Integrating My Experiences in Vietnam into My Life

When I came to Vietnam I hadn’t really though about how this trip would fit in with the rest of my life. I saw it more as a break, a chance to learn outside of the classroom, an opportunity to challenge myself, and a time to explore. Connecting Vietnam with my future wasn’t something I had in mind. Needless to say my perspective has changed completely. If you had asked me to write this blog at the beginning of the trip I probably would have just sat there and stared at you. Now this blog just wants to write itself.

Working with the Deaf Community:

Vietnam has given me something I never expected; a certainty about what I want to do with my future. While I had considered working with the deaf community before, my experiences here have convinced me that this is the right career path for me. Working with HAD has shown me the power of linguistic research to change living conditions for a deaf community. It has also opened my eyes to the many unique problems deaf communities in developing countries face and helped me understand some of the ways to solve those problems.

Working with HAD has shown me that I already have many of the skills necessary to work in this career path. I have good language and communication skills, enough to be able to learn VSL and work with a group of people that only know limited amounts of ASL and English. My background as an ASL minor means that I have a lot of knowledge about deaf activism and can share that knowledge with other communities. I also learned that I really enjoy the sort of interpersonal work and translation work required to work with the deaf community. I absolutely loved interviewing people and enjoyed the many hours I spent struggling with the translations for my documentary. I now know that if I were to conduct linguistic research, create more documentaries or conduct surveys to assess the needs of a deaf community, I would actually enjoy the work process itself, not just the end result.

Apon returning to the states I plan on continuing on this path in several ways. First I will use my video to help HAD find funding. Second I will ask ASL club if they would be willing to fundraise to buy books for Hoa’s interpreting school. Third I will apply for jobs related to ASL or lab positions in linguistic research. My goal is to gain enough experience that I can get a grant to come back and research VSL. I also plan on encouraging other ASL students to join next years program and work with HAD.

Vietnam in general:

Vietnam has given me several things that I plan on incorporating into my life. The first is a self confidence, an ability to get around by myself and learn to love things that might initially strike me as different. I have grown up in Hanoi more than I possibly could have imagined. When I first got to Hanoi the thought of getting on a bus or taking a xeom and trying food I had never eaten before all while hearing a language I didn't really understand was overwhelming. Now I know that given a map and a bit of money I can explore all I want and get home safely. Today I found myself going to a university I didn’t even know the name of and explaining to the xeom driver while driving which way to turn. If I can do stuff like that in Vietnam, there is no reason for me not to do that in the states. I’ve discovered that life is like a street in Hanoi. If you walk too cautiously you actually more likely to be hit. Instead you should walk with confidence, and keep an eye out for trouble but don’t let your fears take hold. If you hold your head high enough all the nasty things in life will just part around you and let you keep on going.

Second I want to continue to question things the way we have done in the UCHANU class. I want to take long walks the way I do in Hanoi and think about the way sidewalks are made or the reasons stores are located where they are. I want to ask people about their lives and their work. Maybe do some kind of an interview project like project kiem an. Basically take my academic knowledge to a new level by applying it to the real world rather than just being stuck in books. Perhaps I will have one of the international students I will be living with go exploring with me and see the US from an outsider’s perspective (the way the HANU students got to). I want to look at academic writing the way we do here, by seeing weather or not they match reality. I remember having my perceptions about rural life turned on their head by the readings and really agreeing with their statements while discovering that the reading about the cuchi tunnels grossly exaggerated in an attempt to make a point.

Third I will continue to ask my friend Hoa about his childhood in Saigon. Getting to hear some his stories over skype and being able to really visualize it was one of the most meaningful experiences in Vietnam. I want to do this with my other friends as well. Stay in contact with my HANU buddies and UC friends and really try to understand where they come from.

Fourth I want to continue to understand the process of development and the real ways it effects people’s lifes. I want to be more critical of my political decisions in the US and way the costs and benefits of different paths. Studying development in Vietnam has shown me that there are always two (or more) sides to a coin. Even thing like better roads come with consequences. I want to continue to think creatively about ways to solve some of the problems created by development (such as the income gap). I want to work on other projects like or Nghe An project and think about to make these sorts of programs sustainable.

Concrete ways I want to stay connected to UCHANU and Vietnam:

1.              Help HAD find funding in the US and continue to connect HAD with other resources so that they can continue their advocacy work.

2.              Possibly get ASL club to fundraise to buy books for Hoa’s interpreting school.

3.              Get experience in Linguistic research and apply for grants to come back and research Vietnamese Sign Language.

4.              Set up times to skype/ooVoo with friends I have made here. Continue to connect with people over facebook etc. Continue to share with people about my life and experiences and learn about theirs.

