Our last Outing: Lang Lua Van Phuc

Visit to Silk Village

16th November

Today, we had our last outing together with our English club. This morning, we have arranged to meet to go on motorcycles to the silk village in Ha Dong. Ha Dong is to the South of Hanoi and is famous for their silk product and of course the very famous movie “ Ao Lua Ha Dong”( The silk dress of Ha Dong). Daniel and I had watched it last month and it was really good. Daniel liked it especially for he love the traditional silk dress also known as ao dai. But this movie is good for celebrated the tenacity of Vietnamese women. I think everyone should watch it really. : 0

Daniel and I were surprised that none of them have been to the silk village before. This was actually my third time here. Ironically, it was me who showed them the way to the village. The journey passed by our school. I realized that most of them have never really been out of Hanoi before, I think that is because of the price of fuel. So I am really glad that they had agreed to go to the silk village. We got lost someway while already in Van Phuc so we asked around for directions. Before hitting the shops that many tourists and Vietnamese bought silk products, we wanted to see the silk making process.

working on the loom

Most of the workers inside the silk factory were middle aged and old ladies. They were either tidying the raw silk so that they could be used as threads. The smell was suffocating as they have to keep oiling the raw silk to make it smooth. In another corner, someone was spinning a cloth from silk on the loom. Some tourists were busying snapping pictures away. However, they don't seem to pay attention to what their guide was explaining. I talked through the club members and understood from them that most of the youngsters in the silk village had abandoned the traditional craft for other economical opportunities in the cities. The silk craft used to be enough to sustain the village, but now with the cheaper imports from China, it was difficult to match the price of the goods from China. Furthermore, the village stopped making top notched products as it was not profitable, few tourists buy them as they were too pricey as it took a lot of time to produce. All of us felt sorry to hear that and we were not so sure now if the things selling in the shops were actually from Vietnam or China anymore. However, we were quite sure that those silk bags with embroideries on them are from Vietnam as they are really local designs.

We were very excited to see the mulberry leaves and of course the silk worms themselves. We tried carrying them and feel them crawling. But we were sorry when the guide explained that after the silk worms ate to their fullest, they will then sleep and formed a cocoon. Where they were inside, they transformed and attempt to break out of the cocoon. However, to prevent them from spoiling the silk, this is the time that they have to be dropped into hot water so as to retrieve the raw silk! Ouch, so how many silkworms have had die for me later when i go get my silk scarfs?


Goods on sale in Lang Lua Van Phuc ( Silk Village Van Phuc)

I realized that the club members were more excited then me to see the shops as this was their first time here. They walked up and down the streets and went into every single shop. While I would say that everyone of the shops look essentially the same, they seemed to discover something different each time. I would have prefer that they speak in Vietnamese so that the shop keeper would not have raised the price, thinking we were all foreigners. But it was the last chance that they could practice their English so we spoke in English. I tried to speak my best Vietnamese to convince the shopkeepers that I am a student in Vietnam so I should be given the local rates : ) haha, but of course, it is still easier watching how my friends do it. It was really fun seeing them bargaining, getting very unimaginably low prices but walking away with the 2 sides all feeling satisfied.

I was feeling hungrier earlier than normal as the weather was turning cold. Finally spending close to 4 hours at the silk village, we decided to go for a late lunch. However, as it was the last time we would go around Hanoi together, they decided to take me on a tour around Hanoi, so we ended up going around the different streets that we have had much memories together. When we finally stopped at a little shop to have lunch, everyone was so hungry that we have 2 sets of lunch each. Even though it was only the usual fares such as my xao ( fried maggi mee), com rang (fried rice) or pho bo (beef noodles). It was still very good. They told us they were sharing with us their favourite hang out when they were junior college students as it was near to most of their colleges. It was cheaper than most stalls too as it catered to students.

We chatted away last time in English and drew a lot of curious stares from other people in the shop. It was the last time I could help them with their English, telling them how to say this and that and helping them to express themselves. One of the Has asked me (there were 3 Has in the club), “how do you say you are super hungry?”. I told them I usually said “ I am so hungry that I can eat a cow!” and everyone was laughing until some of them practically fall off their seats. We ended up talking about dentistry and the importance of having good health care system as Ha is a student in the University of Dentistry. Half of the time I couldn't understand the technical terms but at least I knew that it was possible to have teeth braced. I felt really at ease with them as we could just chat like friends on all possible topics. : )

It was really hard to say goodbye after the lunch. They promised to teach me to ride a motorbike the next time I come to Hanoi. I told them that I would really like to so that I could get around Hanoi easily. They joked that once I learn how to ride a motorbike, I would not ask them out anymore. But I told them that would never happen, course when I came back and learn how to ride a bike, I would ask them out to race down the streets of Hanoi with me : 0

Till then, let's just take care and hope to see again!
shi lei

English Song Night 2

Today, we organized our own English Song Night, which I thought was a good way to learn English through songs and karaoke singing.

The 2 songs I prepared was "Your Beautiful Soul" and "Beautiful" , playing around the theme of beauty, both on the inside and outside.

Basically, I borrowed a guitar so that I could play and get the students to sing along to the tunes, and again, I gave them sheets where they needed to fill in blanks, and I would provide the general meaning of the song later on.

I would say that this is an effective way of not only learning English, but learning the popular culture of music in other countries, as well as understanding their culture through the songs.

Cheers.

Halloween Night

We got invited to participate in Bach Khoa University, Parable English Club's Halloween Night session. I was quite surprised to know that Halloween is quite widely celebrated in Vietnam~~, even though it is very much a western cultural celebration.

The experience was great, the place was well decorated, with some students also dressed up for the occasion. It began with a discussion on whether we believed in ghosts, and from this discussion I noticed that a majority of the Vietnamese students do believe, not so much in ghosts, but in spirits, something very related to certain aspects of their culture, such as anchesteral worship, something very close to Chinese religious culture. Also, they also celebrate the Hungry Ghost Festival, thus, having very close links to Chinese culture..

This was followed by the telling of a ghost story in Vietnamese. Apparently, although I didn't understand it, but judging from the faces of the students, I think it wasn't that scary. I decided to be brave after that and went up to tell my own ghost story, but yea, its either they didn't understand my Singaporean English, or it wasn't scary, maybe because of the cultural context of the story as well, which was more Singaporean. Anyway it was a joke told in a scary way.

After that we had a competition to paint faces, and I so happened to be the model for one of the students to see who could paint the scariest face. Overall it was a fun experience and I got to learn about the hybridization in Vietnamese culture, and the foreign cultures that they do embrace, such as Halloween

Cheers

Women issue

25 October Club Meeting

Hi everyone! This is late but still I hope all the beautiful girls in my club have a happy and memorable 20th October and that you have received lots of gifts etc. While the excitement for Women's day might have left you as everyone geared up for the preparations of the mid term exams,(I know that exams is coming soon in 2 weeks time and everyone is busy preparing for it) I would like to call the club together this Saturday in my room at 9.30 am!

We will be discussing about issues related to women.
As there will be no one in charge of presenting this session, I encourage everyone to think of a 10 min "speech" that is related to any issues on women. For eg you can talk about education for women, job opportunities
for women, or what you think about being women in a patriarchal society etc, even prostitution (controversial topic!) or maybe the lack of women representation in different organizations in Vietnam, and the possible developments in the future.
Hopefully we will have a fruitful discussion and hope to see some new faces around!

Cheers shi lei


Daniel prepared a very good presentation on “mail order brides”.

