Wow, What pictures Your pictures are getting better and better or maybe it's the beautiful countryside. I especially liked the picture of you relaxing by the river!! I'm really enjoying your blogs, they're really interesting and very detailed. It makes you want to go to there--right now!! Keep up the good work.
Darling. I love reading about your adventures!!! I am excited to see you at the end of the summer but not excited to not have any more to read. My favorite so far is the old ladies telling dirty jokes ;) You should take more pictures with the friends that you are making so we can see who they are...
swastika There is a distinction made between right-facing and left-facing swastikas. While both were used pretty commonly in the ancient world, you see more left-facing ones today used primarily as religious symbols: the Nazi swastika was right-facing and at a 45 degree angle. It was considered (by certain German ) in Hitler's day to be a distincly Indo-European, or Aryan, symbol and that's why Hitler liked it...
I was doing some reading on the fleur-de-lis recently and read up on the swastiak too. Interesting stuff...
It was interesting to read about the women stroking your tattoo. Do you see any tattooed folks there? Even younger ones?
Nice village ...but I would've liked to stay a little longer in a place called "Bong, Lay." :)
It's interesting to note the Western-style architecture in the bombed church. Do you see much Western architecture? I wonder if the people have a strong attachment to such buildings...
Amazing! The first time I met you, I thought you were a guy, too! oh, haha. anyway, sounds like you're having a great time. a little known fact: in 'breakfast of champions draft 1' vonnegut first wrote a scene in which rice wine was the winning breakfast, not a martini. the scene was later changed due to racist views of the day. also, speaking of racism, that swastika on the tombstone probably doesn't have anything to do with nazism. hitler appropriated it from eastern mysticism. it was originally a sanskrit symbol for, I dunno exactly....happiness, good things...and now it's used in asian/indian cultures for close approximations of those same positive thoughts. it's a good thing hitler wasn't born 50 years later, or 'hello kitty' may have been the face of anti-semitism.
Caves Great pictures. I'm sure you had a wonderful time exploring the caves and don't be so hard on yourself, I know you didn't hurt anything while exploring. I'm glad you took some pictures of yourself. You need to take more with you in the pictures. I'm really enjoying your blogs and am sharing them with MomMom too. She's very proud of you as I am. Love you lots and miss you too!!
What great pictures Did you help Mr. Su gather the honey? What did the rice wine taste like with honey and bananas in it? It sounds like the people are very receptive to you. Can I come with you next time???
Oh my God, I think you are a guy at the first time read this blog, sorry. I'm very interestied in reading your view about communities in VN of rural. It seems fun.
Some of my classmate in tourism studies master course here, in Hanoi (Vietnam National Univ. in Hanoi), there are some one who are doing reseach in Phong Nha, too. In the case of needing exhange or discussion about this topic, may can contact me at: akatonbo_han@yahoo.com or my blog: http://360.yahoo.com/profile-cbK6iZ4wcKdSZEPgacB4AGcv5zo-?cq=1 or in our study webpage: http://vietnam-study.net/default.asp
Have a nice trip ;-)
Akatonbo
I want sea snake. I have your blog on my bookmarks bar. Your travel writing is my favorite thing to read right now. Thank you for sharing these experiences with us; keep up the good work. I love details! Love 'em! And geez, I want to try sea snake!
squid Wow! Im so impressed, Missy! You are much more adventurous in the food realm than I!!!!!!!!
I understand what you mean about photographing in another culture. I really do. On the other hand, the pix you've posted so far have totally changed my perception of Viet Nam! It's a GOOD change and I thoroughly enjoy seeing it through your eyes. Thanks for whatever you can do.
Amtrak woes I am so sad that you had a bad Amtrak experience. If you have a little leeway to get where you're going, Amtrak is fine. For seeing the country, Amtrak is wonderful (I took a train from Rochester to Portland, OR and LOVED it!). For getting somewhere that requires even a little bit of timeliness... well, plan in a little leeway :). The rail system in this country is in a woeful state, which is very sad, because train travel can be a lot of fun and a great way to see our wonderful country (my cross-country trip was a lot cheaper than it would have been to drive). I hope that someday you will give Amtrak another chance. You and Woods should go cross- country sometime; you'd really have fun. And they have nice large bathrooms with lots of privacy and plenty of room for... changing. Yeah, that's it. The sound of the tracks covers up any sound you might make while, um... changing.
:)
Traveling Alone While I completely understand the desire to share travel experiences, I believe firmly that traveling alone is good for the soul. It can be too easy to find security with the person you are traveling with and keep yourself from fully entering into the cultural experience. So I feel your pain, but I'm excited for you too!! :)
hey you!!! Hey you, Missy, you are so very far away.
You are definitely one of my heroes! How boring home will be after this experience!
Don't eat anything covered in chocolate.
Oma and Woodie send their love. Oma thinks you're there for one day and then will fly back...she's a little confused.
Miss you awfully!
Much love and prayers for a successful mission!
Lini
sea snakes I think that I would have appreciated the meat being hidden in an egg roll :). How exciting to be experiencing new things like that (despite the culture shock...)!
common thread it's good to know that everyone has their first taste of culture shock in a new country through the same channels: traffic and thieves. in china, if you're making a right turn on a red light, you have the right of way for some reason...so cars just go barrelling into oncoming traffic. while doing this once in a narrow alley, we came around the corner and literally knocked a purse out of a pedestrian's hands. no one flinched. and in thief news, when I was in cairo, I got talked into a 'free' camel ride at the great pyramids. the camel driver took me around to some desolate spot near where the sun boats are buried and then began to shout at me to give him all my money. '40 pounds!' '50 pounds!' Not having any tampons readily available, I gave him 10 and walked away. Did I mention the camel was named Mikel Jaxsun? ...we played beerpong at andy's last weekend. a little miller lite was poured in honor of your absence. well, to be honest, we would have done that had we thought of it, but you were missed none the less. next time.
Fish?! Ooh a fishing community! I have a ton of questions, but I won’t pester you with them. One interesting thing; the currach (aka coracle), a round, skin-on-frame boat nearly identical to the one in your photo have been used in Ireland, Scotland and Wales for millennia. My initial thought is independent development, but it would be interesting to find out the history of the Vietnamese design. Do you know what they call them? While I am very comfortable in kayaks and canoes, I suspect I would spend more time in the water than in the boat if I tried to paddle one.
I am glad you are in place and starting your work. I hope it will be everything you are hoping for. My own culture shock, from Metro commuting and federal agency personnel, is nothing compared to yours, but maybe once you get into the work it will fade.
Happy belated anniversary to you and Woods, and good luck!
stupid jersey well atl east your experiences so far will lend themselves to quite the colloquium presentation. i'm looking forward to hearing more about your time in vietnam and your indulgence in pho. my internship is going well, save for digging in 95 degree weather with 100% humidity.
take it easy!
I am a graduate student of anthropology in my early 30's focusing on community-based cultural tourism. I am from Philadelphia (U.S.A.) and I am married to Woods, who writes funny, scary, and affecting stories and sets them to punk/western/surf/folk music. I usually do not travel in comfort but I do travel well.
Update: I am in Tanzania for 10 months conducting research for my PhD in Cultural Anthropology. I'm the resident Mzungu in the mostly Maasai village of Longido, which is about 1.5 hrs north of Arusha. I'm writing about my experiences as a traveler in Tanza... full info
Mom
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Wow, What pictures
Your pictures are getting better and better or maybe it's the beautiful countryside. I especially liked the picture of you relaxing by the river!! I'm really enjoying your blogs, they're really interesting and very detailed. It makes you want to go to there--right now!! Keep up the good work.