Monday, February 24, 2014

Halfway through Vietnam! Time is just flying by!


Hello everyone! This week has gone by so quickly! It is so hard to believe that I am already half way through my stay in Vietnam with only two weeks left. This past week seem to have some of the busiest days; I have been told , your professors they only get busier. We typically start off at 830 and end at about 5 each day with guest speakers, site visits, class with our professors and now even an additional Vietnamese language class. So far I have only picked up on a few phrases in words.  Much of the Vietnamese language is comprised of a series of tines that are very hard for me to even hear the difference let alone speak and pronounce them correctly!:) I am definitely trying hard though. 

Park near my house!:)

Our primary topic of this week was agent orange. Agent orange is what was sprayed by American soil des all across Vietnam during the war. The purpose of this was to kill off all vegetation so the US could plan and strategize their attack. The effects of agent orange has caused much debate in both the United States and in Vietnam. Although the evidence cannot be  proven strong in the court cases there have been so many people through generations that have had many mental or physical deformities from these toxins. This week we went to the Peace Village which provides an altered education for the many differing needs of the children affected. Definitely. A very eye opening experience as there are so many different perspectives on the causes if these conditions. Definitely very sad to see so many children affected.

Later in the week we focused  a lot of class time on non-biomedical medicine, also known as traditional medicine here in Vietnam. It was so interesting to learn all about the groundings and creation of traditional medicine. We also visited the Hanoi medical university hospital where we were able to see the actual treatment of certain ailments through the use or traditional medicine; SO interesting! 
Traditional medicine 


We ended the week with a few guest lectures and classes on the prevalence of HIV and AIDS in  Vietnam. HIV is one of the big public health issues for Vietnam! We learned about methadone clinics for drug addicts that hope to eventually reduce the risk of needle exchange therefore decreasing the prevalence of HIV cases. There is still a far way to come as well as in the United States. We had the privilege to actually meet people apart of a support group that all have HIV. The stories were so touching as many of them are completely isolated from the rest of their family members; some even have separate sides of the house to live in without ever being allowed to cross sides. Education about the transmission of HIV is still not fully understood in many areas. Interestingly enough one of the questions that was asked to us was in reference to the high cost of HIV treatment in the United States for people without insurance. In Vietnam the cost of treatment is free and much of the international funding to subsidize the cost is from the United States. Definitely a topic I am very interested in.

We finished off the week on a weekend getaway at Ha Long Bay! Located about four aways from Hanoi; it is a major tourist attraction for Vietnam, having over 1,000 gorgeous islands. My group went on a two day one night boat cruise that was absolutely amazing! The views were phenomenal. It was so great to be able to get away from the very congested city of Hanoi for the weekend. We went sea kayaking, hiked a mountain and even were able to walk through a cave. It was such a wonderful experience to just be with my group of 30 students and really be able to relax and just have fun! 


Doubles sea kayaking!!:) 

View from the hike!:)

Another boat that is very similar to ours! We had a bigger boat though!:)


Some of the group on the top deck! We are on our way back to shore!:)

We will embark on our rural visit for a week to the Lac Village which I have heard will be an eye opening experience. I cannot wait to get there!

 I hope all is well with everyone!:) Thanks again for your continued support! I appreciate it so much!:)

Hillary =) xoxo

" Life is not measured by the breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away" 

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Greetings from Vietnam!!:)

Hello everyone! :)

I have been here in Hanoi, Vietnam for a week and it has been nothing less than amazing. The sights, the smells and even the noises definitely took some adjusting to as they are all much different than the US. Below is a picture of the view from the hotel we stayed at the first night.




 After arriving in Vietnam I was introduced to my host family. My host mother is a doctor and then my host father used to be a captain of a ship. They have two girls, Fune, and Mai. They have been so great in welcoming us into their home.



