sábado, 21 de junio de 2008
no head or no heart?
picked Dave up at Daewoo hotel, went to look for a xe om driver to take him home. Seeing his white skin, they decided to double the price. I could have easily paid 15,000VND but didn't like that attitude so I bargained. All of them made a volte face and started berating me.
at each crossroad, after the red light's turned green, everyone, lips tightened, struggles to speed forward, but sometimes no one can move because it's too crowded. And for some reason, people still honk endlessly. What do they think it'd solve? I notice that most of them drive (or at least the honk sounds like it comes from a car).
today when we got to Canh, there were cars in both directions so they slowed down so as not to scratch each other. Some motorbikes "mindlessly" took to the left and ended up stopping right in front of the cars going in the other direction. Traffic Jam!
Sometimes it's just hard to understand. Is it because they think for themselves (although in the long run they don't gain a thing) or because they can't think for others?
at each crossroad, after the red light's turned green, everyone, lips tightened, struggles to speed forward, but sometimes no one can move because it's too crowded. And for some reason, people still honk endlessly. What do they think it'd solve? I notice that most of them drive (or at least the honk sounds like it comes from a car).
today when we got to Canh, there were cars in both directions so they slowed down so as not to scratch each other. Some motorbikes "mindlessly" took to the left and ended up stopping right in front of the cars going in the other direction. Traffic Jam!
Sometimes it's just hard to understand. Is it because they think for themselves (although in the long run they don't gain a thing) or because they can't think for others?
lunes, 16 de junio de 2008
thief hunting
an article on vnexpress
a spectacular thief chase in the middle of Sai Gon
if only people could be that gung ho and keep up their joint efforts until the last minute in combating other things.
a spectacular thief chase in the middle of Sai Gon
if only people could be that gung ho and keep up their joint efforts until the last minute in combating other things.
chess playing
Took Dave to Ngoc Son (Pearl Mountain?) temple. As we walked pass a group of men playing chinese chess, Dave commented that he really liked it because it was social. Vietnamese styled, 1 game = 2 players + 10 bystanders who are advisors, commentators, and supporters at the same time.
10 years
Tu said: it's been 10 years. I counted with my finger phanlanxes: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 1, 2, 3; that's true, it's been 10 years. Time goes fast, i have friends who i've known for half, even for three fourths of my life (i'm 20). Feel so touched and incredibly lucky.
A few days later, i told him: i think about the future, in a few years from now, each of us will have our own job and be busy with our own life and we won't be able to see each other (i avoided saying that our group would break up), that'd be so sad.
He replied: for each period we'll find a different way of relating to each other, we'll keep different memories, friends will stay friends.
It doesn't sound untrue.
A few days later, i told him: i think about the future, in a few years from now, each of us will have our own job and be busy with our own life and we won't be able to see each other (i avoided saying that our group would break up), that'd be so sad.
He replied: for each period we'll find a different way of relating to each other, we'll keep different memories, friends will stay friends.
It doesn't sound untrue.
domingo, 15 de junio de 2008
family anecdotes
anecdote #1
The 2 granddaughters of my host mom came over for a few days during their school vacation. At the end of their stay, my host mom had to take them to their other grandmother's. I asked her if it was far and she replied it wasn't, it was in Grenoble.
Thought to myself: and they never pay visit to each other (or do they and I'm not aware?)
anecdote #2
asked Aurélie if she went home often. She wanted to clarify what I meant by often because from the point of view of a French, yes, but from that of an Italian, no.
I turned to Cristiano: so by Italian standard, do you go home often? - No, but for me that's enough. From Milan it takes about 3 hours by car and I go home once every couple of months or so. But I have friends who come home every weekend, that's the Italian way.
anecdote #3
if asked where's my native place [quê], i'd say Nam Dinh because that's where my grandfather was born and brought up, even though i don't even go there every year, and i've stayed overnight there only ONCE my whole life, and because it was a trip with Hoa.
anecdote #4
A little bit more than a month ago, my parents went to Thanh Hoa for the death anniversary of Ngo Ro, the grandfather of the founding father of my dad's village in Nam Dinh. It's said that during the war, for fear that the bomb would destroy all the seals and tablets of Ngo Tu (son of Ngo Ro and father of the village founder), the people in Thanh Hoa had to borrow a car to carry everything to Nam Dinh. After seven, eight hundred years and tens of generations (each of them had probably at least ten children), they could still keep track of all the family annals and know for sure where everyone was. That takes a lot of talents.
The 2 granddaughters of my host mom came over for a few days during their school vacation. At the end of their stay, my host mom had to take them to their other grandmother's. I asked her if it was far and she replied it wasn't, it was in Grenoble.
Thought to myself: and they never pay visit to each other (or do they and I'm not aware?)
anecdote #2
asked Aurélie if she went home often. She wanted to clarify what I meant by often because from the point of view of a French, yes, but from that of an Italian, no.
