Indiana University East

Greetings from Cat Tien National Park.  After orientation at the New World Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City on January 6, we boarded a bus that carried us north on Highways 1 and 20 (and others that I failed to note) for four hours.  At times the roads felt a bit like a washboard, and the driver kept his hand on the horn as he passed bicycles and motorcycles and the occasional car or truck.  The scenery was breathtaking. 

It’s late at night, so I will write more about the trip another day, but if you’d like to see some pictures, go to my Picasa site at:  http://picasaweb.google.com/jpasset1 and click on Cat Tien National Park and Ho Chi Minh City.  While at the park I learned that geckos like to click-click-click in the night, and can be rather loud when they are in your room.  The park also is home to some rescued Asiatic Black Bears, as you will see.

Tomorrow I fly to Nha Trang where I will be met by my host, Ms. Hong, and settled into the dormitory for foreign teachers.  I’m looking forward to unpacking my suitcase (after trekking in the forest) and doing some laundry.  In case you are wondering, the leech socks are oversize socks that you put on over your socks and pant legs.  You lace them at the top to keep the leeches from going up your pant legs.  (And yes, I did get a leech on them).  The whole thing then fits inside your shoe, which makes me glad that mine were extra large.  Thanks, Dr. W. for seeing to that!

Today was my first full day in Vietnam.  Last night I listened to the sound of horns honking and dogs barking.  The hotel’s breakfast buffet was beautiful to behold but a bit baffling to this recently arrived American.  As another Fulbrighter commented, there must have been breakfast for at least five cultures.  I was thankful to meet him there, and asked him to walk with me to the New World Hotel for our orientation.  This involved crossing at least four streets, no minor undertaking.  I learned to step into the traffic and let it flow around you, but it is a bit unnerving.  If you need a reminder, look at the picture of traffic I posted in my December 17 blog entry.

Here’s a picture of my room at the Que Huong/Liberty 4 Hotel, which seems to be environmentally friendly. 

Today’s orientation was filled with briefings on politics, economics, and health, also reports from Fulbright alumni.  The highlight for me was meeting my host from Nha Trang University, a lovely woman with a beautiful smile and big heart.  She took my arm and steered me back to the hotel across the rush-hour streets.  If I were on my own, I might still be standing on the curb by the New World Hotel!

This evening our group boarded several 7-passenger vans and traveled to the home of the U.S. Consul General Kenneth J. Fairfax, who treated us to a lovely buffet.  We had opportunities to mingle with one another and with embassy staff, and now I’m about ready to crash.  First, however, I must pack up my bags for tomorrow’s outing to Cat Tien National Park to view animals at night and observe crocodiles!

I arrived safely late last night after 24 hours of travel–Indianapolis to Chicago to Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City.  And my checked bag arrived too!  A driver was waiting to wisk me away to my hotel in the city and gave me my first introduction to Ho Chi Minh City traffic.  Lots of honking!  I don’t think I could ever drive here, but it all seemed to flow seamlessly.  My room at the Liberty 4 Hotel is quite nice, and I’m preparing for a full day of orientation.  More soon.

In this final week before my departure, I’m saying goodbyes to special people and places.  Today, for example, I made yet another trip to one of my favorite places in Richmond–the Unwind Yarn Shop–to use the gift certificate that Julie P. gave me for Christmas.  Thanks, Julie!  I came home with some lovely yarns. 

This past week I also spent some special time with my Mom, my brother and his family, and my Dad.   Since he is 97, and living in a nursing home, it was especially difficult to say goodbye to him because you never know what tomorrow will bring.  Fortunately, he was in good spirits, and even demonstrated his curve ball and knuckleball for me.  Sometimes he is living in the past,  but when I told him about the Fulbright and my upcoming travel plans, he said “Good luck!”  His enthusiasm was so touching (especially so, since he seldom traveled after returning home from World War II), and I couldn’t hold back the tears as I left the nursing home.  Thanks, Dad!  And thanks to my Mom and the rest of you for supporting me in this venture.

