Ron and Sally Jo Blog

Our work here in Vientiane began much the same as in the other two countries we were just in; we surveyed the work we needed to do. As in other offices we found documents in file cabinets in various offices, and boxes and boxes of files in a small storeroom and in a large barn/shed. However, when we actually started looking we found that most material could be thrown out. This country seems to have kept up with sending material to Akron fairly well. We did have a number of files which were only in Lao language. We were able to tell sometimes by the format what it might be about and we did learn to recognize the script for “Mennonite.” More helpful, though, was the MCC staff member who could sit with us and translate! Since it didn’t take so long to go through the files they asked us to “weed” their library. Sally Jo was very happy to help with that! We then reorganized the remaining books. We were able to move the library from six bookcases to three. We chose a small box of books that can be given to a thrift shop but the rest will be burnt. With the boxes of files and the boxes of books that needed to be burnt, they carried away at least two truck-loads plus more. They also burnt some on site.

As always, it was fun to get to know the MCC staff. Twice we had Lao meals fixed in the office and the other days we went to small restaurants in the area for lunches. We very much enjoyed the local food. Ron even “enjoyed” eating the chicken feet from one of the dishes. One evening we were invited to an MCC service workers home for supper. We were thrilled to meet a YAMENer from Indonesia who is here for the year. (YAMEN is the counterpart of IVEP involving young people in “south-to-south” exchange.) Gloria is from Pati, Indonesia, and we had common acquaintances. Also one morning a delegation from South Korea visited the MCC offices. Again, we found common acquaintances. It is always exciting to meet people from all over the world and make connections.

One morning we visited the COPE center (Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise). It was inspiring to see the work they do to help people with disabilities. People of all ages are fitted with artificial limbs and given therapy. The center also explains the problems with unexplored ordnances (UXO) and the resulting disabilities. Lao is the most heavily bombed country in the world per capita in history.  Sobering stories and videos.

We were invited to a Chinese New Year celebration at an MCC staff member’s home. There was a lot to eat and loud music. What impressed us was the “farm” at the home. Soi grows nearly everything she cooks, from chicken and fish to all sorts of vegetables and fruit. (It was dark so we could not get a good photo.)

Wendy, MCC rep, treated us to brunch the morning we left Vientiane. The restaurant was located on a small alley and served wonderful sticky rice mango pancakes with coconut coffee. Delicious!

“Sabaaidee!” Hello from Laos! It was great to meet Kris Peachey on our first day in Vientiane. She was a great tour leader showing us many sites around the city. We saw the Mekong River with the statue of Chao Fa Ngum, first king, looking towards Thailand. We visited a number of Wats (Buddhist temples)—some quite old and some newer. We don’t remember the names of all of them!

We climbed about 200 steps up Patuxai (which approximately means Arch of Triumph). It looks like its French namesake but has four archways rather than two. It was built in the 1960s from US cement which was supposed to be used to build an airport runway. There were good views of the city from the top.

Pha That Luang

We visited the most important national monument in Laos—Pha That Luang. It is the symbol of Buddhism and Laos sovereignty. Legend says that a piece of Buddha’s breastbone is enclosed in the stupa. There are two wats on the grounds of this monument; both are very colorful and interesting. There is also a large reclining Buddha.

One evening we went to see the Night Market near the river. Here, every evening from about 5-10 pm, hundreds of small stalls are erected. Locals and tourists were all enjoying the evening.  (Khao toum is stuffed boiled sticky rice–stuffed usually with beans and pork.)

On our last day in Cambodia we spent some time seeing a few things in the city of Phnom Penh. There are many fascinating street scenes along with Independence Monument, monument to King Sihanouk, and the Royal Palace.

We also visited Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center—both very sobering. Tuol Sleng was originally a secondary school which the Khmer Rouge turned into a prison called “S-21” which was the biggest in Kampuchea Democratic. It was surrounded with a double wall of corrugated irons, surmounted by barbed wires. The classrooms on the ground and first floors were either divided into individual cells or a room for mass detention. Thousands of victims were imprisoned and exterminated. On the top floor of one of the classroom blocks is being converted into a Peace memorial with children’s drawings from Okinawa and from Phnom Penh.

Between 1975 and 1978 about 17,000 men, women, and children who had been detained and tortured at S-21 were transported to the Extermination camp of Choeung Ek. They were often bludgeoned to death to avoid wasting precious bullets.

Much could be said about both places. It is hard to imagine the horrors that went on here only three decades ago. And the West heard very little about it. But it is also hard to realize that there are these sites and horrors all over the world—Holocaust, Uganda and LRA, Rwanda, and now many spots in the Middle East.

