Life in Hanoi

We went out to get a bite to eat at a new favorite place, Nguyen Son Bakery. The first floor is a wonderful French style bakery with croissants (including chocolate), baguettes, lots of delicious pastries, cakes & cookies and ice cream. You can ask for anything and have it sent upstairs to the restaurant on the second floor. The restaurant serves great Vietnamese food and some really good western-style foods like lasagna - some of our team mates have sampled it, I'm sure Doug will try that at some point. They also had some sweet dark cherries in their refrigerated display saying 'from the USA' - we were wondering if they could possibly be from Michigan. The cost of what looked to be about 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound was $30 in US dollars!!!

We went out right at 5 pm, during the height of traffic - we had to show you this picture. You cannot truly understand what the traffic is like until you are in it.....but maybe this will give you some idea. The white section in the lower right is our taxi, Doug was standing at the door and took this picture.

Doug - the Teacher

Well, Doug started his teaching practicum on Monday along with the other new teachers. They are actually doing it at the school where Doug will teach. The first 2 days they did "team teaching" - 2 teachers to each class. This morning Doug taught his first class alone. The classes are 2 1/2 hours long and start at 7 am. Even though they start early, the heat and humidity are a problem, there is no air conditioning - just fans. Doug taught on the 6th floor today - there are no elevators either - he was drenched by the time he got back to the hotel, even after drinking 2 liters of water.

In spite of the heat, and the fact that his classes are observed and critiqued by one of seven mentors, he is enjoying his time in the classroom. He's had some very bright students with good English skills already. The classes have been International Law, General English Studies and International Relations. He hasn't received his schedule yet, but there is a possiblilty that he will have some of these students in a writing class.

During teacher introduction time when the students get to ask some questions about the teacher, Doug has been asked "what do you think of GM now that they are run by the government?", "how did you propose to your wife?", "what's the most famous thing about your home town?", and "what is your philosphy of life, your purpose for living?". This last question was asked today when the Dean of the school was Doug's observer. Sounds like he'll have an interesting year ahead of him.

Back in the kitchen again!

After a month of withdrawal from not being able to cook in her own kitchen, Susan rebounded last night by preparing shrimp scampi for 8 people! We dined at the Hanoi home of an existing teacher who already works at my assigned school...the DAV. The other new teachers who will work in Vietnam joined us.

As part of her own learning experience, Susan was required to go to the market and buy the food she would prepare. She enjoyed meeting the vendors since this market is located in our new neighborhood. She'll be seeing these women regularly! The shrimp were very fresh - that is, they were still swimming in a pot when she bought them. However, she did get the vendor to do the dirty work of chopping off the heads!

She also found brocolli (added to the scampi) and zucchini which she prepared her favorite way - simply done with olive oil, salt & pepper. Everyone loved it. She topped it all off with a marinated salad of tomatoes, cukes, and red onion...done with an Italian dressing..delicioso!

The gang was very happy to have their first real home-cooked meal in weeks. I personally look forward to many more, perhaps even served for some of our students as we develop those relationships.

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A peek at our school

Yesterday, while Doug was in class, I went with the Vietam Personnel Director to see the school where Doug will be teaching and to at least get an outside look at the guest house where we will be living. We were joined by Jeremy & Isaiah Rowley who will be moving to Dalat, Vietnam as soon as Laura finishes with the training.

We went to the very large outdoor market across the street - this is where I will be buying our fruits, vegetables and probably a lot of our meat, fish and eggs. The fish are very fresh, still swimmin in large tubs!! Of course all the meat and fish are cut and cleaned to your order. Also a lot of seafood like crabs and shrimp can be bought here. It's best to go early in the morning for the seafood and meat, fortunately, I'm an early riser!

The vendors were mostly women and very friendly and helpful, I did find one vendor who spoke a little English. The good news is that I saw brocolli, zuchini, eggplant, cabbage, red & green peppers, lots of different greens.....just lots of great fresh vegetables right from the farms. One stand even sold "clean" vegetables - their term for organic. For those of you who know me, it was like finding a treasure! I can't wait to be in our own place and to be able to cook!!

We also met our team mates who will be at the same school, David and Nancy Farnum who arrived back on Monday. We went to their house - a short 3 minute walk from the school and market - for some ice tea and fruit before heading back to the hotel.

Hoan Kiem & The Old Quarter

Saturday, a respite from classes. Our younger mates took a day trip to Ha Long Bay while we slept in, had a late breakfast, and went touring in the heart of Hanoi, around Hoan Kiem lake.

Susan and I were joined by two of the Vietnam staff and 2 stateside visitors from Wheaton College, here to observe our training sessions. They just happen to spend their summers on Long Lake in Traverse City, MI - small world! More new friends made.

We visited the 18th century Ngoc Son (jade mountain) Temple, built on a small island in the lake and reached by crossing the red The Huc (rising sun) bridge. What a restful place in the middle of the chaos of Hanoi!

As the morning warmed up, on its way to a high of 95 degrees, we all jumped on individual cyclos, bicycle powered rickshaws, for a ride through the Old Quarter, to see myriads of shops and a few historical places.

Back at the lake, Susan and I left the group (they had a planned meeting) and found a wonderful Italian restaurant in the international district...calzones and eggplant parmesan...Yay! After lunch we walked a few blocks to Fanny's for wonderful ice cream. Then it was a taxi back to our air-conditioned hotel room and a nap. Not only are we getting more comfortable here, we now embrace the challenge of crossing the road. Is anything impossible?

A visitor from Traverse City!

