Needless to say, our time in Hanoi has gone by very quickly. We've visited so many places in Hanoi and around Vietnam. Hanoi is a great city. It has so much to offer. It has been a pleasure living and learning here. I will miss walking around the narrow streets, dodging traffic, and buying fruit from basket ladies.

SATA Vietnam is an academic program, but much of our learning took place outside the classroom. What we saw outside on the streets, in the handicraft villages, at the floating markets, and in the mountains was enhanced by our coursework. Most of all, it was interacting with people that taught us the most. As I've posted previously, on a daily basis people mistake me as being Vietnamese. In fact, it just happened to me while I've been typing this post. Bargaining with basket ladies and motorbike drivers has significantly improved our pronunciation of numbers, but occasionally a brief conversation will ensue. We may understand only a few words of the conversation, but it's enough for us to respond.

I have had a wonderful time here, and now I'm trying to figure out how and when I can come back. To the Connecticut College students who haven't studied abroad: apply for SATA Vietnam.

That day Cat Ba island became very crowded because this weekend is a holiday in Vietnam. The holiday being the victory over the Americans. On Saturday night, while walking around after dinner, we encountered some Vietnamese, mostly young people, singing songs on a stage that had been set up. They invited us up to join their very large singing circle. It was a great time!

In Sapa we all encountered numerous children who spoke English very well. Many were younger than 10 and had learned English just from speaking with tourists. All were dressed in the traditional clothing of their respective villages. They sold bracelets, blankets, clothing, and various other souvenirs. Many of these goods were dyed in indigo; which is one of the plants grown around Sapa.

On the second day, I went off on my own to see what I could find. I headed up the mountains as far as I could and until I got above the fog. After three hours of walking on a narrow road, I made it to a peak where I could see the fog rolling through the surrounding hills. I then ventured down a dirt trail into a valley below in which I ended up in someone's vegetable field. From a distance I observed a few farmers tending to their crops.

Although the drives to and from Sapa were long, we drove through beautiful mountain passes. The roads were narrow and winded around steep cliffs. Along the way we saw the tallest mountain in Vietnam (Fansipan) and numerous waterfalls. Now that we are back in Hanoi, I miss the fresh air and the silence of the mountains.

On Friday we'll be taking a 6 day trip to Sapa and Dien Bien Phu. Sapa is in the mountains and we'll see more ethnic minorities there. I've seen pictures of the terraced rice paddies in Sapa, but seeing it up close will be entirely different. I can't wait.

It's been getting quite hot in Hanoi, so our trip to Sapa should be a nice break from the heat.

To be exact, I was in the rice paddies that surrounded a small village in Ha Tay province. The name of this province was immediately recognizable to me because a good amount of the basket ladies that we interview are from this province. After walking around the rice paddies I ventured into the village to see what I could find. It was very small but still quite lively. There were only a handful of shops that I could find, but no where for me to get lunch.

Out of the entire trip, my favorite part was touring the Mekong river delta in boats. Crossing into Vietnam from Cambodia was quite interesting. But it was visiting the floating markets around Can Tho that really struck me. Along the sides of the river we saw everything from people's homes to gas stations to rice mills. I doubt I'll do anything quite like it ever again.

In two weeks we'll be taking a week long trip to the northern highlands. We'll be visiting Dien Bien Phu and Sapa.

Now it's time to get back classes.

Of the three days we spent in HCMC, we spent one day visiting the Cu Chi tunnels, which are located an hour or so from the city. In the town of Cu Chi, the Viet Cong had dug an extensive network of tunnels as part of the resistance against the Americans. We got to crawl through these tunnels (which had been enlarged for Western bodies) and see the different kinds of underground facilities: radio rooms, hospitals, kitchens (all of which were underground). Now, I'm not a very big person but even I had a hard time moving in these tunnels. I was duck-walking the entire time and bent over. It was incredibly hot inside and completely pitch black. The longest tunnel we went through was around 50 meters. The whole experience was fascinating because of the importance the tunnels played in the Vietnamese resistance.

