I have a blogging problem

Sooo…I promised myself I would wait until December 1st to post again, but I just can’t wait. It seems I am totally addicted to blogging. I don’t even really know why. It’s not like I am discovering any new life secrets when I blog, I just retell stories from my life. Though SOMEHOW it is AWESOME. In fact, I don’t know what I will do when I get back to the U.S. I might have to start a blog named “The Chronicles of Alissa Morson” where I write about a lot of pointless things that happen throughout my day. And although all of you are thinking, “I would never read that,” actually you would. You know why? We all hate working and we all love procrastinating. What’s the best way of procrastinating? Doing pointless things, like checking our Facebook 400 times a day, or reading about Alissa Morson’s boring life that she retells in a somewhat humorous and self-deprecating way.  But enough of that!

I am back in Can Tho and soo incredibly excited about it! You have no idea how awesome it is to be home, or shall I say, “My Home Away from Home: Viet NAM Edition.” I have to specify since I do have other home away from homes. Well, I have been here almost a week, and soo many fun things have happened (but also really boring things). I don’t know where to start, so I will just give you some of the highlights. Get ready, there are A LOT!!

1. On the night train from Phan Rang to Ho Chi Minh City, there was a fellow traveler in my cabin who smelled really bad. I don’t know what it was: his feet, his clothes, his rotting bananas? I don’t know. But I do know it definitely wasn’t farts, it stayed around the entire 8 hours. I challenge someone to fart for 8 hours straight with a constant stream of stench like that one.
2. The next day when I got home, Trang got me a massage. I giggled through most of it, but tried to hide it as best I could. The masseuse was blind and didn’t speak English. I didn’t want him to feel bad.
3. On Thanksgiving, I got a mani-pedi. Be jealous!
4. On Thanksgiving, I went to the rented house where 4 of the SIT students are living, and had the wonderful cooking of Julia, Jana and Cassie. The food was awesome and just like America. It was so delicious, not nutritious, and actually made me want to vomit a little bit. No that sounds bad. I mean, I did want to vomit, but its just because I am not used to such rich food anymore. But no worries, Julia, Jana and Cassie are all great cooks, they never include food poisoning in their recipes.
5. On Saturday, we decided to be adventurous. So we went to the movie theater/coffee shop to see Salt. First of all, we didn’t really know what we were supposed to do when we got there. So we did what we always do when we don’t know what to do. We stood around and waited for someone to do it for us. It worked. Second of all, the movie is supposed to be in English right? Wrong. It was in Russian and only the flashback scenes were in English. I don’t feel bad though. When I read the synopsis, I was so glad I could only get the drift of the major happenings. The plot was weird and not great.
6. I taught a priest English. I think there might be a spot opening up for me in heaven after all.
7. Last night, after going out for coffee with Trang, we stopped at Saigon bakery to get bread for her daughter. I saw this interesting cake with three layers there. It intrigued me and my hostmom saw that it intrigued me and bought it for me. It really confused me, because the layers were so stuck together, just perfect. I didn’t understand it. But then I discovered that (I’m pretty sure) they just buttered the cakes and stuck them together. It horrified me…but it was also soo desirable. Who knew butter and cake were so good together, well, except my whole family in America and anyone who eats banana bread. And although I wasn’t actually hungry, I ate it soo fast, I forgot to get a picture of it. Sorry!

Well, that’s it for now. But don’t worry, my addiction will set in again soon and you will probably hear about the adorable puppies that I sometimes see for sale on the side of the road, or how I sit in my room most of the time trying to force myself to do work or one of the other many things I feel you deserve to know about my Viet Nam trip!

I don't actually have any pictures from this week, so I give you polar bear pictures instead.
 Awesome picture taken from www.mypoweranimals.org

OMG. Seriously, what could be cuter, right?
Image taken from keetsa.com/blog

The Dream Job...Gone Bad

Tonight, I will be heading back to Can Tho City, which I am having very mixed feelings about. I have come to really love Phan Rang (mainly just the balcony that Alex and I drink beers on and the relaxing nights we have without work), but I am also very excited to go back to Can Tho and see everyone and have more than just 2 people to talk to. Although I am very excited to have a group of people I can talk to again, I will miss going to Cau Gay, the Raglay ethnic minority village, where Alex and I had many great times. Over the course of our two trips, each about 4 days long, we really formed a close bond to our homestay family. Even though they didn't speak English, and we soooo obviously don't speak Vietnamese or Raglay, we got to the point where we no longer even needed a spoken language to understand each other.

