This is my table where we come to eat three times each day. From left: Fr. Hoa, Fr. Khue, Bishop Joseph, Fr. Hien, Fr. Bo, and me. Missing from the table was Fr. Minh. Each has been great conversationalists and I will miss their funny stories.
I saw this flower blooming next to the bishop's house and it reminded me of the people of Vietnam. There is little space, peole walk past it and ignore it, there is little food or room for growth, but yet it not only grows, it thrives. It is a miracle that only God can bring.
When I took these photos, each class was practicing solfeggio, the art of singing using syllables (do-re-mi, etc.). It helps them to hear the music when they see it on the page. There are no chords for church music, so each keyboard player makes up his or her own harmonies.
Since I also studied music, it was fun for me to help teach and be a part of some of the classes. When they practice keyboard, you can imagine the sound of everyone playing at the same time with the teacher roaming to listen. No, there are no headphones. Hmm...maybe that would be a good idea.
The music classes last three years. This year is the first year in a cycle. There are two tests each summer, and those who pass the tests are asked to come again the next summer. By the third year, ther are perhpas only 30 students, but they are the ones who work hard and practice many hours both here in the summer and at home after school.
This is the advanced class working on an especially difficult solfeggio exercise.
Here are Loc and Tan having a drink of Khanh Do while we wait at the station.
We're just getting out of town and saw these huge piles of rice.
There are three types of train cars, and you pay more as the amenities increase. At the bottom is hard seat with no air conditioning. That is the cheapest and definitely the least fun. Then there is hard seat with air conditioning; that was us. Finally, there is soft seat with air conditioning, what we had on the way back.
There is limited food available on the train, so many people bring their own. Families sleep on the floor on mats they bring. It feels like a traveling village since the trip is long (it took us 13 hours to get there) and we easily made friends.
The scenery was breathtaking.
This is a trains station on the way to Hue.
Too cute for words.
A teenager checking his phone. Sound familiar?
Tan eating dinner.
Loc showing off what he bought.
While in Hue I went across the street from the seminary and took a walk along the river. It was the epitome of serenity
Here are some of the good fathers who teach at the seminary. Fr. Dan, far right, is rector of the seminary. They are all Sulpecian priests, an order of priests whose sole duty is to teach other priests. Because of that, they all have advanced degrees in theology. That also means they have a great sense of humor, so dinner is always fun.
This statue of Mary and the infant Jesus is in the middle of the courtyard. In the back you can see the front of the chapel.
A closer view of the statue shows Mary kissing Jesus' little hand, something I had never seen before. It gives the statue a kind and gentle look.
In another courtyard is a statue of a man thinking. This and the statue of Mary put the two important parts of Catholic theology together: belief and reason.
Vietnamese seem to love soccer, and seminarians are almost all rabid players. They take great care of their field.
