BACK FROM VIETNAM!
I know you guys missed me, ahahhaha.
So here's what we've done and learnt.
Day1 (17NOV2009)Reached the airport at around 520am.Had mac for breakfast.
Bade farewell, had group photos, etc.
Did some less than 10min Duty Free shopping, then boarded the plane.
SQ172!
Huge plane!
Listened to songs and read "Home" on board.
Sat with Zhaorong and Keefe.
Touchdown!
Was in group 3 with Mrs Lee, Joy, Jia Hui, Cindy, Samuel, Javier.
Onto bus 2!
The traffic there is super messy!They don't follow the traffic rules, or lights.
There are lots of motorbikes there & little traffic lights.
I suspect that there's no VQS. (:
Reminds me of Taiwan!
Just that it's much hotter in Vietnam.
It's an organized mess.
Visited the Cangio/Mangroves.We saw real prop & kneed roots.
The mangrove there is very rich.
We went on a speed boat.
The wind on our skin was amazing.
Mangrove Planting got everyone dirty.In the mud, it was slimy & slippery.
It had a 'sinking feeling'.
Occasionally, there would young seedlings poking onto our feet.
WHICH HURT A LOT!
We were all given 5 seedlings to plant.
Freak Bitch YC threw mudballs at me!
Just when I was super clean. (with my $200 glasses)
Some other people threw at me too. Losers. -.-
I was beautifully dirty, bitch. (beautiful and dirty, rich)
Mudfought with YC until Mr Quek shouted at us.
Loser.
He kind of said something like this:
"If you don't stop playing, you won't get to go to the market on Saturday!"
Whatever!
You're just jealous that nobody played with you.
Took the 'shortcut' to shore, in which the mudwater level was much higher.
So everyone was mud-ed!
Hahahaa.
There's hardwork needed to conserve the environment.
Exercises like this may seem minute, but they go a long way.
By the way, the whole mangrove there is man-made.
Imagine the labour!
The Guerilla Base was in the mangrove swamps!So ingenious!
Life in the mangroves.
The VietCongs literally live there! (they're prolly good swimmers)
& they eat crocodile.
Fresh water?
They collect rainwater to store for the hotter seasons, cool eh!
Signed in a momento-book for the Vietnamese there.
(:
Cangio Resort was our first hotel resort.Awesome food!
I love cauliflower!
The night time there is super scary.
They have very bad lighting.
This plus the rustling of leaves made it spookier.
It was just like the Kampong!
Day2 (18NOV2009)Primary School visit in the morning!Super cute kids there!
I was almost 2 times their height! (:
Played many games there, toured the school.
For some reason,
it reminded me of "Tomoyo" in "Totto-Chan: The Girl By The Window".
Gave the kids some presents.
They're so easily satisfied & so simple.
So very disciplined too.
I love the countryside!
Indeed, simplicity (or ignorance) is bliss.
Had a discussion with the VietCong veteran.He talked to us in Vietnamese. (but we didn't understand :X)
He kept touching Jia Hui!
I think he loves her.
Learnt many things!
Dinner was with a traditional performance at some restaurant.Awesome food.
Super high class there.
The waiters and waitresses had very good service.
Keefe was obssessed with the 2 artists.
HAHA.
Mrs Lee taught us the art of the serving spoon again. (:
Day3 (19NOV2009)Went to the Notre Dame Cathedral first.It was built by the french during their occupation.
It promoted Catholicism.
At the post office there, we bought souvenirs.
I loved the art there.
There were students seated on the floor.
They seemed to be sketching a building.
So cool right?
If only I could be like them!
This helped me to understand the fine arts so much more.
Next was the Palace/Museum.Saw tanks & planes left by the Americans during the war.
The whole building was huge and conserved well.
(It's nicer than the Istana! :X)
Grandious.
The long history and amazing arts inspired me.
Lunch was vegetarian pho for me.(pho is pronounched as fur; some kind of rice noodles)
It was where Bill Clinton ate when he went to Vietnam!
Then we went to the War Remnants Museum.Lots of photos of the war.
Some were a little scary and gory.
Agent Orange's (some chemical the Americans used) effect was seen.
There were deformed children.
Did some shopping.
I felt injust for them; they were so innocent.
The VietCongs have an amazing resilient attribute.
Cu Chi Tunnel was the next stop.We saw simple tools that were used to dug the tunnel.
Inside was packed, dark & super hot.
There were many ways which would make me lose my way,
if I made a wrong turn anywhere.
Ingenious boobie traps too.
It is amazing how the tunnel was built without modern technology.
Dinner was on a cruise!Had good seafood and a good time with Miss Johnson.
We were so jealous that we couldn't cruise!
It was a little too rushed though, and the food came very fast.
A long day!
Day4 (20NOV2009)Early morning, went to the Rice fields.We learnt the different techniques to plant the different types of rice.
We could either scatter seeds or grow them into seedlings first.