I turned to Cristiano: so by Italian standard, do you go home often? - No, but for me that's enough. From Milan it takes about 3 hours by car and I go home once every couple of months or so. But I have friends who come home every weekend, that's the Italian way.
anecdote #3
if asked where's my native place [quê], i'd say Nam Dinh because that's where my grandfather was born and brought up, even though i don't even go there every year, and i've stayed overnight there only ONCE my whole life, and because it was a trip with Hoa.
anecdote #4
A little bit more than a month ago, my parents went to Thanh Hoa for the death anniversary of Ngo Ro, the grandfather of the founding father of my dad's village in Nam Dinh. It's said that during the war, for fear that the bomb would destroy all the seals and tablets of Ngo Tu (son of Ngo Ro and father of the village founder), the people in Thanh Hoa had to borrow a car to carry everything to Nam Dinh. After seven, eight hundred years and tens of generations (each of them had probably at least ten children), they could still keep track of all the family annals and know for sure where everyone was. That takes a lot of talents.
jueves, 12 de junio de 2008
"what to write"
i love my daughters Ly and Thuydad's hands calcify and he has to practice writing.
i love you and our daughters a lot
3rd day in Ha Noi
likes:
- friends
- food
- tree shaded streets
dislikes:
- dirt
- humidity
- no urban planning
- race of house building, banging and smashing deafeningly from dawn till dusk, nowadays the tearing down and building up houses has even surpassed road repair.
- bicycle has almost disappeared from the street
- gasoline fume
- food hygiene and inflation which drive everyone into superstores.
and a little bit sad because
- banaba has died and flamboyant is no longer flamboyant.
- no Euro scene. no atmosphere (probably because of inflation)
- friends
- food
- tree shaded streets
dislikes:
- dirt
- humidity
- no urban planning
- race of house building, banging and smashing deafeningly from dawn till dusk, nowadays the tearing down and building up houses has even surpassed road repair.
- bicycle has almost disappeared from the street
- gasoline fume
- food hygiene and inflation which drive everyone into superstores.
and a little bit sad because
- banaba has died and flamboyant is no longer flamboyant.
- no Euro scene. no atmosphere (probably because of inflation)
jueves, 5 de junio de 2008
to learn and to educate
Aparna sent me an email and attached her senior essay. Couldn't help crying when i read it, especially toward the end, really touching. "Unlearning the Promise of Schools."
It doesn't matter where, the US or VN, in an unjust system, the poor, even with schooling, have little chance to succeed, and even when they manage to finish high school, how many continue to higher education? And how many (in VN) go study abroad? And even more important is asking whether said education is conducive to the learner's development.
I've always thought about working in education, of course not teaching at school, because first off i don't have the diploma, and second, Vietnamese education is too stifling, too suffocating, i'm not trained enough to stand it. An Inhumane Education.
I don't know what I can teach, or how, but Freire says "teacher" and "learner" have to proceed together, have to teach and to learn from each other. If the "learner" doesn't see the benefit of learning, education fails. I don't have any set of skills or profession to teach; what i want to teach, at least at this moment, is the habit of independent thinking. Think independently, and know how to question so as not to be fooled. Think independently, to be able to recognize our own's and others' worth, and to respect each other. Think independently, to be able to identify what is corrupt, what is unjust. To think independently to be able to find creative ways to overcome obstacles in personal life and in society.
But how can i be sure that others share these values? The kids who have to struggle every day to survive, do they and their parents see the reward in that kind of untraditional learning? Can it be combined with arts activities so that the learner can self-explore, experiment, and express?
The answer is that i don't know. I can't sit here and hypothesize, totally cut off from reality. Just some pondering. What to do for a more just society, for each citizen to take on more responsibility, to "antagonize" over social problems, and to feel that they can contribute something?
How to balance a desire to work at a personal level (i.e. to teach, to interact with kids) and at the same time, make a difference that doesn't stop at each individual but will develop itself further and further? Of course, i can talk about the chain effect: the change in each individual will influence many others, and so on. But... i'm not sure what i want to say. I think about those schools for peace and democracy in Israel and Palestine. In the midst of war, of hatred and feud, people open schools where they teach the young tolerance, respect for difference, and coexistence. An exemplar for making difference at two difference levels.
I can't tell the kids that they need to do well in school, they will succeed and earn a lot of money, etc. I don't want to and i don't believe in such things.
I remember when I tutored SAT for some highschoolers, i asked why they wanted to go to college... Because no one in my family is a college graduate, i want to be the first one, i want to have knowledge so that i can pursue what i really like... Tears were in my eyes and i really didn't know what to say.
That was in the US, in VN, i'd want to say: please study so that one day, you'll be the one who fight against the unacceptable, for yourselves and for others, you'll fight for education reform for example. But i'm still worried. Can people switch between two different modes without them blending together? Going to school for 10 years, knowing that what they are taught is bullshit (in such subjects as literature and history in particular, and the method of teaching/learning in general), after those 10 years, will there be any spirit left to fight against that bullshit? But if they don't conform in the classroom, will they get there?
