Nha Trang

This felt more like Las Vegas or Miami than what we envisioned a Vietnam beach town to be. A magnificent beach front flanked by a wide driving boulevard, a parallel strolling sidewalk and sculpture park, discos, elegant restaurants, and of course the beautiful people to inhabit the above.

A Day In The Life

Near Nha Trang is Xom Gio village. Over the years Sinh has developed a relationship with not only the chief and his family, but the other villagers who are farmers, fishermen and artisans. First we stopped at the local kindergarten where the children upon our arrival eagerly waved and welcomed us. After a discussion with the principal each of us was grabbed by little hands and excitedly led into the five year old classroom to join the singing circle. They sang to us, and we sang to them ( I'm a Little Teapot, Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes) before we broke into playgroups to build towers or fanciful cities. A good time was had by all. On a walk through the rest of the school, Sinh spied one of his little friends, age three or four. We were amazed that he knew individual children, but later learned he was the grandchild of the village chief who Sinh has seen grow up on visits.

Splitting bamboo and weaving baskets are skills performed by both men and women here. Some of our group tried the weaving but couldn't reach the speed and ease of these experts.trying to weave  

                                                                                                  making chopsticks

This is one of the many places OAT has invested time and resources to assist the villagers. A few of the homes have benefited with building improvements. We observed brick walls going up and nearby a common bathroom already constructed. An empty nester couple in their 60s , closest to the bathroom, proudly showed us a new roof. The wife was so pleased to have indoor plumbing, but the husband said he couldn't get used to it, and still used the river. 

Our lunch was a cooperative effort . Earlier in the day we were given assignments in the market. Armed with some change and the mystery item we were to buy only named in Vietnamese we were left on our own to negotiate. Most had trouble being understood because of the inflections are so subtle. Our "tung ga" was eggs, but sellers thought we said garlic.

Teacher sent us back to do our homework over. The collected ingredients were given to the wife of the village chief. We helped her stir fry then sat in their yard under the trees for a bountiful meal and discussion. In the yard were large overturned baskets keeping roosters from wandering off. Most yards have both poultry and dogs, but these critters were being saved for cock fights.