Facts & F.A.Q.s

Because "I don't know" is not a good answer!

Facts:

These are the questions that I am being asked that I don't know the answers to...yet...but I'm going to find out...and that...is a better answer.

Know one, teach one 

Yes there are many charitable organizations in Vietnam.  The one I would like to tell you about is called Koto, Know one, teach one.  My friend Diana told me about this restaurant in Hanoi, located directly across from the Temple of Literature, that served the most delicious food, entirely prepared and served by kids participating in a life skills program. 

What I saw the day I was there nearly brought me to tears... and this is reason enough for living... to be of service.

The purpose of the program is focused on taking homeless youth off the streets of Ha Noi and providing them with life skills and employment training in hopes that once the program is completed they could find steady employment and are able to support themselves. Each youth participates in an 18 month curriculum that consists of basic education, a crash course English, finance, health and working shifts at the Koto Restaurant, both in the front of the house and the back.  The waiters that were on the day Le Ngoc Anh and I went communicated in English quite well.  Pretty impressive since my understanding is that they spoke almost no English before entering the program.  By far some of the best service I have received in Asia yet.  My favorite part of the program is that they also provide field trips to the youth and give them an opportunity to learn social skills and experience life outside of Hanoi... aaah to live is to travel..

 From the menu 

For starters we had the Traditional Hue Spring rolls - pork and prawns with a sweet and spicy sauce.

 For my main course I selected the duck breast stir fried with sweet basil, topped with roasted peanuts, and served on a bed of bok choy and rice noodles.  Ngoc had a ham and tomato sandwich which featured New Zealand cheese... she doesn't like Vietnamese food much.

 The kicker was desert - a caramelized, cream custard cake in a demi glaze.  OUT OF THIS  WORLD!

 The program started in 1996 and to date they have had 100% placement.  Currently the program is seeking donations to build a new home for Koto.

 Here is the site address if you would like to read more and possibly donate to this spectacular program

 www.streetvoices.com.au   Email: kotohanoi@netnam.vn

How is Vietnam competing economically?  Are they catching up with the mainstream?

Yes, I'd say most definitely.  VN is booming when it comes to export and foreign invested dollars.  They have a huge push to catch up with the rest of Asia when it comes to capturing the tourist dollar.  They are on a ten year plan and I can see it by the people I am meeting.  Most students are majoring in tourism are some sort of business. 

Here's an interesting article posted on Yahoo recently:  If you have it, flaunt it

How bout a quick Demo!

Crossing the streets of Hanoi... rules of engagement... walk, never run:

Keep in mind that this is a slow time of day... at night the traffic amplified tremendously.

1.  
   1. Extending far downward below a surface: a deep hole in the river ice.
   2. Extending far inward from an outer surface: a deep cut.
   3. Extending far backward from front to rear: a deep walk-in refrigerator.
   4. Extending far from side to side from a center: a deep yard surrounding the house.
   5. Far distant down or in: deep in the woods.
   6. Coming from or penetrating to a depth: a deep sigh.
   7. Sports. Located or taking place near the outer boundaries of the area of play: deep left field.
2. Extending a specific distance in a given direction: snow four feet deep.
3. Far distant in time or space: deep in the past.
4.  
   1. Difficult to penetrate or understand; recondite: a deep metaphysical theory.
   2. Of a mysterious or obscure nature: a deep secret; ancient and deep tribal rites.
   3. Very learned or intellectual; wise: a deep philosopher.
   4. Exhibiting great cunning or craft: deep political machinations.
5.  
   1. Of a grave or extreme nature: deep trouble; deepest deceit.
   2. Very absorbed or involved: deep in thought; deep in financial difficulties.
   3. Profound in quality or feeling: a deep trance; deep devotion.
6. Rich and intense in shade. Used of a color: a deep red.
7. Low in pitch; resonant: a deep voice.
8. Covered or surrounded to a designated degree. Often used in combination: waist-deep in the water; ankle-deep in snow.
9. Large in quantity or size; big: deep cuts in the budget.
10. Sports. Lacking a sufficient number of capable reserve players: That team is not very deep.

adv.

1. To a great depth; deeply: dig deep; feelings that run deep.
2. Well along in time; late: worked deep into the night.
3. Sports. Close to the outer boundaries of the area of play: played deep for the first three innings; ran deep into their opponents' territory.

n.