Singapore – the role of women has been changing throughout the years by varying degrees. These days, I feel that women really carry a heavier burden in the past. The roles that women do have now include :

1)Taking care of the household , being a caregiver in the family
2)Working in a duel – income family.

Also, as the standard of education among women rises in Singapore, this has led to a decrease in the marriage rate among Singaporeans, as it is harder for an educated women to find a husband as he more or less needs to be of the same equal standing as him.

Vietnam – Vietnamese brides
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FScBxMqC9cI

My personal opinion of this phenomenon of the increasing roles and demands of women is because of this, the men has to step up and be counted. Ultimately, women do need to feel a sense of security and in a family, they do want to let the guys take the lead in the household. Thus, this has led to varying degrees of definition in marriage. One such example is Vietnamese brides, as can be seen in the video, the men cant provide or take care of them, hence, they have to look for other alternatives for themselves.

Is marriage
1)a commodity – to attain certain privilages not attainable by marriage to a poor Vietnamese.
2)A sacred entity formed out of love
This really get the class into a heated discussion. Linh shared with the class how one of her relatives married a korean and she is very happy after her marriage. She also talked about her friend who have an American boyfriend, but out of love too. However, some of the class disagreed with her and said that her friends were just some of the luckier ones. Indeed there were some who married for money and there were many who were abused in their marriages. Many agreed that it is impossible to fall in love at first sight and agree to marry. But not because they are greedy, they just want a better chance for the future. Somehow the conversations drifted into the direction of the recent murder case that shook Hanoi. A korean student killed and burnt the corpse of his Vietnamese girl friend who was two timing him. I was surprised that everyone in the class do not sympathize with the victim, saying that she deserved it for being “too loose” and bringing it onto herself. I was a bit shock by the words of them, but it really reveals something about their mindset. The students from this club are all younger than us, around the age of 18.


The role of women in Vietnam – chronological order
1)heroic, indomitable, loyal and resourceful - Anh hung, bat khuat, trung hau, dam dang
2)trung hau, diu dang, thanh lich, te nhi, dam dang” or loyal, gentle, elegant, tactful yet resourceful
3)Tac phong cong nhiep va hien dai” is defined as the rise of the modern and industrial women, spending more time outside homes, beyond parental supervision, having more freedom and able to express individualism



According to the values of Dnaiel's Church, the role of women is to be a helper, and a caregiver. And the role of the men is to be a leader in the family. Women can work and have a duel income family as well , as long as, the men are responsible for the family, and are the head of the household, this is how the family progresses.


And to end the session off, daniel decided to tell a joke : )

A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.
''House'' for instance, is feminine: ''la casa.'' ''Pencil,'' however, is masculine: "el lapiz.''

A student asked, ''What gender is 'computer'?'' Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether ''computer'' should be a masculine or a feminine noun.

Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the feminine gender (''la computadora''), because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;

2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;

3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and

4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine (''el computador''), because:

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;

2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;

3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and

4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

It took me really long to explain to the English club before they finally understood the joke. It was funny for they started asking me the gender of the different objects in my room!

shi lei and daniel>.<

Relieving Stress

English Club Meeting at Bach Khoa University
“Relieving Stress”

21st October

Today we went over again to Bach Khoa University for English Club meeting. The topic today was on “Relieving Stress” since mid term examination is just around the corner. Also there is a Women Day celebration and it was so sweet that everyone has a gift for all the girls in the club. : ) On women day, it is hard not to feel special. There are gifts for women and everyone is extra nice too

Meeting was interesting and I think Daniel have the most fun of all. He was selected to act in a role play and I think he really acted quite well. Truong was the main lead in the first role play when he had to persuade his friends out to play with him despite having exams just round the corner. Scenarios were simple but their aim is just to let students use English in a fun way.

Then there is also sing along session! Like usual, English club in bach Khoa ended with singing as everyone just love to sing. But I realized it is a good way to train pronunciation. And even the shyest person can just sing along too, so it is really a good way to train English too. In fact, Daniel got so inspired that he is going to hold an English Karaoke session with out club.

I think it is a successful meeting and the objective is met. Through all the fun we had, it gave us a break from our work, my Vietnamese and ISMs. If only my Vietnamese lessons can be this fun too! I am sure I will pay attention in class then without always wanting to fall asleep P
-shi lei

Today was another guest meeting to ITEC, or Information Technology English Club at Bach Khoa University, the focus being on dealing with stress, at first, we got into groups to discuss what stress is about and what are the various methods to deal with it, following which, there was a play in which each group had to send a representative to act as a stressful person while the other groups had to act out ways to help the person destress.

My group's task was a student who has having stress from studying for her exams. It was quite hilarious in that some of the ways we suggested was to go for a picnic , where there was a foreigner native English speaker (myself) who can teach you, and who is handsome as well. Another situation discussed was if a Father was in a bad mood, how would you persuade him to lend you money to buy a present for your girlfriend, which the other groups came up with a many reasons, most of which has elements of respect for the Father, something Vietnamese culture has a great emphasis on, the values of family respect, even in the midst of stress and this is something which I have learnt about Vietnamese culture. Overall I would say their English is really of a commendable level and it was a very interesting discussion.

Apart from that, as it was Women's day, the 3 women present at the meeting were role played as princess, and we would be contestants to see who could get the hand of the 3 princesses , we played games such as guessing the names of English songs, and seeing who was the best singer in English songs. It was fun, certain English songs are very popular among the Vietnamese students, and although I lost the singing round, not because of my voice I would think, but because the other contestant was more sincere in his song. I lost with a vote of 1 to the rest of the students present. Sincerity and Faith being shown by the Vietnamese student contestant competition against me, some of the values that Vietnamese treasure and believe in a great deal of.

I had a very enjoyable time, and I learnt alot from this session about Vietnamese culture, in terms of dealing with stress, receptivity of popular culture in English music and personal and relationship values of love and sincerity which Vietnamese people hold highly, a key aspect of family values.

Cheers
Daniel Foo

Visit To Bat Trang

Today we visited Bat Trang ( Pottery Village ) together with the Information Technology English Club. Bat Trang is an area on the outskirts of Hanoi, around a 1 and a half hour journey from Hanoi.

At Bat Trang, we got learn and got to see how to make pottery! Right from scratch, something the people of Bat Trang are very familiar with. It was quite a difficult experience I must say. Ended up that I let the owner help me to make a very beautiful cup, which I also told him to write the words "Hanoi 2008" in it~~ The first step was to mould the clay ino the shape that you want, burn it if you want it to be harden, and burn it again for up to 1 week if you want it to be glazed and made like a real pottery.


Apart from making pottery, a favorite among people who visit the place, we also went to the pottery market, the highlight of the place, where there were many craftsmanship pieces, mostly made of pottery, including teacups, accessories, paintings, and many other things. It was quite an eye opener experience seeing how many and how creative things could be made with pottery. The whole place was filled with things, mostly pottery, something that these people are very proud of. One of the interesting things I noticed about Vietnam through this was the naming of streets, which are related to what the village is about , be it in the past or the present, such that Bat Trang literally means pottery village in Vietnamese. Another example would be "Bach Khoa" which means many faculties in Vietnamese.

At Bat Trang Market

Giant Vases
Pot luck lunch at Bat Trang
Making Pottery
The wall design of a ceramics house


Cheers
Daniel Foo

day trip to museum of ethnology

Today we are going to the west of Hanoi, Cau Giay district where the Museum of Ethnology is located. We have heard of the museum as being the best in Hanoi and Ha had suggested that we should go on a day trip there.



