​I’ve spent a lot of time highlighting the adventures and sightseeing that I’ve done while in Vietnam, but now I want to shift gears and talk about why I’m actually half way across the world and what I’m doing. Besides, eating, sleeping, and playing Super Stickman Golf 3 with Andrew, Austin, and Harry, the majority of my time here is spent building a bathroom for a local school and teaching English to a class of rising 10th graders. 

​The first day on the site, I was really excited to start building something. As a wee young guppy, I loved playing with Lego’s® and building whatever structure, vehicle, etc. that suited my imaginative desires. However, now, as an engineering student, I have few opportunities to work on large-scale projects like a Lego Imperial Cruise or a Vietnamese bathroom outside of the classroom due to the largely theoretical nature of the many introductory concepts I am required to study.

​Break we did. The first few days were spent demolishing anything and everything in our path. From pickaxe wielding Harry C. Guo swinging away at a slab of concrete, to Diane, the Mountain, Hadley demolishing a two story pile of rubble, we truly worked our asses off. After the demolition, we laid the foundation and started building up with these giant stone bricks, and eventually moved onto smaller red bricks. The work got much easier and more manageable as we got acclimated to hard labor and started to divide the work more evenly. 

I’m going to send you now to Eva’s post about construction because it’s honestly better than anything I could write. It’s a pretty great summary about what we do every day, and I think it will be cool to see another student’s perspective.

​The only thing I will add to that awesome post is that Bling mason had to leave our group about a week ago. I was devastated. Even though he never understood a word I said to him, we were like brothers. On the day following Bling’s departure, we were introduced to Mr. Lam. I christened him “Safari Mason” due to the safari type hat donned on his head.

 I knew that nothing, not even pizza itself, in all its cheesy glory, could fill the gaping masonic hole left in my heart by Bling’s absence, yet, I was very open to befriending this new mason. I instantly tried to get to know him by asking him about his family life or gauging his interest in the newest season of Game of Thrones. Obviously, he couldn’t comprehend what I was saying to him, but his rejection of my olive branch extension really rubbed me the wrong way.
 
Additionally, whenever we work, the mason’s will demonstrate something, let us do the work, and then come check our progress and make necessary corrections.
 
Safari doesn’t like this system. Here is how his mind works.

1. Safari sees the students working hard in the morning heat and notices the task that they are trying to accomplish.
2. Safari approaches the students and immediately grabs the tool/brick/bucket out of their hand(s).
3. Safari does the task at hand in its entirety as if the student were incapacitated, inebriated, or an unborn fetus.
4. Safari completes the task, shrugs, walks away, and proceeds to smoke a pack of cigarettes.
5. Safari smiles to himself at a job well done.

 Clearly, I know that the dude isn't mean; he just prefers to do the job himself because he cannot explain to us the proper technique. Still, come on, bro.
However, besides Safari Mason, the worksite could not be better. I love King Mason and I’m pretty sure he has my English name down. I’ve had interesting conversations everyday with several of the Duke students, our roommates, or Hien (pronounced HIIIIIIEEEEEEEEN), the site manager/my best friend. The tangible progress we have made is really awesome to see and I can’t wait to finish strong and be the first one to “inaugurate” this glorious facility.

​I’ll post about ESL teaching in the next few days. I wish I had more time to write now, but An and I have to write a musical play about Pokemón that our class will be performing in the culture show in two weeks’ time. May Uncle Ho be with you.

I’m currently lounging in a reclining seat/bed on a sleeper bus, listening to Billy Joel’s “For the Longest Time,” while en route to Hanoi for my free weekend. I know I haven't written a blog post for the longest time (Wow, Grant! What a clever way to start off your blog post), so I’ll fill you in on what has transpired these past few weeks. It’s a twelve hour long journey from Quang Tri to Hanoi, but my sleeping pills (Benadryl®) and surprisingly comfortable seat/bed will make the time fly by as I blog snooze through the Vietnamese countryside.

Wow. That honestly feels like a lifetime ago.

So, I can’t quite remember when I last posted, but I think it was a few days before we departed for Quang Tri. I’m sure our group partook in some shenanigans, and maybe just a bit of tomfoolery; for those who are wondering, I did, indeed, call an Uber motorbike to joy ride through the city. It was awesome. However, as amazing as my stay in Saigon was, the entire experience pales in comparison to even the first day spent in Quang Tri.


