And Then it Rained...

Orchids at the farm

Tea Time

Pig

I found a puppy...

Biogas Digester

Farmhouse

Farmhouse 

Old US Army helmet being used as a water dipper

Snake Farm 

Drying Rice

Our Taxi

Building the Biogas Digester

A Farmer and a students hands

The Farmer we gave the biogas digester to.

Finished product =)

Rain =)

            I figured it was about time to update. Things at the homestay are going well. I think I’ve about adjusted to my new schedule:

5:15am – Get up and go for a run or a trip to the “man gym”*

6:30am – Shower and breakfast

7:30am – Class

5:00pm – Class is over

6:00pm – Dinner

10:00pm - Curfew

Definitely slightly different than my typical schedule but I am enjoying the early AM. I also found a very rare place in Vietnam – *an actual gym with weights located about 5min walk from my house. I stopped by the women’s gym but it’s a sauna and some cardio machines and everyone was wearing swimsuits for some reason. So, I promptly headed to the man gym-about 100 random odd weightlifting machines and various weights of unknown sizes scattered about. The decorations – metal posters of Asian wrestlers for inspiration amid sagging cabinets of ancient green vials labeled “amino acids.” They let me in so I assume I didn’t break any social rules …  Oh and in case you were wondering I have yet to see any other females working out there.

This week I spent three days at a local village. On the third day we built a low-income farm a biogas digester system. Basically it is a giant bag in the ground (9 m long, 1 m wide and 1.5 m deep). Animal waste is washed into the bag and then the methane is collected in a holding bag. A safety release (bottle with water) is placed between the holding bag and the digesting bag. The methane is then used for cooking versus burning wood. It is so simple and yet so useful. We dug the trench, constructed the bags and hooked everything up. Other sweet fact: the ties for the bag were made from cut up used tire tubes. SO awesome! Definitely my favorite event so far =).

Other random events: Took a trip to the market today with my homestay mom. So much activity! We bought some veggies and some frogs. The frogs come live and then the seller snips the head off with scissors, skins it and the best part- the headless, skinless frogs are still hopping for some reason with blood squirting out. After the frog escapade we sat down for a nice breakfast – rice paper with some unknown meat…at least the food on my plate wasn’t still moving =p. Overall though the market was great – so much fresh food! My host mom was saying most of it is picked that morning and all the animals are slaughtered moments before.

            Post-market I relaxed to a head massage/hair wash ($1) and then a trip to Dr. Fish for some feet cleaning. Here I sat on the edge of a pool and about 50 fish started chomping on my dead skin. Feels so crazy. The place is also a café so I ordered some sinh to (smoothies) as I got my feet cleaned. (Smoothies plus fish - $1.50).

Today there was an epic storm with about 1ft of water flooding the streets. It was AWESOME! I sat it out in a café until I had to go home for dinner. As I walked to my bike I noticed the walls were covered in cockroaches trying to escape the rising water =p. The streets were an intriguing combination of totally flooded, no traffic rules and garbage floating around as a current swept the streets clean. My feet were pedaling under water as giant trucks zoomed past, soaking me in a wave of styroform, old coconuts, broken flipflops and murky water. And, since I was the only foreigner out people starred and probably wondered what this white girl on a bike was doing. This event definitely made my day!! The bike by the way has become a rolling rattletrap hazard of metal parts that randomly clatter apart while riding over the rough road. The seat also broke and formed a forty-five degree angle which proves to be an interesting ride. Nothing a trip to the bike shop cannot fix =).

So that is Vietnam for now. I am loving it. Every day is an adventure!!

            Tomorrow’s agenda: Klaus and I are headed to monkey island for some sunshine, monkeys and pizza delivery.