The Tay Stilt house at the back with Thuy playing on a swing like structure : )

With some of my friends at the front gallery


Traditional weaving of the Cham minority


It is really tiring but a fruitful trip. We got to know much more about the different minority groups in Vietnam, their style of housing, what they eat, what they play and what their believed etc. It was good to see that all my Vietnamese friends are as interested as me in the ethnic minorities. I remembered one of them asking me how many races Singapore has. I told them we have 3 main races. She said that they have around 54 and the best thing of all is that they learned to live peacefully together. Even though there are still a lot of things to do to improve the lifestyles of all, at least they can accomplish things better and faster in an environment of peace and hope. Which I totally agree : )
However, I also enjoyed myself as it was fun wandering around playing different games with my friends in the club.

Thuy and Ha skipping rope! I really forgot that skipping ropes can be so simple but fun: )



Turn out that there are many couples taking wedding photos, and I really like this one! see how happy and bless the bride looks. Because of her, I decided that Ao Dai is the prettiest traditional costume!

-Shi Lei

It was a full day at the museum, learnt many things from the Vietnamese students, as well as from the various exhibits at the museum, got a glimpse of what are the various ethnic minorities there are in Vietnam and where they come from, and what their lifestyle is like, particular among the groups on display which I noticed is the Hmong ethnic minority, located at and around the region of Sapa, which there are many kinds, 2 of which are the Black Hmong and the Flower Hmong. At the museam, we got to see the machines which they work with to produce their beautifully decorated clothes, the traditional houses that they stay in, as well as got to play some of the games that they would play at leisure.

These games include skipping rope, and an interested game involving a ball and chopsticks, whereby you would throw the ball in the air the take the chop sticks, something like 5 stones, a traditional Chinese game.

Also on display are some of the religious sculptures of the ethnic minorities, that had a wide variety of symbolism, such as fertility.

Overall, we had a very enriching experience. And this visit had helped developed my understanding of these ethnic minorities in Vietnam, particularly with my visit to Sapa as well, which I got to meet first hand, these ethnic minorities, lived at their villages and got a description of what how these minorities lived. Here's a short video presentation at Sapa on the life of a particular group of ethnic minority, the flower Hmong.

As a tourist destination, at Sapa, I got swamped by people from these ethnic groups asking me to buy things from them, following which they would follow me and the group all the way to the various villages in order to sell their things, which are clothes and other traditional items, mostly made out of cloth and sewn. It is quite disheartening to know that some of these sellers were children, being told by their parents to sell these items, instead of going to school, which they could not afford or was too far away from their houses. My friend told me that buying from these children was not the solution as they would be encouraged to continue on with the types of jobs they are doing now instead of going to school to develop a more promising future.

In turn, we also got the chance to visit the weekend flower Hmong market at Bac Ha province near Sapa, where villages would gather there once a week to trade goods as well as find prospective partners. It was a very busy atmosphere, with a huge crowd of people everywhere. The tour guide recommended us to go eat some of the local delicacies of the region, but when we found out how it looked liked and what it was as we didn't know the English translations for the names of the food, we decided not the eat it, as it didn't look too appetizing, perhaps its our differences in food culture and taste likings..:)

In all, the museum trip, coupled with the visit to Sapa, deeply enriched my understanding and situation of these ethnic minorities. And I really feel that their lives can be improved a great deal through humanitarian help. Something that can be achieved through funding and greater developments. At the area, I decided to give away some pens and my friend followed up with some notebooks as I was told they had to keep reusing notebooks and didn't have enough pens. When I gave them the items, their faces of these children from the ethnic minority groups started beaming with joy and happiness, which gave me a deep sense of fulfillment as well. Simple items to us, but yet meant so much to them and their future. It touched me deeply and I would in future, consider doing humanitarian work in this region. :)

Cheers,
Daniel Foo

Of Mangas and Japan

Today we invited the club to meet with Kenta, our Japanese friend. This is because many of them are interested in Japanese mangas and Linh is going to do the presentation on mangas for our club meeting.

It was funny seeing Vietnamese translated versions of Japanese manga, and they were excited trying to ask each other if they have watched this and that. I am glad that Kenta is here, for most of them, that is their first Japanese friends. Trouble is Kenta's English isnt really good either, but I think they slowly understand each other thought the process takes quite long.

I do not understand why so many people are crazy over manga in SIngapore. And I am really surprised that even in Vietnam, some of them are crazy over it. And turned out that there is going to be a cosplay tomorrow near our place, so we might go together to see a cosplay ( where people dressed up as characters from different manga). I was surprised to hear from Linh that she herslef had participated in a cosplay before.

It was funny hearing them said that the first time there was a cosplay in a park in Hanoi, many older Vietnamese were very shocked. They thought that they were foreigners from another country. However, after hearing speak in Vietnamese, the usual comments were that "they were crazy bunch of people". I dont think that they are really crazy but I must agree they must have look weird and shocking to the elders.

And how did Linh get her costume? she made it herself! i cant believe how much sacrificies she make for the sake of manga. Despite only having 5sgd for pocket money a month ( she cycles to school and eat at home), she managed to save her 5sgd to buy mangas. And to save on the cost, she made her own manga costume. I cant really comprehend her zealous over it. But oh well, I am thinking that youths in Vietnam is really influenced by external forces, they are not so "untouched" by foreign trends after all : )
shi lei

English Song Night

Got invited to "English Song Night" at Bach Khoa University, had a very good time. The nature of the meeting was that 2 songs were being presented by teachers, with missing blanks and meanings being of the song being explained. An innovative and interesting way to learn English!

I also noticed the atmosphere was rather good, and the students were very much willing to learn and sing these songs to improve their English. The two songs that were sang were "I Will Remember You" and "Don't Worry, Be Happy", generally written in the context of the culture which the song originated from, such as "Don't Worry , Be Happy", which came from a Jamaica and hence used English slangs that were used in Jamaica and lyrics that were sort of in a relaxed tone. This, I thought , was a good way to learn different cultures as well.

Military Class

After hearing alot about the military classes that our friends have to take, we decided to go check it out ourselves today. We thought it was going to be practical today, turned out that it actually was a theory class : (

The teacher came in wearing his army uniform. I wasnt really used to seeing a uniformed teacher. He was lecturing the class about the importance of military studies and I could see no one in the whole class was interested in what he has to say. In fact, everyone was doing their own work. The teacher seems to know it but he just droned on and on in his seat. I did not have the textbook so I stared at him, staining to catch some words and practising listening for my Vietnamese. And a funny thing happened. I was scolded by him for not looking at the book but staring at him!! haha, i though he would have praised me for being the only one paying attention. Turn out that he thinks everyone looking down at the desk is paying attention to him and reading the textbook. One of the club member, Phuong, immediately pulled a book out from her bag and asked me to pretend reading it.

In the end, we spent the military class passing messages to each other across the table. I even helped them to do their english readings. I sort of pitied the teacher course I dont really think that my classmates are intersted in what he was saying. But I would have enjoyed the practical part of the module better as we will be allowed to shoot using rifles! However, the girls are more worried than enjoying the class. If they fail their military class, they would not be able to pass their University examinations and might have to redo it again.

Judging at the history of warfares in VIetnam, i think that having military lessons is actually jusitifed. It is better to be ever ready so that no one will take Vietnam by surprise. : )
-shi lei

Went to attend a Vietnamese lecture class today, thought it was a history class, but it turned out to be a military class. Well. As I didn't really understand most of what the lecturer was talking about, I shall just write about the observations that I made with regards to classroom culture!

