A Tale of Two Student Groups-Michael and Hanh

We didn't draw straws for this, but Jerri and I are off to two very different assignments. Jerri is in Singapore. We were all going to go to the Singapore American School to make a presentation to Michael Hsun's service project. Michael, an enterprising young 16 year old at the school has been very helpful as an intern at the school. He and the students in the Singapore American School created the website for Anh Linh school, a blog, and have regularly visited the students. He is responsible for finding 25 used computers that got "lost" during shipping thanks to UPS services, (forget about tracking through them in Vietnam--and they have been very unresponsive to him). See his letter to UPS

Michael has succeeded in capturing the attention of the Singapore American School and will be bringing 20 of his classmates to Anh Linh School in March as a service project.

Hanh Hong is another dynamic student giving back to the world in ways that exceed her age and stature. Thanks to Long Vo in Minneapolis, who introduced me to Hanh on this trip, I will be boarding a bus to the Mekong Delta to a remote village on the Cambodian border called Dong Thap. B2L is looking at adding some schools to our portfolio of support and caring. In Vietnam it makes sense to support the city and country schools that serve poor people because the movement back and forth between the city and the country is quite fluid. The government assigned everyone a district in which to live. However, some districts in Vietnam don't support a livelihood and so often poor people have one foot in the country where they should be living and one foot in the city where they can find work. Many of the children of Anh Linh school have parents who are in the country and they stay with a grandmother, aunt, cousin or stay in the Anh Linh dorm if they were on the streets.

I will be boarding a bus and will be meeting An Pham and Thanh Pham who are both student volunteers of the Chap Canh Uoc Mo Charity Community. After seeing the school and staying the night, I will go to Can Tho City to join Cam Thuy and Jerri for a day. So, looks like about 8 hours of crowded bus ride to the school!

Chicken in Vietnam

My sister Wendy Thomas is an author, mother of 6, owner of 4 dogs and blogger about their 36 chickens in New Hampshire. Her loving partner Marc is about as crazy as she is, and so the family is often on high adventure. Wendy blogs about lessons learned from chickens (kids, dogs and life) at simplethrift.wordsmith.com

During this trip, she encouraged me to send chicken photos so that she could share them with her blog readers. The first photos were of the chickens a bit north of Hanoi on the Perfume River. I took photos in the town before we got into the Vietnamese River boats. http://simplethrift.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/project-chickens-before-the-eggs-lesson-235-a-vietnamese-rooster-and-one-wet-hen/ and then up in the hills as we were visiting the pagodas. http://simplethrift.wordpress.com/2011/01/20/project-chickens-before-the-eggs-lesson-237-more-chickens-from-vietnam/

The chickens were in fact adorable, fat and well fed.

Trying to get chicken photos in Ho Chi Minh City has resulted in less wonderful images. Most of the chickens I have seen are scrawny and are in baskets, or scavenging the bleak areas where the kids who attend Anh Linh live. Often these areas are in tidal pools so they flood twice a day during the high tide (which is why you see so much debris in the photos.

So, the life of a city chicken pale in comparison to its country neighbor. We will see what the Mekong Delta area of Vietnam brings.

Tet at Anh Linh School

The Tet Celebration was a hugh success. The parents and friends came, the program was beautiful, the school was spotless and the children performed beautifully. During this event student achievement was recognized. Kids who have been studying hard got dictionaries and notebooks. Teachers were then treated to a banquet prepared by Sr. Cam Thuy's brother who is a caterer.

For the ceremony I was presented with a traditional Ao Dai. The Ao Dai is a traditional VietNamese dress which fits like a glove! The long panels in the front and back cover fitted silk pants. It is an elegant dress and the combination of pants and top make it quite practical--though sitting and moving in it is an acquired skill.