It truly is a small world! The administrator from Wheaton College, who is here for a few days to monitor the classes, spends her summers in Traverse City. She and her husband have a family cottage on Long Lake. She has been staying there at that cottage since she was a young girl and knows the area well. She loves Leland and likes to eat at the Bluebird.

Most of our team mates who will be going on to Laos, Cambodia and south in Vietnam are taking a weekend trip to Halong Bay tomorrow. Doug and I decided to catch up on some things here since we can easily visit there at another time......and we're glad we chose to stay here in Hanoi, we will have dinner and spend some time with the Campbells. They are headed back to the states on Monday evening and told us they will be back in Traverse City the following Saturday, the 15th, where they will spend the rest of August.

We hope to catch up on some notes that need to be written and have them carry them back to the states to mail..........a real savings on postage!

A week under our belts!

Well, we've been here a full week, we've done so much and learned so much. Doug and I are starting to feel a "sensory overload". Our schedule since we got here has been non-stop with cultural classes, homework assignments, getting to know our way around, learning where to eat and how to order the kind of food we want, and of course the famous lesson on how to cross the street. One of our team mates made a video of this lesson and posted it on his blog, you have to see it to understand what traffic is like here. This was taken on Thursday, July 30th - our first full day in Hanoi. The blog address is http://www.jlirowley.blogspot.com/. I can honestly say that it has gotten easier, you just have to step out and stay alert.

After a week of cultural training classes, the teachers are now in their TEFL training classes. Since I'm not teaching, I am not attending any of those - I'm quite happy to be done. But today I did have my first lesson to learn Vietnamese. Most of the lesson was on the proper pronouns to use when addressing someone, it all depends on your age, their age, their position and their gender. And of course there are the tones - 6 of them - that make the same word mean different things. This is NOT going to be easy! We also practiced tones and learned numbers.

Yesterday I went with another non-teaching spouse and the Vietnam Team Personnel Director to a market called Dan's. That store along with another called Western Canned Goods are the two stores in Hanoi to get some of the things from home. Things are expensive, but if you really need a taste of home, you can get it there. They had Ruffles potato chips and Orea cookies!

Doug and I now have cell phones that we can use in Asia. I went with another team mate - a young woman named Caroline from Galveston, Texas who will be teaching in Haiphong, Vietnam - to purchase them. Yes, we went alone......we were very lucky though, we found a salesman at the store who spoke pretty good English and he helped us out. We are quickly adding numbers for all that are here with us since these phones are good throughout Southeast Asia.

Tomorrow I'm going on another learning/shopping excursion with the Personnel Director, Susan Lucasse. She is taking us to a store called The Big C - it's kind of like a Wal Mart in Hanoi. I'm hoping to find a new small camera. We are not taking a lot of pictures right now because we don't have a small camera, ours was lost on the flight from Denver to LosAngeles - we are trying to find out if it was found on the plane.

I guess that's all for now - Doug is in class right now and I'm going to practice all the new words I learned this morning!

Stepping out in Hanoi

Afternoon on July 29th - No rest for our weary band as we set out on a walking tour of the neighborhood in search of lunch. On the way we get lesson # 1 - How to cross the street. It's the ultimate step of faith. We form a line parallel to the traffic and just walk into the road, trusting all the drivers to miss us! (Don't try this at home...we are trained professionals.)

Ah yes, Hanoi traffic. No stop signs, no traffic lights, lane markers are purely decorative. The first one to get a front tire in the open space wins, and the only rule is: don't hit anyone. It's dodg'em cars with busses, taxis, motorbikes, bicycles, and pedestrians. Just watch out for the low hanging wires.

The rest of the week was spent in cultural orientation classes and afternoons in small groups, venturing out to observe the city and people. Sub-lesson A: It's hard to be an observer when everyone else is intently observing you. A 19 yr. old Vietnamese college student sat by me on a park bench, giving me a 1 1/2 hr. history of Vietnam...he wanted to practice his English.

Susan and I also joined some classmates in strolling through a local zoo.

We've eaten many new dishes, at nice restaurants and at sidewalk vendor stands. Vietnamese food is really good and Hanoi, being quite the international city, offers a lot of variety. There's even KFC and Starbucks! And give it up for Susan and Doug who have finally mastered using chopsticks!

This restaurant sign will make lots more sense after we get some language tutoring.

Sunday, Aug. 2nd - We attended services at the Hanoi International Fellowship, held in a large hotel. Believers from over 10 different countries filled the hall and we experienced how Father has called every tribe and nation. Truly inspiring and encouraging. Susan and I will be attending here on many Sundays to come.

Stay with us, the trip just gets more exciting each day.

Our journey (and blog) are underway!

We said goodbye to Suttons Bay on July 20th, boarding a plane for Denver. Three and a half hours later we were on a bus to Greeley, CO to join about 60 other new teachers bound for Asia with ELIC. On the campus of the University of Northern Colorado we completed a jam packed orientation week, preparing for the next leg. Over those days at UNC we met some wonderful, new best friends for life - people from all over the USA and Canada who are on the same journey to places like China, Vietnam, Laos, Mongolia, and Tibet.



On July 27th the Southeast Asia team of 11 adults and a 3 year old boy caught another plane from Denver bound for Vietnam, via Los Angeles and Taipei. We were airborne for 19 hours! A jet lagged, exhausted group arrived at the Cau Giay hotel in Hanoi on July 29th. This will be home for the next four weeks while all the teachers complete TEFL certification and cultural orientation in preparation for our various assignments.



Stay tuned for more as we share our experiences with the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and traffic of Hanoi!