The University in Vietnam does not go according to modules that are taken with different classmates. Rather, the structure is that each student has a fixed class of students that have similar subjects of study, making it sort of like a classroom environment, something similar to the junior college and secondary school system in Singapore.

Also, unforeseen circumstances could happen, such as power shortages, which can be quite a regularity, this would results in class being shortened or canceled. In this case that I attended, class was shortened.

The general atmosphere was ok, like a normal school atmosphere. Like Singapore, students did not need to wear school uniforms. However this varies abit between Universities as at Bach Khoa University, I noticed that students had to wear the school t-shirt for exercise periods. Again, something different from Singapore Universities in that they have physical education periods as well as military training and theology periods, sometimes including visits to the army museum.

In high schools and universities students would be encouraged to wear "Ao Dai" or the national costume of Vietnam during special occasions, a symbol of Vietnamese culture.
Students wearing Ao Dai



Overall, I couldn't say that I really enjoyed the lesson because I didn't really understand it, but it was nice eye-opener to see how University is like in Vietnam.

Cheers,
Daniel Foo

Eating at the roadside.. : 0

4th October 2008

Today, we met in the evening instead of the usual Saturday morning. We decided to go on a night out to the different night time hang out of them. We met at Bach Khoa, the area where many schools and universities are concentrated. Most of the students have fond memories of the area here as they studied in this area in secondary or pre-university level.

They told us the history of this area, and we learnt that the name of the street which Daniel and I are staying in is actually name after the first principal of Bach Khoa University. : ) Actually, Bach Khoa area is where most of the technical Universities are located, eg Back Khoa Technological University, Open University, University of Architecture, University of Dentistry, University of Education blab la to named a few..

After walking around looking at the different road side vendors, we finally found one that we would like to try. Manh kept joking about bringing us to eat the half formed eggs or the pig blood soup and even dog meat. But I told him that I wouldn’t dare to try and declined politely. The shop that we ended up in sells snacks and finger food. And we found something familiar: you tiao!! And this is the point when Daniel makes everyone laugh.

Daniel tried to tell the story of the origins of you tiao. But I think his version is the modern version: a man scored 10 Olympics medal but was betrayed by someone… I had to tell him that the man was Yue Fei, the famous Song dynasty general. And, no he didn’t get 10 Olympics medal. He got 10 summons from the emperor to retreat back to court when he was winning the war with the Mongols. He was betrayed by a court official and his wife who were jealous of his achievements. Chinese fried you tiao to symbolize the frying of the couple in hot oil for betraying Yue Fei and causing his death.
But now, we only remembered the taste of the you tiao. Not a lot of people remembered the story behind it and the loyal general who sacrificed himself. Surprisingly, our Vietnamese friends told us they knew the story too, and that is the story of their you tiao too! Even though our you tiao tasted different from Vietnamese you tiao, ours being more floury and much bigger, it is the symbol of Chinese influence on Vietnam.
shi lei

A taste of street Vietnamese food!

My and Thuy, students of our English club, took us to the roadside to eat Vietnamese snacks. An interesting eye opener was that Vietnamese people like to sit on really low chairs and really low tables and just soak in the atmosphere , while enjoying the food being served.

Another thing I learnt about Vietnamese culture is the way they call the eating house servers, usually shouting "em oi!" or if the waiter is older "anh oi(males) or chi oi(females). In Singapore we would just raise our hands and wait to be served. I would conclude that Vietnamese people have a more family orientated culture, and these terms would usually refer to references for family members. Also, that Vietnamese people are quite outspoken and familiar with each other in the calling of these terms, like as if they have a bond between each Vietnamese person, regardless of whether they knew the person or not, a kind of similarity shared through the language and culture.

Well, the food was local snacks in Vietnam, such as fried dumplings , spring rolls , french fries, something like the "Old Chang Kee" in Singapore, but Vietnamese style. It was interesting to see a wide variety of these dishes that they have, and they were rather cheap and delicious as well!. A diversification of something similar to Chinese snacks, but done in a Vietnamese way. Such an example would be "Banh Bao" or Bread Bun, this is similar to what the Chinese have in "Bao Zi" or buns, just that in Vietnam, its specialty is having mushrooms and an quill egg inside, the most common Bao in Vietnam and something unique to them. Another instance is the "quey" in Vietnam, which is a miniature version of the "You Tiao" in Chinese food!

Chinese "You Tiao"



Vietnamese "quay" , which is much smaller in size than its Chinese counterpart


The low chairs and tables.
photos courtesy of oishiieats.blogspot.com


Banh Bao , with mushrooms and a quill egg inside

Overall, it was an enjoyable night of food and drinks! As well as a good experience of Vietnamese roadside food culture!

Cheers,
Daniel Foo

Street Children

Today, we got invited to participate in an English Club Session by PEC ( Parable English Club) at Bach Khoa University.

The discussion carried out was on the nature of street children, where they came from, who are they, and what can be done to help them.

A video was shown on the nature of these street children in Vietnam. They have a wide variety of street jobs, including shoe-shinning and selling of foodstuff. Most of which, often are told by their family members to go around and help to sell things or beg for money. Some are accompanied by their brothers or sisters who can play musical instruments while they ask for money.

Through this discussion, I got to know first hand the plight of these children, and what they have to go through due to the advent of poverty to some of these Vietnamese, most often they were abandoned by their families due to financial difficulties or adopted by people wanting to use them to make money. A play was later acted out, and it explained about a street child who was bullied, but later on found his parents who abandoned him and regretted her decision to abandon him many years ago. This story showcases how these street children live, and what they have to go through each day. Also showing the growing divide of rich and poor in Vietnamese society.

I couldn't help but feel pitiful for the plight of these children. And I feel that the government can do much more to help these children. This meeting was good in that it showed awareness of what was happening so that people could be more mindful and maybe provide some help for these children.

Cheers. daniel

Today discussion is on street children in Vietnam.

It is very hard not spot them on the streets. In fact, they might just come up to you begging for a hand out. Even on separate occasions when we went out with the club, we came across them roaming the streets of Hanoi. Probably some Vietnamese might not feel very comfortable talking about them and discussing about them. But there is no reason to ignore their presence, caused I feel that they are innocent victims of poverty. So I must really congratulate the parable English club for choosing this topic and showing that they actually care.

It is true that the society is still developing in Vietnam, and that most people only have enough for themselves. Therefore, I think that this is an important reason for why Vietnamese tend to look away from them. I remembered many times when I am eating in one of the stalls along the streets. Halfway through the meal, there will be one of the street kid wearing dirty and torn clothes asking for hand outs. Most of the time, it seems like the Vietnamese are used to it and continue with their meals. But more often than not, there will be a hush silence until some one gave 20cents or when the kid gave up and tried his luck somewhere else.

Every time, I found it hard to continue eating. I bought a few of them meals before, but how many meals can I buy for them? They are still so young and I really wish someone can do something more for them. I hope that they can have education, but sometimes giving them education is not enough. The economy might not have a space for them as there are just too many young people looking for a job now.

This is really a big social issue in Vietnam. Apart from the fact that education is not compulsory, thus parents can send their children to work for money and to help support the family; there are also many of them who are homeless or abandoned. I am glad that more of us can get to know about their plight. But maybe actions can be taken to. I have volunteered for a few times in one of a charity organization in Vietnam for street children and I have seen the positive results. I hope that there will be more of these organizations, not just from outside help, but also from the government, to allow more help to come in.

shi lei : )

Singapore Dreaming : )

There have been discussions of introducing the club to a Singaporean movie. And Daniel successful got a friend coming for a visit to bring "Singapore Dreaming" over. Manh told us that he heard that it is an award winning movie and I am glad that they expressed interests in it. : 0

I felt that Singapore Dreaming is a good movie to show as it will allow our friends to see a realistic portrayal of our society, that not everything is so pretty and good in Singapore. That they are economic problems too etc. And of course the Singaporean lifestyle: living in flats, eating in coffee shops, going aroud by cars for most people, having maids to take care of our house, and of course our language that is "not really English", as they commented.

