Vietnam Day 57 (8/4/09)

I just finished my last monday of work in Ben Tre. I finally got my wish and we had more to do today than just sit around. We evened out the dirt path to the toilet, making sloppy edges straighter by breaking off the excess mud - I went along the path first, breaking up the compacted dirt with a shovel that's bent at the neck so it's more like a pickaxe while Van Anh and Hanh followed with regular shovels to finesse the sides. We used the mud we'd just dislodged to level out more of the ground around the toilet and I spent the rest of my morning doing my usual routine of mixing cement, waiting around until the contractor needed more and then mixing again. Today I discovered that we don't have the rest of the week to finish the project - since our "handover" ceremony for the school is Thursday, we have to be done with all of our work by the end of Wednesday. Frankly, I have my doubts about our ability to finish in time. Today, the contractor finished siding the inside walls, but that still leaves siding the front, installing the actual toilets, putting up the roof, painting, and extending the path. It would be really sad to leave without finishing, but at least we can leave the community with the resources to complete it on their own if it comes to that. It's weird to think that we only have two more days of work but four more days in Mo Cay - I admit I've been antsy to finish up here, but I think still being in town with no work to do will be worse. Being in constant anticipation of going back and mentally preparing myself to return to America has made everything drag on longer.

Today is a holiday that reminds me of the Day of the Dead - it's a day to remember relatives who have died (along the lines of ancestor worship) and it's celebrated with a huge feast. The road group was invited to this banquet by one of the families that lives along the road, so they all had essentially a full dinner before ever reaching the moms' house. At least I had a voracious appetite today and the food was great so I was able to help finish off some of the extra food. Today was our last official class with the older kids. We took them outside to try out the catapult, which went over fine though it had a much more dramatic effect when we showed the little kids because each projectile splash-landed into a puddle. Now the catapult lesson is done so we're donating the catapult to the school - no idea what they'll do with it but hopefully no one gets hurt in the process. The ride back was scenic as always. Schoolgirls rode by on their bikes wearing white audois (the school uniform on Mondays) and down the road teenage boys, still soaking wet from the rain, drag raced on their bicycles. There was the usual assortment of animals: roosters contained in cages that look like big overturned baskets, a dog with a scraggly coat, and a large pig, its enormous testicles swinging as it was driven on by its owner. There's a little hut I pass every day where five people sit at tables covered with moonsnails as they rapidly remove the beautiful caps with a spiral design and throw them into large baskets on the ground. On the second bridge we were forced to stop because of the huge gap (much bigger than the usual ones) left by a missing plank that was there only this morning - I still wonder how that happened and who went into the river with it. We rode back through the flooded market, leaving massive waves in our wake.

I'm disappointed that the language barrier is still such a huge problem for me. More and more, the Vietnamese roommates have been slipping back into speaking only Vietnamese, especially at my work site where I'm the only American. The schoolchildren as well as random people are always trying to converse with me, trying to speak more slowly to help me understand. Yet, no matter how earnestly they try, I never catch a single word. I'm getting very good at the phrase "xin loi, khong biet", translation "I'm sorry, I don't understand" - every time I say it, their faces droop and they move on. Then there's the contractor who I've been working next to for over three weeks but I still know nothing about. I've leaned some of his mannerisms, but I have no idea what he talks about all day. I get by well enough to do my work and be polite to strangers, but I'm not flourishing in this challenge – I feel left out, frustrated, and even bored at times. However, these difficulties haven’t diminished my desire to come back someday to live and work here – I just know I’ll definitely need to take intensive Vietnamese classes before I do.

I’m sure everyone’s happy to hear I’ve finally decided that griping isn’t going to get me anywhere – I just have to accept that I’ve done everything I could do (or was allowed to do given the craftsmanship required) and I’m sure my presence ahs made some difference, no matter how small. It’s the same with our teaching efforts in the afternoon. It may be difficult to teach them anything lasting when I can’t speak to them myself, but I am showing them a good time. I think the kids may get the most out of our interactions outside of class. By spending time with them at the cafe and playing with them in between classes, we’re teaching them in between classes, we’re teaching them how to relate to strangers from different cultures.

The family of the girl who went fishing with us had us over for a big lunch today. After the meal, they showed us family pictures, among them the class pictures taken with last year’s Green Summer participants. We took our class picture today and I’d like to think some of the kids will remember me in the same way.