Destination NOW

New Zealand

Time to hit the road again! For years, Mike and I have wanted to visit New Zealand, but we knew that a twenty hour plane ride could only be justified by a loooong stay. So, visiting that wonderful corner of the world had to wait until my retirement. Although I had been able to get away for three weeks while working, SIX weeks didn’t seem do-able.

Mike and I were so lucky to meet Davina and Norman on a river cruise in 2008. Our fellow cruisers were were almost evenly divided into thirds, from the USA, Canada and Australia, with Davina and Norman being the sole Kiwis. It was during a presidential election year, which made dinner discussions VERY interesting.

I’m amazed at how well informed other citizens of Planet Earth are! Makes me want to listen to the BBC more frequently, so I don’t embarrass myself with my ignorance of events outside our borders. Of course, Ted Cruz has done a good job of making me embarrassed by what has happened INSIDE our borders!

And yes, there actually IS a reason for that digression. Mike and I will be staying with Davina and Norman in Auckland for several days before our Road Scholar trip commences. I’m excited about spending time with them again, and have been blown away by their gracious hospitality. Davina offered to pick us up at the airport at the ungodly hour of 6 AM! And she has planned several days of sightseeing for us.

Getting maps into WordPress is a multi step process, easier done from my computer than iPad, so I figured I’d get it completed before we head to the airport.
First a map of the ground we will be covering during our Road Scholar trip.

At the end of that trip, Mike heads back to the USA and I start a three week project with Global Volunteers in the Cook Islands. So, where ARE the Cook Islands, you ask?

Because I will be crossing the date line, I’ll be arriving before I leave. Given that I have always been calendar challenged, this will not be a problem for me.

If you look at a map of the world, the Cook Islands show up as fifteen tiny dots, so here’s a close up of “my” island.

I’ll be staying in Rarotonga, the largest of the islands, which has a population of around 9,000. That’s about twice as many people as my home town.

I found this description of Rarotonga on the internet:
“The island is one of the most beautiful in the South Pacific making it popular with around 90,000 visitors each year. The volcanic peaks and white sandy beaches with overhanging palm trees, inside a coral reef make Rarotonga a paradise island.”
Pretty tough duty, wouldn’t you say?

So, over the coming weeks, Mike and I will be hanging out in gloriously beautiful places, and I will be doing my best to capture all that fantastic beauty for your viewing pleasure. Who knows…maybe a contest down the road?

Come on along! And feel free to comment, so I stay connected with everyone!

Grander than Grand

Magnificent! Spectacular! Those adjectives are far more accurate descriptions of the natural wonder that we call The Grand Canyon. It is very difficult to capture in a photograph the enormity of this “hole in the ground”.

An early explorer, with the catchy name of James Christmas Ives, was unimpressed. He dubbed it a “profitless locality” and predicted “the Colorado River, along the greater portion of its lonely and majestic way, shall be forever unvisited and undisturbed.” Had cable news been around during his day, he might have had a brilliant career as a pundit. (I leave it to you to decide which station would hire him).

After meeting at the Scottsdale Cottonwoods Resort in Scottsdale, our group of 35 headed off to the Hualapai Lodge in Peach Springs via Sedona and Flagstaff. Our hotel is on the reservation, right by the railroad tracks. Somehow that image didn’t make it into the hotel’s decorative window.It occurred to me that the trains’ engineers might have been a little annoyed that they were working while others were sleeping. That’s the only explanation I can come up with for blasting the horn multiple times as they approached the town. And yes, there were many, many trains–about 1 every 15 minutes. Made me feel really sorry for the people who live in the Peach Springs.

The big attractions for the western Canyon were the helicopter rides down to the canyon’s bottom, river rafting to Lake Mead on the “snout rigs”, and the Sky Walk.

First the Sky Walk. It wasn’t quite what I had envisioned. We didn’t go out on it, but we saw it from the top of the canyon,

then later from our river raft. It’s that silver oval, jutting out from the top of the photo. What do you think? Worth an additional $70?

View of the Sky Walk from the Colorado River

We didn’t think so either.