During the ceremony the Anh Linh children were presented new uniforms, tooth brushes donated by Larry and Pam Kreugers--friends of Julie Grimme, And beanie babies. Yeah they made it all the way from Minnesota and they were worth it. The kids liked them a lot. They are handy and fit into a backpack. While stuffing them into the packages with the girls, we got to practice naming all of the animals in English. The children also received lucky money both from Bridges2Learning sponsors and from the Saigon International School presented by Tina, the President of the PTA. She recommended we watch this YouTube clip created by one of the juniors at the school as part of their service project. It is about Anh Linh and features the students: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIk1VSS-i3Q

On a sobering note, the children all received Tet bags which contained cooking oil, sausage, and soup mix so that they would have something to eat during this long Tet break.

So happy smiles by students and teachers, the place was bustling with joy! Happy New Year indeed.

Tet in Ho Chi Minh City

When my sister casually asked if I was warm enough, I realized that I had been woefully remiss in my blogging. While Hanoi was about 50 degrees and felt a bit like New York (before the snowstorms), Ho Chi Minh City is more like Miami. Not only warm, HCM is hot with opportunity. The new Vincom Center says it all. This is the high end 5 floors plus shopping mall where you can get the real Jimmy Choo shoes and purses and not the exquisite knock offs down the street at the acres large Ben Thanh Market. The latest in fashion from all over the globe is available at this and any of the other malls. Notice the old and the new; the Viacom juxtapositioned against very old property waiting to be sold and rebuilt. The jackhammers are going all the time here, the sound of a city on the rise.

To celebrate the new wealth, which will only be increasing for Vietnam, families are getting ready to celebrate Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year which comes on February 3rd this year. Tet in the north is celebrated with pink peachtree blossoms, and in the south with yellow apricot tree blossoms. However, in this combined country you can see both. As well, for the Chinese, even those folks living in Vietnam, this will be the Year of the Rabbit. For the Vietnamese, this is the Year of the Cat. For all, this is a time for elaborate decorations, gifts and family. Parents and kids are coming into the city 3 and 4 on a motor scooter, or by car to join in the fun, look at the store window displays and buy new clothes--the traditional way to celebrate this event. Several streets will be blocked off and will become Tet floral walk ways. Festivity is in the air, and everyone seems to be getting ready to celebrate--by doing a bit of pre-holiday shopping.

Ha's journey to Anh Linh

Ha is probably one of the smallest kids you would ever meet. At age 11 she looks like she is about 4 or 5 years old. Two years ago the police brought her to Anh Linh school. She had lived her life picking up garbage off the streets with her "aunt". However, it is assumed that she was used and abused for begging.

"When she first got to school she would go through the garbage everyday and ferret out the old pencils, paper and bits of ruler and proudly show us her new book," says Sr. Cam Thuy, principal of Anh Linh.

Ha was give a spot in the girl's dormitory, several stuffed animals and an older girl, an "angel", to help her start learning how to live in a house, and socialize with the kids. She has been learning how to do her chores (washing her own clothes, sweeping, mopping, making dinner and cleaning). She has learned to embroider and has just begun making beaded figures. She is now reading at a second grade level, and enjoys math, literature, social studies and other school subjects. She is provided with a uniform, meals, medical care and a monthly hair cut.

Today she got a gift from her sponsor April Hickel which included barrettes. She has been wearing different barrettes every hour and says that this is the first present she has ever had.

Her future looks bright at Anh Linh school. As one of thirty girls in the middle school dormitory, she can stay at Anh Linh for as long as it takes for her to graduate. By the time she can handle high school work, the school should have the classes. And, if she manages to make it to college, she can live at Anh Linh and go to college. Bridges2Learning.org is financing about 70% of the funds received by Anh Linh school. The support received by children like Ha gives hope and opportunity to children who would have ended up dead, or worse.

Bleach Day at Anh Linh School

Today is Bleach Day. The goal is to scrub up the school for tomorrow's Tet celebration. After that the children will be off for 2 weeks.

