Rat...It's what's for dinner.

Ok, well, actually it was for lunch. Before you cringe and judge, I must admit that it was pretty darn good. Although it was a bit stringy for me, those little critters do have quite a bit of meat on them. But first, before we really get to the nitty gritty of things, let's go back to the beginning...

Sunday at 6pm, we headed out for our third excursion, Tram Chim National Park. It is home to the Sarus Cranes, which are the largest of the crane family. They have a wing span of about 12 feet and stand about as tall as Eric (a guy on our program who is 6 foot 2 inches). It is funny, because we call him the "White Crane" every once and a while. Unfortunately, we didn't actually get to see these. They don't come during the wet season. But I did learn that there is an International Crane Foundation (who knew?).

We arrived around 10pm and checked into our rooms at the guest house. Cassie and I were greeted by a 4-inch spider sitting next to the light switch. Since I was so tired, I asked if it was real. You know, I hear a lot of places started decorating with fake spiders (I don't know what I was thinking).

The next day, we explored the national park by boat. We then packed up our stuff and went camping!!!! Pictures are coming. We put rat traps out that evening, to catch the little critters. We needed a lot to keep our strength up, so the next morning they also went hunting for them. They had some narly spears going on. But back to the night: they had all the stuff set up for us to sleep down in the shelter, but of course (like at Long Hoa) we got to drinking. Around midnight, we decided (the staff of the national park and 5 SIT students) that we should let the others sleep, so we meandered up to the watch tower. It was awesome, we drank some beers and sang songs about 50 feet above everything else. And we even got to sleep there. I also made best friends with a 65 year old boat driver. He was way cool and could sing like no other.

The next day, we went swimming in what I swear was 100 degree weather. It was so hot. You know how in Minnesota the water is refreshing and cool? Yea, its not like that in Vietnam. It is nasty hot and full of plants that want to rip you apart. But it was still fun to get in the water, and it really built up our appetite for some rat. Although I really didn't eat too much of it (because of the texture and the delicious soup that was available), I do believe my friend Julia fell in love with the critters. She might even be hunting them down back in the U.S. when she gets there. 

All in all, another great trip. Our fourth excursions begins Oct. 1st at 5pm. We are going to Can Gio Nature Reserve and staying in a resort. Whoa, luxury! I don't know if I can handle you. But there are monkeys!!!!

Look at the concentration of a well-trained rat hunter. Maybe someday, I can be just like him. 

Always the graceful one as we all know. There was a huge drop off there. I didn't want to drown.

There are plenty more where that came from. Rice Wine!

Our camping shelter. It was soo beautiful. And although we didn't actually sleep there, it was quite pimped out for us.

Look, Mom! Look, Dad! I climbed the watch tower (even when I was sober!).

Nam Moui Nam Moui

Cow!

Walking through the rice fields. It was kind of like follow the leader.

Mangroves are muddy.

On Tuesday morning, we left campus bright and early (6am!!) to venture off on our second excursion to Long Hoa Commune, Tra Vinh Province. It was about a 4 hour trip up, most of it on a bus, but we also had to take a ferry to get to the island. When we got there, it was probably about 19 million degrees fahrenheit (I am not even exaggerating) and there were no trees or any structures to shade us. But after the 30 minute walk to the house that we used as our check point, we had a great lunch and some time to relax. And everything just got better from there for the following reasons:

• amazingly friendly and easy going village guides
• Alcohol
• Cows were everywhere
• Alcohol
• The toilets, or perhaps lack of toilets
• Alcohol
• Wooden Plank Bed

Here's the low down in more detail:

Amazingly friendly and easy-going village guides

So, basically the people that I met were sooooo friendly. There was our host, Mr Quac, who I am probably going to marry. I was pretty in love with him. It's ok if the only things we can actually communicate to one another is our names, age and whether we're tired, right? Then there was a lady who was about 45 or 50, who I was supposed to call Co, which means Auntie in Vietnamese. She was the best. She was only at lunch with us on Wednesday, but her and I knocked back quite a few shots together. There were also the men who were also about 5 or 6 government officials and some farmers throughout the couple of days.

Cows were everywhere

Do I even need to say more?

The toilets, or perhaps, the lack of toilets

When we had to pee, we went into a small room that was made in the kitchen with blue tarps as the wall. Inside the dirt floor was so compacted, that it was almost like cement. In one corner, there was a little opening to the outside world in the small ledge around the "room." When you had to go, you just squatted and let it all flow. You then "flushed" it by scooping water over the area and cleaning it out. The drip dry was the best. I LOVE THIS TOILET. You think I am joking? No way. First of all, there is never any worries about pee on the seat, because there isn't a seat. Also, you can never miss. Can't see where you are? No worries, just drop trow and go. Need to go poo? Take it out back, jack, where the hole in the ground is.