Back to the western canyon–here’s the view from the rim–very subdued colors, with a sediment laden river (that very brown ribbon) winding along the bottom. The Colorado River is quite low because of 12 years worth of droughts and the additional water needs of the area’s growing population.
Mike and I were in the last group of chopper riders, so we had time to become “one” with the landscape and to take pictures of our new friends as they climbed aboard.

The flat Colorado Plateau gave no hint of what was close by

I was lucky enough to get a front seat.

Prior to this trip, we had toyed with the idea of rafting and camping through the canyon. Our ride on the snout rig absolutely settled that issue!

I’ll let you in on a little secret. Those rigs are not the most comfortable way to travel. And if you are seated in the front, you are guaranteed to get wet, even when there are no rapids. Guess what–the water is COLD.

Our land transportation, on the other hand, was luxurious. Good thing, because we traveled from one end of the canyon to the other: from Lake Mead to Lake Powell, logging many hours on that bus.
Our next stop was the one most visited by tourists–the south rim. The advantage to going a little later in the season was that the park was not crowded. Fortunately, we didn’t go TOO late. Had we waited another week, we would have found the park closed, thanks to our fine congressmen. But that’s another story.

There are so many possible captions for this next photo. “Death Wish”, “Just one more step back, honey”, “Did you send the check to the insurance company?”…

For the more adventurous, the South Rim offers the opportunity to hike (or ride) along Bright Angel Trail.
Dinner at El Tovar was not part of our tour package, but we decided to forgo the Maswick Cafeteria and enjoy that beautiful setting.

Mike and Augusta on the porch at El Tovar

The next morning, while my two favorite traveling companions caught up on their beauty sleep, I returned to the edge of the rim to catch the sunrise.

I had the view pretty much to myself.

Our last leg of the journey was to Glen Canyon where we enjoyed another raft trip and a tour of the dam.

If you look closely at the next photo, you will see our rafts on the left hand side of the river. We get there via a two mile tunnel carved through the rock.

Drew, our fantastic river guide, kept us informed and entertained, as he guided us down the river. A former Marine and lawyer, he chooses to spend his days piloting rafts on the river, and we all benefited greatly from that decision.

Drew explained the significance of the petroglyphs, including the “modern” one. Can you make out the word “Trent” carved into the rock? it seems Trent just had to leave his mark, and in doing so, he also contributed many dollars and hours of community service for defacing a historical site. Yep, he got caught.

Some people never learn. Once again, I sat in the front. Once again, I got SOAKED from head to toe.

We spent our final night in Marble Canyon.

Here it is--the town of Marble Canyon — Here it is–the town of Marble Canyon

The best part about being in such a remote area is the skies are magnificently dark. We were lucky enough to have a professional astronomer with us–Mike gave us a wonderful impromptu lecture on the heavens. It was a great finale to a fantastic trip!

Off to The Grand Canyon

Colin Fletcher called the Grand Canyon a “huge natural museum of the earth’s history”. Okay, so I didn’t know who Colin Fletcher was either, until I signed us up for this Road Scholar trip. Now that I am a retiree (excuse me, “lifestyle manager”), I have time to actually READ the suggested background materials.

Colin Fletcher wrote “The Man who Walked Through Time: The Story of the First Trip Afoot Through The Grand Canyon”. Given that the canyon was inhabited by Native Americans for about 10,000 years before the first Europeans arrived, it isn’t hard to imagine that one or two of them might have sauntered from one end of the canyon to the other before he did, but then again, THEY never published their adventures and thoughts. I shouldn’t be too hard on Mr. Fletcher, though. After all, his book was written in the early 1900’s; half a century later, when I was in school, we still were being taught that Columbus “discovered” America, as if it were completely devoid of human inhabitants when he arrived.

So, now that I’ve gotten beyond the title, what did I learn from his book? Other than that I would never, ever even CONSIDER hiking through the canyon, I learned that you can tell the age of the rocks from their colors. I created this little chart so I’d know what I was looking at when we get there, starting from the rim and moving on down to the bottom:

Rock	Color	Thickness	Age
Limestone	White	400 feet	225 million years
Sandstone	Pale brown	350 feet	250 million years
Shale and Sandstone	Red	1,000 feet	275 million years
“The Esplanade”, Limestone	Blue gray, stained red	800 feet	450 million years
Bright Angel Shale	Layered greenish gray and purple	600 feet	475 million years
“Tonto Platform”Tapeats Sandstone	Brown	225 feet	500 million years
Schists	Dark gray with granite	Depth is unknown	Almost 2 billion years

Okay, so I have no concept of what 400 feet (or any of the other number of feet, for that matter) looks like–but when I get there, and take photos, and post them, well, then we’ll ALL know. And we’ll also know how long those bloody rocks have been plopped there.

