Mixed Experiences and Feelings in Hanoi – 27th May 2008

Mixed Experiences and Feelings in Hanoi – 27^th May 2008

Leaving Hanoi early on the Saturday morning I felt the bittersweet sense of regret that is common when you know that there are still many things undiscovered in a city that you are unlikely to return to. Because I was working I did not have time to visit some of the places that I really wanted to see but I did get an opportunity to observe quite a bit of the city as I walked around or from the back of the motorbike taxis. Parts of the city have large gracious houses and public buildings that were apparently built during the French Colonial period. Many of the streets are lined with large trees.

There are lakes throughout the city many of which are surrounded by parks. I particularly enjoyed Lenin Park. There is a small entrance fee which is well worth paying because it means there are comparatively few people there. I really appreciated the contrast between this tranquil area and the crowded streets. The big trees and strident cicadas muffled the incessant traffic noise. Throughout the park there are many statues and a range of ramshackle, faded children’s play equipment including small roller coasters and merry-go-rounds. The lake was again surrounded with brilliant red flame trees interspersed with trees with bright purple flowers. Elderly fishermen with simple bamboo rods and young courting couples were the only other people enjoying the surroundings.

On Wednesday I had no meetings, so having consulted my Lonely Planet I decided to go to Van Phuc, a nearby “silk village”. When I was sitting in a park a lovely young woman wanted to practice her English so we talked about traveling in Vietnam. She explained how to take a local bus and gave me directions. One of the things that I have discovered is that most Vietnamese people cannot read maps. Trying to use these to get directions is usually pointless but between her instructions and my map I found (eventually) the station and for the equivalent of 20 cents got myself to a nearby town and took a motorbike taxi to the village from there. As I got on I thought that it might be slightly mad getting on the back of a motorbike, with an unknown rider on unknown roads, but I got there safely. In my experience so far, the people here will happily overcharge me for every service and commodity but they have been unerringly honest in taking me where I want to go and have been utterly respectful in there interactions. I feel safer here, even walking the streets at night, than I do in many part of New Zealand.

I had in my own mind created a vision of my destination as an idyllic rural village with people preparing and weaving silk. The reality was somewhat different. It was more like an extension of Hanoi and was entirely comprised of retail stores hawking all sorts of commercial silk products designed for the tourist market. I wandered in and out of the shops enjoying the gorgeous colors and textures of the silks. It is an amazing fabric. I did not make any major purchases but did buy a couple of scarves and a pashima. Some time during my year here I will, I am sure, have the opportunity to go to a real silk village.

After some deliberation I decided to go to see the water puppets and booked a ticket for Friday night. It seemed likely that they would be another commercialized enterprise but they are a traditional form of puppetry and, knowing the Anne Duncan had enjoyed them, I decided that I would like to see them. Unfortunately a meeting time was changed and I did not get to go so I will try again when I am in Ho Chi Minh.

I do not know where I “fit” here. I am certainly not a local but most of the time I also do not feel like a traveler or tourist. When I have been in other countries in the past it has only ever been for a short period. This year in Viet Nam has a different feel and rhythm to it. I do not feel compelled to cram in as many sights and experiences as quickly as possible. In some ways I feel that I stand outside of both the local cultures and the tourist cultures, observing both from a distance. At times is looks like a process of mutual exploitation. It seems that local operators knowingly take advantage of the desires of tourists who are here to soak up the “exotic” and the “picturesque” and to score bargains in the shops and markets.

Two aspects of western behavior here that I find disturbing are the men, for whom “middle-aged” could only be applied of they are destined to live well past a century, seen in the close company of young Vietnamese woman, and the western couples walking about with tiny Vietnamese babies strapped to their chests.

It is clear that most of the men are not examples of our finest physically or socially. It seems unlikely to me that many of them would be able to lure women with the looks and bodies of these young women into their lives. Here they seem to parade around in packs loudly making their boorish way through the streets and shops while the stiletto healed, tightly clad, young women cling on to their liver spotted arms and laugh prettily at their feeble jokes. It seems that some of these men are here recreating their glory days from the war and others seeking a wife who will obediently serve them in their declining years. I find some of their behaviors abhorrent but the women are not naïve, unknowing girls. They are from one perspective exercising an economic choice but, given the poverty experienced by many here, it feels as though there is considerably less power on their side of the bargain. I expect that this situation may often be reversed however for those who gain residency in their man’s homeland.

The couples with the babies are more of a mystery to me. In Hanoi I saw many well-dressed, possibly affluent, western couples walking around with very young, (almost new-born), babies who appear to be Vietnamese. In almost every instance the baby was strapped, in a brand-new baby-cocoon, onto the chest of the man. Sometimes I saw groups of three or four of these couples walking around together with the babies. I should not jump to conclusions but I have some uncomfortable feelings about this situation.

Work Meetings

Despite all of the problems I had experienced when trying to make the arrangements the meetings that I had throughout the week were excellent. I met people from

• NZAID,
• UNICEF,
• Primary Education for Disadvantaged Children (PEDC),
• the Ministry of Education Early Childhood Department,
• the Vietnam Development Information Centre (VDIC),
• Save the Children UK,
• Vietnam-Belgium Project for Improving Pre-and In-service Training of Primary and Lower Secondary Teachers in the Northern Highlands of Vietnam,
• the NGO Resource Center and
• the National Institute for Education Strategy and Curriculum Development (ECE).

During these visits, as well as finding out about the work of the various organizations, I sought advice about how I should proceed with my project. Almost all of the people were warm and generous with their time and knowledge. Fortunately most of the people I met were able to speak English and the embassy provided a translator for a meeting where this was not possible. I found listening carefully to these people, from Vietnam and many other countries, most of whom had strong accents, exhausting but truly rewarding. I had the opportunity to hear a wide range of perspectives and now feel that, although I still have a huge amount to learn, I have much more idea about the intentions, practice, philosophy and aspirations of early childhood education in Vietnam.

One aspect that I had not prepared for sufficiently and found difficult was describing early childhood education in New Zealand in a way that was meaningful for them. I need to put together a kit of resources that will explain an approach that, even though we use some similar language, is fundamentally very different from that used here. There are times when I wanted to exclaim “no it is not” when again and again people listened to my descriptions of our philosophy and practice and then declared that this is the same as what they do here. Any suggestions from my early childhood family, friends and colleagues would be greatly appreciated!