Village Life in Vietnam

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Our last week in Vietnam was very memorable. After Jeff and Lucas returned from their adventures to the central part of the country, we all went to our friend's small village about 2 hours east of Hanoi. Yen was a student studying English at Thai Nguyen University 8 years ago when I was teaching there. We became very close to her and now we call her our "niece". After her degree, she got married and moved back to her home village. Unfortunately, there are few job opportunities for her to teach English in her village and the salaries for teachers are still very low in rural Vietnam. She had to think of another way to make a living. Her and her husband have set up a home business selling seeds and pesticides to local farmers. When we came to Vietnam in 2003, the farmers were too poor to buy pesticides. We're seen so many changes in the economy of Vietnam - this being one.

We were warmly greeted by Yen's family and neighbours upon arrival. We all sat down on the floor (Vietnamese style) and had a feast......very few dishes were familiar to us. Lucas and Jeff were brave enough to try the grasshoppers, but Gemma and I just couldn't do it. We all loved playing with Yen's two girls (ages 3 and 5) and walking around the village. As you can see from the photos, Jeff and Lucas did some fishing in a local pond. Not quite the size of fish that we catch in Kootenay Lake!

The thing that impacted me the most from my village visit was the sense of community. Neighbours, family and friends constantly walk into each others' homes sharing laughs, food, and the work of their daily lives. When Yen's 3 year old daughter had a temper tantrum, she tried to calm her and when that didn't work, she just walked over to the neighbour's house "plunked" her down and walked away. There was no need for words. It only took moments for the child to calm down and the neighbours brought her back when she was ready. I wish I would have had this kind of support when raising my toddlers.

After our village visit, we had a few more days in Thai Nguyen to say good-bye to all our friends and colleagues. We were given many gifts and invited for dinners at homes and restaurants. One of the gifts was 12 pounds of Thai Nguyen green tea. Wow! try fitting that into your backpack! It was sad to say goodbye, but we were also ready for our next adventure (which is happening right now, but you'll have to wait until my next blog to hear about it).

Oh, a highlight for me was on our last day in Hanoi before we flew out......there was a outdoor concert with the Vietnam symphony........beautiful music

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