Wednesday was the tenth anniversary of the passing of Vinh's grandfather. It is traditional to bring all of the family together on this day, pray, and then eat. Actually, that is the way of gathering in Viet Nam, praying and then lots of food. On the way we met one of Vinh's classmates, Hoan on the leaft, helping with the harvest.
Never one to shun a photo op, here's me with Hoan. By the way, we're standing on the road and on the right is a patch of rice that has been harvested.
And here are Vinh, his friend, and two other guys, Viet on the left and Hoang on the right, helping.
These are most of the family of Vinh's grandfather. I would give you all their names, but that would take up way too much space. Let's just say that it was loud and fun to be together. And there was way too much rice wine.
We found out that one of Vinh's uncles, Dong, was also born in the year of the dragon, and this means in Viet Nam that we are brothers. His wife is Thuy. Here is their family along with Vinh on the left. I told him that when he visits America he would get to meet my father. He was very pleased. So dad, I think it's time to set up the barbeque.
My new brother, Dong, and I in front of his house.
This is Dong's very quiet son Duc. Well, he's actually not that quiet as you can see from the picture.
And this is Dong's grandson Dat.
A quiet moment with Duc.
This amazing piece of folk art is in Vinh's home. It is built entirely of contrete and set into the wall. I like how it is definitely Christian but has an Asian flair to it. Most of the Catholic homes have statues and pictures of the Holy Family.
These are just some interesting photos I shot on the motorbike ride back to Phat Diem. In this one you can see the chaff from the rice being dried on the side of the road. This will be burnt for fuel for cooking. Across the river is a church. There are so many that at one spot on the road I could see five with their spires the highest points.
Here you can see that the road is kind of rough. The government is dredging the river and using the dirt to widen the road. The families who own the houses on the other bank are well off. You can tell this because they have big houses and nice roofs.
One lane of the road is complete. The farmers who live on this road are using this to dry the rice. People are constantly moving the rice so that it is dried as fast as possible. When it rains, which it does here in the summer, then the rice must be taken in before it gets wet. These houses are more typical of those owned by the farmers.This video will give you an idea of what it's like to ride a motorbike in the countryside. It was a very windy day, so it's best to turn down the sound.
