1 week left at hospital!

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Sat Jan 22, 2011 very early
On a tour bus in Hue right now for a DMZ tour. Margot and I arrived in Hue last night after a 3 hr bus ride. It was nice to see some of the country side. It's very wet, misty, rainy - like there has been a permanent gray soft focus lense cast over everything (it's really been mostly like that since we've arrived in Da Nang). Everyone still motorbiking around - just in various colored ponchos. Lots of rice paddy fields,too - some coming right up to heir very tiny, moldy-soaked house or more like shack/hut with clothes always hung out on lines to "dry". I think perhaps I'ave adjusted to the increased moisture/always feeling wet or rather never feeling dry. How dirty everything seemed at first is seeming less dirty to me now. Da Nang street observations: old women walking around, selling lottery tickets, the garbage removal is always a woman shovelling garbage kicked/pushed to the side of the street into wheel barrow bins. During the day, all kinds of handy fixers have their wares, tools and scraps of various metal, plastic, rubber, etc dumped out on a square of pavement as they work away fixing just about anything: shoes, bicycles and motorbikes, watches, sewing machines and other gadgets. Almost nothing is new here and nothing is thrown out. I'm not as desperately missing the comforts of being dry, warm and clean. But, I'd be lying if I said I didn't expect differently (70 degress, sunny, less rain/fog). The smells on the streets are dominated by incense that just about every store front burns on sticks out front thru out the day and exhaust from the motorbikes and cars. Sometimes you get wafts of whatever little corner stand is cooking up. In comparison to the US, the home set-ups outside the city I've seen look "poor"; children playing among piles of rubble, mud floors and even in the rain they still only wear sandals/flip-flops, roofs falling in or cold tarps covering gaping holes, puddles EVERYWHERE. They seem to save every little scrap - yet, piles of garbage also make it seem that perhaps there isn't much garbage removal in the country side. Yet, I've seen more smiles than I have in a long time. I have not experienced even a fraction of the aggression I witness or experience every day in america regardless if it is on the streets of new york city or on a suburban street driving in the midwest. The kindness, gratiousness and affection is truly amazing.
The couple next to me on the bus are in their mid 20's, from ireland and have been travelling since 2009 and aren't planning on going home until the end of 2011. And that's not so rare amongst the backpackers/travellers. To REALLY experience cultures, I feel like it takes longer travel, otherwise, it really is just a holiday or visit, which is ok too.
They use ponchos on sticks as scare crows in their rice fields.
I am happy and proud of the work we are doing here. I've been repeatedly revisiting/reconsidering whether what we are doing is doing any good/helping the local hospital/people. And I think especially with the timing of the American surgeons and the need/our efforts to establish post-op protocols - it's definitely validating our efforts here. And I certainly feel good about being here/travelling under the context of volunteering than jst straight up travelling for my own benefit/pleasure. So, strange, even when given the opportunity to just float/fart around - I don't, I mean a little of that dosed as a vacation is good; but otherwise it seems like time wasted. There's plenty of work and improvement that needs to be done in this world and I don't feel comfortable or alright with just sitting at the sidelines concerned with and only taking care of my own(s') needs. So, perhaps there is a growing humanitarian within me afterall. So, despite my discomforts or stresses of culture shock, it is outweighed by the feeling of making some positive impact somewhere that may not otherwise get it. And that's not to say I don't make a positive impact at home, I just think it's important to keep a bigger perspective on the world's needs and perhaps it helps karmically to heal whatever injuries of the past - on both sides. The highlight of Vietnam is definitely the kindness and graciousness of its people.

Jan. 23, 2011
Margot and I just got back from a full-on sightseeing weekend in Hue, Vietnam - 3 hours by bus north of Da Nang. We took the bus up friday afternoon. Stayed at the Hue Backpackers Hostel. Took a 12 hour DMZ tour on Saturday. Scoped out the Citadel and imperial city this morning. Took the bus back this afternoon. And met up with some friends: Kat, Alex and Kim who flew here from the states to do some travel. We met up with them at Hoa's place in China beach (also dragged along a Dutch girl and Chinese girl that were looking for a place to kill a few hours before their flight onward to Saigon) for some catch up and dinner.
But, before I get to that, business at the clinic last week. Our presentation schedule was lighter last week because many of the clinicians and hospital staff had exams on thursday to qualify for tenure. Margot taught a presentation monday. I worked on creating an ACL protocol and started presenting that to them Friday morning. Many patients are starting to head home for the Tet holiday. Although, this is no surprise. The timing of their leaving is because many of them still have a ways to go with their rehab. You can really sense a revving up of the spirits of the people for this huge holiday.
For the patients who underwent total knee replacement surgeries, last week was their 2nd week and Margot began coordinating a group therex for them seems to have been great for banding together these patients in their rehab. For the patients who had ACL reconstructions, last week was their 2nd & 3rd week post-op and I was working hard at educating the therapists and patients on the precautions and restrictions as well as their protocol.
And then it was off for another fun-filled weekend of exploration. Will fill in details later . . . enjoy the pics! 😊

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Photos

working hard
Margot working hard on her protocol at a western bakery during our 3 hour lunch

Khe Sanh
20Km from Laos border. Americans occupied it to block off Ho Chi Minh Trail supply line of North Vietnamese in the south (and main supply route for North Vietnamese from Laos or weapons, etc).

Khe Sanh Military Museum
The North Vietnamese attacked Khe Sanh 10 days before the Tet offensive as a diversion to pull American troups from the south. Because this battle appeared very similar to the last french battle in 1954, the Americans did not want the same fate as that battle. There was a lot of heavy artillery dropped in Khe Sahn. So that weakened the south for the Tet offensive.

Slash and Burn
Slash and burn agriculture for "dry rice" farming