Vietnam Day 54 (8/1/09)

I would like to formally revise my prediction of the completion date for the toilet project. I'd guessed Tuesday only when I thought we were almost done with the walls, but now I see we still have to put cement on the inside walls as well. We sat around for a long time again today, but at least Ha and Yen came by today to entertain us. Mostly I just watched them play as they made a little seesaw out of a brick and a plank of wood and then Ha built a miniature house out of some of the extra bricks that were lying around. They picked some short reeds and taught us how to make pens out of them by stripping off the outer layers until you're left with a point at one end, which you deep in ink like a quill. These were the first pens ever used in this region. I sort of succeeded in making one of my own but the only one I'd actually try to write with is the one Ha gave me as a gift. All the work I could help with was done about half hour before it was time to head to lunch, so I decided to make use of my time.

Every day I look across the river at a white wooden bridge leading who knows where and today I finally satisfied my urge to go exploring. On the other side of the bridge I found similar sights to the ones I see every day on the little path used to get to the school - the same dogs, the same chickens sporadically running out in front of me. Along the road I found same odd mix of humble wooden huts and and colorful houses with the beautiful tiled patio like the one at the mom's house. And yet, even with all these identifiable commonalities, the ride still felt very different. The path was slightly wider, giving it a very open, sunny atmosphere. I passed a lot of cafes where people were lounging, as well as a beauty parlor that was an open-air hut with a thatched roof but equipped with electric hair-driers. My favorite scene was of two old men just sitting down to a game of Chinese chess on a key-lime green tile patio. I can't explain why but that sight put a smile on my face. Just by seeing other people live their lives I finally felt connected to the community after three weeks of highly-structured interactions with only members of the community who the People's Committee deemed it beneficial for us to meet. I rode down the winding path laughing to myself (which no doubt confused the crap out of anyone who saw me pass), as happy as I'd been since leaving Saigon - at long last, I feel blissfully content to be in Ben Tre.

I got back to the school in time to leave with Van Anh and Hieu but just as we finished cleaning up the back, it started to pour. Since Hieu was carrying the projector (and acts like a cat when it comes to getting wet) we couldn't just press on in the rain so we sat in the school and waited it out. I really love tropical rain storms, especially along the river where where you can see each drop hit the water and the palms blowing furiously in the wind. The contractor was laughing at me for taking pictures of hte rain but I was having fun. Still, I was ready to go by the time it stopped. It was the perfect day for a fantastic lunch from mom number nine, because I'd been hungry for two hours by the time we sat down to eat - we had egg rolls with some unidentifiable but tasty meat and a side plate of mixed vegetables. I went to the cafe, ordered a cafe sua nong, and sat down to write in my journal with the usual gaggle of children reading over my shoulder. Today Alice was there to translate what the kids were saying and it was really entertaining. First they talked about my notebook and how many n's I write (although I think they counted my r's and h's as well because their not used to seeing all print rather than cursive). Then they noticed that my ears weren't pierced (this came up because Nhi lost an earring so she put a tiny twig through the hole to keep it from closing (not the most sanitary solution but it works) and noted that because my hair wasn't as long as the other DukeEngage girls' I didn't have as many options of hairstyles. They also made some more serious comments, talking about money and how rich all their families are - apparently Ha is the richest because her family owns one hundred pigs (which I must say sounds like a lot to me too). It was really cute when they told us all we should get each other's phone numbers so we can visit each other when we get back to the United States - I don't think they realized that we go to the same school since we told them we're from different states. Our session ended with one of the boys saying numbers in Vietnamese trying to get me to say them in English, trying to test not my Vietnamese, but rather my English skills - he had to make sure I was qualified to teach them.

When the kids dragged us away from the cafe yelling that it was time for class, I suddenly felt really bad that all we had planned for the day was a movie. Sometimes I forget how easily entertained kids are but they just kept laughing at things I didn't realize were that funny. We showed them "A Bug's Life" with terrible dubbing and they laughed at everything even when they couldn't hear or understand. Gotta love that sense of humor.