A resettlement area - Not really a good exchange

A quick snack before start time!!!

Another week has passed and I have a feeling that time flows too quick since joining this wonderful course. The second field trip is to a new urban development area named Dich Vong, which is in Cau Giay district.

To be honest, this area is out of my expectation because at first I hoped to pick up one luxurious complex that is often called paradise of Hanoi like Ciputra or The Mannor. Anyway, we welcomed any place to discover as having a good time hanging around with other group members is a great thing already and any place has its own special features to explore.

As a result of our findings, Dich Vong new urban development area actually is a resettlement area to meet the accommodation need for a group of people whose houses and lands are acquired for public project construction. It’s been finished since the beginning of last year. As a result of that, the area is not surrounded by many public services and not self-contained. Around 15 blocks are put together to creat a somehow messy area yet they lack some features of “global identity” and modernity like the other luxurious trade-apartment-hotel complexes. 

One representing block of Dich Vong area

Everything seems to be created in a hurry way just temporarily enough to meet the urgent demand of land acquisition. A wide array of functions that support the modern life of good living, learning and recreation are not seriously considered by investors and project holders, reflected by the fact that so many things on our list are impossible to be found within walking distance, such as schools, police offices and hospitals.

We could figure out where to find stuffs for life within surrounding locations on the main street called Nguyen Phong Sac and it seems that there are more new shops and stalls on this street opened just to meet the increasing demand of a portion of new population moving to this place.

Inside the area we did locate a small fitness center where locals can practice some sports or do gymnastics regularly but the outside architecture is quite old and unattractive. And cost of living around the premises is quite reasonable, just normal as the other ordinary living places near my house as most of the people there belong to medium-income class.

One interesting point I was a little bit surprised is another real reflection of our old lesson about inside-out when noticing a big pot in the facial shape on the pavement where people often burn paper objects for the death or to the God of Earth governing that area on some special days. It’s so odd to do such a ritual thing outside on the pavement!

Example of inside-out: A ritual burning pot on the pavement

If I can choose my living place, there will be no time this area appearing in my mind as it lack a lot of necessary public services for a normal life and the architecture is not attractive at all.

^_^Hanoi Old Streets ^_^

Spending the whole childhood in Hanoi, I’m quite familiar with many routes in this lovely city and therefore the two streets, Luong Dinh Cua and Hoang Tich Tri are not an exception. I got acquainted to them firstly through some wonderful yummy junk food stalls which are regular meeting points where I and a group of my close friends often spend time together., through many flower shops where I bought presents to my teacher on their Vietnamese Teacher’s Day. And so many other special occasions. Yet a little bit pity that there was no requirements listed as “buying a bunch of flower” or “eating a dish of boiled snail and grilled oysters” so that these specializations of these streets can be taken advantage of^_^.
Disregarding the weather forecast, we did enjoy our exploration trip on a rainy and wet morning. Nonetheless, bad weather condition couldn’t stop our enthusiasm and eagerness. The route seems to be more exciting when walking under umbrellas and making jokes with other lovely and friendly group members.
The two streets we did visit had a kind of architecture reflecting traditional and old features, a reminiscent of Vietnam a long time ago. Totally different from some kind of big and giant complexes arising recently as a consequence of urban planning and development like Ciputra or the Manor, they are the places mostly comprising of old residential housing and commercial stores. Along the long and narrow streets are parallel rows of various stores and small “kiot”, especially at the very first section of the street you can find many colorful and beautiful flowery shops that are extremely crowded in peak special occasions like Valentine or Teacher’s Day. Standing along the street are also a thick row of old and big trees that experiencing so many events day by day, where you can sit under for shadow on rainy and hot summer days. This is a good feature among many Hanoi’s streets where trees are gradually cut down for land acquisitions and the green space is being lost.
Spending time walking around, I did notice that these streets have full living amenities and services like the place within my house. There is a big market, called Kim Lien market at the end of Luong Dinh Cua where you can find everything to prepare for a delicious meal. I’m fascinated to live in an area where it just takes me a few minutes walk to the market as cooking is one of my hobbies and going to market every morning to buy fresh food has become on e of my habbits. Besides that, other living and learning services such as stadium, police offices for emergency of reporting a thief case, post office for monthly newspaper subscription, elementary school where my future kids can attend are within in a convenient way. Next to the area about 1 km walk is two famous hospitals, one of which is the workplace of my brother. At the very start of the main route next to Luong Dinh Cua is the location of a big supermarkets where electronic appliances can be found and a nearby is recreational center full of interesting entertainment activities.
The living expenses there are quite reasonable as our experiences suggested by interviewing a lot of people going around the market.
It is also a relatively clean street as we did notice there were several orange clad women descend on the city to sweep the streets and carted away the day’s trash.
From all of these, I feel it good to live in such a place where I can find everything for my life in an convenient way at reasonable cost. They are one of the most picturesque old cities in Hanoi undergone an exotic decay. Hopefully that these sceneries with such traditional architecture can still be kept as a way to make Hanoi more special in this so-called “urban development” age and time.

