Some real conversation for your....

I’ve been thinking about Jack Kerouac’s book On the Road lately. In the novel, Sal Paradise goes back and forth, from one ocean to another across the American landscape, many times in hopes of finding exactly what his last name so blatantly suggests. In the end, he finds that there is no perfect place and that anywhere you are, you have to deal with the same personal, interpersonal, and spiritual stuff. Sal realizes this, albeit with some resignation, but his friend, Dean Moriarty, never does and foolishly keeps looking for a place that doesn’t exist. As such, Dean lives in a state of unquenchable, but very fleeting excitement, and leaves damaged roots everywhere he goes.

I think that’s kind of what that book is about, but it’s been about a year since I read it, and maybe I’ve made it into something it isn’t. Regardless, it’s been a comforting thought. I mean in the end, we should never feel completely at home anywhere we go. We’re all, every single one of us, foreigners. There is something bigger and something better, and it’s those longings in us that can’t be fulfilled that let us know that this is true. So in the present, let’s not make this an excuse for complacency, but instead go to where the need is and meet it the best we can. There is no paradise here on this globe that you can escape to, but there are places everywhere that you can help make at least a little better.

I listened to a talk by Rob Bell yesterday called “Heaven and Wine” on Melia’s ipod. It was amazing and I would encourage everyone to check it out. Our focus has to be here. It’s Gnosticism to only think of the beyond without working to change the present. The now (the physical) can be made good and it’s every single person’s responsibility to aid that process.

Such things might be contradictory and maybe that’s because I’m just typing as fast as my thoughts are coming, but in the end, the relation of the finite to the infinite is a bit paradoxical. Kierkegaard (the king of the paradox), in Fear and Trembling, says the standard is the knight of faith, and not the knight of infinite resignation. “A purely human courage is required to renounce the whole world of the temporal to gain the eternal; but this I do gain, and to all eternity I cannot renounce it – that being a self contradiction. But a paradox enters in, and a humble courage is required to grasp the whole of the temporal by virtue of the absurd, and this is the courage of faith.”

With all of this in mind, I’m grateful to be here in Vietnam and I’m also grateful that all of you are exactly where you are. Derek Webb, in an interview with Donald Miller, (which might just be my favorite sound bite ever) talks about brining people a taste of what is to come. His example: there are 300 million without drinking water in Africa. By helping to build wells in these struggling communities and empowering the people to continue the work, we are giving them a taste of paradise. By helping to meet their thirst, we are giving them a glimpse of a place where there is no thirst. With this in mind, let's all act both locally and globally.

I hope all that made since. It’s been a tough, but good, week as I continue to adjust to my role here and all these things have been heavy on my mind. Maybe some of the things I said were wrong according to that most abstract, but still important, of sciences that oftentimes burns more bridges than it builds, but, once again, it’s just what I’ve been thinking about lately.

Be brave, be courageous, and be bold. As C.S. Lewis says in A Grief Observed, “Only a real risk tests the reality of a believe.” And of course, thank you so much to all of you who have helped me to get here and have kept me in your thoughts. Without you, this risk wouldn’t be possible.

Sorry this post wasn’t funny, but as the T.V. theme song used to say, “Different Strokes rule the world.” That show, believe it or not, was Different Strokes. So thank you for your wise words Gary Coleman.

…On another note, this morning I was at a gathering with a woman from Burma. She broke into tears while discussing the current situation and the lack of safety for the people there. It made that issue so much more real. Please, if you could, keep this in your thoughts as well.

…I’ll post with some pics very soon too, in hopes to describe a little more concretely just what life over here is like.

Take care.

You just can't take the effect and make it the cause.

Sorry for the hiatus. I'm just now getting over a pretty bad cold that had about a two week duration. They say that when you move to a new environment, like Vietnam, it's pretty common to get sick like this because all of the pathogens are, at least to this denim clad American immune system, pretty novel. I tried to hold out, but eventually I caved and bought some antibiotics. The pharmacy was a glass counter inside of a small street vender shop and David, my team leader, walked me through the process. The majority of the transaction, on my end, was me wincing and grabbing my throat while the young woman across the counter nodded her head. In the end, I paid a wopping 69,000 dong, which is pretty cheap considering Hanoi is pretty expenisive when compared ot most Southeast Asian cities.

Needless to say, a sore throat isn't exactly the perfect complement to a new teaching regiment. However, classes actually went pretty well. All in all, I;m teaching five 2.5 hour classes each week: 1 sophomore speaking class, 2 freshmen speaking classes, and 2 international relations classes for juniors. I enjoy them all, but I enjoy the i.r. classes the most as it's in these classes that we tend to delve into the most interesting discussions, because honestly, we tackle some pretty big issues. For example, this week's lesson was over the Aids crisis and next week's covers the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

I'm also starting to develop relationships with some of the students. I met with a student for tea this morning, then Scott and I had lunch with two Combodian students, and tomorrow I'm touring Hanoi with one of my junior classes. By far, it's the relationships that make my time here the most enjoyable.