I do better with visuals. So here’s a picture of where we will be for the week, starting and ending in Phoenix.

This trip will have an added element of adventure. The original plan was that this trip would be my father’s day present to my dad. He and Mike were going to room together, and I would be rooming with my “childhood” friend, Augusta. My dad’s knee became uncooperative, causing him to have to cancel out. Well, I notified Road Scholar and told them to change my roommate to Mike. I then learned that doing so would mean that Augusta might be assigned a female roommate, which wasn’t quite what she’d had in mind. So, Mike being an all around wonderful guy, decided to ‘take one for the team’ and agreed he’d be the solo traveler. No, that doesn’t mean HE gets the female roommate. He will only be matched up if there is another solo male traveler. The adventure part? We won’t know how this will shake out till we arrive tomorrow night.

Just think of the possibilities… Mike’s assigned roommate is a Sean Connery look alike, who gazes upon the lovely Augusta and is immediately smitten, causing us to swap roommates faster than your average college freshman. Beautiful sunsets, the canyon as a backdrop..could this be a made for TV movie, or what? Lifetime channel, perhaps?

More likely, Mike will be roommate-less. Hmmm. Maybe we shouldn’t mention that we’ve been married for 37 years. That way, if I am spotted doing the “walk of shame” out of his room some morning, it might liven up breakfast discussions.

So, which part of the blog did YOU find more interesting– rock colors and ages or the possibility of “seniors gone wild”?

Retirement Redefined

Sometimes the most valuable insights are the ones you stumble upon.

I’ve been very fortunate to be able to spend time in other countries, learning about different cultures, values and philosophies. Doing so brought American culture into sharper focus, but what really helped me examine our way of life from a different vantage point was a piece written by Dr. L Robert Kohls, the Director of International Programs at San Francisco State University. Entitled “Why do Americans Act Like That”, it was intended to help international students deal with culture shock.

Here comes the insight part. It struck me that four of Kohls’ thirteen points provide a great explanation of American attitudes toward retirement. See what you think. I’ve changed the order of the points and slightly shortened some of them, but otherwise directly quoted.

Action/Work Orientation

“Don’t just stand there, do something!” This expression, though normally used in a crisis situation, in a sense describes most Americans’ waking life, where action – any action – is seen as superior to inaction. Americans routinely schedule an extremely active day. Any relaxation must be limited in time and aimed at “recreating” so that they can work harder once their “recreation” is over. Such a “no nonsense” attitude toward life has created a class of people known as “workaholics” – people addicted to, and often wholly identified with, their job or profession. The first question people often ask when they meet each other in the U.S. is related to work: “what do you do?”

Self-Help Initiative

Americans take credit for only what they accomplish as individuals. In an English-Language dictionary, there are more than 100 composite words that have the word “self” as a prefix: self-aware, self-confident, self control. The equivalent of these words cannot be found in most other languages.

Time and Its Control

Time is of utmost importance to most Americans. It is something to be on, kept, filled, saved, used, spent, wasted, lost, gained, planned, given, even killed. Americans are more concerned about getting things accomplished on time than they are with developing interpersonal relations. Their lives seem controlled by the little machines they wear on their wrists.

Future Orientation

Americans value the culture and the improvements the future will surely bring. They devalue the past and are, to a large extent, unconscious of the present. Even a happy present goes largely unnoticed because Americans are hopeful that the future will bring even greater happiness.

Wow. That sure got ME thinking! Or should I say, becoming more “self aware”?