Bleach Day is compromised by the fact that they are building a new road in front of the school. By any other standard, the road in front of the school is little more than an alley. Until about three days ago, it was a dirt path heavily travelled on by motorbikes, bikes, cars, trucks, walkers, etc. However, the workers have hauled in gravel and sand, and have been mixing cement. The new road is almost 2.5 feet higher than the old road. This is a tremendous problem since now all of the buildings are 2-3 feet below the level of the road. This answers the question, "Why were the kids complaining about flooding last fall".

Later today I will be catching up with my travel blog and posting more photos.

Where the Kids Live

The kids at Anh Linh have had tough lives, I met a 20 year old yesterday who is turning gray. His father was put into prison, he was taken to a relocation camp and managed to get back to Anh Linh through the intervention of Cam Thuy. Other kids are living in squalor with relatives because one or both of their parents have abandoned them. Others live with parents who are just scraping by selling noodles in the street, working construction, or selling lottery tickets. Anh Linh school provides a safe haven where these kids can have an education, a haircut, medical care, breakfast and lunch, and play safely with friends. The difference between their lives at school and their lives at home is quite striking as you can see.

January 18th Visiting Ho Chi Minh--Really!

Odd that I am getting my regular emails from the high school, the hockey club, chamber orchestra changing their rehearsal times. I guess I really can be anywhere in the world and still conduct business, or sign-up for teacher appreciation dinner, or get a joke email from my mother.

However, I haven’t been able to make many connections with my family. I think part of it is that we used to have schedules that gently collided and now they are totally out of sync. The times I can easily get them are around 6-7:30 at night. They could get the calls just before they left for school or work. (Ethan is already at school so that won’t work). The other time is between 6-8 in the morning, and that isn’t working either. My frustration is the limited contact I have had with my family. My joy is in discovery and becoming a competent international traveller.

The book Hanoi & Halong Bay Enounter is an excellent guide to Hanoi. It is very small and comes with a discreet map. The author Tom Downs has a wry sense of humor and an updated understanding about his hometown. It was invaluable as a guide and source of translated information.

Today we toured Hanoi with a group yesterday which is the fastest and cheapest way to do it. While these tours can be long, you are able to transverse the city and get in and out of the attractions without having to continuously hail a ride. The total cost, and the amount of time spent on the tour makes this an efficient and effective way to catch the sights. We went to see Ho Chi Minh in repose which was an eye opening trip back in time to what communism might have felt like even Fifteen years ago. We arrived and waited in line and were continuously repositioned so that we would be two by two. We entered and exited the screening area which was similar to that used in airports. The standing in lines got more rigid after that as we just about marched into the mausoleum. The guards in white uniforms were tasked with keeping us erect, silent and respectful. My hands were at my back and I had to put them to my side. Once in the mausoleum, even though there was signage everywhere, I was completely unprepared to actually see Mr. Ho Chi Minh lying in an open casket surrounded by four guards. We walked around the perimeter of the room under the watchful and continuous gaze of the armed guards, and we watched the changing of the guard. Like Buckingham Palace, the changing of the guards is one of those must see events. The men changed positions with amazing precision and extraordinary peripheral vision.

I go into a description of this mausoleum at length because it is the crown jewel of the communist party here in Viet Nam, and sets the tone for what I thought I would see here. However, I am wrong and confused. It’s hard for an American to fully understand today’s Viet Nam communist party, and I believe I will be discovering that it is hard for others as well. (P.S. Notice we are completely bundled up for this trip to Hanoi, although I hear its -23 back home so I won't be getting much sympathy!

Perfume River

To take a break from the hustle of Hanoi, we took a trip to see the Huong Tich Pagoda in the Dai Bihn cave on the Perfume River. We boarded a small bus and headed north for more than an hour and drove through a number of villages. One seemed to be the shoemaking capital of the world; every store had rows and rows of shoes. It was an odd sight out here on dirt roads. Our bus ride ended, we jumped into small Viet Nam river boats and headed upriver for another hour passing rice paddies and very small hamlets.

