Delightful and Disgusting - September 20, 2008

This fishing village is delightful from a distance

I have spared you a close-up of the rubbish

The boats were fantastic - it is really interesting to see how different the boats are in a village that is only a few kilometers away

This cheerful man was using his feet to aid his net repairs

A fish drying area - racks for drying the fish are suspended across the strings in the sun

Alan and Pat enjoying the sunshine - parts of the beach were delightful

This abondoned building appealed to me - it appeared to be a place for fish farming of some sort

Delightful and Disgusting - September 20, 2008

This afternoon, after the boat race I went with Alan, Adeline and Pat for a motorbike trip south to a fishing village in the next province. I had seen it from a lookout during our orientation tour when I first arrived and, very taken with the sight of the long boats with tall prows, I was keen to return to see them up close. This was not a good idea!

From a distance it looks idyllic. Palm trees, a big cluster of houses on the waters edge and the interesting boats. We could not find a road down to the beach within the village so walked back to it from a kilometer or two south. At first it was delightful. There was a lot of rubbish but we ignored that and Adeline and I enjoyed picking up all sorts of interesting shells from the beautiful golden sand as we walked towards the village. This is the first time I have been on a beach with many shells here so it felt like a real treat.

When we got to the village area it was a disgusting surprise. The people there use the beach as a rubbish dump and a toilet. There was poo and every possible form of rubbish everywhere. It was revolting. I have no idea how people can possibly live and fish amongst this disgusting mess without becoming very unwell. Perhaps I am being unfairly judgmental but I can not begin to understand why a group of people would not make better sanitary arrangements even just a communal long drop. The fishing boats were really interesting but I will not be returning for another visit!

The day had been bright and calm but another storm arrived so we were soaked to the skin by the time we rode home. I had a loooooong shower and scrubbed myself repeatedly until I felt clean again. Ick!

The Great Quy Nhon Basket Boat Race - September 20, 2008

Alan, Pat and Adeline at our practice

Ann and Yup (sp?) a volunteer from "Old Zealand" - Holland

Some things on the beach were not so great. We could not decide if this crab was dragging this dead rat into its hole or trying to get it out

Standing around wondering if anyone was going to turn up for the race

I was keen for us to include some activities for the kids

The fisheries team lining up for first prize. We tried to persude them to spead themselves between the different teams but they would not consider it - they were there to win

The Great Quy Nhon Basket Boat Race - September 20, 2008


Today we had our long planned basket boat race. The idea began some time ago when we were talking about how we could arrange to have a turn in the fantastic little basket boats. Somehow it turned from that into a grand plan in which we would organize a race for the volunteers, staff, the people we work with and friends. It has taken a couple of months to acquire the necessary permits, to hire the boats and to arrange all of the other details. We had arranged sponsorship from the NZ commissioner. He and his wife agreed to travel from Ho Chi Minh City to attend and some local officials were arranged for the event. It was impossible to pin down the locals as to whether or not they would participate so last night, when it started to pour with rain while we were doing the tasks like making flags and certificates and assembling prizes, we were almost positively anticipating that this would save us from the public embarrassment of organizing an event to which very few people turned up.

When we got up this morning at five o’clock the weather was still uncertain but we made our way down to the beach to anchor the buoys, set up umbrellas and tables and bury cards for a treasure hunt. As the designated start time of seven arrived, with still very few others present, it seemed as though our fears had materialized but gradually more and more people turned up although many were still saying that they would just watch. Eventually we started to gather into teams and amazingly we had almost fifty participants in five teams and lots of watchers. Ann and Nugyen tried valiantly to explain the rules of the relay which included, running for flags, paddling around two buoys and gathering balls which were to be dropped into a hoop while carrying a team member, but their attempts were fruitless. Some of the participants, particularly a crew from fisheries, were dead keen to get started and only part way through the translation of the explanation, amid a fair amount of chaos, they set off and the race began. We were all completely outclassed by the fisheries men who could have gone around twice and still beaten us but with a lot of laughter and a fair amount of cheating the team I was in finished very well.

People wanted to continue so we had an impromptu second race then the treasure hunt and sand sculpture competitions for the children. The kids loved having things to do and enjoyed their prizes and the adults stayed around quite a while for beers (at 9:00 on the morning!), certificates and prizes. Despite a lot of disorganization it was a great day – a completely new event for the locals as well as us and well worthwhile.