When I announced my intention to retire, the most frequent question I was asked (can you guess?) was “what are you going to do all day”. There you have it–the perfect display of our “work/action orientation”. I’ll admit that after almost 40 years of “to do lists”, objectives, project plans and performance reviews, it took a while for me to truly realize that I don’t HAVE to do anything. A day can be perfect even if at the end of it, I can’t point to a single significant accomplishment. Okay, did you just get a mental image of me plopped on the couch, glassy eyed, with remote in one hand and cheese doodles in the other?

If your ‘self worth” is defined by what you have “made” of yourself, which is generally taken to mean what occupation you have, then retirement can indeed feel like a loss of identity. Couple that with our notions of time and our future orientation, and it becomes clear why many Americans fear the unstructured time that retirement provides.

I realize how fortunate I am to have been able to choose to retire, rather than having retirement thrust upon me because of poor health or job elimination. But for those of you with negative stereotypes about retirement, well, maybe the term “retirement” needs a make-over. Hey, I’ve spent the last 6 decades being bombarded by advertising. I know Madison Avenue can help with this. So, here’s how Peggy Olsen and Don Draper would wordsmith my answer to the question, “what do you do”?

I am the CEO of Destination Now, (well, as its only employee, I am also its receptionist, administrative assistant and janitor, although my husband Mike might argue that last job title belongs to him. But hey, this is MY blog so I get to say what I want) a “lifestyle management” company (whose only customers are Mike and me, although occasionally my bossiness–I mean “management skills”– expand to engulf close friends, sisters and cousins).

Our current projects include containing health care costs, (Okay, so we go to the Y regularly, and I cook healthy meals–no high fructose corn syrup for us, and I swear the red wine and dark chocolate are only consumed for their health benefits) supporting the global economy, (I take my obligation to buy from local vendors very seriously when we travel. That’s where my contest prizes come from!) and promoting early childhood literacy (this last one is real). How’s that? Better?

Now, about that “Future Orientation”…this blog is entitled “Destination Now” to remind me that I have arrived. The first 30 years of my life was preparation: getting educated, finding a life partner, starting on a career path, becoming a mother. The next 30 was implementation: putting all that preparation to work. And now it is fruition: enjoying all of the fruits of prior labors, focusing on the here and now, making the most of every day, even if that means allowing the day to unfold without any plan or need for accomplishments.

Way back during my high school days, one of my closest friends shared with me this definition of success. (Maybe Emerson was the author, maybe not, but does it really matter?) I think it is the perfect ending to today’s post.

Success

To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one’s self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived—this is to have succeeded.

Home Town Hero

Every town should have its very own super hero. Henry Huttleston Rogers was Fairhaven’s. If you’ve never heard of him, that’s an indication that you don’t live in Fairhaven and you probably took I-195 from Providence to Cape Cod, instead of the more scenic Route 6. Sure, I-195 will get you to the beach faster, but what you miss is a chance to see the impact one of Standard Oil’s “robber barons” can have on a sweet little town.

Henry Huttleston Rogers Memorial on Huttleston Avenue

After you clear the bridge from New Bedford, the highway’s name changes to Huttleston Avenue, and if you look to your left, you’ll see one of the many reasons the town has chosen to honor its home town hero.

The gorgeous Elizabethan stone structure, completed in 1906, is actually Fairhaven High School, Henry Huttleston Rogers’ last gift to the town before his death in 1909. I have never been inside–I attended a regional high school–but my sister Sue (the source of all my inside information) tells me the school has marble floors, wood paneling, and carved gargoyles in the auditorium. The adolescent version of me probably wouldn’t have noticed these grand architectural features anyway. I would have been too busy hoping one of the other auditorium “creatures” would ask me out after the assembly ended.

I DID pass many afternoons during my teen years as a volunteer at Our Lady’s Haven.

Completed in 1905, the building was originally known as the Tabitha Inn. Designed to resemble a Shakespearian era Inn, it was described as the grandest hotel outside of New York and Boston. Samuel Clements, better known as Mark Twain, was one of its frequent guests. It became a home for “the elderly and infirm” after it was purchased by the Catholic Diocese in 1944.

I stopped in to say hello and to take a look around the lobby. Back in my day, it was run by the Carmelite nuns, but today only one nun remains. Lovely Sr. Eileen from Ireland is now running the show, making sure Fairhaven’s senior citizens receive tender loving care.

