Tea at Mr & Mrs. Hoa's home before dinner out with teachers

Mr. Hoa pours a pre-dinner tea for us .... a fragrant lotus blossom tea. Alex looks on with approval! Mrs. Hoa was a few doors down, at a local restaurant organizing for our dinner. We were not sure, but think the restaurant may also be a part of his business ownership portfolio :) Are investments allowed in a communist society??? Not sure of the rules in this 'newish' socialist/nationalist country ..... The above are all various scenes at Mr. Hoa's home and at dinner with all the teachers. Mrs. Hoa (wearing a green shirt) is in the center in picture of teachers that joined us for dinner.

We have been treated rather royally during our tenure here in Ha Noi. ...... from the very first day, when we were greeted by Principal Nyguyen Van Hoa, Assistant Principal Le Thanh Quy, his team of teachers and office assistant, to enjoy an introduction ceremony in the staff room, complete with roses for all the ladies accompanied by a large bouquet of flowers, moon cake and the ubiquitous fragrant lotus blossom tea. Later in the week, we were again called upon to gather in a classroom for a special program and were entertained by the grade 11 students who had compiled a celebration video of Ha Noi's history throughout the 1,000 years to show us ..... they finished off the video presentation with a gift of special sticky green tea/rice cakes for everyone ..... delicious little treats!

A bon voyage tea and dinner was scheduled for the NBK volunteers towards the end of our second week ..... tea was served by Hoa and his son at his home to start off our evening .... by Vietnamese standards and really any standards, it was a large gracious home with a number of living areas, including a media room with all manner of stereos, TV's etc. that Mr. Hoa and his son were proud to show us! .... we did not explore the fourth floor, nor indeed were we invited to do so, as we presumed the sleeping quarters were located there. The kitchen, for such a sizable home was beyond tiny .... more a galley kitchen typical of a small apartment in our country ..... but perhaps this is standard in Vietnam ..... most eat out , more often than not, sitting down to a pho on the street stools with both family and friends. This form of dining could very well be unique to Vietnam .... I did see a bit of that in Thailand in Koh Lanta, but not to the degree "tiny stool street restaurants" dot the landscape in Vietnam. I sat down to one myself one afternoon and must say, the pho was quite yummy and I never did get the rumbly tummy the tourist books seem to suggest happens! It was a unique local dining experience I could not resist :)

The Hoa home was located down a narrow walkway, off a main street ..... not quite like our suburbs but a rumbling kind of charming :) We trekked en masse to dinner a few buildings down, where the teacher team & Mrs. Hoa who had been overseeing the dinner prep, were waiting for us .... a few speeches followed, thanking us, complete with a gift of special tea for all the volunteers. We dug into a most delicious feast with gusto . Conversation was pleasant and I learned a little bit more about the teachers .... I spoke at great length with Mrs. Dieu Thuy as she shared her stories of meeting, dating and marrying her husband. I in turn shared the history of the same events in my own life .... as I have mentioned many times, the Vietnamese are a friendly and kind people ..... they share willingly ..... Mrs. Dieu Thuy gave me a most heartfelt hug when we parted. Sharing stories and histories opens those doors of social intimacy, allowing us to get to know each other on more than just that superficial level ...... I yearn to find out "what lies beneath" ... to reach beyond the facade. Cannot help but cringe inwardly, when I think of the Vietnam/American war, fought here so few years ago ..... bombing these gentle kind people ..... I wonder if they understood anymore than we do, what the heck was going on?! Yes, the "red scare" was very real in the sixties, enough so to prompt President Kennedy to declare war .... but as hindsight is always the wise old teacher, it made no sense at all ..... pretty much as the current Iraq war makes no sense nor Afghanistan for that matter. Will leave the political musings for another day :)