*_*Discovering about the job of a Prison Guard*_*

Gig is a really fascinating book that are full of real-life description about every corner of various kinds of careers and jobs that were successfully collected after a deep and professional chain of interviews. It seems that readers can take chance to explore and dig a deep hole to understand how good and bad features of each career type in American society are in association with how delighted and depressed Americans do feel about their selection of what they do to earn a living. Among what I’ve read, an interview with a prison guard probably gives me the most impressions as it provides me with a very realistic look and thorough understanding about the type of job that did have it better than newspaper exporters or photojournalists, according to a list of the 20 worst jobs in the US, basing on criteria such as environment, income, physical demand and stress.

The emphasis on regular tasks and responsibilities, challenges and the way the guard deals with these obstacles combined with his very concerns of the inmates around him has understandably remained at the centre of the interview.

One of the first reason why this interview has attracted my attention a lot may land at the fact that it’s attacked at a type of career that most people regard as mentally and physically-harmed because prison guards are frequently required to intervene in volatile situations to prevent violent outbreaks in prison population. And at first, in my imagination most prison guards more or less are often abuse or beat or cause some kind of brutality to prisoners.

But the actual thing I can figure out after reading this interview result turns out to be the opposite. The man interviewed does have great empathy for people. That is such a human interaction when he revealed that he would never yell at the inmates and even when they started yelling, he started whispering. These norms of interaction does show that the guard treat prisoners very respectfully, primarily because he’s concerned that no one would ever be allowed to abuse their position of authority to assault another human being. And the interview has become more successful when it continued to give the interviewee more comfortable feeling to express all about his concern to inmates suffering from mental illness. He said that he felt sorry for a guide who couldn’t even spell a some very simple words. How kind he is! In fact, prison is the place where there is no oversight and therefore no quality control. And when no oversight is had, personalities tend to warp into sadism. But the man in the interview is totally on the opposite. He has some compassion and human sentiment inside when seeing prisoners in bad mental disability as well as delightedness when exposed to some daily questions from smart and funny inmates.

Furthermore, the success of the interview also lies in the way he is encouraged to share about the overwhelming challenges he has to face with when doing the tasks. There is no doubt from the interview that a guard life is very stressful depending on the daily work and the relationship with all other inmates. That is true if you say prison guards have so many things to be afraid of. The man in this story did express about his fear to be attacked by some one among 68 inmates in the prison. And the psychological problem seems to be worse when he knows that inmates aren’t respectful to him. They even pester him and stuff. Yet, magically, he still tries to overcome his fear and stress by getting involved in the new working place with few prejudices to color his perception. What kind of strong and admirable man he is!

Prisons is another world that evolved to a complicated society where its own version of events is take as reality and believed. And the interview has made me understand more about this complex yet quite dangerous world trough the image of a very brave and sensitive guard who can “feel the pain” of that society’s citizens.

-----------One ticket back to my childhood------------

Why do you have to be famous to write an autobiography?

Though there is no doubt that Kings, queens, presidents, scientists, singers, poets… are often the subjects of autobiographies, lesser-known or even unknown-to-the-world characters have also furnished interesting biographies as everyone comes from a specific region and particular family with self-culture that seems to be different as well as interesting to others. And I take my time writing about personal history up to date not just as a way to complete an assignment in UCHANU class. Interestingly, it may turn out to be a new start for me to give birth to a big memoir about my life until my death to bequeath with pride to my children and grandchildren^_^. Who knows, if I can become someone big someday, this may be the very first part of a long autobiography standing out in the best seller list, hahahaha…………..

Hanoi on a rainy day a long, long time ago…..Wind blew so hard……….Breaking the silence of a dark and rainy night , in a crowded hospital, I was brought into the world with one 4-year older sister looking on. My birthday is somehow a special day for all the doctors and nurses in that hospital and the others as well bs it’s the national Doctor’s Day (27, February) when everyone pays great respect and gratitude to those kind of people who help cure diseases and save lives of thousands of people. I find myself have a big honor and luck to be born on that meaningful day, and it cannot be denied that its special feature really makes my friends and relatives easily remember my birthday also^_^.

Belonging to young generation that’ re born after the war in the inner city, I found my childhood seem to be quite sweet and peaceful with my lovely, kind and beautiful elder sister and my great parents. My father used to be a police man (as he followed the traditional career of my grandfather) and my mother used to be a civil server but now both of them have retired and spent most of their time at home taking care of the housework, their ornamental trees and pets.

A deep memory in my mind about my childhood is a great bunch of myths and fairy tales that my grandmother told me when I was in the age of 4 and 5. Vietnam is a land of fantasy and imagination and therefore my mother tried to take advantage of an old collection of legend and myths to give me useful moral lessons and principles of correct Confucian behavior. Every night before going to bed, I’s told about 4 to 5 legends with a variety of topics, ranging from historical and respectful record such as the legend of “Sword Lake” (at the center of Hanoi) or the creation of the Vietnamese race (who’re dragon and fairy’s grandchildren) to daily domestic issues in folk stories about hardworking husband and lazy wife. Thanks to all of this, I’ve realized about quite a few rules of life that still guide me throughout my life up to now: pride coming before a fall, the weak overcoming the strong through virtue and purity.