5.              Encourage students at UCSD to apply for EAP Vietnam and talk to next years students to help them be prepared. Maybe encourage a student from the ASL department to go work with HAD.

6.              Tell next years UC students to contact me for one heartland and help them raise money in the states.

7.              If any of the HANU students come to California I will gladly provide my couch and cook them free meals for as long as they are around. You are always welcome in my home! I know this isn't super likely to happen but… one can dream.

8.              Host a UC reunion at my parent’s house. It’s less than 10 min from UC Berkeley so we just need to find a time when a significant number of us are in the bay and we can have a potluck at my place.

9.              Cook some awesome Vietnamese food for my family and my UCSD family!

10.           Continue to study about Vietnam, but always take academic papers with a grain of salt and try to understand how they do or don’t match the reality I experienced.

11.           Learn more about the Vietnamese American community. Maybe connect with some of the student orgs at UCSD that focus on Vietnamese Americans.

12.           Ask my friend Hao more about his childhood and experiences. Having him open up about his past has been one of the best gifts Vietnam has given me.

That’s all for now. I’m sure I will think of other ways in the future but if I can manage to achieve even half of these I will be a very happy person. I am truly grateful for everything, (and I do mean everything) I have experienced in Vietnam. Vietnam has changed me for the better and I hope I can continue to put the lessons I have learned here to use in my life.

Working in Groups: A Reflection

Probably the biggest thing I learned from working in groups this year was delegating. For our first two interviews we all went together to interview and then all tried to meet at the same time to edit. Scheduling was a headache and little issues like deciding which questions to ask became much more difficult with four voices involved. Furthermore there was lots of time where we didn’t need four people. Like in the actual interviews, three people kind of just sat there listening while the other interviewed. Editing was also much more difficult because we often had multiple people editing the same sentence at the same time in different ways. However I’m glad we actually did get to do the first few interviews together because we all got to bond on the ride to Thai Ling’s hometown and eat lunch with her family. It was nice to have those experiences together even if we weren't being the most efficient with our time.

For the later interviews we basically split the group in two, one UC student and one HANU student. I got to work with An twice and Thai Ling twice. Both people went to do the interviews and then the HANU student translated and the UC student edited. It worked out pretty well because scheduling was easier and it was a manageable amount of work for each person. It was also easier to formulate questions and make editing decisions because there were less opinions involved. However I’m glad that we didn't do the interviews individually because having two people from different backgrounds made the edited version more accessible to all audiences. I learned a ton from the editing mistakes I made like calling ling’s hometown a “village” and trying to figure out the proper name for youth organization the farmer was in.

The other thing I learned about working in groups was my style of leadership. In general I like to be in charge of things. With the interviewing I couldn’t really do this because I don’t speak Vietnamese, and tried my best to step back and then just shine when it came to the editing portion. However with the Nghe An fundraising this was a lot harder. Andrew and I basically ran the coffee shop. We made all the coffee, bought supplies calculated profits, figured out how to streamline things, taught other people how to make coffee tea etc. I liked the role of teaching people how to make coffee and organizing people to clean up. Delegating tasks in an efficient manner without being too bossy is something I like to do. However the part where I had a really hard time was when people who hadn’t been involved in the process came in, changed things and then wanted my help. In order to not bite people’s heads off I just had to trust that other people could handle things and take a break. One day I made the mistake of doing this at the end of the day and not leaving clear instructions for cleanup and then discovered that many of the things did not make it home. The next day I got a bit smarter and worked in the morning and then returned for cleanup so that I could make sure that all of our stuff made it home. I think it would have worked smother if we had defined tasks and knew what activities were happening what days in advance. Then I would have either felt in charge of something or not. However seeing as we had so little time to throw things together I think it turned out pretty well.

Sign Language Motorbike Ride

I was driving home on a motorbike without a helmet, something I promised I’d never do. The wind was whipping through my hair, when the silence of the ride was broken by Thai Ang signing “you cold?” “A little, but I’m fine” I replied holding my hands out front so he could see. I should have left it at that. I should have sat tight and let him drive. Not distracting him, not increasing the risk that my unprotected head would wind up smashed into the pavement. But the desire to communicate was to strong. “It’s 16C in California right now, this is fine” He laughed.

At the next stoplight the seconds counted down in digital red print 26, 25… “were going to pass a bunch of deaf people drinking up there.” Sure enough I looked and I could see the hands flying, 10, 20, 30 pairs of hands, all talking quickly at a little cha da stand on Ton Duc Thang street. If I had blinked I would have missed it. “They there every night?” I asked. “Yes.” The family on the motorbike next to us stared. I guess it isn’t every day that you see a deaf person signing to a foreigner on the back of the motorbike in Vietnam. Even the deaf people in here stare at me sometimes. Asking “you deaf? you American? why are you here? why don’t you want to be an interpreter?” I always laugh, watch people ask the same questions to Thai Anh to reconfirm, and then we laugh some more. That night Thai Anh just waved and smiled at the family staring at us, that shut them up fast.