On a lighter note, I’ve been thinking of things that I might miss while I’m gone.  I’ll miss wearing wool sweaters this winter (but of course won’t mind more hours of sunshine and warmer temperatures).  I’ll miss my friends (that goes without saying), my kitties, game nights, seeing the fringe of spring green on the trees, and much more.   But think of the places I will see and people I will meet!

Back to my lists as I countdown the days to January 4.

Happy New Year to you all!

I’ve never read The Odyssey, but perhaps I should for the insight it would provide to the themes in Lydia Minatoya’s thoughtful memoir, Talking to High Monks in the Snow (1992). The author poignantly preserves her parents’ stories of their Japanese roots, immigration, internment, and post-war life, juxtaposing them against her search for understanding of her Asian heritage and what it meant to her as an American woman in the late-twentieth century.

Minatoya’s tales of teaching in Okinawa, China, and Nepal really resonate with me as I prepare to embark for five months of teaching in Southeast Asia. On page 140, she writes: “Teachers go overseas for many reasons: some for adventure, some for romance. Some go for solitude, for the opportunity to think and write.” I think I’m going for a combination of reasons, several of them included in the list. Later in the book, on page 255, a friend advises her: “Life is not so frightening…What you must do is trust and risk….everything of value, begins with trust and risk!”  As the day of my departure quickly approaches, I realize how true this statement is.

I was especially struck by several stories in the book.  One involves Mr. Wei, her classroom monitor, who came to her and said he would be absent the next day (page 217-218) because he was going to sit by the side of his “venerable professor,” a man dying of cancer.  Mr. Wei explained that he and ninety nine other former students of this professor, upon learning of his illness, had decided to sit by his side, in shifts, so he would not die alone.  What a lovely sentiment!  Mr. Wei said: “In our new China we have mobility and progress. We can leave the village. We can travel to the university and, after the university, we can be assigned to distant places. In our new China, students may leave their teachers and teachers may leave their students….Many people will never know the honor to sit by the bed of a beloved professor.”  Mr. Wei laments the loss of tenderness in the modern world.  While I have never had a similar experience, I have remained in regular contact with several treasured former professors who are now very dear friends. What a privilege to continue learning from them, and to grow in love and appreciation for their unique contributions to my life’s path. All is not lost, Mr. Wei!

I also took Minatoya’s words on page 263 to heart–”Like a missionary, I was sent to light a candle deep in the wilderness. But the wilderness lit a candle deep in me.” She writes of going abroad “armed with my ethical principles. Do no harm.” Finding it impossible to remain impersonal, she describes herself as “disarmed by morality” and goodness, courage, generosity, wonder, simplicity, and “genuine gladness.” Of course she taught her students about American language and culture, but in the process she learned a valuable lesson, that “Morality is a warm and breathing thing that dwells within the soul” (page 263).

Finally, Lydia Minatoya’s mother had a delightfully insightful way of changing the saying “too bad for you” into “too sad for you.” Try it sometime, and see what you think!

These days I wake up in the morning with a million thoughts running through my head.  What will my first days in Vietnam be like?  For instance, I’ve heard horror stories about traffic in Ho Chi Minh City (see right).   Will this small-town girl be able to cross the street?

The other night a friend asked what I thought would be my greatest challenge, and I immediately said food.  Not exactly what I eat, but how and where I get it, and will my stomach adjust?  And then there’s the bargaining.  It just isn’t me, but I guess I’ll have to learn.  There’s also the question of the unknown classroom.  I’ve spent a lot of time preparing classes for students I haven’t met.  I wonder if I’ve pitched the courses at the right level, if I’m including the kinds of information students want and need.  On the other hand, this preparation is somewhat like preparing for an exam.  There comes a point when you have done as much as you can, and you just want to get started.

In my morning email I found more information about the Fulbright Orientation, scheduled to begin bright and early on January 6.  I hope I’m not suffering to severely from jet lag, because I know the sessions on cultural adaption and other issues will be very useful.  That evening we’ll dine at the residence of the U.S. Consul General, and the following morning we leave for an excursion to Cat Tien National Park.  According to the entry in my Lonely Planet guide, it is “an amazingly biodiverse region of lowland tropical rain forest.”