I only have a few photos of the event because I was too busy to take photos once it began but I have included some of us having a sneaky practice last week. The practice did not do me any good – I tried really hard but only managed to spin in circles which meant that it was possible to get dizzy and seasick at the same time! During the race we used two oars, rather than the traditional one, and managed to propel ourselves in a haphazard fashion through the water. One of the things that I was really pleased about was that, much to my surprise, my counterpart Ms Thuy came and joined in the race.

The VSA volunteers plan to run the event again next year - I feel quite sad that I will not be here to participate

Mid-Autumn Full Moon Festival - September 16, 2008

Mid-Autumn Full Moon Festival - September 16, 2008

One of the things that I love about living here for a year is seeing the different festivals. We have just had the Mid-Autumn Full Moon Festival. It is a bit like Christmas and Halloween rolled in together for the children and young people. Apparently it is thousands of years old and occurs at this time of year after the harvests were traditionally completed. It was a time for parents, who had been busy in the fields, to spend time with their children and to give them presents and moon-cakes.

In the days leading up to the festival the excitement on the streets was palatable. In my last blog I wrote about the show that some young people in a commune put on for us. In the following days I got to see many teams practicing as well as those who decided to get started early on the festivities. On Saturday and Sunday nights we, and almost everyone else in the city, went out into the city streets to watch the action. Dozens and dozens of teams of performers were in action. Each team has a group on a cyclo or trolley playing a large drum. The troupe usually included a “lion” or “unicorn” played by two people, a “monkey”, two “clown-like” characters and sometimes a “pig”. There is also a large group of youths responsible for holding up the bamboo ladders or poles. Some of these are like staircases but many are just tall poles with rungs lashed to them.

Wending their way through the crowded streets the groups go to shops and homes where they are invited inside to dance. The dances are very expressive and comical. Entertained, and with good luck bought upon them, the homeowners or shopkeepers then suspend packets of money from the second or third floor balcony. The ladder or pole is erected outside the premises and while it is held in place with ropes it is climbed firstly by the monkey and the ‘clowns’. After they have performed all sorts of tricks the lion or unicorn climbs to the top and performs a wild dance before seizing the money in its jaws. When it has done this successfully handfuls of glitter or tiny pieces of paper are sprayed across the crowd from its mouth. The costume is then lowered down to the eagerly waiting arms of others in the team who quickly don it then the troupe (and the crowd) moves on to perform at the next house. Apparently there are sometimes awful accidents and people are killed falling from the tall poles but fortunately I did not see any problems.

It was a joy to see that encouragement and support given to the young people by their community. Many of the shopkeepers and homeowners repeatedly went through the ritual and the people in the crowds watched enthusiastically for a long time. The crowds are incredible. People on bicycles and motorbikes were traveling in every direction as they moved from group to group so many of the streets were close to gridlock but I never saw anyone get angry of unpleasant. In good heart they jostled and threaded their way along the roads and footpaths. The only downside was the exhaust fumes which became overpowering at times.

Sometimes, as the only foreigner around, I was targeted for cash by the members of the teams. They would come dancing up to me calling out “money”. Since the Vietnamese people in the crowds were not paying I decided not to either and responded instead by dancing with them. This caused a huge amount of hilarity particularly when I danced with a couple of (probably) gay young men who were dressed in cut-away cowboy shirts and blowing whistles while “riding” paper mache horses. At other times, spotting my camera, teams wanted me to take photos and dragged me into the centre so I could get good shots. If you can’ beat them, join them!

Apparently this is not such a big event in some parts of Viet Nam but it is an important occasion in Quy Nhon. It has been great being here at this time.

Children and Culture - September 11, 2008

This is the boys scrambling to get into their costumes when they saw us biking through the commune

The pig joined the dance then entreated us to deposit money into the lion's mouth

The city resonates with the sound of drumming

The shops are full of costumes and masks - I am not sure if this is a lion or a unicorn






Children and Culture - September 11, 2008


Last Friday I went to the beginning of the school year opening at one of the kindergartens. Every educational institution has an official opening for the September start of the school year. The children have just has a three month summer break which sounds like an extraordinarily long time but many of them attend summer school throughout this time.

The opening ceremony was a big event that had clearly been thoroughly rehearsed. All of the teachers were dressed in beautiful ao dai and many of the children were done up in fancy party finery including full make-up. I thought at first that some of the little girls had had their hair curled but then I realized that part of the “look” is curly ringlets pinned to their straight black pigtails.