(picture of my two host sisters and their cousin Lon)

Our day to day life here consists of making our way to the bus stop each morning to make it to class for 8:30. We normally get done around 5 each day. Some challenges are trying to order lunch during our breaks without  a translator. The food here has been great! Much different than our typical american food for sure :) Everyday the food is bought fresh for that dinners meal. Below is a picture of Pho which is a noodle soup that in this picture has fish in it. I have had it with chicken as well. It is very popular here and of course eaten with chopsticks! :)





 Crossing the street is very interesting here. The traffic here is very chaotic and definitely a difficult thing to get used to especially when the concept that the pedestrian has the right of way does not exsist here. It has taken us all a bit to figure it out but slowly and carefully we are managing!:)





During my free time my group has been able to do some exploring which has been wonderful. We viisted Ho Chin Min's bural sight. We were also able to pray for good luck at another statue. 





My host mother is very into exercise which has been wonderful for me! :) We go to exercise aerobic each night in the park. This has been a lot of fun, kind of like zumba just a bit more intense. Many people stay after the class to ask the other american student and I many questions about where we are from. (I definitely stand out quite a bit with my blond hair, blue eyes, fair skin complex. :) My host mother even told me of a great place where I was able to run around a beautiful pond in a park. Many of the people clapped and smiled for me as I ran by. So much of this culture is surrounded by the amazing hospitality everyone has given me so far. 



picture of the View from my run:). Interesting fact is that although it looks cloudy, it is actually a very nice day. The cloudiness is actually the smog here. Many people even wear face masks to protect themselves on the days where the air quality is not great.

There are also plenty of cafes and lots of shopping to be done in a more touristy part of the city. Tea is a staple here and is SO delcious as well as the hot chocolate!! 


 I was shocked to see English as the only language on a few of the cafe menus. Definiely shows the ideas gentrification branching into some parts of the city of Hanoi. This upcoming week we will be having classes about the Agent organge victims which will definitely be very eye-opening experience. 

I am so grateful for all for all of the experences I have had so far and the ones yet to come! :) The bonds throughout my group have only gotten stronger as we continue on our jounrey to make a difference in the many different ways that will be! :) 




I hope all is well with everyone! I do have wireless internet so feel free to message me or email me (hmiller@mail.smcvt.edu) I would love to hear from you all!:) 

Thank you again for all of the support! 

Hillary xoxoox :)

"Go and see all you can possibly see"

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Halfway to Vietnam! :)

After a 11 hour flight, we have finally just landed in Qatar. The time is 8 hours ahead. We have a 9 hour layover that has been spent with lots of walking around to explore the airport. We will depart from here at 1:25am local time and will have a 8 hour flight to finally reach Hanoi, Vietnam. 




The past week in DC was wonderful. We had a few guest speakers come to our class, a trip to the capital building along with our classes making our week very busy. Our group director for our time in DC is actually changing jobs so after 8 years of working as director of the program, the departure dinner on Thursday was filled with much appreciation for all that Jen has done. :)



On Monday we had an activity called Neighborhood day. My group of 30 students was divided into smaller groups and we each went to explore and observe other communities throughout DC. I went to Anacostia which is one of the more highly stigmatized crime areas in DC. As 97% of the people were black, I definitely felt my race as  I walked through the city being the minority.  It was a very eye opening experience. There were no supermarkets in the whole city as well as very few areas that were not run down. Many of the people even verbally stated that the area was not safe at night so we should leave before then. The few little market stores did not have any hand to and contact at any point during the transaction of a purchase. This experience left me with so many unanswerable questions; why are there no healthy food options? Why are most of the construction projects half done? Why is there no green space for outdoor activities or for children to play? These are definitely questions that I plan to continue to think about throughout the semester as well as finding new questions along the way. 

As I am sitting in the airport now I am filled with excitement to see the world. Once we land in Hanoi we will be staying at a hostel for a day or two in hopes we can  all quickly adjust to the 12 hour time change from the US. Then we will be off to meet our host families that we will be living with for our entire time in Vietnam. This is such an exciting opportunity and I cannot wait to meet my host family! 




Definitely thankful for the wi fi in the airport! :) 

I hope all is well with everyone! Thanks for all of the support! =) 


Hillary :)

"If you want to fly, give up everything that weighs you down" -Buddha