Xin Chao from Hanoi / formerly known as Thang Long (Flying Dragon) ..... Second volunteer journey begins

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PICTURES: 1. Souvenir head band for 1000 birthday. 2 & 3 Fooling around and working on our vocabulary :) 4. Lady biking near Nguyen Binh Khiem School as we drive up on day one 2. drum performance in early morning 5. More of my kids and I :) 6. NBK volunteer group at front gate of school 7. ladies selling their wares near our hotel in the Old Quarter.

Ha Noi, Flying Dragon, Thang Long (all of the above :) that exotic ancient city .... celebrates it's 1,000 year birthday on October 10th!! The city is wired, with a tingling permeable energy everywhere, as I meander along the chaotic montage of restaurants, shops, old buildings and homes that make up the somewhat charming "Old Quarter". I learned recently why most Vietnamese nod approval with a smile, should I mention having been born in the year of the dragon ....... according to mythology, the Vietnamese descended from a dragon and a fairy ..... how cool is that?!!

There was an opening day ceremony around Hoan Kiem Lake on October lst, dedicated to King Ly Thai To, who oversaw the transfer of the capital in 1010 from Hoa Lu in the Northern province of Ninh Binh to Thang Long, now known as Ha Noi. ...... But I am getting ahead of myself here ...... I have not been able to really get to a computer in almost ten days, beyond a brief check for emails ..... so to backtrack aand get back on track ....... On Saturday, Sept. 25th, I met up with a rather eclectic group of volunteers ..... well educated, well traveled and knowledgeable group of people (16 of us in total) for my second volunteer journey! I believe with all the professions floating around our group, we could open a pediatric/geriatric hospital (we have a husband and wife team on board) psychology and/or a speech pathology department, cancer center (a mother and daughter team, nurse and oncologist) enough of a scattering of lawyers to form our own law firm, real estate firm, and oh yes, a military intelligence department as we have with us, a former intelligence officer, stationed here during the war ...... How appropriate, here in Ha Noi!!! We also have a university professor on board but what he taught, I am not sure ...... Terry can be rather delightfully ambiguous with his answers :) Francoise, our host is an art historian who has volunteered all over the world with Global Volunteers and is a wealth of knowledge about anything and everything!! .... and to boot, a rather cheerful, charming lady ..... thankfully, no one is corn starched in arrogance, given their lofty careers! (to steal a phrase from a favourite author, Pat Conroy ..... wish he would start writing good books again as his last ones have been abysmal ..... here I go, off topic as usual :) Overall, a happy friendly enough bunch give or take a few, (always one or two in a group to give my personal philosophical outlook a workout ...... "imperfection is perfection" :) .... so, here we are, all assembled under the cozy roof of Hoa Binh Palace Hotel, smack dab in the middle of one of the oldest cities in Vietnam ..... icing on the cake being that we are here for that 1000 year birthday! The "old quarter" area itself is ancient at about 600 years of age with streets specializing in particular products, from shoes to silk, bamboo to lacquer ...... virtually every imaginable product is available! Over the years, 36 distinct craft guilds have emerged, earning the area it's nickname of "36 Streets" ..... historically, it is a very charming part of Ha Noi to stroll around and explore on foot or if the feet grow weary, hire a cyclo driver to pedal you around ..... also a very fun way to explore:)

Life has been hectic & exhausting, to say the least. We navigate daily to our schools, through a virtual river of motor cycles ..... it is a sight unlike any I have experienced anywhere! Surreal and will forever be entrenched in my mind as quintessential Vietnam ..... although, must say, after ten days, I am getting quite used to the sight and not nearly as inclined to dig up the camera for yet another unbelievable shot, but sometimes the temptation to dig out the camera is just too great ...... the scenes sometimes so incredulous to Western sensibilities, that one just has to try to capture them!! I was far too late one day for a great shot of a cyclist carting about six dead pigs piled high and tied to the back of his motorbike!!! So stunned was I, that it took me awhile to react and by then, too late for a picture :) ..... Must also remember to get one of the ladies wearing stilettos while riding the bikes ..... hilarious! The pollution is another thing entirely and I am trying to guard my health, given I have always been sensitive to pollution in general ..... my eyes sting and are constantly red ...... the locals wear nose/ mouth covers (often coordinated with their clothing :) ..... too cute and I have seen those designer patterns on some of them!!) Believe me, I totally understand the necessity for these!! ..... on a daily basis, the onslaught of exhaust fumes from these motor bikes is somewhat unbearable! Short term I can deal with it ..... long term, I wouldn't!!

