Joseph and Huy's Room

This is the last post from my first visit to Viet Nam in 2007. Everything above is from 2008.


The most important room (next to the bishop's, of course) is that of Joseph (Thien, on the left) and Huy. It is the command center for all of the activities at Phat Diem. They are both pre-seminarians who live at the bishop's house.


Here we find Joseph hard at work getting the paperwork done. Everyone who visits must be reported to the government, and it is Joseph's job to keep track of the details.







Here is Tony working diligently to answer the voluminous emails he receives. Not a day goes by when the Vatican doesn't need an opinion on canon law or S.I. is trying to decide on the color for the new performing arts wing. It is Tony's devotion to correspondence that keeps the church alive and growing in the world.

This room is also the hub of social activities for the young students. they love to drop in and just chat with the pre-seminarians. And, hey, who is that handsome guy in the gray shirt? The one being pointed to?






It is difficult to find anyone not smiling when music is involved. The kids were singing and laughing so hard it was difficult to keep a straight face.






Elephant (Tony decided to call him what his name literally means) and Huy sing. Elephant is a choral conducting major at the Ha Noi Conservatory and quite a talented singer and guitarist. He can take any song and immediately make up an accompaniment. Huy is the romantic singer who regularly impresses the women with his passionate renditions of old standards.

The Cathedral and the Bishop's House Grounds

As you can see, the cathedral of Phat Diem was built to highlight Vietnamese architecture, not the prevailing French. This tower is perhaps the most beautiful.











The reflecting pool was put in front of the cathedral to help alleviate sounds from the neighborhood, allowing the grounds to be quiet and peaceful.













Here is a group of the girls in front of their dorm rooms on the grounds. The compound was built over 100 years ago and is still in excellent condition.














Here is a closer picture of the balcony on the second floor for the girls. Notice the amazing woodwork and the metal grate above the door to let air in.









This is a view of the bishop's house. Tony Sauer and I stayed in rooms on the second floor, with tall ceilings.










This is the view from the portico in front of our rooms. The grounds are immaculately kept and feature native plants that require minimal pruning and care.










This is the pond where the most beautiful koi are kept. Behind it is the washrooms for the girls. All day you can hear a large frog croaking every once in a while...it sounds like a dog with stomach problems. The water lillys are in constant bloom with large, magenta flowers. The boys weed it and the girls take out the snails that love to sit on the edges.

Here is a picture of Joseph going in front of me up the stairs to the bell tower at the cathedral. It is a narrow way but the view outside were tremendous.

Joseph is demonstrating how to ring the bell in the bell tower. There are four buttons on the bell, and it is rotated so that each button is struck for a specific season of the year: winter, spring, summer, and fall.

Here is a better view of the bell. Notice the beautiful script on it.

Here is a view from the bell tower down onto one of the lesser towers. I loved how the stone not only gives it a sense of power but also of lightness...so yin-yang.

From the bell tower to the main tower of the cathedral.

Another view of the front of the cathedral.

Learning to Play Organ

The young students who stay at Phat Diem are taught how to play the keyboard, or "organ." The method is pretty similar to what we use in the US, with both hands playing unison for a while, then eventually patterns for the left hand emerge.

The books have the regular notation for both hands, but also consistently reinforce the sofeggio (Do-Re-Mi). This helps the students to not only be able to put their fingers in the right place, but to see the music and hear it in their heads or sing it...a very stong approach to music education.

The goal is to have the students be able to play in church. The seminarians and pre-seminarians, along with the priests, are excellent at being able to hear a melody and then improvise an accompaniment. The guys did this many times at daily mass in the chapel.

There are not enough keyboards for every student to have one for practice, so they share. I was most impresssed with how two and even three students can practice simultaneously their own pieces on the same keyboard.

There is an intensity of practice that I admire. You can see by this young musician's face that he is working hard and tuning out the distractions of twenty other students playing in the same room.

The students also play for each other, sort of mini-concerts, and freely help each other.

All of this practicing in heat and humidity, with only open windows and a ceiling fan.

Boys and Football

The football field at the Bishop's House in Phat Diem is where the tour buses park. Football (what we in the US call soccer) is big in Viet Nam, and the Vietnamese are duly proud of how their national team did at the Asian Games.

When the boys play, they didn't have any goals, so some of the guys took of their shoes to mark the posts. This lefts many without shoes, and there are some big rocks on the field. A few decided to just use their left shoe, so they could kick with the right. After a while, they got smart and planted some large sticks for the goals.

Not everyone played hard all the time. These jokers decided to put on a show, and I got them just at the right time.

The play is intense, but as soon as play stops, everyone laughs and runs for the ball. Lots of fun to watch them play everyday from 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

The Girls in Phat Diem

The girls who stay at the bishop's house for the summer come from all over the Diocese of Phat Diem. Every day they go to mass at 5:00 a.m., are present at prayers in the chapel at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., go to classes, and do light work around the grounds. I had the pleasure to sing wtih them, learn some Vietnamese dances, and even teach them some American clapping games. I found out that they really lover our Christmas carols, so "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" was always a good way to get everyone singing. Here are some pictures of them.

Soccer (footbal to the rest of the world) is big, and the girls love playing also. Here are two photos of the girls after a rousing game. They seemed to have more energy after the game than before, even at 5:30 in the evening and 95 degree weather. Ah, the wonders of youth.

These are the girls who lived next to where I met the music teachers in the morning for coffee. They were always cleaning up the grounds when I showed up at 5:45 for my cup of brew, always with a smile and with a "Good morning!" I really miss them...hello, everyone!

I have no idea why we posted this way. The girls wanted to make sure that the beautiful flowers were in the picture so we just went with the flow.

Oh, and somehow Kien got in the picture. He's ten and quite the ladies' man, besides being perhaps the winner of the 2015 Viet Nam Idol contest.