Most was surprised with the gender discrimination in the show, especially by how the father favored the son over the daughter. They must have not thought that it would exist, but after giving deeper thoughts, they decided that we are still Eastern societies after all, so gender discrimination is of course still present to a certain extent. Of course it is improving just like in Vietnam..

and I hope so too, cos being a girl myself, it would have been terrible to be less valued by parents. I hope that everyone are cherished by their parents course they are ultimately their children too! >.<
shi lei

showed Singapore Dreaming today , a show which I feel deeply reflects upon the many aspects of Singapore Society, some of which includes

1) Family love and values
2) Having dreams

I showed the show because I wanted them to understand the difference in culture between Singapore and Vietnam. One of which is that because Singapore is a developed country, we focus alot on our education system, something that is very important in the minds of many Singaporean families. There was a scene in which a mother scolded her child for not getting 100 marks when she only got 90. In the main story, the youngest son also had a hard time getting a job as he did not have a recognized degree or educational qualification. Something many companies emphasize on. In Vietnam , however, I feel that the focus is not so much on education, as education is not compulsory in Vietnam.

I did notice that some children would help their parents at roadside stalls and not have an education. In Sapa, an area north of Vietnam where I visited, there is a similar scenario where children do not go to school sometimes in order to help their parents work. This is a very subjective topic, something that Vietnam faces, on the value of education. I also noticed that in Vietnam, there are many private schools and one of the key entity for entry to these schools is if you had money, you could go in ahead of the consideration of results. I got to know this from the Vietnamese students , and that in some cases, it is the poor students who are more of the hardworking ones rather than the rich ones, as told of the contrast in learning interest in different schools, a private one which hosts students who are quite well off, in that they are quite rowdy in class, as told by my Taiwanese friend, who is a Chinese teacher there, and could not understand why some of the students are not focused in learning, one of the reasons she thought of upon discussion with other Vietnamese students is that these students come form a rich family background, and therefore could get into these schools easily and take for granted what they have, the school being focused on preparing these students for studies abroad,as most of their family background provides them with the financial capability to do so, which is why they are learning Chinese.

This can be contrasted with other Vietnamese youths who don't have a chance to study at all. She still has to work hard as a teacher despite this because there are students in the class who really are focused and are serious in studying, but they make up the minority. There is a growing disparity between the rich and the poor in Vietnam and this has affected how the education system is implemented, which I feel more measures could be done by the government to change this disparity.

Overall, the film was quite well received, and students could understand it as most of the conversations were in English, a learning point for them as well. They also got to know about the nature of spoken languages in Singapore, where some Singaporeans speak in a mixture of languages. It was a real eye opener into the differences in culture for them , though a popular medium such as film

Here's a clip of the movie trailer


Cheers,
Daniel Foo

Popular Culture: The Phenomeon of Harry Potter in Vietnam

Today presentation is by Hoang Ha.

It makes me feel like we are not so different after all! haha, never know that my Vietnamese friends like Harry Potter too. and after today's presentation, I realized that there might be many who like me more than I too.. they actually remembered the titles of the whole series! I don't even know how many books are there altogether. : )

Actually, i think today discussion is more about Friendship instead. Most of the discussion revolves around the friendship of Ron and Harry. Despite being always in the shadow of Harry, Ron proved himself time and again that he is a good friend of Harry. Ron developed some sort of inferiority complex but was still able to pass through all the physiological hurdles to stand at Harry's side when harry need him.
I think the friendship between Ron and Harry became such a heated discussion as real friendship is something that everyone need and searching for in life.
Of course we are not thinking of something as fancy as that between Harry and Ronbut something that have the same elements?

The session ended ironically, with watching an episode of a Vietnamese drama. Turned out that most of the members were following a very popular drama and they hate to miss it. It is about a rich Vietnamese guy who only knew how to spend money and cant take care of himself. In a fit of anger, the parents throw him out of the house so that he can finally learn to fend for himself. Everyone laughed at the uselessness of the guy and wanted to see the transformation in him. For me, it wasn't really interesting but i think this is really one of the best drama production of Vietnam as Vietnam is still developing. They cant take difficult and fancy shots not because they do not have the expertise, but there is a lack in funding.

So I shall wait patiently for Vietnam to develop fast so that they can film good show too.. co len!
shi lei

I must say, this has been a very unique discussion, the topic being on Harry Potter, something which I'm not too familiar with as I'm not really a supporter of the series, however, it was quite well received by the students, showing that popular culture from foreign countries are indeed well received by the Vietnamese, especially by the new generation of Vietnamese youths, in this fast developing and globalizing country.

As mentioned by Shi Lei, this was proceeded by a screening of a popular Vietnamese drama. My thoughts on it was that the cinematography and development of scenes wasn't as good as dramas from other countries like Korea or Taiwan or Singapore, but what I noticed was that, it was unique something which the Vietnamese students could relate to and are interested in. And they didn't really mind the lower standard of film making, which I would conclude would be because Vietnamese people do have a strong sense of nationality and things made by the nation. Something I feel is not that great in Singapore, as Singapore dramas are not as popular in Singapore than their Taiwanese , Hong Kong and Korean counterparts. This can be seen by the greater volume of airtime given to foreign dramas as compared to local ones, with a whole channel, channel U focusing on foreign dramas, with an occasional local drama. In addition, Channel 8 shows both local and foreign dramas as well. However, in Vietnam, from what I have noticed on Vietnam Television, although there are foreign programmes, there is still a greater emphasis on local productions, something more related to the Vietnamese audience.

Thus, this was one of the learning points I have gained from this viewing and discussion.

Cheers
Daniel Foo

Princesses of Vietnam: A peak into the cultural/social role of Vietnamese women

Princesses of Vietnam: A peak into the cultural/social role of Vietnamese women

Today’s presentation came as a surprise to me. They refused to disclose the title of the topic so I was trying to guess what they were going to present on. I really like today topic for I think they managed to linked the discussions to the wider context and trying to show how women in Vietnam can still use the experiences of the famous princesses of Vietnam as role models.

These princesses were remembered and celebrated as icons due to their courage and sacrifices and their brilliant leadership throughout Vietnamese history. Some entered the resistance against Chinese invaders beside their husbands, while one married the neighboring Cham king so as to bring the 2 warring countries to peace.

However the one princess that evoked a lot of controversies is Princess My Chau who is blamed commonly for causing Vietnam to be subjugated to the Chinese for 1000 years. My Chau fell in love with a Chinese prince and married the prince. However, the prince had an ulterior motive, he married My Chau so that he could get his hands on the magical weapons that had helped Vietnam resist China conquest over Vietnamese land. Out of love for her husband, My Chau stole the magical weapon from his father and gave it to her husband. In no time, Chinese invaders swept over Vietnam and conquered it. In anger, the Vietnamese king chopped off his daughter, My Chau, head due to My Chau betrayal of her country.

