My Going Away Party

After our last time together on Saturday morning, the guys threw a party for me. It was a great time, and, as you can see, they got me a present. It took me a long time to open it.

It was an ao tac, the formal wear for the elders of the community. It meant that I was now a person of authority - I like that. It is made of sild and has a special white garment that is worn underneath. This they also gave me.

Of course, I had to try it on, and I must say that I filled it out rather well.

The told me that to sit down I had to hold the back panel in my lap. And they also told me that if I sneeded, I could wipe my nose on the front panel. I think they were joking about the second part.

Parties in Vietnam are all about toasting, and we probably toasted a half million time. It is all great fun and we certainly stuffed ourselves.

See? More toasting.

For all his hard work, I gave Tuyen a copy of a famous painting of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. He got a standing ovation which was rightfully earned.

As always, events ended with a prayer, this time the Glory Be.

Here is Matthew giving us the run down of what is on the table.
Matthew and Tan get the table ready, and Lam sneaks in with something. Hmmm...I wonder what it is.

My New Shirts

Last week, I was measured by the good sisters at the convent in Phat Diem, just one block from the cathedral. Fr. Hien said that they were ready, so we went together to see how they came out. When I arrived, Sr. Thieu was folding them carefully so that they would not wrinkle on the way back. She is camera shy, but I got her in action.

Here is a picture of the shop the sisters use for making all of their clothing and altar linens. As you can see, there is little, but each is used to its fullest. The pink table is for ironing, and there are three sewing machines. The women here make all of the clothing for the 100 sisters at the convent and for all of the cathedral needs.

I wanted to show you ithe incredble hand work the sisters do. I wish you could see the stitches up close to notice the sublteties of color and texture.

Here I am, surrounded by sisters. You can see why I like to visit here. Holding my hand is Mother Superior who always holds on to me wherever we go. On my left is the assistant superior, and Sr. Thieu, master haberdasher, is on the right. At the left is a sister I had just met but do not know her name. I will try to get it for you.

Like I said, Mother Superior will not let go of me. We walked hand-in-hand to the guest meeting room where she fed me and fed me. She thinks I am too thin, but I told her I only lost one pound since I've been here. Mother took no excuse and kept on feeding me.

Thien's Surprise Birthday Party

In Vietnam it is not a tradition to have a party on your birthday, but when we found out that it was Thien's birthday and that he had never had a part but would love a party, the game was on. Right after lunch, Tan and I went to one of the few places that makes cakes. Here is a picture of the young couple that owns the bakery. They did an amazing job in just 1 1/2 hours. We also picked up drinks and some snacks that the guys like.


We started afternoon class in my room because I have the Internet. We watched two masses to compare them with Vietnamese masses, one from Africa and one from America. They learned a great deal about how universal the Catholic church is. Then I told everyone to go to the classroom. Tan and I had hidden the food there, and when Thien walked in he was totally surprised. His eyes welled up and he was close to tears. We all cheered for him. Check out the videos of us all singing Happy Birthday and Thien blowing out the candles at the end of this post.

So there is always a toast to the Birthday Boy, and here we are all being crazy. It's good to let off steam after a few weeks of study.

Here is the obligatory singing of stupid songs.

Most of us at the party with Thien next to me.

And Thien with no cake left.

Here is Thien greeting his first birthday cake.
As we say in the improv business, "If you can't sing well, sing loud." And we sang loud. I wonder what Thien wished for.

Sam Son Beach

It was Tuesday, and Fr. Khue (in the sporty white hat) promised that we would spend the day in Sam Son, a famous tourist spot in the north. It is only 2 1/2 hours away, so we packed up the van with the bunch.

Here are Fr. Khue, Minh, and Thich getting ready. Fr. Khue is the Vicar General and Minh is a deacon who will be ordained a priest this fall.

While waiting for the van to be loaded, Vinh, Tuyen, and Hieu enjoy a laugh at my expense.

Here is Tuyen pretending to be asleep. Actually, that's how he looks most of the time :).

Yup, we're cool and we're the best. Here is Thich taking it easy and that's my forehead. We talked a lot on the ride and enjoyed the scenery.

The delicacy of Sam Son is coconut milk, and Hieu drinks it by the gallon. It is cold and refreshing in this sticky hot climate.

It is also good to eat the meat of the coconut as Fr. Khue shows here.

Ming is one of our favorite people. He is large by Vietnamese standards, about 180 pounds and 5'10". The children love him because he is always smiling...well, almost always.

More coconuts, only this time Tuyen goes for one.

Here on the left is Fr. Hien. He speaks great English and says a wonderful English mass. What is great is that he is getting an American accent. Go for it, bro.

Dad, here is Thich wearing the USC hat you bought. He loves it and is happy that it was yours. Now he has a team to root for in the Pac-10.

After swimming (I spent 1 1/2 hours in the water and introduced Frisbee to everyone on the beach), we went to Trong Nhi, a famous and beautiful restaurant in Sam Son. It is across the street from the parish church and is owned by a wonderful Catholic family. The place is very neat and very clean and is known for its seafood.

Following the meal of squid, crab, and lots of fish I do not know the names for, we went to the store of the parish that was staffed by one of the sisters. Here are Thich and Minh posing with the young sister who tended the store. I got some presents here for the family.

Another picture with me in it. Notice that I'm wearing shorts, the first time since I've been here. These are only acceptable at the beach or when playing sports. Otherwise, it's pant for everyone.

This is a view of the parish church across from the restaurant. I like the steeples very much because of their detail.

A view of the statue of Mary in the church's courtyears. She is surrounded by trees to shade the people who sit here and pray the rosary.

Just like Phat Diem, there are students who stay in the summer at the parish and study. Here are some of the girls. They were shy at first, but like all kids, they really wanted their pictures taken.

Here is a better shot of the students with their teacher, a seminarian from Hanoi. What a great way to spend a summer.

Here is the young owner of the restaurant holding up two crabs - yes, two crabs. He ties each of them up with seaweed to keep them from pinching. They are sold this way. To keep them alive, water is sprayed on them every once in a while. There is also a tank with live crabs.

Here I am with two crabs. They wriggle a lot in your hands so they are weird to hold. Notice the crucifix in the background. The Catholic business people have either crosses or statues in prominent display. The Buddhists usually have small shrines.

A young couple manages the restaurant and these are their children. I have to say that the boy was quite the entertainer. Look at him and he would strike a pose.

Here is the boy with his father. You can just tell that he is going places.
The live crabs in the tank have a ribbon attached to them so they can be picked up and inspected. Tuyen decided he wanted to play with his food.
The gap between the haves and have-nots is striking in Vietnam. Transportation can run the gamut from expensive Mercedes to small Chinese cars, to motor bikes and bicycles, all the way to an ox cart. Well, here is an oxcart.

The Flowers of Vietnam

Here are some of the flowers around the grounds. Everything grows lush here. No words, just pictures.