June 14 Some Catching Up To Do (Katie)

In the gaps of time between humanitarian efforts, we've still been keeping ourselves very busy. There have been a lot of individual mentionable events that weren't worth blogging about by themselves. Well, now they have added up to enough that I can justify dedicating a post to some of them.

THE PURPLE FORBIDDEN CITY

We visited the Citadel in Hue, where the emperors of Vietnam lived until the mid-1900s. During the Vietnam War, in 1968, it was very badly damaged. Much was beyond repair, but what was able to be restored has been, and we spent the day walking through the buildings of the old Imperial City. Many bullet holes can still be seen in the stonework.

BEER

Try to reign in your envy here... we've been enjoying $0.13 (yes, that's thirteen cent) glasses of "fresh beer" here in Vietnam.

LANTERNS IN HOI AN

On an evening in Hoi An, we walked to Ancient Town and partook in the city's floating lantern tradition. We rode in a little boat along the river and set our lanterns free on the Thu Bon River. It was a magical sight, watching hundreds of papers lanterns of all colors floating along the river while local Vietnamese music sounded across the water. We weren't able to capture any excellent photos, but these will give you a little idea.

BIRTHDAY PARTY

In Hue, after wrapping up the dinner celebrating Khanh's birthday, our party of nine ended up migrating over to a Karaoke Club (a pastime that is extremely popular here in Vietnam) where Kira and I both tried our hand (for the first time) at getting in front of the group and belting out a song. My father somehow suffered though, though he remained firmly and safely in his seat.

HIGH FRUCTOSE

Vietnam is attempting to ban the import of any products containing high fructose corn syrup to protect their sugarcane industry. It is getting more difficult for them to compete with imported high fructose corn syrup, costing so much less than domestically grown sugarcane. You can read more about it by checking out the article below.

http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/448778/sugar-association-seeks-help-against-corn-syrup-imports.html

THE BEACH

After my father explained to a Vietnamese woman on the beach his purpose for visiting the country every year, and showing her pictures so she would fully understand his history and purposes, she was clearly touched. I was amused by her response: "I wish you a long life... so you come back to Vietnam many more years." She is the lady in the photograph below. Our waiter was just as excited to learn about the humanitarian efforts and my father's connections with such respected military figures as Colonel Tha and Mr. Ba. He called over one of his waiter buddies, who called over one of his buddies... and so on. I took a photo of the excited assembly. On another note, Kira and I went parasailing. It was very fun, and they drop you partway through enough to drag our feet in the ocean before getting up back up to full height (note the pretty mountains in the background in the first picture... we're in there too, just very small). Kira plans to get her Grandpa flying up there with her tomorrow!

HOI AN'S WORLD FAMOUS TAILORS 

This is the place to have clothes made! Tailors galore, everywhere you look! They will make anything you want, to your precise measurements and exact specifications. They are typically able to have it ready within one to two days of ordering, and if it isn't to your exact liking, they will alter it as many times as necessary until you're satisfied. Last year, my father had two pairs of shorts made and raved about the tailor shop (The Vy) so much that we made sure to visit the same one this year. Kira decided to have a dress made. She explained how she wanted the length, the fabric, the color, the sleeves, the neck, etc. and they had it done the same day. After trying it on, Kira wanted a couple alterations done, slimmer around the waist and a different color material for the top. Upon return to see the dress post-alteration, it was exactly how Kira had envisioned. (The photo might not show it clearly, but the dress bottom has four tiers.)

PATTY FIELD EXPEDITION

Our intentions were to take a short stroll out of the city to walk some rice paddy dykes and watch the local farmers working the field. The map made it seem deceivingly close, however. Our tiny afternoon walk turned into a food-aching, callous-forming, dehydration-causing trek that started with the sun overhead and wasn't even half-finished when darkness fell. I kept pressing them on, telling my dad that they were "so close" and "they'll be just around that corner." We walked on and on and on until at long last, we did come upon them. Though it was so late that no one was working in them, and even if they had been, it was too dark to watch. But we'd come so far that we couldn't just turn around, so we turned out onto some dykes, mostly just to justify walking so far. It wasn't an entirely wasted trip! We saw a water buffalo... and some bats... and oh, some ducks! After that thrilling experience, we took an equally tiring trip back to our hotel. Although a touchy subject at first, after the soreness and weariness from the excursion wore off we were able to joke about it and look back on the not-quite-as-planned stroll with humor.

A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY

All around Vietnam, you'll see women (usually older) pushing around big heavy carts full of items they find that they can turn in for recycling in order to earn a small amount of money. They push around cardboard, plastic bottles, metal cans, etc. It is grueling pushing that cart around all day in the sweltering heat, especially for the women who appear to be at least in their 70's and 80's. We learned that for all that work, they earn between $15,000 to $50,000 VND a day... that's about $0.16 to $2.20 USD. For these aging women, they're just trying to earn enough to survive. As the three of us were walking along the river one morning in Hue, we passed one of these ladies sitting on the ground sorting through materials to recycle. My father stopped us, and explained to Kira how some very small gesture from us can mean so much to someone like that who works so very hard just to make enough to get by. I watched them walk back to her together and hand her $10,000 VND. She looked confused at first, then her expression turned to appreciation and happiness. As Kira and my dad walked back to me, I saw the woman's eyes stayed glued to them, clasping the bill in her hand as she watched them walk away. It was a small amount of money, but it brightened her day. Sometimes, it doesn't take a grand gesture to do some good in someone's life.

YESTERDAY

I'll wrap up this "Miscellaneous" post up with yesterday. Kira and I went out and kept ourselves occupied to give my father some peace and quiet in order to concentrate on his LZ East post. Sugarcane juice stands are very popular here, and Kira had been wanting to try some. When you order a glass, they run sticks of sugarcane through a machine that crushes all the juice out of it. As you can imagine, it's a very sweet drink. Below are photos of the juice being made, and her enjoying it. Next we went to the "Silk Village" As you know, Hoi An is huge on making clothes. Well, they also make the silk right here in Hoi An. Kira got to see the silkworms in action and learn the silk-making process all the way from silkworm pupa to the finished clothing product. You'll see her below with silkworms at different stages feeding on leaves behind her. On the top are silk cocoons.

GREAT NEWS

After our significant efforts for the four families near Hue, all of the donations that built the fund for this 2018 humanitarian trip had been put to use, and the account was depleted. BUT one blog reader, moved by the mentally handicapped family's plight, contributed an unexpected monetary donation yesterday and it's not too late to put it to use on this trip! We got right on it and are making things happen. Keep your eyes open for updates!