On day one, Francoise split us up into two groups ..... I am at Nguyen Binh Khiem, a private lower & secondary school, working with grade 11 students with my partner Ceil from California ...... the other half of our group is at The Foreign Trade University. Must say here, I am not entirely comfortable with this whole concept of helping out in a private school and was hoping to be of use to those without these kinds of advantages in life. Given the Vietnamese history with America, this volunteer post is rather a nuanced one. It is in the interests of Vietnam to showcase their best to America and as promoting peace and goodwill is of primary interest to GV, this is a win win situation! I will let go of that bone of wanting to help the needy instead of the privileged :) There have been and will continue to be, many other opportunities to do so in my travels, one person at a time. So, yes, spreading peace and goodwill are great objectives for this post! ..... life on the road ..... always interesting. Eventually, if it hasn't already done so, memories of the war will be long gone and faded soon enough, given the youth of the country ..... average age somewhere around 35 ........ war, along with all it's artifacts, accoutremonts and memories will be relegated to it's rightful place in a museum somewhere, never to see the light of day again! Wishful thinking? I hope not!

We walk up and down five flights of stairs, numerous times daily to various classrooms (no need for the gym stair master) ..... there is air conditioning of a kind in the classrooms, but not in the hallways and stairs. The combination of humidity and heat is a "corker" to quote my long gone mother-in-law!! ...... we pretty much stand all day for classes and are so tired at the end of the day, that more often than not, we take turns nodding off during dinner :). Needless to say, there is no partying going on ..... we retire very early!! One evening, we took in a water puppet theatre, a form of theatre special only to Vietnam, originating in the Red River Delta, dating almost, yup, another 1,000 years or so! :) It is an authentic expression of Vietnamese culture, once held in villages using rivers, lakes or rice fields .... today, large water filled tanks serve as theatres. I chanced to look down the aisle at our group, and almost to a man/woman, we were in various stages of sleep, heads bobbing and nodding off with the odd little snort/snore here and there!! :) Yes, exhaustion is most evident at the end of our days as we near the end of week one :)

As expected, I love the children immensely and enjoy interacting with them. They are very polite, respectful and kind to us, and are becoming less shy daily, opening up to share a bit of themselves as we go along. I have said this many times, but I cannot believe that I didn't think of volunteering globally before ...... I cannot stress enough how unbelievably rewarding it can be, even with this group of very lucky and privileged children. I spent the better part of twenty years volunteering in Calgary at privileged, if not private schools, that my own children were lucky enough to attend, and have missed it very much. If anyone out there wants a truly amazing cultural experience in another country, please sign up with Global Volunteers or really, any organization, as there are many of them out there to be googled, most originating in the U.S. ..... they have positions open all over the world and would so welcome the extra help. I have recently decided to also research Canadian volunteer organizations for the future. It would be great for a change of pace, and kind of fun to join a group of volunteers from other countries ..... volunteers are needed and treasured everywhere .... speaking fluent English would understandably be a requirement with Global Volunteers for most of their posts but not necessarily all!

I have a tendency to view myself as more globally than patriotically inclined, but at times it is nice to just hang out with your own countrymen. Russell Peters, our somewhat famous/infamous Canadian comedian, is well known for poking fun at the Canadian apologetic, timid, humble nature and he is dead on, really ....... but after spending time around the rather typical American bravado, happy-go-lucky Australians, and attempting communication using a language guide in various Asians countries, there have been moments when I truly have started to miss my fellow Canadians. There were two couples staying at our hotel a few days ago from Saskatoon of all places ..... I overheard them over breakfast, picked up on our accent and yes, we do indeed have one :) ....... couldn't resist going over for a chat .... it was like a breath of fresh home air! I cannot believe I just typed that!!! :) ...... Ha, who knew?? :) !! ...... distance breeds appreciation ...... :)

So far, my volunteering has focused primarily on children and must say, that would still be my preference given a choice. The open, giving attitude that they display is such a delight to be around ..... they have yet to armour themselves with walls and masks as adults seem to do, particularly in the Western world. As I have said many times, more adults should observe children and learn or rather "re-learn" from them, all that we have forgotten :) Wasn't it Jesus who said "the Kingdom of Heaven is in the eyes of a child" or something along those lines ..... I do sometimes remember sound bites from my early religious training :)

Off for a dinner of flavorful pho tonight. I enjoyed it most mornings during my first week in Vietnam, but lately, no time for much other than grabbing a piece of fruit and a yogurt in the mornings, so I try for evenings instead. Delicious and I am getting good at slurping with gusto!! The Vietnamese love it ...... others, not so much :) Must say, I can hardly wait to see my family in ten days!! The loneliness for them has been intense on so many occasions. xo love to all.