Wooden Plank Bed

So, you think you have the hardest bed in the world? Try again. The bed that Julia and I got to share was just a bed frame with a wooden surface. Surprisingly, wooden planks are pretty comfortable. Unfortunately, the non-functioning mosquito net made it less so. 

ALCOHOL!!!!!

Man, oh man, can those Long Hoa-ans drink. Tuesday night at dinner we had rice liquor that was half way between whiskey and rum. Wednesday at lunch I had rice wine, which was super strong. It was delicious. I don't drink here in Vietnam, but when you have every government official and host coming up to you saying "Nam Moui Nam Moui," which means 50-50, it is a little hard to say no. Mainly, because when you say no, they just laugh and tell you to drink more. 

So, the drinking ritual goes as following. There are bottles and bottles and bottles of alcohol and some shot glasses. When you want to drink, you poor a shot glass and go up to a someone and invite them to drink it with you by saying "Nam Moui Nam Moui." You both drink half the shot. Sometimes, you invite them to take a whole shot with you. 

Everyone there loved drinking with me. At lunch, they made me sit on their end of the lunch circle and consume shot after shot. It was great and I was drunk at 12:30 in the afternoon with about 5 middle-aged (well, one 25 year old and four men ranging from 31-60) and Auntie. Auntie and I were also smoking cigarettes together, which although is very bad, was hilarious because it is totally unacceptable for women to smoke in Vietnam. But I think the guys loved seeing us just go crazy together, especially since they were the ones giving them to me. 

All in all, I loved Long Hoa. I drank a lot. Was told by our host's mother, that she would like me to stay with her because I smile and laugh so much. Was introduced to the provincial policeman, who was 31 and looking for a wife. And had another mother tell me that her 29 year old son was looking for a wife and she would like me to marry him. I thought she was joking til she showed me his picture. And of course, we got to get dirty again. Oh, what a GREAT trip! 

Mirror, mirror on the wall...

who has the fairest toes and fingernails in the land?

Me, of course. You saw the pictures above, so it should be obvious. My
hostmom, Trang, took me for a mani/pedi this afternoon. It was great
and she insisted I get the little flowers painted because I never had
it done before. Oh, how beautiful they are! Now, if I just shaved my
legs and started wearing cute shoes (aka not just my chacos), the
beautiful nails might fit in a bit better. Oh well, I guess my
black-hairy legs will go just fine with my white nails that cost
approximately $2.25 (cha-ching. That was SUCH a good deal, I think I
might have made money on it.).

Also, last night I was dragged along to Karaoke. I totally expected
some lame stuff to go down. Like having to listen to horrible singers
who weren't my friend. But when we finally got there (it was Cassie,
Julia, Jana and Eric from our group and 2 Vietnamese students), it was
sooo different than expected. Basically, we came to this building that
looked like a hotel. There was a smoky entry way and male workers in
horrible plaid uniforms and a waitress in a skimpy little black dress.
We looked at each other and asked if we were in a brothel. We didn't
know, in Vietnam things could just be THAT different. But we were
escorted up to the fourth floor and brought to a private room with a
karaoke machine and a flat-screen TV. What pursued could be described
as THE COOLEST, MOST FUNNEST THING EVER. Who knew karaoke was fun? But
really it is when you just have to listen to your friends and you sing
any song that you want and not have to wait for some drunky to finish
up their horrible rendition of Mr. Piano Man by Billy Joel. Some of
our specialties from last night were:
My heart will go on by Celine Dion
Bohemian Rapsody by Queen
Barbie Girl by Aqua
Dancing Queen by ABBA
We didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel
and the list goes on.
It was sooo much fun. If you didn't want to come to Vietnam before
this blog post, this alone should make you want to come.

One more thing: Today is the birthday of the coolest big brother in
the world. HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY, NICK!!!!

It's a dirty job...

Dig that hole!

We built a biodigester yesterday on our last day of our My Khanh Excursion.
What is a biodigester, you may ask? Basically its a really long
plastic bag that collects poop. From this poop, gases, such as methane
and carbon dioxide, separate out and are used for cooking. We had to
dig the hole for the bag, which was about 20 feet long, 80 cm wide and
90 cm deep.
As for some unfinished business:
-Can Tho Roadkill: Unlike in America, where we see cute,
cuddly creatures smashed onto the sides of the road (raccoons, cats,
and skunks) the only thing we see here for road kill is rats and
frogs. Now, in Minnesota, I always feel a little bit bad for the
roadkill, but here, I really don't give a rat's ass (did you catch the
pun). Rats run around here like no one's business and one time I even
saw one in a fancier restaurant we were eating in. But I think that
rat was ok, because he came from a colony of rats, very similar to
Nimh.
-Homestay: My homestay is really nice! My host's name is
Trang and she has a daughter, Tini, who is 4. She also has a husband,
but I don't really see him too much. We also have a live in maid/cook
and another maid who comes in the mornings. I could really get used to
this kind of lifestyle.