1.  
   1. A deep place in land or in a body of water: drowned in the deep of the river.
   2. A vast, immeasurable extent: the deep of outer space.
2. The extent of encompassing time or space; firmament.
3. The most intense or extreme part: the deep of night.
4. The ocean.
5. Nautical. A distance estimated in fathoms between successive marks on a sounding line.

Idioms:
deep down

At bottom; basically: Deep down, he was still a rebel.

in deep water

In difficulty. 

"Well at least some of these see to apply… lol" (laughing out loud)

Uncle Ho

By Ariana

Ho Chi Minh was born on May 19, 1890 in Kim Lien, Vietnam.  He was born into a family of scholar-revolutionaries, who had all been dismissed from the government for anti-French activities. When Uncle Ho was 9 years old, he and his mother were charged with stealing French weapons for the rebels, and they fled to the imperial city, Hue. However, after only a year his mother died and he returned to Kim Lien to finish school. When he was 17, he traveled to the south where he became an elementary school teacher. At the news of the first Chinese revolution had Uncle Ho, who was very patriotic, leaving for Saigon to discuss the situation with his father. It was decided there that Uncle Ho should go back to Europe to study Western science, and to survey the conditions in France before he made the choice of having a revolutionary career. In order to get there, Ho became a mess boy a French liner. He traveled to the major ports of Africa, Europe, and America, but when World War 1 broke out, he decided that he had enough of his seaman's life, and landed in London where he lived until 1917. In 1917, Uncle Ho left for France and settled in Paris where he supported himself as a cook, gardener, and photo retouched. He spent half of his time trying to gain French sympathy for Vietnam, and organizing the thousands of Vietnamese who were either serving in the French Army, or working in the factories. He became part of the French Socialist Party, and attended many political clubs. At the time, his only interest was to gain Vietnam's independence, but he began to drift toward Soviet Russia. The French Socialist party began to split, and Uncle Ho became part of the French Communist Party. In 1921, Ho organized the Intercolonial Union, which was a group of exiles dedicated to the advancement of communism. In October 1923, he was elected to the 10-man Executive Committee of the Peasant's International Congress. In late 1923, he went to Moscow, where he learned the teachings of Marx and Lenin. Two years later, he arrived in Canton as adviser to Soviet agent Mikhail Borodin, who was at the time an adviser to the Chinese Nationalists. Uncle Ho who passed as a nationalist, brought Vietnamese immigrants into a revolutionary society that was called Youth. The Youth members were what was to be the Indochinese Communist Party. Those who refused to obey Uncle Ho's orders were punished and turned into the French Police. In early 1930, Uncle Ho went to Hong Kong where on February 3, he founded the Indochinese Communist Party. One year later, he was arrested by Hong Kong authorities and was found guilty of subversion. Uncle Ho regained his freedom thanks to the Red Relief Association, and he immediately left for Singapore where he was again arrested and returned to Hong Kong.  He was released, only after agreeing to work for the British Intelligence Service. After 4 years of service, Uncle Ho returned to China where he took control of the Indochinese Communist Party. In February 1941, Uncle Ho finally crossed the border back to Vietnam, where he settled down in a hideout in a remote frontier jungle. With a view to bringing all resistance elements under his control, winning power, then eliminating all competitors and creating a communist state, Uncle Ho founded an independence league called the Viet Minh. In 1942, Uncle Ho yet again returned to China, asking for Chinese military assistance in return for intelligence about the Japanese forces in Indochina. Thinking that Uncle Ho was a French spy, they arrested him and he was in jail for 13 months. He then offered to put his organization at the Chinese service, in return for his freedom. The Chinese accepted this offer; they were in desperate need of intelligence reports about the Japanese. As the war approached its end, The Viet Minh took over the country, eliminating nationalist opponents. War broke out again in 1946, between the French and the Viet Minh. Many nationalists supported the war against France... The war ended in July 1954, with a French Defeat. Uncle Ho had hoped that a larger population was under his control, and he became very frustrated. He ordered guerilla activities in the South. The U.S increased military assistance and sent combat troops into South Vietnam, and began a systematic bombing of Vietnam. Uncle Ho refused to negotiate a settlement, but after realizing that his life's work may be destroyed and sparing North Vietnam from further attacks, he finally agreed to send his representatives for a peace talk in Paris. Antiwar feeling mounted in the U.S and other countries, but Ho stalled, intent on obtaining from the conference table what he had failed to get on the battlefield. While the peace talks continued to rag on, Uncle Ho died on September 3, 1969, about half way through the war against communism.