ramblings

Not just Sri Lanka, but Columbo, which is the largest city (though not the capital) in this beautiful friendly country. The people are as friendly as in Vietnam, and the traffic is about as crazy, but with more trucks and 3-wheelers (little three wheel trucks they use as taxis).

The homes here are often covered in corrugated sheet metal, with patchwork quilt appearance from above. We got a tour through a university (possibly named Kabilla) and it started raining (we’re in monsoon season now) so little red muddy rivers formed between the trees. We got to do some drumming with cool drumsticks with rings for the mallet part that give a good springy feel and a nice clear drum cadence.

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The next 'workshop' type thing was dancing, and we learned dance moves with really long names like "tagatondata" and "wakaranakatta" which we had seen before in a cool performance that I got on video (though from an oblique angle), with awesome dance moves involving legs and arms, and quite stable torso. I really got into the dancing and got all sweaty as had the dancers. I'm really glad to have several new types of moves to add to my Rob's Crazy Dance. Looking forward to throwing down some new moves at the next party!

We loaded into busses and rolled to a nice hotel with all male waitstaff in the dining area. I actually only saw one female working there; she was working at the entrance like behind the reception counter. Talking to some of the students who joined us from the university, I learned that parents are pretty strict with when their kids can go out. There's no 'dating' as we have in the US. Arranged marriages are on the decline, but still common enough that they have a name for the others: "love marriages." All the women at our table were proponents of love marriage.

I sat next to Kapila, a professor of Russian on campus, who is the leader of the dance troup called NATANDA. His muscle tone is fabulous; I was ready to play ball for the other team after seeing his arms! Oh my gosh. He knows at least three languages: Russian, English and Singalese. Eranjala, who sat on my left knows Japanese, German, English and Sinhalese. Wow wow wow. I'm wondering if I can catch up and become fluent in a few languages. I'll have to work harder than I have been.

The dinner was lovely; various types of curry and two types of rice. Then a cool bowl of rice, and by that I mean a bowl made out of rice-flour batter cooked in a bowl shape. So much potential for cereal, hats, pitas, and even curry. Dessert included a fruit salad and some kind of yummy mushy brownies and some sweet yummy custardy tapioca, plus treacle ("tree-kul") a white blubbery yummy delight made with honey from a tree.

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The GET students did presentations on yukatas and tea ceremony and bon odori (a traditional Japanese dance). I particularly enjoyed the tea ceremony one because I helped Suzuko write her speech before she presented the ceremony. Most interesting is that it took three minutes for her to prepare a bowl of tea. A real tea ceremony takes two or three *hours*, and includes preparing the meal before the tea.

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Recently on the boat, things have settled from a hectic busy chaotic state to a busy state. We've come into a stabilized schedule and actually have a day off tomorrow. (We have days off from teaching while in ports and the days after most ports.)

Last night was the last night we got to see Kamau, a hip hop artist from San Francisco who now lives in Bali. He has been presenting a workshop on poetry for the few weeks he's been onboard. The passengers had an open mic night last night, and some of them wrote poems honoring his work. Pretty fun. He performed a rap-poem called Lone Gunman, which is raw and wild, describing the days he broke away from his crew to do his own thing: they were still into the drug scene and he was working hard to produce some records. I recorded it; I didn't get his permission to transcribe it though.

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My underwater camera case has been a good investment. We've not gone diving, but even just in the pool we've had lots of fun taking silly pictures and video of our antics. When taking video, the sounds are quite clear. fun stuff!

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My GET classes (each GET teacher has two classes) are bonding nicely. At 9:30am I meet with Cheerful Dancing Fellows, and we went up for drinks a couple nights ago in Hemmingway Bar. Last night I met with my 12:30pm class, Happy Wonderful Girls, and I was happy to play a wonderful game of Silent Football with them! I am honestly surprised with how quickly they picked up the game, and am really looking forward to getting some more games going with more people and more errors upon which to tattle.

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I've recorded 4.25 cassette tapes worth of stuff; I think each tape is 120 minutes long. One is nearly filled with conversations, including one with LeLy Hayslip, author of Heaven and Earth, which was made into a movie by Oliver Stone. After getting herself started with the book and movie, she has started a foundation and opened orphanages and hospitals.. and all this in only 20 years. I feel inspired that I can do great things, though I still don't know what I want to do yet.

Vietnam has been the best stop so far (Hong Kong, Danang, Singapore). People were friendly, roads were bumpy and chaotic, little 8 to 12 year old kids hardselling postcards, silk things, tiger balm, .. anything they could carry around. I must say they were quite well practiced with quick lines and little pouty faces that could wrench money from the coldest heart.

I bought custom made sandals for 95,000 d. (about US$7) and I love them. There’s nothing to them, just leather on rubber soles and blue leather straps, but they’re just my size and quite comfy.

Some of the girls were fitted for dresses, and Shawn got himself a white linen suit, and a brown linen shirt. He said one of his life goals was to own a white linen suit; I look forward to seeing him in it! (I can imagine Fred wearing it to the next nin concert he attends!)

