In Country Orientation

As I write we're still in Hanoi on In Country Orientation (ICO). That's a process that VSO employs to prepare us for our placement. Its a intensive period of language lessons and lectures on VSO Vietnam's HIV/AIDS and Disability programmes (often given by people living with HIV/AIDS and Disability). There are cultural visits to museums and on Saturday we spent the day with a Vietnamese family to experience typical everyday family life. It's very different from the start of my contract in Saudi Arabia when I was taken on a quick tour of Riyadh, given a file and told to go out and do the job! Its been great and the Vietnamese programme office staff kindness itself. We couldn't have envisaged a better start to our time here. Tomorrow we will leave Hanoi for Ho Chi Minh City and my next post will be after I have started the placement!

Hanoi

Hanoi is a fascinating city. It has served as the political centre of independent Vietnam since 1010 AD (yes, that means next year is the city's millenium). It is located on the right bank of the Red River. At this stage in its development its a beguiling mixture of 19th century French colonial architecture (tree-lined boulevards such as Phan Dinh Phung Street) cheek by jowl with (my favorite) crumbling neo-communist 'brutalist' concrete apartment blocks and modern high-rise towers and shopping centres. Unfortunately for the romantic the future lays with the latter architectural form. Eventually it will look like everywhere else in the world. How sad. But the hustle and bustle of the streets is bound to remain – its quite impossible to describe how 'busy' the place is. Sitting at the streetside cafes, eating 'pho' drinking beer at the bia hoi (a local form of weak 'fresh' beer). At all times of the day and night going somewhere, doing something, moving around. Huge loads are carried on the backs of bikes and motorcycles – oh look someone's fallen off – oh dear he had a thousand eggs on the back which have smashed across the road. Its exhausting being in the middle of it but – for me at least – wonderfully exciting. And they tell us that Ho Chi Minh City is busier than Hanoi!

Food

The food we've encountered is a bit of a Curate's Egg (no pun intended). When its good (which is most of the time) its very very good; simply cooked meat and vegetables stir-fried with lots (!!) of garlic and chili. But, being VSO volunteers – and therefore (relatively speaking) lowly paid – we tend to eat out in the local street kitchens which the Vietnamese people also frequent. It can result in being served cuts of meat that can be quite, er, challenging. Sometimes the amount of fat or, er, rind (polite word for the animal's hide?) left on makes it, well, uneatable. So we don't and just put it down to experience – when one is paying no more than a £1 or £2 for a dish it really isn't worth getting worked up about it – and the waiter wouldn't understand us anyway! But generally speaking, as I say, its fantastic and healthy too – I expect to be a Slim Jim after a few months out here (probably on account of both aspects of the cuisine!). Among the more unusual dishes I've eaten – and these all fall into the delicious category (you'll have to trust me on this!) roast pigeon, 'small bird' (sparrow I suspect – they were very small indeed without the feathers) and frog. Also, snake 'elixir' proved pleasant enough – a whole snake pickled in a kilner jar of alcohol, of which one buys a 'shot'. Like a strong pale sherry. Apparently snake is a delicacy served in the Mekong Delta in the south of the country – and yes, believe it or not, it apparently tastes like chicken!

HERE

Now the Vietnam blog can properly begin. We're here. After a long, tiring – bumpy! - flight to Hanoi via Bankok we arrived at 9.30am (3.30am UK). Hanoi airport is very usable for an International airport. Stands in marked contrast to Bankok where the concourses seemed to go on for miles – especially to a man with blistered heels (don't ask). We were met at Hanoi by the VSO Programme Office staff and what lovely people they are! The volunteers have been arriving in dribs and drabs from all corners of the globe – but by this morning we were all here. I think there's 10 of us and for the next three weeks of In Country Orientation we'll get to know each other nuch better. But already the drinking contingent is making itself known (needless to say Jane and myself are founder members!). After a superb meal at a local restaurant hosted by the VSO Country Director, a few of us adjoined to a local beer hall and sank a few of the local ales. Excellent!
A couple of observations – the VSO Vietnamese programme staff are all lovely and helpful – the hotel we're staying in, goes by the name of the 'Au Co', is great, simple clean and airy (plus A/Cs!) - and our intial impressions of Hanoi fantastic! Colourful, anarchic, hot and sweaty, friendly – I'll add other adjectives when I've time. Got to go now and prepare for another group meal – oh did I tell you the food is GREAT. Feeling very optimistic...

OMG!

Friday 4th 8.ooam. Woke up this morning...and didn't go back to bed! We're feeling PROPERLY nervous now. In fact its just a question of how many nervous breakdowns we have today (Jane 'lost' her bag for 3 panic stricken minutes just now). Just thought I should record this to show that we're not always beautiful swans paddling serenely along the surface.