But first (before I get all mushy. Well, honestly, I'll probably stop before the mushy part in this blog. Don't worry, the last paragraph was the mushiest that I will get), before I go back to Can Tho, let me tell all of you about the last four days spent in the village. I really like the analogy of the first day of a dream job. You know, that dream job that you're offered (probably involving something like polar bear observation) and your sooo excited that the opportunity has presented itself that you don't really ask any questions about it. You just say "Yes!" But then, you show up at work the first day and there is a whole list of problems when you get there.

1. There is a huge leak above your desk that probably won't be fixed for a week or two, so basically you just cover up your papers and hope that your shoddy rain jacket will keep you a little bit dry.
2. The air conditioning is on the fritz and its much, much colder than anyone is used to, but of course they forgot to mention this point, so you come in a T-shirt and one warm jacket that you really don't want to get wet. You sit there all day long with your teeth chattering and your hands in your armpits to keep warm, but you still have a cheerful face on when the boss comes by and asks if everything is ok. "Oh, of course I'm fine. Oh no, don't worry. I love cold, wet weather. You can count on me boss!"
3.  They only have horrible fluorescent lighting.
4. The cockroach problem has again gotten out of control, and the creepy little guys seem to pop-up when you least expect them, like when walking to the bathroom.
5. The boss brings her dog to work, but the assistant forgets to pick up its poop. 
6. They promise you cheesecake, but forget to mention that we will only get it after hours and you have to climb to the top of the skyscraper where your polar bear observation company is located to eat it. But, also don't forget that the stairwell is under construction on floors 19-22, so you have to climb up the ladder in that part. But the good part, you still get the cheesecake (It's got raspberries on top, so it's, like, way extra good.)

Well, at this point, you're like, "OMG, Alissa, is there a point to this story? Or are you just going to make these weird references that no one but Alex understands." Hold on to your little horsies, because I am about to explain each of the analogies. My dream job that I didn't ask any questions about is going camping in the woods of Nui Chua National Park. The beautiful tropical forest and mountains seem like the perfect place to go camping and trust me, it was...except for these points.

1. It rained the entire time we went camping. We were supposed to camp for 3-nights, but thank god, it is too dangerous to go the route we originally planned when it is raining, so we got to sleep in the homestay. Concrete flooring is wayyyy better than sleeping in a hammock. Especially when its raining.
2. Did you know it was really cold in the mountains, especially when its raining? And when I say really cold, I mean like maybe 55-60 degrees Fahrenheit. I had my fleece, old woman head wrap, scarf, pants and socks on, but my teeth were still a chattering without a blanket that night. Also, hammocks don't really hold heat in all that well. Who knew? Well now I know, and I will be a princess and drama queen and ask to sleep on the concrete floor from now on. 
3. Since it was raining, it was cloudy all the days. This means that the view of some of the mountains were obstructed and everything had a misty haze about it. 
4. So, wet season in the tropical jungle...you know what that means. Watch out for poisonous snakes and scorpions. Of which we saw both. I saw a poisonous green snake up in the trees, Mr. Vinh saw what was most likely the end of a king cobra, and we all saw a scorpion. Let's just say, I was more than a little paranoid when I had to squat. 
5. In Nui Chua National Park, there are free range cattle everywhere. Even way up in the mountains where you would never imagine there are cows, there really are cows. This means there are cow pies every where, on every path and if you don't pay attention for one tiny second, your shoes will have an even worse smell than normal.
6. The langurs! We were promised Langurs, well, suggested Langurs. We tried to see them the second day of our camping trip, but it was too cold for them to be out. So no Langurs. We wanted to see them the third day on our trip to Cau Gay, but we had other plans on the other side of the village. So, finally, on the last day in the village, we got a call from our host, who said that the langurs were near his farm. So we did the hour hike up the mountain and saw the Langurs. Soo worth the hike. They were spectacular. They were across the valley in some trees and rocks, just doing their things, and they were so fun to watch.

So, as you can tell, although our trip started out kind of miserable, it definitely was a ton of fun by the end. It was one of those trips though, where I really, really wanted to say that I enjoyed the camping part, but honestly, I am too much of a princess to be outdoors in the rain for that long. I just wanted to go back to the village...and we did. We had great nights at the village though. The first night back, we had beers and sat around with the family and some of the village heads, singing and drinking and having a good time. The next night, our host bought some rice wine and we finished up Alex's work and the wine that night. Very, very fun.

Well, this blog post is about a million pages long, so I am going to sign off for now! So, if you enjoyed it, or didn't enjoy it, leave me a note in the comments box. I am seeing all these viewers from all over the world, and I am very curious about who all of you are!

