I wanted to enclose a picture of me and a bust of Ho Chi Minh. One thing that was definitely evident in Vietnam was the country's and people's respect for this man. I saw his picture or busts of him many places, especially at the college. The people of Vietnam affectionately refer to him as "Uncle Ho". As I understood it, he is viewed as the most important figure in creating the country, held in the same respects as most Americans would view George Washington or Abraham Lincoln.
This picture was taken in the main hall of the college where I helped with the English conference. You can see the bust of Uncle Ho and then in the back the red banner with the communist symbol (the hammer and sickle) and the star. There was another set up exactly like this in the college's main theater/performance stage. They had a talent show the night after the conference. It was in celebration of the upcoming Tet Festival, and many students sang songs and danced. They even had us Americans go up there and sing a couple of songs.
A lot of the music incorporated keyboards and synthesizers. Before the show started, I looked up at the stage at the red banner with the communist symbols, as I listened to the synethized music. I felt like I was in Rocky IV, hearing "Hearts on Fire" as they showed Ivan Drago training. It was really interesting.
I also wanted to share a little bit about a puppet show I went to. Vietnam is famous for it's water puppets, which originated in the country. The show involves puppets that rise above the water, but are connected to long poles that remain under water. These poles are controlled by puppeteers who are behind a backdrop. Meanwhile there is a band that is playing music and narrators tell a story. The whole thing was in Vietnamese, but was really enjoyable nonetheless. It was neat to watch how the puppets moved along the water and the different ways that they interacted with the water and the other characters.
Here's a scene from the water puppet show.
Finally, in Vietnam I had the chance to try some new food. That's right, for the first time I ate dog. I remember before coming to Taiwan, asking people if they would eat dog if given the chance. Well, I haven't ever seen it in Taiwan, but in Vietnam it is pretty common. Now, I wasn't looking to eat at a dog buffett or anything like that, but James did buy some for some of us to try.
To me it tasted a bit like sausage but it was pretty grissely (sp?...fatty). Part of that might have been how it was prepared. It was cut into small cubes, and I only wanted to eat one piece. It was mostly a mental thing, because if I didn't know it was dog, I might have eaten more. So it didn't taste bad, but it was more the fact that I was actually eating a dog.
Dog for carry-out
Here I am ready to eat a piece of dog.
Well I hope you have enjoyed Vietnam stories. I'll try to move the focus back to Taiwan now.
1 comment:
I definitely wouldn't have what it takes to eat dog. Cat, no problem. Dog, I couldn't bring myself to do that.
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