It was hit hard by defoliants during the war, but both plants and wildlife have recovered.  The park has over 326 bird species, 100 types of mammals, and 79 types of reptiles.  And of course there are the insects.  The guide book advises bringing plenty of insect spray.  It also mentions leeches, but fortunately I won’t be there in the rainy season.

Our tour includes an 8km walk (approx. 5 miles) on the first day along an ecologic route.  That evening we’ll travel by jeep for a night-time animal spotting, and the next morning we’ll go further into the park and trek another 5 km to the Crocodile lake station.  What a fantastic opportunity to gain an appreciation for the country’s natural resources!

My friend D., in California, has a habit of sending cards and postcards with thoughtful quotations.  The latest one is so appropriate given my upcoming journey.  It’s a quote by Wade Davis:  The world in which you were born is just one model of reality.  Other cultures are not failed  attempts at being you:  they are unique manifestations of the human spirit.

Okay, I’m a professor, and can’t help myself!  Those of you who don’t like statistics may want to skip this blog entry, but I just have to share some of these basic statistics about Vietnam.  The professor in me also is providing some links to the sources of my information for those of you who might want to read more.  Enjoy!

• Vietnam’s size is equivalent to Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee combined.
• The population in 2007 was 85.15 million, compared to 305, 857, 624 in the U.S. as of 12/11/08, 9:21 a.m.  (Source: http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html)
• The literacy rate is 90%.
• Life expectancy is 70.8 overall, a little less for men, a little more for women.  Two-thirds of the population is under 30. 
• The GDP in 2007 was $71.4 billion, compared to $14.3 trillion (est.) for the U.S.  (Who can even comprehend these numbers???)
• The principal agricultural products are rice, maize, sweet potatoes, peanuts, soya beans, cotton, coffee, and cashews.
• Vietnam exports $48.39 billion, and its principal exports are crude oil, garments/textiles, footwear, fishery products, wood products, rice (it is the second-largest exporter of rice in the world), sea products, coffee, rubber, and handicrafts.  (Check your closets to see how many of your clothes and shoes are from Vietnam.  You might be surprised.  Also, if any of you are knitters, Lantern Moon is a Vietnamese company).  In 2007, $10.6 billion of Vietnam’s exports were to the U.S, while it imported $1.9 billion from the U.S. 
• Per capita annual income in 2007 was $832.  (For the sake of comparison, in 2006 the per capita personal income for Indiana was $32,288, according to Infoplease.)
• If we think our inflation is bad, we should compare it to Vietnam’s.  According to the Department of State’s Background Notes, inflation there was approaching 30% as of August 2008.
• If you are interested in education, about 10 percent of Vietnam’s college-age population attends college, and entrance is governed by competitive examinations.  According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, Vietnam sends approximately 3,600 students to the United States each year.  The same article notes that university salaries in Vietnam are capped at $150 per month. which means there is little incentive for college graduates to become college and university teachers.  For the full Chronicle article, see:  http://chronicle.com/news/article/4778/as-vietnam-expands-its-higher-education-system-professors-are-in-short-supply
• Libraries, anyone?  The National Library of Vietnam “oversees a network of 64 provincial and municipal libraries, 577 district libraries and some 7,000 commune and village libraries or book cabinets; a further c 7,000 reading rooms are attached to ‘post offices of culture’ run by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT); some 200 university and college libraries and over 17,000 libraries and reading rooms operate under the guidance of the Ministry of Education and Training; and numerous specialist libraries are attached to research institutes, government ministries and agencies and the armed forces.”  Source:  http://www.culturalprofiles.net/Viet_Nam/Directories/Vi_ACYAIw-7879_ADs-t_Nam_Cultural_Profile/-562.html (If you’re interested in a cultural profile of Vietnam, take a look at this great site.)

One month from today I will be at the Indianapolis Airport waiting to board the first of several flights that will take me to Ho Chi Minh City!   On the preparation front, my visa arrived in today’s mail–yea!  After waiting for the visa approval code, the actual processing of the visa went very smoothly and quickly.

I’ve been so focused on preparing to teach that I haven’t taken enough time to reflect on what I hope to gain from my time in Vietnam and visit to China.   Having a Fulbright has been a long-time goal of mine, along with visiting China, something I’ve wanted to do since my freshman year at Bluffton College (now Bluffton University).  I’m going to teach, but I also plan to be a sponge.  I want to absorb as much as possible, and to experience as many things as I can (with the exception, perhaps, of drinking snake wine).