It rained and rained and rained and rained some more. Surprisingly (except not), these super thin ponchos don't last that long. Both Alex's and my poncho were completely destroyed by the afternoon.

Mr. Yen being amazing as usual. Here, he is showing us the Spirit Tree. The sap of this tree is used for poison on the arrows that the Raglay used for hunting. There are only two trees that they know of that are used for this type of poison. The extraction process is also quite complicated, including fasting for two-days and sexual abstinence for one day prior to collection. 

Scorpion!!! Thank god the Raglay have about 5 different ways of treating scorpion stings and poisonous snake bites. I suggested that they include a free snake bite with all their eco-tourism gigs, and then they can heal them with their natural remedies. I also suggested the bite be free, but the treatment not be included in the tour price.

I didn't really know this picture was being taken, which is why I look like I am in a stupor. But this was beer night at Mr. Yen's house. His mother is the one in the head-wrap and his wife is the one in yellow.

Mr. Vinh interviewing Mr. Yen on stories of this cave during the war time. It was used for the Raglay to take shelter and hide from the American observation planes that flew overhead almost every day.

Group Photo. Say Cheese! Same cave with most of our group. Tram aka "Mama Tram", Mr. Vinh's assistant who always takes care of Alex and I; Trinh, one of the National Park Forest Guides; Me, student; Alex, student; Mr. Yen, pure man in all respects and holder of wisdom.

Our last group meal at our homestay. There was the most delicious food, including vegetables that we gathered from the forest that morning. From left to right: Me, Alex, Canh (Mr. Yen's daughter) and her 3-year-old daughter, who is very easily entertained, Mr. Yen, Trac (Mr. Yen's wife, who was a messenger for the North during the war), Mama Tram and Trinh

Cow! In the middle of a stream. I told you they were everywhere. Alex and I were teaching Trinh English words the whole four days, and when we were riding the bus back to Phan Rang, we saw many cows. But at one point, Trinh just burst out shouting "Cow!" It was great.

Nui Achuuuuu!!!!

At this exact moment in history, my classmates at Carleton are surely celebrating the last day of Fall Term classes, my father is gearing up for his BIRTHDAY in about 2 hours and People Magazine is slowly, but surely, picking their "Sexiest Man Alive 2010." And I am sitting in an office building. This may make some think that I am getting homesick, ready to sit in a plane and come home and see them, or celebrate with them. After all, ALL of these events are very important (Who will the sexiest man alive be?? I don't know if I can wait any longer!!) HA! That would be false, I do not want to be in the U.S., well except for a one or two reasons. Such as, Ellen Peterson so cruelly pointed out that on Monday, she will be sitting in her home in Fargo...on a COUCH...watching TLC. Guess who won't be doing those things? Me. I will now inform you of one of the worst things about Viet Nam. There are NO couches. NONE. Don't even try to look, because they don't exist. The only comfy things we have to sit on are beds (sometimes, but sometimes they are just entirely too soft) and office chairs (but only in my homestay, my chair at Nui Chua is a plastic chair).

But I wouldn't trade anything for the things that I mentioned above. Why? I am currently at Nui Chua National Park and am doing my independent study project with the help of Mister Vinh and the Institute of Tropical Biology. My project includes the geology of the park and presenting their formation in visitor friendly language and the legends/history of the Raglay minority in the Cau Gay village. So some reasons I wouldn't trade anything in the U.S. for my time in Viet Nam at the moment are as following:

1. My independent study project is geology based. I get to be a geologist and run around the park on the days we are in the field looking at rocks. And collecting rocks. And admiring rocks. Basically anything to do with rocks, I get to do it. I LOVE it. 
2. There are beautiful mountains in sight from Phan Rang (where Alex and I stay) and a beach only 10 minutes from our hotel. 
3. We did a 3 night/4 day stay in Cau Gay, one of the Raglay ethnic minority village in the national park. Alex, Mister Vinh and I conducted interviews on the history of the village through out the French Colonial time, the American War and post-war, legends of the people and also the ethnobotany of the village (Alex is looking at the ethnobotany for his independent study project).
4. Soon, we will be climbing the tallest mountain in the area, or partially climbing. It's really up in the air. It rained cats and dogs when we got here almost two weeks ago, and it has started to rain cats and dogs again. (It also rains small frogs. We have seen like 900 million baby frogs, or frogs that are approximately 1 cm long. Alex informed me that he heard a theory that frogs/tadpoles and fish actually do fall along with the rain. We agree with this, except how would they get up in the clouds? I hear evaporation is a big problem among the tadpole population. Check it out: It's Raining Tadpoles in Japan!!!)  We were to go to the mountain today, but it was raining too hard. But hopefully, while on the mountain we will see some awesome rocks, spiritually significant trees/plants and MONKEYS. 
5. Alex and I live in a run down hotel about 2 blocks from our office. The bathroom door doesn't really close anymore and it is really, really stuffy inside all the time. But, they cook us the best dinners EVER there and the balcony is a really nice place to just sit and relax at night. And all for $3 a night per person. Who could complain??