When shedding, some rice grains are lost.
However, the farmers will let their chickens & ducks eat up the remainder.
So clever, huh?
This taught me not to waste food, especially rice grains!
There was this saying that every bowl of rice is a bowl of sweat.
How very true.
Went to the honey-making/candy-making place next.Saw the bees and the honeycomb.
Taste honey-lime tea & some tidbits.
Saw the making of coconut candies!
The Mekong River was next.The river was messy with all the livelihood.
That included fishing, tourism, farming, transportation.
Fertile soil (alluvium silt) were transported by boats as work.
The river flows through Myanmar (Bumur), Cambodia, Thailand, China,
Laos, Vietnam.
We took the sanpan which we could help to canoe.
I love canoeing/dragon-boating!
The river used to have crocodiles!
The Vietnamese put "eyes" under the boats, & it successfully scared them off.
It was simple, yet complicated.
It was messy, yet organized.
We then watched a traditional Vietnam Water Puppet Show.Understood some Vietnamese music and culture.
The show was about agriculture like farming, fishing, etc.
It also portrayed patriotism.
& they had this wooden flute! :D
They're culture seemed somewhat similar to the Chinese's.
Also, the female artist's dress looks like a hanbok. (Korean's traditional dress)
The toilet was called Happy Bush or Happy House.EUPHEMISM!
Day5 (21NOV2009)The most boring day!
Visited the VSIP (Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park).We saw shoe-making, a secondary industry.
It helped to show us Vietnam & Singapore's friendship.
Didn't go to the Saigon Square due to some reasons.Ben Thanh Market made up for the shopping though.The market was super big.
It was just like a Night Market, just that it's in the morning.
The things there are cheap too!
Bought many souvenirs.
It was quite hot too.
Photos (I)Photos (II)So that was my Vietnam story!
Kind of lame eh?
We all had lots and lots of fun!
Especially the bonding and rediscovering of old frienships; what a gem!
Throughout the 4days, we all became very good friends with the teachers.
It was through the bus rides & dinner times.
Who knew they could be so cool too!
Something really bad happened though, on the 4th day.
We did something very wrong, and our friendships with the teachers died.
I'm very disappointed, just as they are.
I guess there's really a consequence to everything done.
So naive were we to have thought of getting away scott-free.
Maybe we will never be as close as before, but we are thankful.
At least I am.
Thankful that you all are truely great teachers,
not afraid to teach us integrity.
Sure that came with a price, but it was worthwhile.
Perhaps we will not understand it now,
but in the future, we will look back and say a 'thank you'.
I love, and still do, the teachers.
Mrs Lee, Miss Johnson, Mdm Chua.
They probably won't see this, but who cares.
Thank you.
How will we cope with the awkwardness in school?
SECOND TIME AROUND
by Lady Gaga
Last time I thought we have this talk
Boy, you were getting ready to leave
I thought, baby you were done
'Cause for a while, you could barely look at me.
This time I thought that we'd be fine
That I'd forget the things that you said
I tried crossing out your words
But baby, you cannot forget the past
Cannot forget the past
Still baby
I’m so unpredictable
you don’t know what to think
So unemotional
wonder if I’m even still in love, you see
I don’t know what to tell you now
Its always harder the second time around
I'm so unpredictable
Just like you used to be
So unemotional
Boy, I can't forget the way you were with me
I don’t know what to tell you now
Its always harder the second time around
The second time around
We tried going back to Joe’s
That always was our favourite place
Long rides, baby, by the coast
Do you remember where we stayed?
Last time we were hanging out
You were acting kind of strange
Now it’s the second time around
I’m sorry, now, it’s me that feels this way
Its me that feels this way, babe
I know you are the one that is hurt
I’m so unpredictable
you don’t know what to think
So unemotional
wonder if I’m even still in love, you see
I don’t know what to tell you now
Its always harder the second time around
I'm so unpredictable
Just like you used to be
So unemotional
Boy, I can't forget the way you were with me
I don’t know what to tell you now
Its always harder the second time around
I'm not sure the best way to say this
But I can’t pretend to love you no more, babe
This ferris wheel's got me crazy
Maybe the second time around is not meant for us, baby
Not mean for us baby, yeah!
I’m so unpredictable
you don’t know what to think
So unemotional
wonder if I’m even still in love, you see
I don’t know what to tell you now
Its always harder the second time around
I'm so unpredictable
Just like you used to be
So unemotional
Boy, I can't forget the way you were with me
I don’t know what to tell you now
Its always harder the second time around
I’m so unpredictable
you don’t know what to think
So unemotional
wonder if I’m even still in love, you see
I don’t know what to tell you now
Its always harder the second time around
I'm so unpredictable
Just like you used to be
So unemotional
Boy, I can't forget the way you were with me
I don’t know what to tell you now
Its always harder the second time around
Labels: a bowl of rice; a bowl of sweat.