We continue our work of saving documents for MCC Records and ditching most of the rest of the paper we find in MCC offices! We have a standardized list from MCC Akron which helps us decide what material should be saved. We also take into account what documents must be kept locally for legal reasons in each country. So far in the five countries (including last year and this year) we save (send to Akron) about 25% of the material we look at. Each country office is always happy with the amount that can be discarded! Some of that can be recycled but much needs to be burned because of privacy issues. Beginning in about 2010 or 2012 (depending on the country) most documents are digital and therefore, are much easier and less space-filling to keep.

We again are living with the Country Reps here in Cambodia—a family with two boys ages 6 ½ and 9. We travel to the office each day by tuk-tuk which is a motorcycle pulling a carriage. It is a pleasant way to travel amidst all the traffic. Bea, the dog, always joins us in the tuk-tuk.

Our time in Phnom Penh came at an opportune moment for the Office here. They moved sites this week. Our work with paper files eliminated needing to move so many file cabinets. We completed our work a day early so our last day was spent weeding the library, boxing up the remaining books, and then reshelving the books in the new office. When moving the shelves, three mice ran out. They were soon “taken care of!”

Compared to Hanoi it is quite warm here in Phnom Penh, in the high 80’s to low 90’s. We need a fan to keep cool. As in Hanoi, the MCC office eats lunch together. It is a nice way to have time with people here. By afternoon we are ready for a refreshing drink.

We took a long weekend and visited Siem Reap where the World Heritage spot of Angkor is located. The father of the Khmer Empire, Jayavrman II, founded his capital here in 802 A.D. The Angkor era lasted until 1431. There are many temples in the area but we were able to visit only a few.

It was a 7 ½ hour bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. The bus was comfortable (and air-conditioned!) and gave us a chance to see some of the rural areas of Cambodia. At this time of the year it is quite dry and we saw many brown rice fields. Houses are usually built on poles and often have rice “straw” in large piles. We were also interested in some of the tractors with long handlebars.

The first evening we took a boat ride on Lake Tonle Sap to see a floating village and to see the sunset over the water.

The next morning we were up before dawn to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat (along with thousands of other tourists). We spent the rest of the morning exploring this largest religious monument in the world. We moved on to Angkor Thom where the fascinating temple Bayon is located. There are 37 of the original 49 towers remaining each with a smiling Buddha face on the four sides. The last temple we visited was Ta Prohm. Here trees perch on the walls with their roots sprouting between stones. These eventually cause the towers and chambers to collapse.

We enjoyed strolling the streets and market areas of Siem Reap in the evenings and an evening meal of duck (Ron) and fish amok (Sally Jo).

the Bay

We joined a small tour to Ha Long Bay for 3 days and 2 nights spending the first night on the boat and the second night in a hotel on the Cat Ma Island. There were 15 of us from U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, and us. The rest of the group were in their 20’s but we had a good time together.  It was a 4 hour bus ride from Hanoi to Ha Long. It was the first we had been out of the city; it was nice to see some countryside.

Ha Long Bay means “descending dragon bay.” There is a legend about dragons defending the Vietnamese against invaders. The dragons spit out jewels which formed the many islands.
Part of Ha Long Bay is a World Heritage Site. Our room on the boat was very adequate and the meals were great.

The limestone formations are beautiful—even in the clouds and the mist. We stopped and visited the largest cave (Hang Sung Sot) on one of the islands.

The second day we climbed to the top of Titop Mountain – 420 steps. It was worth the energy as we had a 360 degree view of the area. Most of the group headed back to shore. Another couple and us left the main boat for a smaller boat (junk) and travelled to a less touristy area. We docked and cycled about 30 minutes to a small village, climbing a steep hill, riding through a shady path, and past rice fields. Visited a rural home where we saw the simple house and kitchen and visited the pigs and chickens. The wife was making rice wine. We left our bikes and hiked about 1 ½ hours through the tropical forest climbing some very steep paths on a circular route. We then rode bikes back to the boat. The boat took us to another area where we kayaked about 1 1/2hr to very quiet, peaceful lagoons.

We returned to our junk and headed for Cat Ba Island. We passed by a large floating village. We spent the night in a large hotel on the island. The following day we took the junk back through the bay to the larger boat and returned to Ha Long Wharf and on to Hanoi.

entry gate to Temple of Literature

Our trip to Ha Long Bay was delayed one day so we got to spend another “tourist day” in Hanoi. We visited The Citadel and the Temple of Literature.

The Citadel is built on the site of an ancient Palace. It was both the residence and workplace of kings and royal families from 1009-1789. Many ruins are presently being dug and restored. When we entered we saw a special bonsai display. Included in the Citadel area were also bunkers and command rooms for the American/Vietnam War.