Next to the Tabitha Inn is a red brick schoolhouse, another gift from Rogers. The school’s last class graduated this year, and the building is now closed, so all future students will be studying in a more modern building.

Rogers Elementary School, closed in 2013

From June through September, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the Fairhaven office of tourism offers 90 minute guided tours, starting at 10 AM from the town hall — and yes, Rogers donated that too. Click on this link for more information about the tour and the town.

I wasn’t crass enough to photograph the interior of Our Lady’s Haven, (not everyone enjoys getting their image blasted into cyberspace) but the interior architecture of the town hall is very similar…so you get the idea of how lovely both places are.

Town Hall Interior--grand staircase, with arches and carved wooden railings — Town Hall Interior–grand staircase, with arches and carved wooden railings

My very special childhood place is across the street from the town hall. The Millicent Library was built in 1890 as a memorial to one of Rogers’ daughter’s, who was 17 when she died.

I don’t think this is a statue of Millicent. Pretty racy for a small town in the 1900’s, wouldn’t you say?

My summer days were spent in the children’s reading room, where I discovered that “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” was only the first in an entire series L Frank Baum wrote about the magical land of Oz. Those books kept the 9 year old me entertained for an entire summer!

As I was leaving the library, one of the friendly residents (did I mention that Fairhaven people are VERY friendly?) asked whether I had noticed Dante atop the library. I never had before–but here he is, for your viewing pleasure.

So, who was Henry Huttleston Rogers–and how did he amass such a huge fortune? Rogers got his start in Pennsylvania, where, in 1861, he and a partner started a small business refining oil. By 1885, he had joined with John D Rockefeller, eventually becoming one of the three key men of Standard Oil. Known as “the Brains of Standard Oil Trust” and “Hell Hound Rogers”, he was a captain of industry.

He was also a generous man who befriended Booker T Washington and paid for Helen Keller’s Radcliffe education.

The “giving” tradition continued with Rogers’ granddaughter, (official name when she died: Mary Millicent Abigail Rogers von Salm-Hoogstraeten de Peralta-Ramos Balcom, but she went by Millicent Rogers–and who can blame her?) who founded the Millicent Rogers museum in Taos, New Mexico to house native American art. The daughter of Rogers’ only son, she was quite a fascinating character–but that’s a subject for another time.

Visitors to Fairhaven should stop at Margaret’s or Elizabeth’s for a great meal. The restaurants are side by side, near the waterfront. If you are lucky, you might get lovely Kristen for your server, and Kevin may be your chef!

Day Trippin – Sunfish Pond

Our son Greg recently spent 10 days on the Appalachian Trail, hiking through Virginia. Yesterday was a beautiful day, so the three of us decided to wander along a small portion of the trail where it crosses from Pennsylvania into New Jersey. After the Delaware Water Gap, the Appalachian Trail passes through Worthington State Forest, and intersects with those trails near Sunfish Pond.

Greg and I had read Bill Bryson’s book, “A Walk In the Woods”., which describes his Appalachian Trail Endeavors. Unlike Bill (and Greg on his solo trip across Virginia), we did not experience the silence of the forest. Instead, Bollywood music from a parking lot party accompanied us part of the way, and when that sound faded, it was replaced by a hiking family’s boom box playing Asian music. Sometimes you get a multicultural experience when you least expect it.

We're off. only 1,500 feet up, and 2.5 miles to go! — We’re off. Only 1,500 feet up, and 2.5 miles to Sunfish Pond!

It was the perfect day. Not too hot — not too cold, with only one small stream to cross and just a few feet of muddy trail on either side.

It took about an hour to get to Sunfish Pond. At first we were admiring the view of the lake while we watched the huge blue dragonflies whipping through the air, doing their best to keep the mosquito population under control.

Darn dragonfly was moving too fast --but at least the lake is pretty — Darn dragonfly was moving too fast –but at least the lake is pretty

These guys really move--it was hard to get a clear shot. — Finally one stopped for a second so I quickly (and unsteadily) shot.

Then we noticed what initially looked like bumps on a log. These guys were basking in the sun, right by the shore.

