Last Two Days in Vietnam...

My last two days spent in Vietnam were a blast!  On Monday, March 1 (I can’t believe it’s March already…where did the time go??? It’s still January in my mind…) I had a trip to the Mekong Delta.  It was a nice, scenic drive from the port to the Delta.  I got a good look at rural Vietnam; saw rice paddies and other farms along the way. 

The delta was a totally different view of Vietnam then I got in Saigon.  The people there seem so simple and so far removed from modern city life.  Most of the roads weren’t paved and they were farmers or shop owners.  The houses were all made with wood.  We took a ferry ride to two of the different islands.  The first island we sampled different kinds of fruit grown on the island (all delicious) and took a ride through the town.  The ride was really neat because we sat on the back of wagons drawn by horses.  The town was just so simple and like something out of a movie.  We then went to a coconut candy factory and we watched them make all different kinds of coconut candy.   This factory was unlike anything I’d ever seen; it was basically a pavilion in the middle of the jungle we were in.  There were coconut trees all around.  The candy was delicious!!  It’s basically a coconut paste that is made from coconut milk and you can get it plain or with things inside it.  I really like it with peanuts.  I got two packets, but I doubt they’ll last me past India.   At the shop they also had the most bizarre wines I’ve ever seen.  There was snake wine and scorpion wine I’m guessing.  The snake wines literally had a dead snake (it was a cobra) inside the bottle.  There were other selections that featured a snake and a scorpion inside the bottles.  They were giving out samples but I didn’t try it…too exotic for me.

After the factory, we took a jungle boat ride (I don’t really know how else to describe it) down a stream.  This was amazing.  I was literally in the jungle on a boat.  There were snakes and eels all around the boat.  It really reminded me of the jungle boat ride in Disney World (which my cousins and family love!) but the real thing!  I don’t know why I keep comparing things to Disney World- I think it’s because of the heat. Our next stop was a nut place where they had all different kinds of nuts and things made from coconuts we could sample.  They were good, but not good enough to buy.  We also got to take pictures with a Python snake.  I literally had a snake around my neck!  I think I held it too close to its head because he didn’t seem to like me too much and kept trying to get away.   Our day ended with a delicious seafood lunch and then we headed back to the ship.  That night we found another good place to eat in Saigon and spent more money on DVDs.  

Our last day in Vietnam was probably one of my most favorite days on SAS so far.  I got the chance to visit a Vietnamese elementary school.   Being a future elementary school teacher, this visit was awesome for me.   We first had a meeting with the headmaster of the school and the Youth Union Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (there is one in every school and his/her job is to make sure that the school is following the Party’s message), which was very interesting.  They welcomed us and then we were able to ask any questions we wanted about the school and how it was run.  It contained about 1600 students, 140 staff members, grades 1-5 and every subject is taught.  Everything that is taught, however, is pre-approved and under strict control by the Party.  The teachers really have no flexibility to deviate from the approved coursework.   It was also sad to learn that any type of Special Ed inclusion is not present. 

After the meeting we split up into groups and visited the individual classrooms.  The first thing I noticed about the students is how perfect their cursive was. It was impeccable- it looked like computer print.  It puts my own cursive to the ultimate shame.   The other crazy thing was that the first graders’ handwriting was the exact same way.   I was BLOWN AWAY by this.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone in the US with handwriting as neat as these little Vietnamese first graders.   The other thing that I noticed was the content of the subjects seemed to be much harder.  Second graders were multiplying mixed numbers and improper fractions when we walked into the classroom to say hello.   They also have a 9 hour school day- 7:15am-4:15pm.   

The most fun and moving experience for me was how these kids treated us.  We were rock stars to them.  We walked in and they were having recess out in the yard and they all yelled “hello” and many came over to hug us.  They all wanted to test their English and see if it really worked. You could really see their little eyes light up when we said “hello” back or answered what our name was.  Every single student wanted us to write our names somewhere in their notebooks.  They just came up to us and would shove their notebooks and pens in our faces wanting us to sign our names. The students also seem to follow a rigorous English learning program and many of the older kids could carry on conversations with us.  I was almost embarrassed to say “no” when they asked me if I knew any Vietnamese.  Words cannot even describe how impacting this experience was to me and how excited I am to bring it to my own classroom someday. I took lots of pictures- pictures of the students, their handwriting, and me with a group of them! I tried to upload pictures in Vietnam but it didn’t go so well.  The Internet in the country was horrible.  For some reason, I don’t think India will be much better.

I really liked Vietnam.  It’s a country with so much history, friendly people, cheap DVDs, clothes and food, motorcycles, jungles and heat.  It really was a great port of call.  Before I set sail, I never really gave the country much thought.  I really enjoyed my time here and hopefully will one day get to come back and see northern Vietnam.   

So now we’re off to India.  We have just about a week of sailing before we arrive.  It’s going to be a nice break!  I can’t believe we only have one country left in Asia!  Where did it all go?  It really was quick so it’s good to now have a week to reflect and think back to everything we just experienced over the last few weeks. Think of me sailing for the next week…hopefully the seas will be as calm as they have been.  The crew recently opened up the pool on the top deck.  It’s really nice to be laying out in the sun and then just being able to cool off…it’s been a HUGE problem up until now.   I know, I know we SAS students have such a tough life…haha just kidding!