VACB and PUPPIES!! cont.

Why did we cross the river? To get to the other side of the village, duh!

This is Ricky! I asked if I could keep him. I even promised to feed it, and walk it and take care of it. But unlike my mom when I got my puppy at home, SIT totally called my bluff.

Snake Farm! Fun Fact: Snakes take legit poos.

Sorry about the confusion. I can't actually see my blog most of the
time, so I send in updates via email. I didn't realize that it only
posted part. But here is the other part that was supposed to be there.
We had lecture at a local farmer's house, where we learned about the
VACB system. VACB is a Vietnamese accronym that stands for Garden,
Livestock, Fish pond and Biogas. Basically, in this system, they use
diversification to make sure that they are bringing in the dough. So,
they grow fruit and vegetables that can be sold year round, fish that
can be harvested every few weeks and livestock that can be sold every
6 to 8 months. It is a really neat system to see. The livestock can
also vary on each farm, so we saw two pig farms and one SNAKE farm.
The biogas system is a very handy development. Basically, you collect
the human and livestock poo in a huge plastic bag. The methane and
carbon dioxide then raise out of the system and are collected in
another huge plastic bag. These gases are then used for cooking, and
hopefully soon, generators. But don't worry, the food doesn't taste
like poo, even though it is made with gases made from poo.
The coolest part of the day though...PUPPIES!!! We got to play with
puppies. They were so adorable. I just wanted to bring all of them
home with me, but that wasn't possible. But they were soooooo cute. I
named one Bandit and I carried him around for 15-20 minutes during nap
time. I played with the dogs instead of napping, since I have turned
into an ol' granny and go to bed at, like, 9:30 or 10pm. But today, I
named the other puppy Ricky. Ricky and Bandit told me that they wanted
to come home with me, but my coordinator wouldn't let me bring the
little munschkins home. OMG, so cute!!! Also, on the way to school
today, I saw puppies for sale (along with some birds, but who cares
about birds). I just wanted to tell the person I would pay him to let
me play with the puppies. But I realized since I can't even say "My
name is Alissa" correctly in Vietnamese that I shouldn't even bother
to try and tell the guy I would pay to play with the puppies.

VACB and PUPPIES!!

Xin Chao, Cac Ban! Vietnam is as beautiful as ever and is obviuosly
just getting more and more exciting. I have a couple of interesting
things for you to hear about this time, but I will try to keep it
short, light and entertaining. But since I want you to read my whole
blog entry (keeping it short remember), I will leave updates on Can
Tho Roadkill and major updates on my (amazing) hostfamily until one of
the coming posts.

At this very moment of typing, my hostmom just brought me some cake.
Amazing!! I could get used to this kind of treatment. You ask what
kind of treatment, well you will just have to keep checking my blog to
find out.

Anyway, moving forward, today was our first day of our first
excursion. It was incredible. We had lecture for the first part of the
morning and then lunch, followed by a half our rest period (nap
anyone?!?) and then an amazing time looking at 3 different farm
systems. We went to a small village just outside Can Tho called My
Khanh. Now, when I say village, it was very different than what you
are probably imagining in your head. If your thinking about something
like Lafayette, MN, you're not imaging correctly. Basically, it is a
bunch of houses following the river and making a long row. The river
was the main form of transportation up until 2 years ago when they got
this tiny little snake like road that is about 2-3 people wide.

Xe Dap and TP

Almost two weeks in, my tan lines are becoming more and more noticeable (my favorites are my sandal tan lines and my watch tan line), I'm staying regular (if you catch my drift) and I can now bike down the wrong side of the road. It's almost like I'm Vietnamese...except I'm obviously white and not Vietnamese.

But as promised, today I will be talking about our Bike Gang, Xe Dap (Vietnamese for Bicycle), and toilet paper. I am even going to throw in some extra sweetness!

All seven of us on the trip bought bikes, so we now roam the streets of Can Tho looking pretty darn rowdy. We carefully look only forward to ensure that we don't get in accidents, we are the only ones wearing bike helmets and we smile and wave at everyone who says "hello." And when it rains, we of course wear our lovely ponchos that are bright red that we got for free when we bought our cell phones, or our rain jackets, which make us look even weirder since no one else has rain jackets. Oh yea, we are a rough group of bikers. I tried to upload a picture of Linette (my bike) and I for y'all, but unfortunately, she wants to stay anonymous. She is shiny silver and will probably get stolen in about 5 days. Until then, her and I are riding free on streets of Can Tho.

