevent bird flu. Until the virus becomes transmissible between human, I won't change my behavior. We are more worried about our general health and avoiding stomach problems, which many of us have had.

Posted by Administrator at 01:06 AM | Permalink

Yesterday, Alyssa, Fred and I traveled to Bat Trang. This village was about a 45-minute bus ride from Hanoi. We decided to go to Bat Trang because it is known for its pottery. The road to the village was bumpy and winding. It was no wider than one and a half lanes in the U.S. It was somewhat scary to see another bus coming towards ours on the narrow road, especially with so many motorbikes around. Along the way we saw numerous instances of the brick-making industry that all of us have read about. There were stacks and stacks of bricks sitting in the fields that we passed by. When we arrived in Bat Trang, the first thing that struck me was how empty the streets were. There was nobody to be seen or motorbikes swerving around us. We walked into the main market where all the ceramic goods were being sold. There was everything from small figurines to beautiful tea sets.

The real treat was walking around the village after shopping. The only movement in the streets was men pushing carts that carried large cans of clay. We realized that what we were seeing was the beginning of the pottery making process. The men were delivering the clay to homes where the clay was formed into various items, vases, teapots, flowerpots etc. We peeked into some of the homes and saw hundreds, if not thousands, of bowls and teacups in their final shape, but in an unfinished state. Some houses looked as if they had roaring fires inside. The walls were covered with black soot. We assumed that these houses were where the pottery was put into the kilns. Next we saw a large building that resembled a warehouse. We could see from the street that this is where the pottery received the glaze that produced the beautiful colors. It was truly amazing to see each step of the pottery making process.

Posted by Administrator at 05:25 AM | Permalink

Today we took a short trip to a hat village. We walked through a market that had the usual fruits and vegetables for sale. Along the way I saw bicycle that was being used to carry what appeared to be numerous dozens of the conical hats. Later we walked over to a residential area where they actually make the hats. They aren't massed produced in a factory, but rather, they are made by hand. Skilled hat makers can make about two hats per day. We visited one of the homes that makes these hats and saw the materials, tools, and the process by which they are made. There are two layers of flattened and ironed grass that are separated by a layer of bamboo bark. The shape of the hat is formed by putting the layers on frame. It is temporarily held together with string while the layers are being sewn together. The final product is very beautiful. I didn't realize the amount of labor that goes into making these hats.

Posted by Administrator at 04:52 AM | Permalink

Ever since we arrived in Hanoi, the Vietnamese have assumed that I am Vietnamese. I’m not shocked because I did expect that they might think I am one of them. Anytime I’m with other students from the group (none of whom are Asian), Vietnamese come up to me expecting that I’ll be able to translate for everyone else. For example, when we go out to dinner or into a store, the employees always talk directly to me. I then tell them three of the most valuable words I have learned here: sinh viên mỹ, which means "American student". It is pronounced: "sing veeyen me ee."

One day when I was buying some snacks in a small store, the shop owner began talking to me in Vietnamese. I told him that I was an American student. He then asked if I was Vietnamese. I replied, "Tôi là ngươi Trung Quôc" (which means "I am Chinese"). As soon as I told him that, he turned away and continued doing whatever it was he was doing. I'm not really sure what to make of this, but from the one history lesson that we've had so far, the Chinese weren't very successful in their multi-century long campaign to conquer Vietnam.

Posted by Administrator at 10:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)