It took a while for us to realize we were being watched by lots of eyeballs. Once we started looking though, we saw them everywhere!

The hike down was actually trickier than the way up, because loose stones can cause you to lose your footing. One advantage was it forced you to go more slowly and look more carefully. I hadn’t noticed these tiny mushrooms on the way up.

I am in awe of the through hikers that tackle the trail — including, and especially, my son. After yesterday’s five miles, Mike and I’d had quite enough, and were glad we would be returning to a full refrigerator, indoor plumbing, screens on windows and comfy beds!

Home Town Tourist

Whenever we travel to another country, we pay close attention to everything the area has to offer. We ogle the architecture, read all the signs at monuments (well, Mike does) visit museums, battlefields, parks, churches–anything and everything that could possibly be of interest.

But what about our own surroundings? I realized that I certainly take them for granted. Now that I am a retiree, however, I have the wonderful gift of time, so I can slow down, and really LOOK at everything I never fully noticed before. Mike and I won’t be traveling for a few more months, so in the interim, I’m going to be a “day tripper”, a local tourist.

First stop, my childhood town of Fairhaven, Massachusetts.

In 1775, shortly after the battles of Lexington and Concord, General Gage sent the British ship Falcon to Martha’s Vineyard to rustle up some food and supplies. Something tells me he left his MasterCard at home, figuring this “shopping excursion” would indeed be price-less, or at least payment-less.

When the Fairhaven militia discovered two of the Falcon’s tenders anchored off nearby Buzzards Bay, they grabbed their muskets, set sail and returned with “more than 25” members of His Royal Majesty’s marines as their captives. According to local lore and immortalized on a stone tablet, this was the first naval battle of the revolution. Would it not therefore be the first naval battle of what would eventually become the United States of America? Why didn’t THAT fact make it into the history books? We Americans are inordinately fond of firsts. So, we Fairhavenites should all feel rightfully proud!

The Fairhaven locals soon realized they needed to protect their harbor and nearby New Bedford, so they spent the next two years building this fort.

General Gage, understandably miffed at the township for the ignominious defeat his mighty navy suffered at the hands of the Fairhaven militia, waited till the fort was finished. In September of 1778, he returned with 4,000 troops to set the town and its ships aflame. He really must have been intimidated by those plucky militia men, because it was highly unlikely that the entire Fairhaven population back then was anywhere close to 4,000–even counting the chickens and cows.

Although the vengeful Gage succeeded in destroying the fort and, in general, creating a huge mess, he was stopped from sacking Fairhaven by a great soldier with an even better name. Major Israel Fearing marched 15 miles from Wareham to save the day–and the town. Try as I might, I couldn’t get a head count for Major Fearing’s fighting force. But I DID confirm the distance between Wareham and Fairhaven with Mapquest, so it has to be right. Funny, as a kid, I always thought Wareham was a lot further away than a mere 15 miles. Maybe it only FEELS further on a Sunday drive, when you are sitting in the back seat, being tormented by your younger brother.

You can’t keep a Fairhavenite–or a fort–down, so in record time, like the mythical Phoenix, it arose from the ashes, ergo its name. Despite living in Fairhaven for over 20 years, I never made the connection until I read yet another on site stone tablet.

Right by the fort is another important protective structure, the hurricane dike. It might not be as big as the Great Wall of China, but like that other wall, you can stroll along it to get a view of the surrounding area and watch the fishing boats sail through.

The dike also allows you to peer into the back side of the stately old homes near the Fort. The one below has”widow’s watch”, a small room at the top of the house with windows on all four sides. The story goes that back in the whaling days, the lady of the house would scan the horizon, watching for her husband’s ship.

Memories of Global Volunteers

I’ve been back almost three weeks from my Global Volunteers experience in Hanoi. As with the last Global Volunteers project, I accumulated lots of wonderful memories–but this time, only a few photographs. This post is a bit random, but here goes.

All Global Volunteers follow this tradition: We start each day with a “thought for the day” and a journal reading summarizing the events of the previous day. Volunteers take turns contributing thoughts and journal entries.