As for the toilet paper here. I don't know about it. It is 2-ply, so it is pretty good at absorbing what it is supposed to. But that isn't why I get upset with it. The reasons are its not glued to the toilet paper tube, so the tube will randomly slide out of the toilet paper and the corrugated rip lines aren't lined up. So, there you are, on the Jon, trying to rip yourself some toilet paper, but it all ends up in shreds, because the two plies won't rip together. So annoying. Plus, it is about an inch thinner than the TP in America. It just doesn't feel the same.

Jana, my roommate, and I have also started to be real creepers. We sit on the balcony closest to the road and watch activities on the road. Some good, interesting stories are:

• One day, at a corner vendor, we a heard a fight break out. A man on his motorbike, jumped off, while still holding his child, and broke it up. Some seconds later, while there was still shouting, the man took off his flipflop and threw it at the vendor. He then had to go pick it up. Amazing!
• We saw some cock fighting on the sidewalk.
• I saw some lady getting suction cup therapy on the sidewalk. She was topless, covering her bosoms with a straw hat. 

Well that's all for this week. Some things to look forward to next time: Roadkill Can Tho style, homestay news and our first excursion.

Linette and I. It was very bright out, so she didn't take a great picture, but you get the idea. 

Picture that I took from the creeper spot. This old lady is awesome. I see her everyday, and I love her style. I want to go through her closet and take her clothes!

The view from our room's balcony. 

The street outside our hotel is always filled with vendors. They sell everything, from fish and crabs to fruit or bread.

Celebrity Status

On Thursday, we finally left the bustling Ho Chi Minh City for the quieter, more quaint town of Can Tho. In this move, I transformed from "just another tourist that can be swindled out of money" to a full fledged celebrity/zoo animal! You may be questioning this transition, but truly, it did happen. In Can Tho, we are some of the only Americans/white people who venture out of the tourist area. Therefore, where ever we bike, shop or eat, we are constantly being stared at, pointed at or just observed. Every child and some adults shout "Hello!" at us in passing, but it usually comes out more like "He-row!" Parents point us out to their children in the supermarkets and in the bookstore, I had a baby look at me like, "What happened to that poor human being?" Some just smile and wave, and others just do a double take.

Along with our celebrity status, we also have become very wealthy, being able to do any activity without worrying about the cost. SIT covers most of our costs that we have throughout our trip (which of course I did pay for), but even when we buy meals it is outrageously cheap. We went to a vegetarian buffet for dinner last night and paid about 98 cents for it. It was very delicious as well. Today, for our morning snacks, we went with one of our program coordinators and student volunteers to a floating market and a fruit orchard. It was beautiful and was very peaceful since it was about a 20-minute boat ride outside of the city.

What to look forward to in the next post: toilet paper size and the American Bike Gang!

Some of the larger boats at the floating market. We got to the market around 7:45am and it was about ready to shut down for the day. It opens at 4am and technically goes until about 10am, but most vendors do not have that much inventory to sell. 

 Some of the shacks that line the Can Tho River. Most houses are not like this, but those who live in poverty tend to live in these kind of shanties. 

Look at the cute dog! But watch out, he could be your next meal. Well, only if you go to certain restaurants. But dogs that are not lap dogs are stolen quite often here by peasants who sell them to the dog-serving restaurants. Unfortunately, I won't be patronizing these restaurants while in Can Tho. 

Fruit Orchard - The fruit trees are all on man-made islands, which help keep the water nearby and also allows for fish to be raised in the orchard. The orchard we visited raised pineapple, dragon fruit, jack melon, papaya, guava, oranges, limes, pomelo and mango. It was great walking through the orchards, because we got to see all of the fruit growing on the trees. 

Facebook

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to let you all know that I have very limited access to Facebook in Vietnam. There are rules enforced here and some servers block the Facebook site, meaning that rarely will I be able to be on Facebook. Which means you should all follow my blog and contact your dear, far-traveled friend (that would be me) on my blog or simply by emailing me. All my contact information is on my Facebook page.

But since I am making this entry, I thought I would share a couple of things with you that have been exciting throughout the day.

Yummy, yummy in my tummy. It's hard to believe that this fresh-made juice and fried rice cost only about $5. The exchange rate is about 19,000 Vietnamese Dung per US dollar. 

1. There is a baby gecko that lives on our hotel room door. He or she is about 1.5 inches in length and is adorable. He isn't always around, but sometimes he creeps up on you. There are a ton of geckos around, outdoors, indoors, everywhere you can think. But thankfully, none of them have tried to sell me Geico car insurance...yet. 
2. The toilet in one of the cafes was very interesting. First, it didn't have a toilet seat cover. Second, you had to through your toilet paper away in a waste basket. Finally, to flush it, you had to scoop water from a bucket into the toilet. It was glorious. Apparently, these toilets are all over Vietnam, so I better get used to it. 

The street we are staying on in Saigon. It's kind of blurry because I was too embarrassed to take a flash photo.