Many Vietnamese remembered the story of My Chau and there was a heated discussion as to why My Chau is listed as one of the most famous princess of Vietnam. She should be “infamous” instead. There is even a temple in the old capital of Vietnam that is dedicated to My Chau and I have been there once. Some of them pitied her, saying that her love for her husband must have caused her much pain. However, most of the members called her love as “blind”. In the end, we decided that the temple was set up no really to commemorate My Chau, but to remind of this episode in Vietnamese history.

Actually, I think that My Chau and her husband did really love one another. It was unfortunately that they were borne in opposite camps. I chose to think this way as it was said that her husband committed suicide out of grief and guilt. Maybe, the husband of My Chau was also just a political pawn!

shi lei

As Shi Lei has mentioned, this session is about the princesses of Vietnam, in particular, of Princess My Chau, this has led me to understand that Vietnamese women are regarded very highly in Vietnamese society at present, and in the past. Reflecting on this, I remembered other heroic Vietnamese women who changed society, such as the Trung Sisters, who managed to successfully defend Vietnam from foreign invaders. Nonetheless , it was a interested look into the roles and functions of these women, as well as how well they are respected, touching in areas of conflict such as the extent of value of love between family and country. Reception towards her role as a hero was quite mixed among the students, with some supporting her decision to help her husband and some thinking that she should not have betrayed her country. However, it was very much concluded with a majority that despite of this, princesses were very brave and honorable in marrying foreigners in order to keep the peace with other nations in Vietnam. Whether or not they had loved their husbands. I have the same view, as in life, you can only have one partner to love and cherish, and in sacrificing this for the sake of your country is truly an honorable act. Emphasizing also, the high regards that Vietnamese have for their nation. With regards to Princess My Chau, as in custom, and in my view, marrying a husband would make you more or less a citizen of your husband's country as well, which I feel My Chau really was forced beyond her will to betray her country, something I feel she did not want to do.



Apart from the role of princesses, there was also a short presentation about one of the Vietnamese myths, the beach boy, in which a cartoon- style story was presented, this myth told of a father and son who had only a loin-cloth left, and when the father died , he wanted to let the father have his dignity in death and hence gave him the loin cloth, upon bathing one day in the river, he met a princess,Tien Dung who thought it was fated that they got married, albeit rejection from her parents. They soon ran away, started a river market that developed into a large market-city. Thus the couple became remembered for their love and faith in heaven.

story summarized from http://www.vietspring.org/legend/VietnameseMyths.html

Again, this is an example of the respect and traditions that Vietnamese princesses had, something which I learnt more of from the narration of the Vietnamese students in addition to my lessons in school.

Overall, it was a fruitful and interesting discussion about the role of princess in Vietnamese society.


Cheers
Daniel Foo

Religious Diversity...

This is really one of the most "intellectual" discussion we have had.

Suggested to Daniel that we can talk about Religion: what is religion? the importance of religion to people especially in Vietnam and Singapore.

It was interesting to hear Linh shared about her experiences as a religious minority in Vietnam. Since her grandfather's generation, they have been staunch Catholic. the rest of the class were more like " we are nonreligious.

I asked them on their opinions religion can be defined through performance, so if they are practiced and performed widely, do they become more of culture? eg. such as ancestor worship. Doesn't it originate from something religious but become accepted as culture later on? this got the class into deep discussions and some people rethink their claims on being "nonreligious".

we discussed on how some villages, as close as Ha tay just 20+ km away from Hanoi, are split into Catholic and non catholic villages due to mass conversion since the 18th century and how there have been history of warfares and bitter disagreements. I was surprised that most were willing to speak up, thought that they will avoid the topic. However, it seems like none of them knew much about it. but it lead them to discuss whether religion is sometimes more of a dividing force than a basis for unity..

we then talked about religion in Singapore, how Christianity used to be associated with a higher social class as the early Christians in Singapore were mostly schooled in English missionaries schools and could secured better jobs due to their language skills. it is less so in Vietnam now as Catholics and Christians are still really few as compared to the whole society.

and later, the class becomes so interested in the difference between Catholics/ Christianity/Orthodox, the conflict between Jews/Muslims and Christians that I have to try hard to remember my history lesson from Professor Lockhart so as to let them have a better understanding. I am glad that they are interested despite this being a rather heavy topic especially after their school work.
\shi lei >.<

This was an interesting discussion on religion. Discussing about the degree of religious influence in Vietnam and Singapore. It was found out that the students were not very religious, or Vietnamese people in general, but some of them, including one student Ha, said that she is rather open to religion, or if she were to marry a Christian, she would follow his religion and convert. Another student Linh, is the opposite, she has an extended family who are Catholics, but is still quite reluctant on religious openness.

After which, I mentioned to them a brief introduction about Christianity, my religion in Singapore, what we usually do as our normal practices, and how the Charismatic Church, my branch of Christianity, is a branch of protestantism, and Catholicism. It was the first time which many of them heard of these subjects and branches, which in my view, I think is due the lack of religious influence in the country, which is still in its early stages of accepting religious diversity and opening of doors to new developments in religion.

After which, I showed them 2 videos on Christianity, to give a feel of what is the main points about Christianity. The reception wasn't that great, but I feel in future, more things can be done in future to improve religious situation in Vietnam. Something which I found out is still quite restricted in Vietnam. These are the 2 videos I presented.




This presentation was backed up by a previous club outing to Shi Lei's room, where students were interested and presented with a viewing of a regular weekend Church service from City Harvest Church Singapore, which I belonged too, it was quite well received as it was the first time they saw our a contemporary Church worked, with contemporary songs being sang in a modern day environment. However, as it was in English , and something of a new topic to them, their interest during the sermon was not really well received , but we discussed on why I was so interested and a shared with them on how Christianity and the weekly sermons have impacted my life.

Overall, I felt it was a good opportunity to learn something about Christianity in Singapore. And in the whole as a whole and we had a very fruitful discussion on religion in Singapore and Vietnam, understanding more about the religious situation in both countries.

Cheers!
Daniel Foo

Mid Autumn Celebration: It doesnt take much to be happy : )

September 14th, 2008


I must say that this is the most special Mid- Autumn Celebration I ever had. Apart from the down side of not having a proper moon cake, those types that I really like eg snow skin or those with yam, pandan leaves or green tea flavor with egg yolk in them. But at least I got to try some exotic ones, like the thap cam, which literally means mixture of all ingredients such as sweetened melons strips, sesames and a lot of other different things but the coconut milk certainly was my personally favourite out of the many local types (truth was I only tried these 2 flavours)

But apart from the moon cakes, what made the celebration better was the company and the beautiful moon. I have never seen such brighter and beautiful moon hanging so close to me in the sky. And here I must really talk about the colour of the moon, it was not the bright yellow that we often see on TV, it actually had shades to it, some mellow, some speaks of darker shades, milker when there were white clouds, but it’s radiating glow lighted up the sky around it. And I am glad to have many new friends. At first, it was just a celebration with our friends from English club. But because this is such a special event to keep it to just the few of us, we decided to invite more people to join in the fun, so in the end, friends not just only from the Bach Khoa English club, but also my Vovinam friends, neighbours from our hostel A2, and many friends of friends to celebrate Mid Autumn festival. In the end, we have to squeeze 40 to 50 of us together into my room.

Earlier in the day, Daniel, Sam and I had traveled to Hoan Kiem to see the market for mid autumn festival. I have previously passed by the Hoan Kiem region on bus and the market looked so exciting, with a lot of decorations and toys for the little children. I remembered seeing the sky lanterns yesterday night on the way back from Vovinam and I am determined to get one of those! It had always been my wish to fly one of that myself. As we walked around the lake looking at the festive goods, I couldn’t help being like one of the little kids browsing through all the stores and looking for a lantern that catches my eyes. Finally, when I saw one of the đèn trời, I couldn’t help marveling at how simple it actually was and how beautiful it would become. But even beautiful is the meaning behind the flying of these lanterns, as told by the lady selling me the lanterns, they carried with them the wishes of those who flew them and I was really looking forward to fly my lantern later.