Our host in Cau Gay, Mr. Yen (pronounced Ian) holding homegrown oranges. They smell so good, I wish I could wear their scent as perfume. Mr. Yen will be one of our guides when going up onto Nui Chua Ong, the tallest mountain in the area.

The "front yard" of Mr. Yen's family's plot. He has 4 dogs, a cat, some chickens and a pigeon that all run around this area. Plus, his 3 year old granddaughter, who was adorable, but LOUD.

The inside of Mr. Yen's house. Although we slept in his daughter's house, it was set up very similar. We slept on bamboo mats on the floor with mosquito netting over us. It doesn't sound that comfortable, since the floor is concrete, but surprisingly it is very comfortable. Also, notice Uncle Ho in the middle of the room where everyone can see him.

Rocks and the beach! It was great. One the left-hand side is ancient coral reef that has been compacted down, and on the right-hand side are granite cliffs.

This is a view of "Meat Beach," named for the sea turtles that used to be hunted on this beach. Now there is an extensive volunteer program set up for the conservation and protection of the sea turtles. The granite boulders in front have wonderful weathering designs.

P.S. Thanks to my partner in crime, Alex Greene, for helping me with the title of this blog post. For those of you who have read the entire post wondering who the hell "Alex" is, he is the only other SIT students still at Nui Chua with me. He does girl talk very well and likes to people watch as much as me. Basically, we are becoming besties who tell each other constellation stories. 

Birthday Buppie!!!

Proof as to how terrified the puppy I held was.

Cultural Exchanges and Birthday Bashes

As many of you know, I gained one whole more year of life on November 5. It was my birthday!!!! I love my birthday, you get to do what ever your heart desires and no one can say anything because its your birthday. For example, there is an unwritten rule in Vietnam that you are not allowed to touch your motorbike taxi driver. Well, on my birthday, I threw that rule out the window for our ~20-km trip from an ethnic minority village to the beach. I was almost hugging him, that's how much I disregarded that rule. And I have to say, I don't feel bad about it, and I think he was fine with it. Plus, he was going like50 or 55 km per hour, which doesn't sound fast until you experience it.

Anyway, my birthday was great. The night before we had a cultural exchange at the village of Cau Gay, where the Raglay ethnic minority live. I was feeling a little homesick, because I didn't have my friends and the villagers were very shy and weren't really trying to make friends with us. But thankfully, Mister Vinh announced that it was my birthday the next day and the night transformed. There were lots of shots being poured, lots of laughter and singing and it was an amazingly fun night. Also, when I said that all I wanted for my birthday was to hold a puppy, they caught me a puppy. I got to hold it for a while before they told me to let the terrified little creature go. Julia has some pictures, but I haven't gotten them, so you will just have to wait to see them.

On my actual birthday, we went to the beach!!!!! We learned about sea turtle conservation and went swimming a lot. We tried to go snorkeling but the waves were too large to get to the reef, so unfortunately, we missed out. But did I mention we got to go swimming...on a private beach. Swimming was the best. That night we also got ice cream. Man, it was a great birthday.

My birthday gift to myself was a very red sunburn on my back that may never heal. It also looks really funny, because my swimsuit is backless, except for a small cross pattern. So where the straps were, my back is still pasty white, but everywhere else it is fire hydrant red. I would have attached a picture, but it is too painful to look at. (Plus, I didn't take any pictures on my birthday, because I was having to much fun just enjoying everything. No time for pictures.) I've been taking a lot of aspirin and using a lot of aloe. But its sooo totally worth it.

For the next two weeks I will be staying in Phan Rang, where Nui Chua National Park is located, and working on my independent study project. I think I have stepped into a boys' club here, but at least there is one assistant who works for the park that is a girl. I also have Alex, who is pretty patient when I go into girl mode and is also definitely willing to humor it. But I will keep you updated on my ISP in the next post when I've actually started my project.

Children in the Cham ethnic minority village who were so excited to get their picture taken. We were almost stampeded.

Cham ceramic artisan, who finished  this pot in about 5 minutes. The Cham in this village are known for their ceramics.

Another Cham woman who does traditional Cham weaving. No worries, I bought plenty of things from her, so you can all see it when I'm back in the states.