In the meantime, i hope that there are still teachers who have conscience, love their jobs and are passionate about them, and know how to respect their students; i hope those who are still at school, by one way or another, will not let themselves squelched; i hope all those who can will go abroad, even better if they make friends with people from all over the world, to see that they have different perspectives from which we can learn, to see that we have common values and goals so that we can join together, to see more clearly the transformation of society, in their countries, in VN, in the world. Nothing is immutable.
This part from Aparna's essay really says it all:
It doesn't matter where, the US or VN, in an unjust system, the poor, even with schooling, have little chance to succeed, and even when they manage to finish high school, how many continue to higher education? And how many (in VN) go study abroad? And even more important is asking whether said education is conducive to the learner's development.
I've always thought about working in education, of course not teaching at school, because first off i don't have the diploma, and second, Vietnamese education is too stifling, too suffocating, i'm not trained enough to stand it. An Inhumane Education.
I don't know what I can teach, or how, but Freire says "teacher" and "learner" have to proceed together, have to teach and to learn from each other. If the "learner" doesn't see the benefit of learning, education fails. I don't have any set of skills or profession to teach; what i want to teach, at least at this moment, is the habit of independent thinking. Think independently, and know how to question so as not to be fooled. Think independently, to be able to recognize our own's and others' worth, and to respect each other. Think independently, to be able to identify what is corrupt, what is unjust. To think independently to be able to find creative ways to overcome obstacles in personal life and in society.
But how can i be sure that others share these values? The kids who have to struggle every day to survive, do they and their parents see the reward in that kind of untraditional learning? Can it be combined with arts activities so that the learner can self-explore, experiment, and express?
The answer is that i don't know. I can't sit here and hypothesize, totally cut off from reality. Just some pondering. What to do for a more just society, for each citizen to take on more responsibility, to "antagonize" over social problems, and to feel that they can contribute something?
How to balance a desire to work at a personal level (i.e. to teach, to interact with kids) and at the same time, make a difference that doesn't stop at each individual but will develop itself further and further? Of course, i can talk about the chain effect: the change in each individual will influence many others, and so on. But... i'm not sure what i want to say. I think about those schools for peace and democracy in Israel and Palestine. In the midst of war, of hatred and feud, people open schools where they teach the young tolerance, respect for difference, and coexistence. An exemplar for making difference at two difference levels.
I can't tell the kids that they need to do well in school, they will succeed and earn a lot of money, etc. I don't want to and i don't believe in such things.
I remember when I tutored SAT for some highschoolers, i asked why they wanted to go to college... Because no one in my family is a college graduate, i want to be the first one, i want to have knowledge so that i can pursue what i really like... Tears were in my eyes and i really didn't know what to say.
That was in the US, in VN, i'd want to say: please study so that one day, you'll be the one who fight against the unacceptable, for yourselves and for others, you'll fight for education reform for example. But i'm still worried. Can people switch between two different modes without them blending together? Going to school for 10 years, knowing that what they are taught is bullshit (in such subjects as literature and history in particular, and the method of teaching/learning in general), after those 10 years, will there be any spirit left to fight against that bullshit? But if they don't conform in the classroom, will they get there?
In the meantime, i hope that there are still teachers who have conscience, love their jobs and are passionate about them, and know how to respect their students; i hope those who are still at school, by one way or another, will not let themselves squelched; i hope all those who can will go abroad, even better if they make friends with people from all over the world, to see that they have different perspectives from which we can learn, to see that we have common values and goals so that we can join together, to see more clearly the transformation of society, in their countries, in VN, in the world. Nothing is immutable.
This part from Aparna's essay really says it all:
school communities need to become sites of collective organizing, where instead of preparing students for a world of unfair life chances, we collectively struggle to change the realities we see and experience. This is why integration is fundamental to a liberating vision of education. Until we are all at the table, the experiences of working-class children and poor children will remain unreal to middle-class and wealthy children, the experiences of Black and Brown children will remain unreal to white children and the experiences of disabled children remain will unreal to able-bodied children. Integration gives us the potential to build a movement where we can understand ourselves as human, where we stand in solidarity with each other’s experiences and where we viscerally know that none of us is free until all of us are free.
Education must be intellectual, emotional, ethical and practical.
Education needs to be humane.
domingo, 1 de junio de 2008
overweight
I need to shed like 22 lbs... fast! in like a week. I've tried to guard myself against temptations, and i've actually been pretty successful: i haven't gained any; i have about the same pounds that i had 6 months ago when i came here. but still it's not gonna work... ok, 22 lbs is kinda a lot, and hard to realize; 11lbs then, i'd be content with 11 lbs...But even in that case, I'd still be fined $25 for the extra weight, and to someone broke, that's pretty hard to support.
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