It is May 31, 2017 today, more than ten years since this trip ended. I have just finished transcribing all my notes from the trip into this blog. I have had a bag with all my Vietnam notes, receipts, schedules, and the like sitting by my desk waiting to be organized into a useful document for a long time. Now since travelpod.com is shutting down in a few weeks, I have a pending deadline and want to get a book of the trip printed before it does. I can't put today's date in the date field of this blog though because it skews the timeline too much.

This trip was just absolutely amazing and remains one of my most favorite travel experiences ever. I learned so much and had such a great and fun time visiting with the welcoming people of rural Quang Nam province in central Vietnam.

After I got home from this trip, I planned as many ways to share the experience as I could. Since the school paid for my trip, I concentrated on presentations at school, but I did one for an outside organization as well. I gave talks about my trip and about how to plan a volunteer vacation four times at school for students, faculty and staff members, department members, and the public. I talked to seventh-grade history classes who were studying Southeast Asia several times during the spring 2007 semester. I did one class for Albuquerque OASIS. I wrote an article for the school's website which is archived at https://www.aa.edu/page/news-detail?pk= 381017&fromId=164355.

I also talked individually with anyone who would listen in my eagerness to share all the fun and funny stories. One evening shortly after the end of the trip when I was working in the library, one of our Vietnamese alums came in with her father. I hadn't seen her in a couple of years, but she was there to visit while still on her own winter break from college. It was fun to tell her about my trip and wish her "Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!" "Happy New Year" in Vietnamese. She was kind to say that I pronounced it correctly, but I don't think I did get it quite right.

While talking with her and her father, they tried to clear up some of the questions I had. Perhaps, the man following us around from school to school was there to keep an eye on us for the Communist Party. Perhaps, the reason that some of the boys were outside the classroom looking in was because their parents could not afford tuition OR perhaps their parents were too closely affiliated with Americans or other Westerners so that their tuition was high OR perhaps they would be in school normally during another part of the day and they came that day because they heard that we would be there. I don't know the real reason.

While we were in Vietnam, Vinh and Hung talked about their families a few times. Vinh talked about his mother, brother, and sisters, but did not mention his dad. Toward the end of the week, a conversation was going with a natural opening to ask about his dad. He died during the time of the war. I don't know the circumstances of his death. It didn't feel right to ask that.

Hung is related to Le Ly Hayslip who is the founder of Global Village Foundation. Hayslip's memoir When Heaven and Earth Changed Places describes her life during the war and was made into a film, Heaven & Earth, by Oliver Stone.

The clothes we had custom made in Hoi An have lasted a long time. Philip's shirts, particularly the two he had made at Kim's, were better quality and lasted longer than many he buys here. He wore the suit and blazers a lot, too, but the suit was cut just a bit smaller than usual. It fit fine, but like my robe, was designed with less roominess. It's hard to explain. I have not worn my blouses much so I still have them. I bought a multi-colored woven silk scarf from 41 Le Loi that I was sad to lose somewhere between Geneva, Switzerland and St. Jean de Losne, France, probably on the train. I only paid $6.00 for it and will never see that good of a deal again. When we were in Vietnam in 2013, I looked for a replacement but couldn't find anything as nice.

I think about the people who made the clothing and the conditions that they worked in. I wonder what it is like to be a seamstress or tailor there. Since the clothing was ordered one day and delivered the next, I have to assume that the people worked overnight to get the work done. Is that a sweatshop? I don't know. I have mixed feelings about patronizing such places. On one hand, the people are paid to work odd hours and must work quickly so perhaps the conditions are bad and I shouldn't buy anything there. On the other hand, by purchasing something, I am contributing to the workers income. If I didn't buy anything because I don't like the working conditions, then the seamstress won't have a job. What a dilemma. I want to contribute to the people there so I did make purchases.

Over the years, I have thought of this trip with fondness and joy. It seems like every time we turned around there was another aha moment. Whether it was the drivers in Da Nang determined to get us to the hotel, the desk clerk reading my postcards, the restaurant workers pointing the way to the outhouse, the lady who wanted to do my nails, the neighbors who waved at us as we walked along the dirt road, or any of the other remarkable happenings, I smile remembering them. I hope we were able to bring a bit of joy to the people we met there and build on the bridge of cultural understanding between the people we met and ourselves. At the very least, I know the students giggled and giggled when they watched as three grown women did the Hokey Pokey.