Archive for October, 2009

The Art of Silence

Monday, October 12th, 2009

It seemed fitting that on the 999th anniversary of Hanoi’s liberation from invading armies, I paid a visit to an old soldier. Viet Hong Lam Pham traded his gun for a paintbrush almost 40 years ago after being deafened during an American bombing raid during the Vietnam War, and is ...

Who Needs Disneyland?

Saturday, October 3rd, 2009

One has to appreciate a culture that finds so much to be thankful for and celebrates it all with national holidays. When I came to Thuan An last year, we honored the teachers with wreaths, cards, and a big ceremony on Teacher Appreciation Day. This time, the focus has been ...

A Day in the Life

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

School at Thuan An starts each week with a 7 am Monday morning flag ceremony. Students line up rank and file by age on the cement drive– bright-eyed and uniform in appearance with their pressed light blue and stark white-collared shirts and matching dark blue pants. The choice of footwear ...