At first, I was overwhelmed to see the number of people who came. Half of them I have not seen them as I have agreed to Huong to bring her high school friends over. However, it soon turned out to be especially fun as one of them played the guitar and sang very well. He and Daniel took turns serenading us with different songs and even our Czechs friends sang a song for us and their sounded like angels. After the feasting and the sing-along session, we went out to fly the lanterns. We were refused permission to fly the lanterns at the courtyard of our place, so we had no choice but to fly the lanterns at a busy intersection outside Bach Khoa Stadium. As there were so many of us, and quite a few foreigners, we became “traffic stoppers” as passerby stopped to see us fly our lanterns. All of us were eager to write down our wishes on Post-stick and to attach it to the lanterns. As I watched the lanterns flew up one by one with the wishes of many others, I waited for my turn to get to the pencil (there was only one to share). It was sweet that Huong’ friends motioned me to pin my wishes up on the last lantern, despite the fact that many of them had not had their turns yet.

I enjoyed today not only because of the lantern flying, but because of the simplicity of the Vietnamese friends which really was charming. I like the way that it doesn’t take much for them to be happy. It doesn’t have to be a grand feast that I am always used to back in Singapore when people gather together. This is one of the most important lessons that I felt I have learnt from my Vietnamese friends, and I am glad to be introduced to a simple way of being happy

shi lei

Mid Autumn Festival celebration was indeed an eye-opener for me, I never expected it to be celebrated in such a big scale. There were lanterns, mooncakes and lots of other activities going around Hanoi. In particular, we decided to hold a mid - autumn celebration for our English Club, other guests were invited as well, in total there were many people , a majority from Vietnam, but also a handful from America and The Czech Republic. It was an enjoyable evening of song, jokes, games, and food!, there was a huge variety of mooncakes at the event, brought by various Vietnamese students!, all of which were very delicious. The link between a China and Vietnam can really be seen through the common celebration of this festival. It is somewhat like in Singapore , but on a larger scale, and with different varieties of mooncakes!

One of the differences is the lanterns that we lit up, as mentioned by Shi Lei, to send our wishes up to the sky for heaven to receive. We lit up our lanterns along the road side, in which many people stopped their motobikes to take a look, or to ask us where we bought the lanterns, a truly popular sight and function ! In Singapore, this was allowed in the past but not anymore as my friend mentioned that in the past, somebody complained about the shinning object in the sky , wondering if it was a meteor, upon knowing what it was, questions were still asked on the safety of these lanterns, as they might be a distraction for airplanes, which may be the reason why it is disbanded in Singapore, but for Vietnam, it is still allowed and is a beautiful sight to behind, but I do question the safety of this practice as well in terms of towards passing airplanes...food for thought.

Here's a video introduction of the events of that day! Enjoy


Daniel Foo

" Fishing" trip with English club

It was the first time that we are going out of Hanoi together. Manh and Ha kept saying that they wanted to bring us fishing, and we immediately conjured up pictures of beautiful beaches and the sea. Daniel couldn't wait to go course I think he like fishing. As for me, I just wanted to experience it. My said that she had been there a couple of time with Manh and other friends, so it seems like fishing is what the Vietnamese students do when they have free time over the weekends.

It was too bad that in the end, there were only 6 of us who could make it. The trip was going to take the whole day and some were busy. I think some could'nt make it too as it was far, close to an hour on the bike. It was so tiring to be on a motorbike for such a long journey but it was fun as we managed to cross the Long Bien bridge to the outskirts of Hanoi! I have been telling Daniel that Hanoi outside of Long Bien is a totally different place, immediately the landscape changed and there is just vast expense of rice fields! I really like the change and leave the sound of Hanoi behind.

While we past the streets, Manh picked some fruits from the trees. They were tiny red pear shaped fruits and we ate them. It was surprisingly good. But I was more surprised seeing Manh plucking fruits off trees as he passed. When we finally reached the place, Daniel and I were a little speechless, maybe even disappointed. We thought we are going to fish. Turn out that it is not really the case. There is no sea, just an artificial lake. Some wooden huts were built on the lake and we could rent some rods to try fishing. But ultimately, this is a restaurant and they would catch the fish for you if you cant fish them up yourself. Manh and Ha ordered lunch as they knew we could'nt catch any fish. I was glad we did that for the water is so peaceful and murky and I dont really think there are fishes in them.

I think this place is pretty expensive for Vietnamese students when I look at the price. However,since they have been here a couple of time, I guessed it was okay for them. But I realized that they were very cute when they ordered everything to share. Like a glass of coke for 3 people. They shared everything so that it is cheaper. Somehow, I feel that for them, food is never the priority. Having chance to spend together with friends is what they are looking for. : )

It was fun seeing how Manh bargained with the girl to give more food or to give us at a cheaper price. But of course he did not succeed, but I think he did it out of fun. It was good to sit down and just talk in the shade and look out at the garden surrounding us. There isn't fish but at least there is some scenery and of course a memory to bring back. We talked about school and how it is like in Singapore and Vietnam. Thuy asked me for help as she has to write an essay on democracy in Thailand. I think this is really difficult as I dont really see a strong democracy in Thailand. She had to read books on them and the most I could help was to look for some journal articles on it for her.

I feel that this outing trip is really expensive for a Vietnamese student at 5sgd each just for the food, not counting the patrol. Actually, this also goes to show the economic disparity between the Hanoians students. Those who came were all from Hanoi and they were richer than most of the other students who came to the city to study from the other provinces. I felt that this is the reason for which there were only so few of us today. I think that for the next trip that we came up with, it would be more affordable for all so that not one would be excluded because of economic reasons. But all in all, this was a good outing and I really love seeing the view of the outskirts on the motorbike. I think the motorcycle is fast becoming my favourite mode of transport. I get to feel everything around me rather than being stuck in a car : )
- shi lei

This trip was a very memorable trip to one of the areas on the outskirts of Hanoi, as you know, it was suppose to be a fishing trip, but it turns out we just went there to eat fish that they would cook for us. Also, for a small fee, the owner would show us how a fishing rod looks like, one that was used by the Vietnamese people in the past, as well as a bait for us to try our luck. Actually, it was possible to fish, just that I didn't have a weight for the bait to sink, nonetheless, it was really interesting seeing how life in Vietnam was for villagers of the past, and to some extent, the present.

What I loved about the place was simply the ambiance, it was simply beautiful, and a stark contrast for the city centre of Hanoi. A deep contrast of busy, noisy city life with the serenity of village. Showing two very different sides of the city of Hanoi. The architechture of the place was also constructed in hut shapes, to reflect the environment with which villages of the past and present live in, and just outside these huts were beautiful rivers.

From this outing, I also got to know what are the type of dishes Vietnamese like to eat, as our students ordered the dishes for us, in particular, Vietnamese people have a rather liking for salty food. As a normal Vietnamese meal would have seasonings of chili with salt and lime. Also, as normal, they love to just relax beside a nice cool cup of "tra da" or ice tea, one of the popular local drinks.

We also ate french friends, or "khoai tay" which I think is one of the more popular western dishes, as I have seen it at many different restaurants and eating places prior to this. Truly a move towards a more globalized Vietnam. And the french fries that they make are rather delicious as well!