After a nice Vietnamese buffet lunch we went to the Temple of Literature which is the oldest university in Vietnam dating back to 1070 and is dedicated to Confucius. Much of the ancient architecture is preserved as well as stone stelae with more than 1000 names of graduates of the royal exams. You may notice that dragons and turtles are very important in Vietnamese culture. When we visited the Temple, a ceremony was being held for graduates of a Masters of Business Administration program in Thailand.

On our bus ride back to the house, we saw a wonderful open-air barber shop!

We are in Hanoi to work in the MCC office doing the same thing we did in East Africa a year ago, archiving old MCC files.  However, in East Africa we were familiar with both the geographic area and most of the programs and most documents were in English. We have never been in this part of Southeast Asia; so the culture is new, we don’t know much about MCC programs here, and most documents are not in English. There has been much learning.

We are staying with the MCC Country Reps while here. They live in a 4-storey narrow house in a row of taller houses. We have about a five minute walk to the office through unbelievable streets. We begin by passing a wall blackboard where community messages are written, past a small shop where people are always sitting drinking tea, then walking through an open cemented courtyard area where in the mornings the older people play volleyball and in the afternoons children play various games. Then it is through a tunnel path where Ron needs to make sure he bends his head if he doesn’t want to get bonked by the cement rafters. We walk through another alleyway where in the morning tables are set up with a small eating stand. Motorcycles are often passing us. (It appears that most people have a motorcycle. There are always ramps up steps or up to front doors so that the cycle can be rolled in.)

By now we are on the “main” street of this community. The street is about the width of a one lane road. Small shops selling everything line the street on both sides. Most have open store fronts. On the edges of the road sit vendors selling everything else that can’t be found in the shops! On what is left of the road, people are walking amidst motorcycles travelling both directions and sometimes a car tries to get through. We are learning to walk slowly and steadily as close to the vendors as possible trying not to be afraid of the motorcycles beeping behind us and the ones coming towards us! On this street one can find vegetables, fruit, meat (including live chickens), fish, tofu, small restaurants, household goods, clothes, a nail shop, and even a dentist with two chairs in front of big windows. “Street food” is very inexpensive and very good so several times we have eaten out at night.

We turn down a small alley and arrive at the office, which is also a 4-storey building. When we arrive we remove our shoes and put on slippers. Our working space is on the third floor though we found files on all four floors and had to carry them to our work area. Much of the material which we do not want to keep is burned. Ron even destroyed an old computer disk. Some material needs to be photocopied or scanned. The rest we put in boxes to be sent back to the head office in Akron, PA.

The MCC staff has been very friendly and helpful. We have lunch together every day. We are becoming more proficient with chopsticks! The cook is wonderful! We have had delicious meals. Most are accompanied with fresh garlic. We have managed to eat several cloves with a meal but the others will eat a head of garlic with their food. Fruit completes the meal—mangoes or apples (which are more of a cross between an apple, pear, and peach). We have also had dragon fruit which is very good and hard to describe. The Rep is teaching the cook to make cookies and cake.

pagoda

We have only been in Hanoi half a week but have already begun to feel at home amidst the traffic and new sights and sounds. Hanoi has a population of between 2.5 million and 6.5 million depending on how wide an area one includes.

We worked in the MCC office Wednesday – Friday and then spent Saturday roaming a small part of the city—mainly what is called the “Old Quarter.” We enjoyed a cup of “egg coffee” which is coffee with beaten egg and sweetened condensed milk. Delicious. We visited a shop of handicrafts from the Mekong Delta. They displayed beautiful quilts and some unique bicycles made from bamboo. Along another street were many shops with bright red decorations for the coming Tet (New Year) holiday.

We enjoyed a break along a lake eating a chocolate croissant and a citron tart. There was an exercise course beside the lake which was in use. We attended a Water Puppet show where all the puppets “swam” in the water and were manipulated from behind. The show was accompanied by traditional musicians.

The traffic is crowded with many, many motorcycles who sometimes—and sometimes not—follow stop lights. They weave through cars, buses, and people quite gracefully. When we walk we need to watch all directions but just keep moving. We watched at one large traffic circle as cars and motorcycles were streaming in all directions. A bridal couple stood calmly in the midst of all having their photos taken!

We had supper at a small street restaurant and watched the cook roll small sheets of dough around meat and greens. We then dipped these rolls in a sweet vinegar sauce and ate them. Yum!

We were thrilled with the many wild flowers that we saw while traveling the Northwest this summer.  We tried to identify some of the flowers but we could not find the names for all.  Maybe some of you can help us!