My thought, the motto of a Bangkok Wat, kicked off our two weeks of service in Hanoi.
“Enlarge your vision and be fascinated by the people surrounding you.”
The people surrounding me (volunteers, teachers and students) were indeed fascinating, and I benefited greatly from spending time with such interesting individuals.

The volunteers: Jeanne, Jim, Sally, Tom, Shelley, Bob and Judy at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

We were the 21st Global Volunteers team to serve in Vietnam. The first NGO to be welcomed into Vietnam, Global Volunteers started in the southern part of the country in 1993. Initially the focus was on building schools, but it soon became apparent that what the people really desired was help learning English.

Jim, our very talented and extremely patient team leader, reminded us that although teaching English is important, it is really a means to the ultimate goal of developing friendships. We are all aware that our most important role is that of Goodwill Ambassador. For some Vietnamese, we may be the first American they meet, so we will be supplementing the knowledge of the USA that they have gotten from TV. (Yikes. That’s a big job! But we were up to the task of taking on The Sopranos, the “Real Housewives” and Donald Trump! . )

The six of us volunteers had different backgrounds and different strengths, but we all shared a desire to make our time together a positive, fulfilling experience for students, teachers and ourselves.

On our first day, we attended the Monday morning assembly, where the students welcomed us with a guitar rendition of jingle bells.

Judy, Sally and I worked with the English teachers in the primary school.

Mrs. Vananh and Miss Lan — Mrs. Vananh (who was due a week after we left) and Miss Lan

On our first day, Mrs. Vananh’s third grade class sang “We are the world” for us. For those of us that lived through the Vietnam War, it was quite an emotional experience, listening to these sweet, beautiful children and thinking that forty some odd years ago, we were dropping bombs on their city.
During our second week, we asked Mrs. Vananh if the children could sing it again, and when they did, I grabbed my iPhone and videoed them. Although I was sick the last two days of the project and missed seeing the kids watch the posting on You Tube, Sally and Judy reported that it was something to behold. The boys were high fiving each other, the girls were covering their faces, they were all pointing and laughing, enjoying viewing themselves on the classroom TV.

"We are the world, we are the children" — “We are the world, we are the children”

Some classroom memories:

Miss Judy at work — Miss Judy in action.

Miss Sally teaching the "apples and bananas" song, a real crowd pleaser! — Miss Sally teaching Miss Linh’s class the “apples and bananas” song, a real crowd pleaser!

We weren’t just teachers–we were also students. We were lucky to have the very patient Mai as our teacher. She attempted to help us master the six different tones used in Vietnamese, with varying degrees of success. (Bob was the star pupil–and I was his polar opposite).

Jeanne, Bob and Tom all worked with the intermediate and secondary students. We were all captivated by Zac, a very friendly and extremely articulate intermediate student. He is quite proficient with electronics, offering to protect my iPad with 4 levels of security. (I can barely remember ONE password–never mind FOUR!)

Zac’s grandfather taught him a lot about photography, so I let him play around with my camera. He decided to use the manual controls for this shot of me.

Zac was so impressed by my Vietnamese proficiency that he summoned one of his friends to hear me speak. I’m sure their hysterical laughter at my pronunciation was their special way of saying “good job”.

Our time in Hanoi wasn’t ALL work. One of the many high points of our time in Hanoi was an excursion to the Ethnology Museum with Lan and several of the student teachers. The museum was only a 15 minute walk from the school, but walking the streets of Hanoi is always an adventure. These beautiful young girls literally took us by the hand and walked on the outside to make sure that we were safe! We must have been a sight–the seven of us big Americans parading down the street with our petite escorts protecting us from random motor scooters.

Our leader Jim, with our teachers/guides

During our second week, we made it to West lake, the site of John McCain’s crash. This monument is relatively new, and was probably put up to honor McCain for his role in normalizing US/Vietnamese relationships in the 1990’s.

I had planned on taking lots of photos of the kids and teachers during the last two days of school, but although I was healthy through four countries and for almost 6 weeks, I spent those last days in bed…luckily recovering in time for the plane ride home. My big disappointment was that I wasn’t able to say goodbye to the teachers and students, and have a farewell dinner with the team…so this post will have to function as my official thank you and ’till we meet again’ to all of the fascinating people that surrounded me.