The time when I came to primary and secondary school was also full of memories that remind me of so many unforgettable moments. So many Vietnamese traditional games were accompanied with my childhood such as the game of dragon-snake, cat and mouse game which is somehow similar to the American game called “Duck, Duck, Goose” and “Bit mat bat de” which is literally translated as “catching a goat while blindfolded”, which is known to American children as “blind man’s bluff”. Once I even had my little arm nearly broken due to some unlucky accidents during the game and that made my parents both worried and angry at me for the fact that I couldn’t take care of myself.

Later since joining secondary school, I spent less and less time playing traditional games like these. I’s somehow busy with my class and school extra-curricular activities as I’s promoted as the Secretary of Union. Also, during this time I started discover about my favorite subject that are chemistry and math. I often spent a lot of time to solve challenging mathematical problems with as many creative solution as possible and even there’s one night I skip dinner to stay at my table for the whole night just to figure out the solution for a big problem. I did get several prizes in the math contests of talented students at district and city level that made my parents very happy. That certainly served as big motivation for me to continue making more and more progress to study harder. Besides that, my sister is a big mirror for me to look at as she seems to be a perfect girl who’s not only beautiful but also extremely smart. I’m particularly fortunate to receive her guidance and support throughout my study, both large and small.

Gradually, the little girl grew up into a high school and then university student and became more mature in life. And my own personal traits, personality and characters have been formed after a long time of getting education from parents, teachers, friends as well as adaption with the living environment around. My father always wants me to become a strong girl who has the personality of a good police officer. He did tell me many times that as I’m the daughter of a policeman, I am supposed to develop for myself 3 important personal traits: Courage (though realizing the fear of danger but need to proceed in the fact of it with calmness and firmness), Integrity (truthfulness and honesty) and loyalty (faithfulness to country, seniors and subordinates).

Thanks God I’ve inherited and developed for my self these characters because I understand that life is full of ups and downs and those valuable traits are certainly magic tools by which I can guide myself throughout bad moments. Hence, whenever facing any challenging or sad time, I often remember about all caring lessons from my father and keep smiling and tell others that “I’m OK and everything will be fine”. That is my father teaches me how to be a positive thinker. And this definitely help me become a good and successful monitor in my class at university when my own personal traits contribute greatly to the way I lead and treat others.

Besides that, I inherited from my mother caring and great consideration. To me, my mother is also a big friend to whom I can talk and share all kind of stories. That’s why my mother is always the first person who knows all of my secrets and feelings. She told me that the biggest happiness that a woman had in her life was taking care of her family. And she’s taught me to cook a lot of delicious and traditional cuisines, which partly becomes main reason why cooking is one of my hobbies. And holiday is the time I can show off in my kitchen with Pho, Bun Bo Hue, Spring Roll, frog curry and so many other healthy Vietnamese seafood.

I’m so grateful to my parents for their struggle to earn a living to raise me up and the great education that I have been provided together with their enthusiastic encouragement that they have given me.

My product-Delicious hot-pot!!!

In addition to cooking, I’m fascinated with another activity: doing voluntary jobs. I feel myself lucky enough to be looked after by both parents and have chance to get full education. Thus, it makes me feel regretful and sorry for those children who suffer from misfortune and get no chance to live a good life beside their parents, the disabled ones or who have to earn a living at an early age by shining shoes, collecting garbage. They are worth receiving consideration from the society in general and help from local volunteers in particular. That’s the reason why I’ve participated in quite a lot of social activities as I want to contribute my little effort and energy to contribute to enhance community improvement and make life better.

New Year Celebration for Children in Second House at an NGO

A voluntary campaign to raise green lifestyle among local inhabitants

  

We volunteers taught children at an SOS village how to make postcards

Besides hobbies that make part of person’s life meaningful, aims and future wishes make people live and act with goals. Personally, I believe that passion for making continuous personal growth is the golden key to lifelong improvement and advancement, which cannot be easily attained with natural talent only. As I believe that there are two kinds of people: Those who had experienced life as if it’s handed to them, with one luxury after another, and those who work for what they achieve and thus place a higher value on each of their achievements. And I know that my parents and myself, to a lesser extent were part of the second group. With this deep personal perception, I always take responsibility to pursue a continuous and progressive growth process day by day. Mentioning about personal wishes for the next 4 months, the first point is my plan to study well all of the four subjects in my majors and pass the final exams with flying colors. Then it is my intention to devote as much as I can to help our lovely UC students study Vietnamese well and explore more about 2-dimensional Hanoi: static inside dynamic, a city where I was born and grew up which is both elegant and deleting, both refine and crude. Actually, I’m not some kind of people who is ambitious. I tend not to live in a rush, trying to think about present and not think too much about both the past and future. Yet I always try to get what I’m determined to do and gain.

I’ve temporarily stepped outside the current life and tied together several interesting elements in my life story and crafted them into an engaging biography. As an old saying goes “Diversity is the spice of life”, I’ve been seeking more and more spices to put into my life so that I can have a more “delicious” autobiography full of scents and tastes later on.