As we drove further on I was hit by just how easily we could communicate. Here was a deaf man, my teacher, who knew Vietnamese Sign Language, Vietnamese and a touch of ASL and international signs. On the other hand there was me, a hearing American who knew only English, American Sign Language and a few weeks worth of Vietnamese Sign Language lessons. Yet just that evening he had explained to me his family story at a little café where we were hanging out with a few other deaf people. How his younger sister was disabled and he had to work to support her. How only his mom knew how to sign. How he tried to attend school in Hanoi but couldn’t understand the teachers. And how he only learned how to communicate with his father after returning from a deaf school in Saigon where he finally learned to read and write. I had understood all of that, and now I was on the back of a motorbike where I couldn’t see his face, couldn’t catch the facial grammar so important to signed languages, and yet I could still understand him.

As we passed a university off of Nguyen Trai, he signed “ I teach here tomorrow at 9:00”. “Another sign language class?” I asked. “Yes, I teach 4 different places, all at night.” Wow, I was floored. I knew he was dedicated to his work, but I hadn’t realized that he had managed to generate enough interest to open up four sign language classes. After all there are only 6 interpreters in Hanoi currently and because there is no government funding pay is low enough that all of them have other jobs as well. His four VSL classes would a huge potential to change life for the deaf in Hanoi.

As he dropped me off at my dormitory the language barrier slowly started to set in again. “Can I go to your language class tomorrow to film stuff?” I asked. I was planning on making a short film to help the deaf community get grants from abroad, and needed to get more footage. “Let me see” he replied, “I’ll text you”. My heart sunk, I knew that even if he did text me it would be in Vietnamese, a language I can barley understand. “I’ll try to find a friend to translate it” I said, knowing that that might not happen.

Before he drove away I thanked him profusely. He said it was nothing, his house was near. But it wasn’t really the extra kilometers I was thanking him for. It was the experience of a life time, a window into deaf life in Vietnam, something I never Imagined I would have done. And to think I would have missed if I had just said I wanted to wear a helmet. 

Southern Vietnam: Thoughts on the Mekong Delta

This past week we had the opportunity to got to southern Vietnam and experience some of the differences between Northern and Southern Vietnam. We went to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), the Cu Chi Tunnels, various parts of the Mekong Dealt and Phu Quoc. To me the most interesting part of the trip was the time we spent in the Mekong Delta.

The first thing that struck me about the delta was just how much of the area was actually covered by water. We went over dozens of bridges and passed literally hundreds of kilometers of flood plains. I guess I should have been expecting lots of water from the word “delta” but the only other river delta I’ve seen is Sacramento river delta, and while that does have some flood plains there is an elaborate system of dikes in place that has artificially turned most of the area into land (at great expense to the natural ecosystem).

The second thing that struck me was just how much of the population lived on the water. Of the roughly 21million people living in the delta region 1million live one boats year round working as merchants and traders. We got a chance to experience this first hand by going to two of the floating markets. One floating market was a small retail market. While there were some bigger boats that families appeared to live on, there were also many small boats where individual farmers would bring some of their crops to sell. The place was absolutely beautiful; piles of pumpkins and pineapples, sticks with the goods for sale displayed and dozens of eyes painted on the front of boats.

Another interesting thing was the huge amount of diversity in the delta we visited a Muslim Cham village (who had been converted by Malay’s), a Cao Dai temple and a Theravada Buddhist temple. While I just saw a mosque in Hanoi today (off of the 31 bus line) I can’t imagine that many religions flourishing in Hanoi. I guess as the delta region was only recently added to Vietnam it still has many influences from other cultures.

Yet for a beautiful and diverse as the delta was it is under huge environmental threats. The first threat is from the huge push for more agricultural productivity. This has driven people to establish dykes and use considerable amounts of fertilizer/pesticides to produce three rice crops a year. The result is a huge decrease in sea food growing in the rice paddies as well as depletion of the soil because the yearly floods are no longer allowed to deposit a fresh layer of silt. The second threat comes from dams on the Mekong river. To date China has built seven large dams on the river, and it plans to build thirteen. Anh Khoi was telling us how during the flood season he used to be able to paddle just a few kilometers upstream from his village to reach fresh water, but now has to paddle a significant ways due to the reduced flow of the Mekong river. The last threat that I learned about was global warming. Many of the houses were built less then 1 foot from the flood waters. Thus even a small rise in ocean levels could drastically impact the lives of millions of people. I really hope that something can be done to help counteract some of these problems because the delta was one of my favorite places in Vietnam and I would be very sad to see it destroyed.