I shared this with Sue already, but on another note, and at the risk of sounding corny, lately I've discovered a newfound appreciation for Ira Glass and This American Life. One of the programs I listened to lately was about a man who had invented a special kind of tweezer from which he had made millions. Just recently though he decided that he was going to bring peace to Iraq, so he, all by himself, departed for the middle east, left his tweezer know how back in the states, and took on the sensitive role of a diplomat. You've got to love that mentality.

I want to ride my bicycle. I want to ride my bike.

Okay I finally got a bike (thanks for the bicycle advice on the last post). Unfortunately Gregg, it's not a Trek. In fact, I'm not sure that I could tell you the brand name. All I know is that it's used and it's Japanese and it's silver. Maybe I'll call it the Silver Bullet. It might be a good marketing ad to have werewolves riding them because they say that the only thing capable of killing such a creature is a silver bullet. It would be a cruel twist of mythological irony....the most powerful force in cycle sales. As for pegs, sorry Traever. However, I do have a basket, so I could still take people places, it's just that they would have to have somewhat of an ewok stature.

If there is one aspect of Hanoi that I could never fully articulate to a deserving degree, it would most certainly be the traffic. It's intense and the most common means of going anywhere is the motor bike. I mean I'm pretty sure that if the average Hanoi resident needs to go from his or her kitchen to the bathroom, he or she will take a motorbike. As such, they dot the roads quite densly. However, despite, or maybe because of this, I think my new favorite thing is riding my bike around Hanoi. After my first class at the Institute of International Relations (which I will very soon discuss in the next post) I rode to the school I taught at the summer before last, Hanoi-Amsterdam, to meet up with some old students. It was rush hour and it was crazy and it was great. The students and I had some ice cream and talked about life. We're planning on maybe seeing the new Harry Potter movie (it just opened it Hanoi) this Sunday. Call me a nerd but I love those movies. They're made for people with 10 second attention spans, so it's easier for me to watch without getting distracted by something shiny.

Also, it's awesome to be able to ride a bike and not have some frat guy yell "Hey Lance Armstrong" at you.

What's my bike's name? I believe I have to name it Kit. I just wish it would talk to me like the real Kit talked to Hasselhoff. Speaking of talking automobiles, does anybody remember that show "Heat Vision and Jack" that never really made it. Jack Black played the smartest man alive (his intelligence was due to radiation from the sun) and he had a motorcycle that could talk. Owen Wilson was the voice of the bike. Seriously, what else could the American television viewing audience ask for?

Take care everbody.

Remember The Magic Hour?

Okay, so it's been about a week that I've been here in Hanoi (or maybe I can take one from the ATL and call it Hot-Noi). Internet access has been sparce and email complications have abounded, but hopefully things will start to run a little smoother in that department since it's my main way to stay connected with everyone back in the states.

I think over these last seven days I've been coming to the slow realization of how much of an infant I am in this country. For example, this weekend I had three goals, none of which were accomplished. I wanted to buy a bike. I wanted to talk to a student on the phone. I wanted to send out another big email.

As for the bike, somehow the bike I was interested in (a used Japanese one) went from the high price of 1.5 million dong (pronounced "dom"....sorry all of you who are eternally 13, myself included) to 2.5 million in the course of a 30 minute bargaining break. All I can assume is that yesterday the international supply of bikes dipped dangerously low. Or maybe they just became the new Razor scooter or Nascar. Are Huffies popular again in America? Regardless, the price was way more than I was willing to spend. By the way, 16,000 dong is roughly equal to 1 U.S. dollar.

As for getting a hold of the student, the folks on the other line couldn't understand me at all, so I wasn't able to make phone contact. Remember when Magic Johnson had that talk show , The Magic Hour, and it got cancelled because he couldn't pronounce the words clearly enough for people to understand? Well, I kind of feel like that. In the end though, it was nothing an email couldn't solve.

As for email in general, it's going to be a learning experience this year I think. Access is just a little tougher than it was back at Purdue. Plus my ELIC enourage account won't send anything right now. Hopefully I can get that worked out.

I was planning on getting together with some old students tomorrow morning, but I had to cancel because of a teacher faculty meeting. I'm hoping we can reshcedule for later in the day. This next week should be a busy one though, full of meetings with old friends, hours of lesson planning and teaching, and the process of continued acclimation to this somewhat familar but still very new culture. Honestly, it's been a great week and I'm excited for what the rest of the year will bring.

Thanks so much for the all comments. It's nice to be able to access this thing again. It's going to be a nice way to keep in touch.