Yesterday I went to the Post Office with the fourth box of books that I am shipping to Nha Trang University.  It has been challenging to select books for them, and I’m sure that after I’m there I will think of many titles that I should have sent.  The postal clerk who helped me, a Vietnam veteran, spoke of the country’s beauty as he tried to teach me some helpful Vietnamese phrases.  It would be interesting to know what they really mean!   In the coming weeks, I must make a better effort to study basic Vietnamese phrases!

As I prepare to visit Vietnam, I’ve been trying to watch films and read books that give me a glimpse of Vietnamese life from the perspective of Vietnamese people.  So many people think only of the war when they hear the word Vietnam, and I’ve been trying to counteract that.  My current reading, for instance, is The Sacred Willow:  Four Generations in the Life of a Vietnamese Family,” by Duong Van Mai Elliott.   It is a story about adaptation and survival, beginning with her great-grandfather, who was born in 1851.  In the family tradition, he prepared to be a scholar and mandarin, but found himself navigating changing times because of the French presence in his country, and its annexation of Tonkin.  How does a person balance loyalty to country in the face of colonial rule?  His story truly illustrates the reality of cultural differences and the impact of change on the educated/professional class in nineteenth- and early twentieth century Vietnam.

Even though I want to focus on the Vietnamese people, I also need to refresh my knowledge of the war in Vietnam.  Recently I finished watching the multipart American Experience documentary, “Vietnam: A Television History.”  It originally aired in 1983, and does an amazingly good job of capturing the complexity of that conflict, the realities of the men who fought it, the impact on the landscape as well as on the men and women involved–both American and Vietnamese, and the politics of war.   PBS has an excellent website to accompany the documentary, which you can view at:  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/

I’m writing from Santa Fe on a rainy Thanksgiving Day. Yesterday was absolutely lovely–puffy white clouds, blue skies, sunshine, and just perfect for an outing to Bandelier National Monument, San Ildefonso Pueblo, and Los Alamos.

I miss being with my family for the holiday, but long before I knew I would be spending half of the year in Vietnam and China, I made plans to interview some people in Albuquerque, then to travel here with my friend Deb. Being in New Mexico is especially meaningful this year because a very dear friend passed away last June, and I have been able to visit a few of the places here that were meaningful to her.

The scenery on the drive to the park was spectacular, and the hike in Frijoles Canyon was invigorating–the air was crisp and clean. Cliffs surrounding the canyon are very porous because they were formed by eruptions of the Jemez Volcano more than one million years ago. The canyon’s pink rock has a Swiss cheese appearance, and the Ancestral Pueblo people who cultivated corn here circa 1200 AD used tools to enlarge the natural openings. You can see me climbing up one of the ladders to peek into a small cave. Due to my discomfort with heights, I did not join Deb on the 140 foot climb up to the Alcove House, but I wish I could have!

After leaving Bandelier, we drove through the Los Alamos National Laboratory to Los Alamos, “the town that never existed.” At the Ray Bradbury Science Museum we viewed a short film about how the town came into existence in 1943. The government chose this site, which was occupied by a ranch school for boys. It closed to make way for the project. People who lived there all shared the same address: Post Office Box 1663. In fact, PO Box 1663 was given as the birthplace on the birth certificate for children born there during that time.

Our next stop was the San Ildefonso Pueblo, the home to potter Maria Martinez (1887-1980), who was known for her black ware pottery. My friend Carole was friends with Adam and Santana, and her time with them at the pueblo had a significant impact on her life. I wish I could have come here with her, but at least I was able to visit the tree that was very special to her and to visit Sunbeam’s pottery shop (which features the work of Barbara Gonzales, one of Maria’s descendants, and her family). I really enjoyed talking with her husband, who remembered Carole.

New Mexico truly is “the land of enchantment.”

And now, for an update on the Vietnamese visa…I’m happy to report that I now have the correct visa approval code, and can proceed with the visa application process. I know that the next month is going to speed by quickly as I finish preparations for my trip.