Binh's Family Reunion

 Today we traveled from Hanoi to the countryside for a party with Binh's family. First we visited Binh's mother who, at 83, is quite the writer. Here she is inscribing one of her three books of poetry to me.

 This is the view from the front of Binh's mother's house. Nam is sitting and enjoying the peace and quiet of the koi pond. Vinh designed the landscape, tranquil and inviting.

 Grandmother and Nam showing off their smiles. The painting in the background is by Binh's husband Vinh. Creativity runs in the family.

 Binh and Nam. He is so proud of that shirt.

 Myself and Binh in the entrance way to her mother's house. Everything about the place is beautiful and well-kept.

 Just some of the family.

 15 years old and already she gets a new motorbike. Before 18, you can legally ride a bike that is 50cc or less. Still, it can go pretty fast.

 On the left is Binh's cousin who is home from Russia where she has been for three years. She is back in the village to take care of her ailing parents.

 At the reunion, Binh sat next to Julie. Julie's parents are building the house where the party was held, a house only about 1/3 done. The first floor will be a coffee shop that Julie is going to own and manage. She showed me the interior design and it is breathtaking. She is a young woman who is going to make her mark in the world.

We all ate on the first floor of the unfinished house, the food being catered. There was a nice breeze and it didn't really feel like the 96 degrees it was. I had a wonderful time toasting with the men (rice wine...100 proof) and talking with the women.

Saying Goodbye at the Seminary

The sisters know I love ice cream, so get a lot of it. Before lunch I went back to the seminary and was greeted and treated by the sisters. It was ice cream all around.

These five and most fun in world. Don't get me wrong, they are serious about God and their work, but get them going and it's non-stop fun.

Just being silly for the camera.

Fr. Bo surprised me and came over for lunch. We cannot speak each other's language well, but we speak to each other from the heart.

The men who teach at the seminary: Fr. Vong, Fr. Bo, Fr. An, and Fr. Suit. Table mates and good people.

That's me on Fr. Bo's bicycle. He is famous for going around the village on this two-wheeler, being greeted by everyone and waving back

Fr. Bo wanted to be in the picture, too.

This is the last picture I took at the seminary for 2018. In the distance is Fr. Bo riding his bicycle back to the cathedral.

Saying Goodbye at the Cathedral

In the early morning I went to the cathedral to have breakfast with the men and women who live and work at the cathedral. Here, Fr. Huan, Fr. Nam, and Fr. Bo join me for a cup of traditional Vietnamese tea.

Fr. Bo and I. He is the one who looks out for me. The first thing he brings me when I come is a couple of six-packs of Ensure! He doesn't want me to lose weight when I'm there.

Here are the four of us.

Fr. Vinh joined Fr. Bo and I for this photo. Vinh and Dinh both studied for eight years in Rome, and I missed having them around in the summers. This time I got to watch him concelebrate and I was so proud.

After breakfast, I went to see the music class. Here, all ages from the diocese come to learn how to sing, read music, and play the keyboard. The sang traditional Vietnamese songs for me and I taught them Doe, a Deer. As usual, we laughed more than we talked.

I also spent time with The and Peter working on a translation of a book for the seminarians. Here are The and I. He's working hard on his English and hoping to come to the U.S. someday to study the language.

Class Party

 The night of every last class we have a party, and this year was no exception. The drink of the evening? Coca-Cola, with lots (and I mean lots) of ice.

 There was junk food and fruit. The watermelon went fast.

 Fr. Vong and I. He is a good man and I will miss him very much.

 All night the students kept feeding me. In fact, every meal I have in Vietnam everyone feeds me. You'd think I was thin.

 The guys acting up.

 There were lots of stories told and I made the rounds.

 Even though it was only soda, we still toasted, and toasted, and toasted.

 More talking and more mingling.

Thanks to Google Photos, I put all of the pictures and videos in an album and kept it going. Lots of good memories in only a couple of weeks.

Party at Fr. Ming's Place

Last night I went to Fr. Ming's parish. He was in my first class at Phat Diem. Here he is on the left in the blue shirt. He has been back three years after getting a second masters in Paris. You can see what a crazy crowd there was.

The moms of the parish prepared the food, and this is how the watermelon came. It did not only look good, but was delicious. These are all farmers, so they know their produce.

I sat at the head table with the parish council. Fr. Ming, as you can see, almost never sat down. He's quite the extrovert and joke teller.

Here are the moms finishing the preparation of the food. They are a great bunch and got me laughing.

The young ones prepared the spices and sauces. Everyone takes part in the preparation of a party and everyone gets to enjoy it.

One thing we did was a lot of toasting. The favorite drink is called "Vietnamese wine," but it's really a liquor made from fermented rice...and boy is it strong. The men use shot glasses, fill them up, and then say, "Cham va cham," or 100%. You  don't get to drink too many shots at that level.

Going to the Store

This second to last day of class, the students formed five different stores. They had to learn how to greet customers, how to talk to store owners, and the names of all the items. Here are the five stores well-stocked.

Before we began the exercise, it was time for a group picture. We never have enough group pictures.

Then it was off to the races. Each group posted one person as the salesman in the store and the other three shopped the other stores. Here they are looking at jewelry.

The electronics store had quite a crowd, with many asking for videogames. Go figure.

Hao was big on wanting to buy a children's book.

Necklaces were also a big draw.

The clothing store had a run on ties, well, on one tie, the red one.

Here the customers are looking at expensive "gems."

Although the book is in Vietnamese, it was asked for in English.

Looking quite continental in a scarf.

The red tie again.

A salesman hawking his wares.

And finally, a seminarian looking for a wedding ring? Hmm...I have to talk with him.