Emma Willard Girls Spend Last Days in Hanoi

Our days in Hanoi have been wonderful. The weather is cooler and cloudier than in the south (typical weather). We have toured the city, spent time listening to our guide talk about the culture and history, visited religious and political sights, eaten yummy dim sum and spring rolls of all kinds. Last night they let off steam in a private room with a karaoke machine. Girls sang in the back of the bus on the way to the Friendship Village where very formally we met the director, took a tour of the facility and then played soccer with the kids. Those who live and work there are all very very friendly. Today we look forward to "Uncle Ho's" mausoleum where his body has been preserved to be viewed, a pagoda and other sites of the city, and then more play time with the villagers after talking with Vietnam war veterans who get care and relaxation for two months before going home and another group comes in. Tomorrow we pack and the day is reserved mainly for eating and shopping before we leave. Several may get their hair washed and nails done in the Vietnamese style.

Emma Willard Girls Arrive in Hanoi

The Mekong Delta has been a real adventure.  We did so much while we were there, from listening to typical music, to biking around an island, rode in sampans with little cone hats, hiked, and helped cook food in the kitchen.  We loved our hosts, our beds with mosquito netting above and the basic bathrooms.  Most of all, we loved the joyful spirits everyone shared together, along with our cooking instructors and our guide Hau.  It was fantastic being on the water and stopping to see how coconut candy, puffed rice, sesame bars are made, how salt is gleaned from the ocean, how honey is collected and how fish sauce and snake wine is prepared.  We saw so many people who lived and worked on their boats and along the water.

Now we are at our posh hotel, after walking through the night market and having a plentiful French-Vietnamese dinner.  Ice cream at Fanny's was great as well as the Water Puppet Theater.  Our new guide is Long.  We look forward to some of the historical sites tomorrow along with our introduction to the Friendship Village.

Emma Willard School Group Unaffected by Japan's Earthquake / Tsunami

We just spoke with the guide in the Mekong Delta traveling with the Emma Willard school group. All are safe and unaffected by the earthquake and tsunami originating in Japan.  According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), Vietnam's coastal areas, including the Mekong Delta appears to remain unaffected by the earthquake/ tsunami originating off Japan's coast. The Emma Willard group will arrive in Hanoi this weekend. They will post another blog update of their traveling adventures once they access internet access in the city.

Emma Willard Girls Vietnam Trip Continues

Vietnam is still beautiful, intriguing and fascinating! After a late night and a few troubles, we woke to ANOTHER amazing breakfast (did I tell you there's someone to make eggs for you too?) and took off for China town. They toured a Temple and learned about making wishes for the dead and alive, then we went to the unification palace where we really learned about the history of the place through several presidents. My what amazing photos, rooms, basement, etc.! Our guide really knows his stuff! We had lunch in a buffet and tried the common hotpot soup along with tons of other delicious foods. The afternoon once again was spent with our friends at the Little Rose Shelter. Sara Berry presented them with money that they said they would use toward ingredients for their food. They are only allowed one outfit a year and often don't have flavoring for their foods. We learned about the history of the center and their needs and schedule, and took a tour. Then girls taught them dances like the cotton-eyed joe and a line dance and such before they engaged us in a game of monkey in the middle. A heart felt goodbye sent us back home. We await the bus soon that will take us to a restaurant on the river. ON the river, where we will float. We'll get in later than usual tonight ( I hope they are packed) and we'll depart much earlier than usual. A wake up call is in order at 5AM.

Emma Willard Girls in Vietnam go to War Remnants and Little Rose

After another lovely breakfast, we toured around town in our fancy bus and ended up at the War Remnants Museum (formerly the American Atrocities Museum). The girls had a chance to hear from our tour guide about the American War (our Vietnam war) from the side of a Vietnamese person. His father fought for South Vietnam, and he was a soldier for the unified Vietnam in Cambodia against Pol Pot. Father and son reunited in philosophy after the son regained the family home after it was confiscated after the American war. The museum was full of photographs and items from the wars, as well as a model of a tiger cage where they kept prisoners of war. Captured US tanks, helicopter, and various field artillery pieces were on display.

The girls really wanted to plan their play with the girls at the Little Rose Shelter, so they bought lots of beads and string and a soccer ball at the market after lunch, and so we ended up playing games (musical chairs, duck duck goose, hand/floor slapping and other games), learning more about each other and communicating in other ways as we made beaded bracelets for each other. It was the favorite part of the day for many. One said that she thought it was astounding how close she feels to these girls without the commonality of language. Of course Ngoc helped a lot too, but encouraged us to make our own connection without her being the go-between.

After returning to the hotel, we had an hour to get ready for dinner. We all took a side trip to the dress shop down the street. Dinner was fun with typical food. Another 4-5 course meal with seafood, pho noodles, fruit and more. We had plenty! Now the girls are tired and ready to settle down.

Tomorrow, the reunification palace and return for our last day with the Little Rose Girls.

Emma Willard School Girls Arrive in Vietnam

We made it last night around 2AM to our hotel after a long visa processing adventure. Sara Rahimi passed the immigration officer at the last minute of her birthday 12AM, with about 15 seconds to spare!

Girls were a little excited last night but finally fell asleep. We got up and had a delicious breakfast: dumplings, yogurt, sausage, pancakes, fried noodles, dragonfruit, watermelon, and much much more.

Les Baird made signs for each of their water spigots to help them keep from using the tap water to brush teeth and all were on the road for a little tour of Saigon. We saw the French architecture of the post office and city hall, a beautiful statue of "Uncle Ho" (Chi Minh), the old US consulate building and the hotel where war journalists stayed. We drank coconut water from the seed itself, ate pho where Bill Clinton ate pho (noodle soup) called Pho 2000. We stopped to see a rehearsal of a fashion show, complete with dancers. The biggest surprise was sticking our heads into the entrance way of Ngoc's middle school!
Everyone seemed to enjoy the market. Some were proud of their bargaining skills, others showed off their new clothing and other stuff. We enjoyed watching girls try on wigs and shoes, and eat their lunches from round metal containers.

Speaking of Ngoc, she saved the day by initiating our connection with the girls at the Little Rose Shelter by translating all we needed to know. The afternoon was improvised and all the girls rose to the occasion by offering up and playing various games. We learned to count to 10, how to say each others' names, and the words for I, you, left and right. It was a spirited afternoon with lots of smiles. We gave them lots of VHS movies for kids, but alas they didn't have a machine, but promised to give them to someone who could appreciate them.

After a short break (swimming in the pool, nap and organizing), we went out for dinner at the Chateau. Dinner had little animals made of fruit that escorted in our courses: coconut soup, fish (whole fish), morning glory, meat dish with pork and fruit for dessert.

As we returned all voted to sleep until tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow the highlights are visiting the war remnants museum and return to the Little Rose Shelter. We hope to get to know those girls even more now that the ice is broken.

Cam on and bye bye.

Michelle Obama Urges Students to Study Abroad

While President Obama met with Chinese leader Hu Jintao at the White House, first lady Michelle Obama used Hu's visit to encourage students to become part of the global community. "Studying in countries like China isn't only about your prospects in the global marketplace. It's not just about whether you can compete with your peers in other countries to make America stronger," Obama said. "It's also about whether you can come together and work together with them to make our world stronger. Its about the friendships you make, the bonds of trust you establish and the image of America that you project to the rest of the world."get out of their comfort zones and help to "develop that habit of cooperation."

Click here for the full story via The Washington Post: At Howard U., Michelle Obama urges students to study abroad, form bonds outside U.S.