Lessons Learned in Hanoi

Jerilyn Hirsch was brilliant in bringing me here to Hanoi for a few days before going to Ho Chi Minh City to visit the school. This way, I get to try out international travel, equipment and supplies before I have to put the tire to the road. She knew she was traveling with a newbie.

So, here are some lessons learned:

It's cold in Hanoi: Thanks to Rodney Hiel for the heads up I threw in a pair of long underwear a fleece muff and gloves. The long underwear has been glued to my body since I got here. The locals are wearing their winter coats all day long, and yesterday while rowing down the Perfume River all that gear came in very handy. The funniest thing has been this snuggy. Jerri told me that I might not score a blanket on the International flight, so last minute I packed a snuggy that we got as a gift from Wells Fargo for opening an account. It's the perfect full length airplane blanket (with arms to read books etc) and, it has become my blanket here in Hanoi. I have it under this little quilt. My room has a kingsized bed with sheets and a twin bed quilt over part of it. Seeing that arrangement and the window near the bed, I have opted for the single bed in the corner. The covers fit the bed, and for the most part it is quite cozy.

Motor Scooter Driving: They tell me that the traffic is worse in Ho Chi Minh City but it is hard to believe that could be true. I feel like the grandmother in Mulan who holds the cricket, closes her eyes and just walks across the street. The narrow streets are packet with zooming vehicles of all sorts; mostly motor scooters. However, there are buses, trucks, bikes, rickshaws and they are all zooming around. No streetlights or stop signs. If you want to cross, you just figure out how to do it. It's like living in a video game.

Hanoi streets: The old city where we are staying is organized by type of merchandise sold on the street, a clever urban planning design from centuries ago that is still used today. The streets are also named accordingly so it is true that on hardware street there is indeed hardware. The streets are about 16 feet wide at the most, the sidewalks are packed with parked motor scooters, and the venders are sitting on the sidewalks cooking food, conducting business, chopping chickens, bending tin, welding or just about anything else. So, you walk along the "side" of the street. It's a wonderful and very noisy cacophone of sounds, sights and smells. I can't describe it!

Hanoi of Today: My image of Hanoi was never like this. Long Vo says that Vietnam is positioning itself to become the lead developing country by 2020 and I don't doubt it! Move over New York City, this one is a lot busier! The juxtapositioning of communism and capitalism is mindboggling. Merchants are everywhere and people seem very busy all the time. This is definitely a city on the move up; you can feel it. As a result, there are many tourists here and people passing through on their way into and out of other Asian cities. Our hotel, Golden Wings II is a bit more like a hostel than a hotel. It's relatively inexpensive (about $30 dollars a day) with private rooms with bathrooms, hotel water, breakfast and very accommodating and knowledgeable staff. You might want to check this out.

Walking through the Alleys: One of the tour books said for the true Hanoi experience walk through the alleys. What crazy advice. Would I have done this at all before coming here? Not on your life, I barely do that at home. However, the advise is true, the walk is safe, and this has led us to some very fun experiences. Following a comment in the Lonely Planet Hanoi guide, we found an unmarked cafe where you walk through a silk shop through a long walkway back to an open courtyard and proceed up three flights to the skytop roof overlooking the central lake. It's fun.

Being compulsive about where you put things: Finally, getting ready for Ho Chi Minh City here has allowed me to realize that I have to be compulsive about knowing exactly where is my money, my Vietnamese phrase book and my tissue paper (for the toilets) etc so that I don't have to search everywhere. It takes a bit of getting used to , but reminds me of backpacking. Pulling out the exact amount of money needed helps finalize a purchase. Looking all over for it or pulling out 20 times the amount can set you up for a price increase. (The exchange rate here is 19,600 dong to $1.00, so it's important to know the difference between 5,000, 50,000 and 100,000 dong on the spot and to know how to access the right amount smoothly. (100,000 is roughly $20).

