03 Feb 2011
FD1
A year and a half ago, I embarked on a solo backpacking adventure in Southeast Asia and ended up traveling to Northern Vietnam on a whim. It's pretty reckless in retrospect but somehow my decisions lead me to the highly elevated town of Sapa, known to be "where heaven meets Earth." There were beautifully terraced rice paddies on the mountain side, cascading waterfalls spilling onto paved roads, and friendly locals in their ethnic dress. [THESIS] Although the start of my journey was rough, the adventures that I had were well worth it and I will never forget the sleepy town of Sapa, as well as the new friendships I made. [THESIS]
I was running as fast as I could, trying to keep up with the man in front of me who was holding my backpack. The train was moving already and we were running alongside looking for my assigned sleeping cabin. I would have been on time to catch my train but my moto-bike driver dropped me off at the wrong train station. It was a drag but I learned these setbacks tend to happen a lot in a foreign country. I was heading for the town of Sapa after hearing good things from other travelers. I was lucky enough to be with two girls who I met on a boat in Ha Long Bay. Finally jumping on my train and grabbing my backpack from the man, I was on my journey to the north, near the border of China.
Arriving to the Lao Cai train station at five o'clock in the morning, it began raining. I sat on the stairs for three hours waiting for my friends' train to arrive. The moto-bike and mini-bus drivers were crowding near the exit of the station and offering their services to Sapa. A few of them approached me but I acted like I didn't care for them. It was the mentality I had to have because if they saw a sign of weakness, I would be fed to ferocious sharks. It was a relief to finally see my friends to arrive. We quickly walked into the parking lot and negotiated with a mini-bus driver. The fare was about ten U.S. dollars and we shared the bus with four other girl backpackers.
It was an excruciating and scary one hour drive up a steep and winding road but we finally reached our destination. I was so excited and happy. The weather was crisp and chilly, a relief from the hot and thick humid monsoon climate in Hanoi. Our mini bus began ascending up a street. At the top of the road, six Hmong women dressed in their traditional indigo clothing spotted our vehicle. They looked as if they were waiting for us all day. Just imagine a posse of relatively short ethnically dressed women chasing your vehicle, it's a funny memory I have. The group of Hmong women began chase behind our van, literally running after us, as our vehicle descended onto another street. I was a bit unsettled and somewhat terrified by what was going on. But my only concern was to jump out of the vehicle and run away before the driver had the chance to hassle us to stay at "their hotel." From what I understand, there's a pseudo transportation cartel prevalent in Northern Vietnam.
Upon arriving at the hotel, the van doors swung open. I absolutely didn't know what to expect. The first one up to the door was Lam. She locked her eyes with mine and at that moment, chose me to be her new friend. We jumped out of the van and began swiftly walking back up to the road to avoid being forced to stay at the over-priced accommodation. Lam kept up with me trying to have a conversation. She was curious of where I was from. I was initially surprised at how well she spoke English. The large metal ear rings clung to her and swung up and down, pulling at the ear holes. I couldn't help but stare because they seemed too heavy for anyone to wear.
After walking back up the two roads, we stopped at the spot where we first saw the women standing. I stood there watching them string the hemp strands in their hands. They had the color of indigo stained to their fingertips. I've read a book about the Hmong people for an anthropology class I took a few semesters prior and was excited to be talking to them. They were selling their handmade items of bags, headbands, and jewelry. I was overwhelmed at the six women before me trying to get my attention to buy from them. I didn't have the heart to turn them away. Lam kept reassuring me that she was my friend and tied a brightly pink bracelet around my wrist. The other women followed suit. I think they were appreciative that I bought at least one item from everyone.
Lam mentioned that she could take us trekking to her village and have lunch with her family the following day. After discussing it among ourselves, we took the chance and went with her the next day. We got an early start and walked over to the marketplace to eat our breakfast. I was of fan of this one lady’s stall because it was the best pho I’ve ever had in my life and it only cost me seventy U.S. cents equivalent. Lam and her five friends met us there and after buying three dollar umbrellas, we set off on our trek. For an hour, we were just walking on a paved road out of the city. I thought the whole trek would be like this but I was dead wrong.
It was one of the craziest half day of my life involving difficulties I thought I would never encounter. We arrived at a dirt path trailing off left from the paved road. I've never seen dirt like this in my life. It was clay-like dirt of a pale yellow/orange color."This way is my village," Lam said. I didn't realize how intense and serious this was going to be. I’ll leave the rest to the imagination: “the shortcut” equaled to literally jumping down a mountain; passing a raging river and finding out that twenty minutes later we would have to cross it; arriving to a house full of curious children (eight of whom were Lam’s); being driven on a moto-bike up the sketchiest steep dirt hill and through waterfalls spilling on to the road.
I’ll never forget the most memorable moments of this adventure and everything in between. Lam has been in my thoughts lately. I always wonder if I go back to Sapa, would she be waiting at that same corner? I made friends with people from an entirely different culture, shared meals, and gave them their children school supplies I carried in my backpack. I experienced a different geographic location and was in awe at its own unique beauty. Crossing that raging river is one of the most terrifying things I’ve done but I did it with the help of my Hmong friends. I communicated and shared meals with people who didn’t know a lick of English but it was always smiles. Despite the language barriers, being in a foreign land far away from home, and cultural differences, I realized that we are all humans and that I have so much more to learn about what it means to be human.
(photo credit: elise noyez)
Log of Completed Activities
_x_ Jan. 10- First Day of Instruction. Log in to our class blog, our Laulima discussion forum, and your hawaii.edu mailbox. Become familiar with these instructional media. Carefully review the information in our class blog, especially the syllabus (click on the tab at the top of the page) and schedule.
_x_ Jan. 11- Intro to Paper #1. Read the “Guidelines for Paper #1″ by midnight.
_x_ Jan. 11- Laulima Discussion: Who Am I? Post your response by midnight.
_x_ Jan. 12- Begin setting up your personal blog for all class papers. Click here for instructions. Alternately, see the “Blogger” links in the right sidebar in our class blog. To begin, complete the initial setup. You’ll be able to add finishing touches as the RD1 due date approaches. If you need help, post a request in the “Q&A About My Blog” forum in Laulima.
_x_ Jan. 18- Complete readings for Paper #1
_x_ Jan. 21- Laulima Discussion: Discuss essays by Ehrlich and Legler.
_x_ Jan. 26- Laulima Discussion: Discuss essays by Gilb and Whitehead.
_x_ Jan. 28- Review Draft #1 (RD1) due. [50 pts] Read the guidelines.
_x_ Jan. 31- Submit three RD1 evaluations. [50 pts] Read the guidelines.
_x_ Feb. 3- Final Draft #1 (FD1) due [100 pts] Read the guidelines.
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