In Vietnam, we visited a school which was built using funds from one of the previous Peace Boat fundraising campaigns. Two rooms with blackboards and desks, plus another building about the same size, though I don’t know what was in it. Most impressive at that ceremony was how well behaved the kids were! Lined up on the sidewalk, squatting and waiting for over an hour in the hot sun for what must have been a boring school-opening ceremony… without complaint! I was completely impressed and amazed at their remarkably good behavior!

After the ceremony, GET teachers visited the classrooms and had a spontaneous lesson in each room: greetings in one and “head shoulders knees and toes” sung in the other. After that, we chowed lovely delicious fresh fruit and for the first time I had something called michi (in Vietnamese, I think) or jackfruit in English. Maryann suggested that it looks like yellow peppers, which seems more accurate that banana peels, which is what I suggested. The teachers seemed well-divided between love and hate on the jackfruit debate. I joined the love team and chowed probably 6 of them. (on top of the pineapple slices and some of the little fruits that janette and I encountered in Hawaii).

A river was discovered nearby the school and Greg went for a swim.. the rest of us cheered him on and a couple people waded. I monitored my brainwaves’ disgust at the motorboat (engine enclosed in a wooden box on a mere large wooden canoe of a boat) being used to ferry people and bicycles across while people swam in the murky water, plus a woman on the side washing her fresh vegetables (leafy greens) in the water. Memories of Carla’s adventure along the Ganges in India make my story a well-cleansed hospital in comparison, but still. Eww.

That night we got a hotel for US$4 per person, and we each got our own double bed! Fun wandering around Hoi An again and I went to be early so I could have more of a day to myself the next day.

I woke up early and went to see Tam and asked her to get me a motorbike driver for the day. We negotiated a bit to get me a good price that included going back to the ship (near Danang in Tien Sa). Basically US$6 for all that. Not sure if it’s the best price ever, but I was certainly happy with the arrangement.

Ninh (pronounced somewhere between “nun” and “non”), my driver, couldn’t speak a lot of English, but we got around fine: he took me to a nearly private beach where I indulged myself with a foot massage, mango shake and fresh pineapple, 40,000 d., 5,000 d. and 5,000 d. respectively. The pineapple was sold to me by a young boy named Long (”my name Long; you remember Long.”) and I absolutely didn’t want the pineapple, given that I wasn’t hungry and just wanted to stroll around the beach alone. He asked for 15,000 d. at first, but finally dropped his price to 5,000 dong (US$ 0.33) and I still said no. He offered to take my picture, an offer I accepted, and I don’t know if he intended to ask me for money, but I gave him a dollar for his efforts and a hopeful intention that it would in fact help his life.

I headed back to the roofed area and was presented with the opportunity to buy more things (massage, shake, bracelets). I ended up paying way too much for the bracelet (sucker!) but the rest was lovely.

We headed back by way of a cafe, or maybe the cafe was first, but in any case, the very coolest thing occurred: I spoke Japanese with a Vietnamese waitress in the cafe! It wasn’t much of a conversation – just when and where and how long we studied. She had been much more intense with her studies and had more vocabulary than me, but I loved being able to do that.

We stopped by Tam’s again on the way out of town, for final goodbyes. She gave me a hematite necklace!!! Holy moly. I was just beyond words surprised and blessed.

After that, Ninh took me to Marble Mountain, where marble is quarried to be carved into lions, fish, balls, fountains, Buddhas, chess sets, jewelry, plates, bowls, etc etc. He announced that he would meet me in one hour, and I must admit I felt a bit afraid that I wouldn’t get back on the ship in time. I visualized myself happily exchanging stories onboard, and left it at that. I bought nothing but a ticket up the mountain (1000 d. I think) and wow. It was really cool. I love climbing, so it was perfect for me. Not like rock climbing with ropes, but rock hopping with bare feet. I scampered up the large steps and got to a three way fork in the trail. One way had a cave, and the other two ways went up (if I recall correctly) and I chose one of the not-cave ways randomly. I climbed some more and found a cave entrance which I entered, a bit concerned about the floor as I couldn’t see where my feet were headed in the dark, to find a standing Buddha-esque statue standing in a vertical column about 50 feet tall and 3 meters in diameter. The walls boasted names painted or carved into the rock. Past the statue was an opening that went nearly vertically upward (with step-like rocks that made it easy) and I ascended to a lovely view of the ocean. Beyond lovely: it was absolutely gorgeous with gentle waves visiting the shore and a village mixed with trees and lovely plains on the other side.

I could have stayed much longer, but I had an appointment with Ninh and a boat, so I scampered back down the mountain and steps, barefootin’ it all the way, much to my soles’ delight. I was offered surprisingly good prices on a waterfountain, which, if it was the actual price, and had I a way to bring it home, I would have taken her up on it. Like US$20 for a carved marble fountain 4 feet tall and a sphere on top that spun in the water. Wow. A bit pricey to get it shipped home, I’m guessing. (ps: that price might have been misunderstood or misremembered) Vietnam is *definitely* a country I wish to visit again for a few weeks. Camping and biking around sounds *great*.