Well, more later. We hit a bit of a snafu: The Tiger Airlines which we are taking to Ho Chi Minh City has luggage and weigh restrictiions which we are kilos over. So, we might be paying more for bringing these supplies and gifts to the kids. We will see if we can get over that hurdle. Meanwhile, it's almost 6:00 am, time to get dressed and get set for another day of bustling Hanoi!

Made it to Hanoi

Well 24 hours on a plane is actually doable. Who knew? We arrived at the Golden Wings II Hotel at night so it was difficult to see the city. I hear that the businesses and buildings were taxed for the amount of frontage space they occupied on the street. As a result, the buildings are skinny, long and tall. They remind me of the shot-gun houses in New Orleans, though they are much, much taller. I am anxious to get out and see the city tomorrow. (You will finally get to see photos then!) The myriad of gifts, beanie babies, and treats made the journey safely through our connecting flight in Tokyo.

The most astounding part of the flight was looking out over the Alaskan mountains and Berring Straits. The frozen mountains, glaciers, ocean and tundra below was a sight to behold. The speeches about grabbing your life jacket and learning how to inflate it are of little value when flying over this part of the world.

International travel is so much like backpacking. Once I started packing my carry on bag I realized I was an old hand at trying to bring only what you need in the smallest amount possible. I am amazed that I am sitting in this hotel in Hanoi writing to you in this blog.

The world is a very small place.

Luggage and Gifts

How do we possibly bring American gifts to hundreds of people with today's weight and luggage restrictions?

Selecting luggage for international flights has changed. Weight restrictions are now more important than protection. For our trip big duffel bags win over sturdy or stylish suitcases. Jerri and I are trying to figure out how to bring 283 Tet (Vietnam New Year's) gifts for the kids, 30 gifts for the teachers, gifts for the principal, and gifts for people we meet. We are settling on big duffel bags (and my daughter's hockey bag) filled with mini-beany babies, chocolate, toothbrushes, tootsie rolls, puppets and Valentine's Day crafts. Let's hope the kids like this motley assortment of Americana. (We will see!)

I have met with a number of people about social customs in Vietnam, protocol, business dress, business casual, and an assortment of dos and don't. I've gotten great travel advice from friends and family. I was able to get some contacts in Hanoi, Saigon and Singapore and will be bringing chocolate to the Vo relatives in Saigon. The language tapes which I burned at the library are on my computer waiting for hours of listening.

This now must be the hardest part of the journey: the anticipation, the checking and rechecking, and the gathering and stuffing. The advice has been sound, the equipment and supplies are organized, the Visa and Passports safely stowed. Now I wait to see what a 23 hour plane ride feels like. I can't imagine!

Getting Ready for the Trip

I just gulped down my second Typhoid prevention pill, so it looks like I am really going to Vietnam! Hi, my name is Peg Thomas. I am the new Executive Director of Bridges to Learning (bridges2learning.org). Over the next few weeks I will be taking you on my journey over to Vietnam to see the children at Anh Linh School. Anh Linh was founded in 1990 and moved into a school building in 1998. In 2004 Bridges to Learning began to create a caring community to support Anh Linh School. Since 2004 the school has grown to where 283 children come every day to learn. They also get medical support, eye screenings, breakfast, lunch and play-time.

Jerilyn Fosdick Hirsch, the founder of Bridges to Learning, will be taking me to visit with Sr. Cam Thuy the principal of the school. Prior to that, there is much to do. We will be flying 14 hours to Tokoyo, changing planes within one hour to go to Hanoi. We will stay in Hanoi for several days and then fly to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). From there we fly to Singapore to negotiate a partnership with the Singapore American School, and will then fly back to HCM (Saigon) to then head home to Minnesota.

So, follow along with me as together we view Vietnam through my musings, as a novice international traveller, and through Jerilyn who has logged millions of miles.

Getting Started

Hello Bridges to Learning supporters, friends, and family. In preview of Jerri & Peg's discussions and reflections during their time in Vietnam, we wanted to invoke some excitement through a few photos from former trips to Anh Linh School. Enjoy the journey.