The ceremony was an opportunity for me to ponder again about the differences between the children here and in NZ. There were about 400 children, aged approximately three to six years, present. They were squeezed into the outside area on long lines of little chairs, ten rows deep in front of a low stage. About a third of the children had helium balloons bought by their parents from vendors outside the gate. The teachers were in attendance, on the outside of the group but most of the time not amongst the children. Chattering noisily the children waited for about 45 minutes for the ceremony to begin and then watched performances and speeches for nearly another 45 minutes.

What I found really interesting was the behavior of the children. In all of that time, even though there were so many children present, and there was the potential provocation of some having attractive balloons, I only saw two minor fights break out. In each several children slapped and poked but fairly quickly resolved the problem without any intervention. At times children stood on their chairs and were told to sit down by teachers but they never attempted to leave their allocated place. On a number of occasions balloons popped but there were no tears of protest, only laughter and shouts. Nobody tried to snatch a balloon from anyone else and when some extras were given out by the teachers there was no snatching, pleas for a particular color or protests from children who did not get one.

There were a number of performances. Groups of costumed children danced and sang their way through a number of well practiced, lengthy routines and a band of young drummers astounded me with the ability to maintain time with each other. During the performances the children in the audience were excited and noisy but amazingly attentive to the events on the stage. During the speeches they were so noisy that it was difficult to hear, even with a sound system, but they responded enthusiastically and in unison to shouted out questions about whether they were looking forward to the coming year. After the ceremony there was a mêlée of children carrying their chairs as they dispersed back to their classrooms but still no problems occurred.

Watching these young citizens who, despite the crowding and length of time of the ceremony, were so compliant about staying where directed and almost unanimously peaceful with one another, induced me to reflect on our differing cultural expectations of children. The children were not subdued – they were animated and talkative and the teachers, while firm at times about the expectation to remain seated, we not harsh or overly directive. I cannot begin to imagine a group of New Zealand children managing as well in a similar situation.

I am very curious about why our children are so different. On the streets around my hone I watch the children and their families. Little children often play on the narrow footpaths within inches of the busy traffic but staying within the unmarked boundaries of their allotted area. Usually babies and toddlers sitting in walkers and on adults’ laps or hips do not struggle to get down and little children sit holding on obediently on bicycles and motorbikes. Perhaps the ones who don’t follow the rules don’t survive!

Apart from one little chap, who unfortunately lives right next door, I seldom hear children crying. Sadly, “Grizzly George” as we have unkindly labeled him, is a very unhappy little child of about three or four years old. He possibly has a disability of some sort but it is difficult to tell – I will get Nicky to do a “diagnosis” when she is here! “George” usually begins the day screaming at about 5:00 am and often demonstrates an extraordinary ability to maintain this pattern throughout the day and late into the evening. His poor mother sometimes brings him to greet me but unfortunately the poor child is terrified and screams like a banshee despite my attempts to talk to him or to show him toys.

The primary school age children are in many ways much more independent than those at home. Without accompanying adults, on foot and over-size bicycles, children make their way through the crowded streets even in the dark. They confidently negotiate the busy traffic, undertake all sorts of domestic and business chores and care for younger siblings. Observing the children here certainly gives me many opportunities to reflect on our notions of childhood and the role of children in our communities.

Currently, as the mid-autumn moon festival approaches many of the children are already participating in lion dances late into the night. Competing bands of children (almost always boys) roam the streets some banging loudly on drums while others in their team, dressed in lion and pig costumes, dance and then harass householders, shopkeepers and passers-by for money. Teenage boys organize themselves into large groups and vie for territory in which to perform. Apparently on the eve of the festival (the 14th) many householders hang money from the second floor and the “lions” scramble up to retrieve it. This is clearly a very exciting, and profitable, time for the young people here.

When Ann and I were out biking last Sunday we went to a small local commune. As we went past a group of young people called out and scrambled into costumes while others began drumming loudly. Within minutes we were treated to an extended and wonderfully expressive display of dancing. The main creature, sometimes a “lion” and sometimes a “unicorn” (I can’t tell which is which yet) had two people artfully operating it. The dance included lots of comical movements at ground level and leaps into the air. After an extended period they were joined by another dancer in a pig mask who was carrying a fan. This dancer was the one who made it clear that our duty, as well as being an appreciative audience, was to place money in the lion’s jaws. I was more than happy to comply on this occasion because it had such a joyful and generous display but I have resisted some of the groups on the streets whose energy seems to be almost completely focused on vigorously demanding cash. I am looking forward to the actual festival evening but am beginning to understand why Brian, a volunteer who has been here for a number of years, declares that it is a good time to hide inside with the gates firmly locked!