In January, Fulbrighters took a tour of the Mekong Delta as part of our orientation. We drove about 2 hours outside of HCMC to take a boat for a 30-minute 'cruise' up a small river to the starting point of our 7 kilometer bicycle tour along shady back roads over tiny canals, past fruit gardens and sleepy villages. Mid-morning we arrived a a family-run orchard where diverse tropical fruits were grown. We were welcomed by our local host, a gentleman of many talents. He and his family welcomed our group on a trip to the Mekong Delta - The owner who was a former war veteran, welcomed us with tea and then led us through a labyrinth of narrow canals in the back waters of the river to a spot where we tasted a delightful array ... read more

The Renaissance! How delicious! A treat to revisit this literary period, one of my favorites. How I love that period of literature -- and how I wonder how someone whose native language is not English might begin to appreciate this era. The textbook that these students who are in-service English teachers teaching in elementary and secondary schools in small rural towns is quite dense with a lot of information about historical and scientific discoveries, the poetry of Boccaccio and Petrarch, the Middle Ages, and Shakespeare and Elizabethan drama to introduce them to the Renaissance and English literature. I found myself running to wikipedia to get more information -- but relied on their textbook to create a small powerpoint presentation summarizing the highlights of the text. A refreshing challenge. I love thinking about the Renaissance, a time ... read more

Quang Ngai City is bustling with workers, small shops, motorbikes, bicycles, food vendors that line the streets, and markets. There are lots of bicycle and what we used to call Mopeds when I was in Senegal and in France. Most people use these motorbikes for transportation -- sometimes 3 people ride together -- either with or without a helmet. Stateside I thought, No, I wouldn't dare get a motorbike when I'm there. Now that I am thinking logistically, I'm wondering why not? The traffic here in Quang Ngai is not nearly as bad as in Hanoi where it could take 10 minutes to cross a street if you don't know what you're doing. If I get a bicycle (which was my original plan), I'll still be in the middle of the traffic. I'll probably wind up ... read more

It's the end of the semester and it's the holiday season! Robert and Ana came from Ohio. Alex and the baby Jaxson were here for an afternoon. Robert and Ana stayed here -- with Tyson, of course. And it feels like home again. Linda has been in and out with all sorts of social commitments to attend....We've had a host of events to attend -- Eva and Jeff Himmel came over for dinner with Debbie Un and Errol Selkirk and friends of theirs -- Scott and Riva -- Eva, Errol and Riva had all gone to high school together so it was a reunion that Linda arranged! I think they all had a wonderful time together and it was great to have people over. We went to Paul Frac's apartment to celebrate the holiday on Sunday ... read more

Traveled from Hong Kong to Guangzhou on Wednesday morning, July 16, 2014 at 8:55 am. Supposed to catch a flight to Guiyang at the Guangzhou airport leaving at 10:20 am. Baggage claim and customs took about 30 minutes after disembarking and then walking from baggage claim with all bags upstairs to departure terminal counters took another 15-20 minutes. Stood in a long line to check in and when I got there they had closed the flight (it was 40 minutes before departure). They sent me to several desks, told me that I had missed it, that I had to get a certificate from Dragon Air saying the flight was delayed, that I would have to purchase a new ticket and pay extra, that the flight was full, etc. etc. Finally someone from Dragon Air came to ... read more