Sidewalks of Hanoi

I wasn’t in Hanoi long before I realized “sidewalks” is a misnomer. “Beside walk” or “alongside walk” would be far more accurate, because THAT is what you do.

Photo taken from a second floor cafe/bar. Check out the wiring.

Although it LOOKED like one, this wasn’t a parade. They were just getting from point A to point B, and making MY point!

Notice the "bike rental" shop on the "beside walk" — Notice the “bike rental” shop on the “beside walk”

The old quarter is quite crowded, and the Vietnamese are very industrious, so every square inch is utilized.

He's really pushing it! — He’s really pushing it! He’s spilling into the street.

The cases in the right foreground, less than a foot wide, are the local liquor store.

What better place for food prep? Sorry for the blurriness. I was dodging scooters while shooting. — What better place for food prep?

You can cook dinner... — You can cook dinner…

Gather with the family for dinner — gather with the family in the dining room

Wash dishes — Then after dinner, it is as good a place as any to wash dishes

Hang with your friends and watch the traffic whiz by — Like young men the world over, the corner is the perfect place to hang with your friends and watch the traffic whiz by

Whoever manufactures those plastic stools must be incredibly rich. They were everywhere!

Hanoi on the Weekend

What do we fun loving volunteers do on a weekend in Hanoi? Well, on Saturday we took a cooking class, beginning with a visit to the local market to buy ingredients for our Caramel Pork dish.

"Get off the showcase!" — “Get off the showcase!” Bonus points to whoever can identify who said that.

We decided on a different vendor. — For some reason, we decided on a different vendor.

This guy reminded me of the lobsters in the bathtub!

Didn't we pick these off rocks? — Didn’t we pick these off rocks?

What would the Massachusetts term for these guys be? — Slap a little paint on these shells, and you’ve got yourself an ashtray!

Our teacher had excellent English. In addition to cooking, he taught us important Vietnamese phrases. — Our teacher had excellent English. In addition to cooking, he taught us the Vietnamese equivalents for “cheers” and “bottoms up”.

If cooking gets too strenuous, I'm coming back here! — If cooking (or drinking) gets too strenuous, I’m coming back here!

Miss Shelley and Miss Sally, who both answer to Ms Shally — Miss Shelley and Miss Sally, super chefs

Our waiter was happy to keep us supplied with free flowing wine — Our waiter was happy to keep us supplied with the “free flowing wine” mentioned in the brochure.

On Sunday, Jeannie, Sally and I made a day trip to the Perfume Pagoda, which we subsequently learned is Vietnam’s Mecca. We had thought that a boat ride on the river, into the mountains, would be a respite from the energy and dynamism of Hanoi. And had we visited during the summer, that is exactly what we would have experienced. Instead, we figured that it would have been more peaceful had we stayed in Hanoi, because it sure seemed like everyone in the city decided to visit the Pagoda with us.

Beautiful scenery; quite a bit of traffic on the river.

I thought there were a lot of boats on the river; I had NO IDEA how many boats were already there!

Vietnam has no shortage of shopping opportunities, and religious sites are no exception.

It is difficult to capture the sea of humanity at the Pagoda. As it got more crowded, it was impossible to photograph. — It is difficult to capture the sea of humanity at the Pagoda. I took this photo before it got crowded. Later, I couldn’t get my arms up to take a picture without bopping people around me.

There's a lot to be said for vegetarianism. — There’s a lot to be said for vegetarianism.

After lunch, we headed for the gondola. It didn’t take long for us to realize we were the only non-Asians in the very long line. During the one hour wait, the children used the opportunity to practice their English. Everyone wanted to say “hello” to us. Once again, I was impressed with the warmth and friendliness of the Vietnamese.

You jump into and out of these. They don't stop for passenger entry and exit. — You jump into and out of these. They don’t stop for passenger entry and exit. And if you take too long, the attendant gives you a little push to send you on your way.

A sweet young French girl who was on our tour decided to walk up, and arrived at the top before we did. (I wasn’t kidding about the long lines!) She reported that the way up was very hot and crowded, with gift and food stands lining the road the entire way. We know exactly what she meant. We SAW the rooftops during our gondola ride. So much for fresh mountain air.

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