In the afternoon, Tan picked me up for an adventure. Tan was in the minor seminary and went with me a few years ago when I visited the historic city of Hue. He now works in Hanoi as an editor.
First, we went to visit a local elementary school whose music teacher is a good friend of Tan's. Huy showed us around the school. It was the last work day of the year for teachers and there were no students present. They were preparing to receive the country's highest award for excellence.
This is the Traditional Room, which is found in every institution. School awards and memorabilia are kept here. The national award they were to receive is to be displayed in this room.
Each year the faculty gets their picture taken and proudly displayed. I wish we would do that in the U.S.
This is the music room. Yes, music is a part of the curriculum, something not done throughout the U.S. The students even get to learn the traditional instruments of Vietnam.
The art room has an easel for each student in the class -- 24, a nice number. The room is bright and cheerful.
Here is the playground for the little children. The school has 1st through 5th grade. The middle schools have 6th through 9th, and the high school only 10th through 12th. The three women wearing the traditional ao dai (ao zai) dresses are new teachers at the school.
This is a typical elementary classroom. Not the proximity of students to each other. While the room is not large, it is cheerful and very clean.
Learning how to write with excellent penmanship is the cornerstone of education here. Notice how picky one has to be to write well. How things look is as important as what it contains.
This space between two of the three buildings give you an idea of the scale of the campus.The children play on the cement during recess. Cement is much more practical, especially in the rainy season.
A small stage stands about two feet above the central courtyard, watched over by Uncle Ho (Ho Chi Minh). Classrooms are all the same size and are above and below each other.
After touring the school, we visited Huy's home. He still lives with his parents, and will stay there even after he gets married in November. This is part of his bonsai collection. We talked bonsai for a long time as we both have a passion for growing them.
Then it was off to a new bar in town to have something to drink before dinner. It overlooked the river and I had a great view of the offloading of a cargo of coal.
Huy and Tan and I enjoyed the local brew - Bia Ha Noi. They also had appetizers of peanuts and dried fish. A veteran of the war, a bit older than myself, came over to drink with us. It was apparent that he had PTSD, so we quietly excused ourselves. It is a disease that can affect anyone.
We then stopped by to pick up Huy's fiancee, My, at her parent's clothing shop. This is My's mother and Huy's nephew saying goodbye as we left on our motorbikes. He didn't quite know what to make of this crazy looking American.
A dazzling picture of the soon-to-be newlyweds, Huy and My. We had dinner at a restaurant famous for its chicken. My just completed her nursing degree and begins her new job at a hospital in Ninh Binh City next month.
The lovely couple and myself, followed by the lovely couple and Tan.
Oh, and what does My mean in Vietnamese? America. It was so nice to finally meet America.