We flew out of Saigon on a Saturday morning. I accidentally left my carry-on bag in the airport terminal and had to wait two weeks to get it back. Much sadness. We arrived in Hue around noon, and, after finding our luggage (minus my carry-on), were finally united with our Vietnamese roommates. This was a bit overwhelming, and really extremely exciting. I’m not sure I had really even took time to consider how the doubling of our team would affect the group dynamic.

All of the roommates attend Hue University and are majoring in some English related field (Translation, Interpretation, Tourism, Linguistics, etc.). They are generally a bit older than the Duke students, with ages ranging from 20 to 22 years old. Many speak English fluently, while others need some assistance in order to communicate effectively. Regardless, it’s really fun to hang out with them late at night for a round of Uno when they are all speaking Vietnamese. It can get pretty heated.

From the start, An and I got along super well. He is quiet and serious from a distance, but he is definitely just as, if not more, immature as I am. He’s incredibly curious about the world around him, and wants to be a tour guide because he loves interacting with foreigners and learning about their stories. We are probably the roommate power couple on this program. Kind of like Ted and Marshall if Lily wasn’t in the picture.

I could write indefinitely about all the conversations An and I have had about political differences between the U.S. and Vietnam, similarities in our educational systems, or flaws in the social climate of both nations, but I’ll save that for another time.

First of all, Quang Tri is a province in central Vietnam. It’s an hour away from Hue, which is the 3rd largest city in Vietnam. We are staying in a town, not a village, that has bustling streets filled with motorbikes, a scenic riverside promenade lined with cafés and coffee shops, and most modern necessities, save, Chipotle. We are NOT in the middle of nowhere.


The accommodations are SUPER nice, even by American standards. We are staying in a guest house, which is like a hotel, but not really. I honestly don’t know what it is. But it is nice. It’s right next to the river, and the sunset is gorgeous. When we first arrived at the guesthouse, there was a Vietnamese wedding taking place in the large assembly hall. Our rooms are all on the second floor, so after moving our bags up, I immediately changed into formal attire and crashed the wedding. It was super fun. I’m pretty sure I was sitting at a table with the bride’s uncle and they kept making toasts and offering me beer and food. I’m sure this solidified my outstanding first impression with my roommate.


We eat all of our meals at a restaurant down the street. Everything is cooked by Mrs. Tuan and her family who are actually the sweetest people in the world. I have a handshake with Mrs. Tuan that we do every time I see here. It’s one of those “miss me high, hit me low” kind of things. But anyway, we eat lots of rice, tofu, pork, Pho, and mangoes. I’m not starving here and I find the food satisfying and delicious.


As far as daily life goes, it’s all pretty routine. I’ve set up an interactive timeline (inspired by some of Kevin Beaty’s work…if you are reading this, Hi Kevin!) to help trace the thread of this adventure quilt. ​

Besides this schedule, we travel on the weekends. Two weeks ago we went to Da Nang (which had amazing beaches and really cool bridges).


Last weekend, we went to Hue, and then I drove on the back of An’s motorbike to his house about an hour outside the city. We stayed at his house for a night and the following morning, went to Elephant Springs, a natural spring in the nearby mountains, to swim and relax. Harry, his roommate, Bao, Eva, and her roommate, Money, stayed with An and I at his house, and came with us to the springs. Katrina, Trinh, Jason, and Tinh drove in from Hue that morning. It was truly serene.


Now, I’m with 9 others from our group going to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. 8 of them are continuing onto Hao Long Bay (a beautiful natural wonder which attracts millions of tourists each year). An and I will stay in Hanoi and just travel around. We have absolutely no plans and haven’t even arranged a place to stay. We are just going to explore some, learn some more, and try not to get hit by motorbikes. 


The Benadryl is kicking in now and I’m fading hard. I also didn't nap today so that probably is contributing to my incessant yawning and heavy eyelids. I realize that this was super long, but thank you for reading. I’ll try to focus in more on specific topics in coming posts, but now I think we are up to date. Mission accomplished. Self-five! Please feel free to reach out and say hello, I do have wifi...sometimes.


Hen gap lai. See you soon.