Now I'm in Nha Trang which sits on the beach. We've been here two days and have spent the entire time relaxing and taking in the sun! Yesterday we all went out on a boat and snorkeled around an island. We saw lots of colorful fish and the coral. The beach and water are absolutely beautiful.

Tomorrow we'll get back on the road and head towards Hoi An and then Hue.

Last week we flew to Siem Reap, Cambodia to visit Angkor Wat. For those that don't know, it's the biggest religious site in the world. It was incredibly amazing at how detailed it was. In the main area of five towers is surrounded by walls that depict various stories. We also went to a few of the other temples in the area, including the one where the movie Tomb Raider was filmed. We ended or temple visiting day by enjoying a sunset at a temple at the top of a hill. It was very interesting to see the Hindu, Buddhist, and even Chinese influences on the temples. At one of the sites, the carvings on the wall depicted the influence of the Chinese in Cambodia. It showed how the Chinese brought cooking and gambling to the Khmer people.

From Siem Reap we drove to Phnom Penh. We visited the royal palace which had Thai-style architecture. We toured the gardens and numerous buildings within the palace. The buildings were all covered in gold. The next day we visited one of the prisons used to house Cambodians during the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge. Our tour guide had worked in a similar prison as a child, so his personal experiences added much detail to what he was showing us. At the prison we saw the various facilities used to house and torture people before the were sent to the killing fields. We then drove outside the city to visit the mass graves. What struck me was how fast all the terrible things happened. We learned that all the residents of Phnom Penh were forced out in 24 hours. Everyone was moved to the country side. This all happened in the five years before the Vietnamese invaded in 1979.

After four days in Cambodia, we returned to Vietnam. To get to Vietnam, we traveled down the Mekong river by boat. It was a very interesting boat ride because of the difference between the river in Cambodia and Vietnam. On the Cambodian side, the river was hardly used; few boats and very little along the shores of the river. Once we entered Vietnam, there were many more boats and houses, factories, and temples lined the shores. It was about a 4 hour boat ride to the town of Chau Doc. The following morning, Zach and I climbed Son mountain. Well in truth, we were on the back of a motorbike. The path up was closed and we didn't know where the access road was. At the top it was very foggy so we couldn't see the town or the Mekong. It was slightly disappointing, but it was still fun.

Our next stop was Can Tho, where I am now. Yesterday and today we visited two floating markets. These markets aren't where tourists buy things. Rather it's where the street vendors come to get their goods that they resell. The market is comprised of many bigger boats loaded with fruits and vegetables. They come to the market for a few days or a week and sell their goods. To advertise what they are selling, they hang the fruit or vegetable from a long pole that sticks up from the top of the boat.

Tomorrow we will drive to Ho Chi Minh city where we will stay for a few days. From there we'll drive along the coast.

I hope your spring breaks are as fun as mine!

First, we will fly to Cambodia to visit Ankor Wat. Then we visit Phnom Penh for a day before heading towards the Vietnamese border where we will take a boat down the Mekong river. We'll make our way towards Ho Chi Minh city and then drive up north along the coast visiting various towns and cities. Before we fly back to Hanoi, our last stop is in the city of Hue.

Stay tuned!!

Although I am not actually enrolled in the course, I opted to join my peers and go out every week to interview these women street vendors. It's very fascinating hearing them talk about the debt that they have and the difficulties of working away from home. Each time they return home they bring back very little money. Many of the respondents I've talked with bring between 500,000 and 1,000,000 VND home each month (about $30 to $60).

Today, many said that the money goes to raising their children. In particular, they pay for school fees for the children.

The streets of Hanoi truly are our classroom. With each interview we learn something new about the basket ladies.

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.

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.

Later that day we all went to Hoan Kiem lake for dinner and then sat by the lake to watch the fireworks. We heard that it would be crowded there, but I know I didn't expect it to be as packed as it was. The entire lake was surrounded by people so thick you could barely move. We waited a good two hours for the fireworks to start, but it was worth it. By far it was one of the best display of fireworks I have ever seen!