In addition to that, was fruits, especially those plucked from trees. We plucked these small fruits that I was apprehensive about eating at first, but after a first try, I found that it was actually very delicious! And of course there are many different types of natural fruit trees, both in city locations as well as in outskirts areas, a unique entity of Vietnam that I noticed.

Also had a cultural exchanges of popular songs in Vietnam and Singapore, noticed that some there were some Vietnamese songs that were transcribed from the tunes of Chinese songs. A hybridization of music between Vietnam and other cultures.

Another thing about Vietnam from this experience is the journey there, which I was given a ride from the students.

1) It is not very common in Vietnamese culture, or I think in any culture, for a girl to ride a man on a motocycle. Because normally in Vietnamese culture, the Man is the leader. Our student was also quite uncomfortable with me hitching a ride from her motocycle as well, as she was not used to it and it is not the normal thing to do in Vietnam. On the journey there, I didn't notice any women giving a ride to a man as well.

2) Vietnamese women take very good care of their outward appearances, this can be seen by the riders, who often would wear arm sleeves, jackets, and masks or sunglasses to protect them either from the sun or from dust particles or smoke from the air while driving.

3) Vietnamese people are very comforted in riding motocycles. The journey was quite a long one, which I partly couldn't really enjoy after awhile as it was my first time riding a bike. However, they seem to be accustomed and comfortable with the bike journey.

All in all, it was an enjoyable and memorable experience which I learnt many things relating to Vietnamese culture.

Photos by Shi Lei and Daniel

13th September
The journey there, and the many motorcyclists



Crossing Long Bien Bridge



Scenery at Long Bien Bridge, the Red River

Shi Lei and My, one of the students, as you can see , with covered protection from dust and smoke.
Me and Thuy, another student
Students Manh and Ha


Scenery outside the restaurant, an ambiance of calm and serenity


The Hut Restaurant




Cheers
Daniel Foo

English Club Celebration at University of Technology Bach Khoa

After the one week Independence Day break where most students from provincial areas went back to the province, we were back together again. This time, our club have been invited to another English club!! My friends, Thuy and Truong form vovinam marital art classes were excited to know that I am running an English club and they would like to see how our club is run. But turned out that their meeting will come up earlier than us, so my club went down over to the meeting instead. Turn out that it was their 1 year anniversary! I am so happy for them course they are officially one year old! Our club is still fledging and coming.. haha but i am sure we will improve over time too! : )

ANd today, we decided to adopt the slogan : Dare to Speak!
course this is really an eye opener for all of us. Oh My GOd! the people from technological unviersity have better english than studnets from Humanities school. It might be the common preception, but there is no reason why our club members cant speak as good english as them.. so that is why I am really glad we have agreed to come today. Seeing how everyone is so confident of themselves only prove to our members that they can do it too!

JIA YOU! Co Len ( vietnamese)! Add Oil!

-shi lei

It was a nice experience to be invited to Bach Khoa's Information of Technology English Club , this club has had a 1 year history and we got a slide show of the many activities they had in the past, such as plays, discussions and so on, in hope of gaining a cultural experience, as well as to reach a commendable level of English. Made many new friends along the way, interacting with them on ideas to improve the club. Also noticed that they had many students who attended their anniversary, further emphasizing the desire for Vietnamese students to step out of their natural comfort zone and move towards an improvement in self abilities in areas outside of Vietnam. Such was the desire to learn English.

Photos courtesy of Shi Lei and Daniel


Our friend from France, Pierre, attending the celebration


Vietnamese flute performance by one of the members


An invitation to share our thoughts on the club. Basically we felt the club is really successful and has come a long way from its humble beginnings to what it is today, attracting many different students who have a key interest in learning English as well as in cultural exchanges, skills that can benefit them a great deal in future.




Group photo of members from their club as well as our club members


Daniel Foo

Vietnamese National Day

9th September 2008 was Vietnamese National Day, we had a gathering in Shi Lei's room to get to know more about what National Day means to Vietnamese. Exchanges of national anthems was sang. Students told us that Vietnamese people are very patriotic and nationalistic, in particular towards Ho Chi Minh. Compared to Singapore, from my point of view, Vietnamese people are much more proud of their country, and are willing to show it, where else in Singapore, individualism in certain cases is of a higher regard than nationalism. And people such as bloggers Mr.Brown and comments on the newspaper would sometimes talk about differences with regards to government policies.

Everytime during this day, many people will go down to Ho Chi Minh square to observe the morning national day ceremonial march, following which, many people would start queing up for a glimpse of Ho Chi Minh on this day, which also happens to coincide with the death anniversary of Ho Chi Minh. We went down to see the ceremony that day, and was greeted by a huge crowd. At first we wanted to que up as well but the que was simply too long, however, our Vietnamese friend who came along with us still wanted to see the body of Ho Chi Minh, in my view, reflection of the deeply nationalistic Vietnamese people.

Standing at attention for the flag raising ceremony


National Day Rally, where many different companies were showcased to show their support for National Day


The extremely long que just to get around a 5 mins glimpse of Ho Chi Minh on this memorable day


Public performances on National Day


Daniel Foo

Vietnam will be celebrating its independence on the 2nd of September! So far, the streets have been decorated and there is a festive atmosphere. Everyone that I met is asking me if I know Independence Day is coming soon. How would I not know if all the streets are covered with flags and more pictures of Uncle Ho? : )

Therefore, I suggested to the club that we should have a club meeting on Independence Day! And the members were all very excited. I was surprised when they really came for the club meeting bringing their National Flag along. I told them that in Singapore, less and less people are hanging the national flag up during National Day. Daniel was so funny, he told the class that when the economy is back, no one puts up the national flag, which I think is true too. Daniel commented that the number of flags being hang during national day is a reflection on the popularity of the PAP government. The students were quite perplexed about it. They replied that everyone in Vietnam put up the National Flag. There is no law that said you have to, but everyone will just do it. Looking at how all the streets in Hanoi are draped in flags, they don’t really have to explain further.

I think that students in Vietnam and Vietnamese on the hold are openly more nationalistic than Singaporeans. Not just during Independence Day. For ex, if I tell them I study Southeast Asian Studies and that I like to concentrate on Vietnam specifically, they will most probably come up to me and thank me profusely for expressing my interests in their country. I think they really appreciate people who are interested in their culture and their people.

But the most interesting discovery is that while Mr Lee Kuan Yew have done a lot for our country’s development, we ( I mean Singaporean youths nowadays) are not really that appreciative of his efforts. Or maybe we do not really care or express it? This is totally unlike the case, might be generalizing, but all the students I met in the English club basically remembered Uncle Ho Chi Minh and remember him fondly as the Uncle. I tried to hint that maybe some Vietnamese might not feel the same towards Uncle Ho, but it seems like they could not understand why any Vietnamese will not be thankful towards Uncle Ho and see him as the leader of the people. Don’t believe me? They told me that they regularly wake up early at around 5 plus to go to Ba Dinh Independence Square, just in front of Ho’s mausoleum. I asked them “To Do What? “Hmm, to take part in flag raising national ceremony and to sing the national anthem. I could only remember all those morning assembly I used to skip in Junior College… lol

“Do you know on Independence Day, we also celebrate our loss for Uncle Ho? He died on Independence day, so this day has double meaning to all Vietnamese!”

“ I bet it is going to rain again! It always rain on Independence Day course the sky is crying for Uncle Ho!” and ya it did drizzle. But most importantly, I got their point. : )

-- shi lei