I arrived on Saturday evening May 31st in a very busy and hot (27 degrees celsius at midnight!) Ho Chi Minh City airport where I met Terry Plum, who had been waiting patiently for me at the baggage claim. I had been in San Francisco for a wedding so my flight left directly from there with a 3-hour layover in the quite elaborate Seoul airport. We found the infamous taxi desk, per Pat Oyler?s recommendation, and we were taken to the Liberty 4 hotel. I did not realize it at the time, but having a fast and reliable wireless connection in our hotel rooms there was really a blessing in disguise. More about that in a bit.
We got up early and had a lovely breakfast at the hotel which had quite an extensive buffet spread consisting of fresh fruit, eggs cooked to order, meats, cheeses, and lots more. We then took a stroll down the very busy street to explore our surroundings. The streets swim in a sea of motorists with cars, mopeds, bicyclists, and pedestrians weaving in and out in waves. It really is organized chaos with an ocean wave theme. Quite impressive since the aggressive Boston road rage is left by the way-side here. The Vietnamese motorists are quick to honk but it is light and friendly quick tapping, alerting each other of their presence as they maneuver around in the very busy streets. There is something pretty spectacular about a rotary containing motorists entering and exiting in a multitude of directions and angles but they definitely make it work. We snaked through a very hectic outdoor market but did not bargain on anything, although it was tempting.
We were picked up at 10am by a former GSLIS student, Phuong Thi Truc Huynh, it was really wonderful seeing her again and so kind of her to accompany the driver to pick us up. The drive to Can Tho was about 4 hours and the sights and sounds as we drove through all of the different towns was fascinating. Countless roadside places advertising Ph? (noodle soup) and Com (rice) lined our long drive. We stopped for lunch at the halfway point and I had my first authentic Vietnamese meal, consisting of delicious sour soup with a white river fish that only be described as decadent and fresher than any fish you will ever have in the States. I also tried a green, stalky vegetable called morning glory for the first time and it was wonderful.There was a squid and veggie dish, and I did not hold back and sampled a little of everything. I am glad that I did because it really confirmed my love for the cuisine here.
We took a large car ferry over to Can Tho and arrived to the Ninh Kieu hotel area. It is made up of several hotels appropriately differentiated with numbers and we are in #4. It is right on the main drag and walking distance to lots of restaurants.
After unpacking we took a taxi over to the University of Can Tho, specifically the Learning Resource Center in the beautiful library where the class is taking place, to investigate the training room computers and network. We quickly learned that downloading and uploading files was restricted to after-hours only but luckily it was Sunday and we were able to get some things done but at a snail?s pace. The university network itself is far from zippy, but we made due.
We were met by Mrs. Trang, the library director, and Duyen Thi Huong Lam, another former GSLIS student (who wanted me to tell everyone in Boston how much she misses GSLIS), and headed to dinner with them. I had my first soda chanh which is sparking water mixed with sugar (they is no shortage of that here), fresh lime or lemon juice, and ice . It was incredibly refreshing. We had steamed shrimp cooked right at the table in coconut milk as one of our courses, more morning glory but this time cooked with garlic, river fish in an orange sauce, rice, fried soft tofu in a very light batter, and another dish of a river fish, spine and all, which salty but tasty.
It was great company, delicious food, and a very nice welcome to Can Tho.
Teaching began the next day, more about that in my next post since this one has gotten quite long.
~Linnea