HaLong Bay

View of the mountains from the boat
Out boat
Kayaking through the caves
Killer penguin
Amazing Views
HaLong bay fooolll


This weekend IHP went to HaLong bay. The only way to really describe the area is by saying that if you have seen Avatar, well imagine the floating mountains but in water, that is what it looked like. We had the privilege of sailing on a boat for a day and a half through channels between these mountains that were jutting out of the water. Our first stop on our trip was a gigantic cave that we got to explore. It was a pretty neat area but it was lite up by neon blue, and green, and red, which reminded me of Disney world more than a cave in Vietnam, also there were penguins in the cave (see picture) Mario Kart anyone? After leaving the cave we took the boat to the beach where we got to jump into the extremely salty water. That evening we were served (I am assuming) fresh sea crab, fish cakes, and squid. It all tasted really good, from dinner we moved on to the highlight of the evening... Karaoke. Barbie Girl, and Man I feel like a Women may or may not have been sung at this time, but I can assure you if they had it sounded good. The next morning we got to take out the kayaks and explore the caves around the area. on all the rock walls you could see where the water level used to be and now the water is a good 3 feet lower, becasue of that we were able to kayak through what used to be underwater caves, now just regular caves and much more practical to kayak through. The caves led to huge rock quarries with walls hundreds of feet high, it was a great way to start off the morning. Upon return to the boat we set sail back to the harbor andheaded back to Hanoi, where I am currently working on a paper due tomorrow. Tomorrow we head to inland Vietnam for a rural homestay for the week. Here we will look at what access rural Vietnamese have to health care and the different methods of treatments they use. Also on the schedule is a volleyball tournament, not really sure what that is about but I am pretty excited bout that.

Case Studies

Today we had our second round of case studies. Groups looked at issues ranging from the two child policy and how that affects womens reproductive health to the effects of street food play into the health of the Hanoi population. My groups over the past 3 days have been reseraching Health Seeking Behaviors of rural and urban populations. We interviewed doctors, and a scholar on urbanization. We also traveled to a rural area to interview the people. We returned to the National Traditional Hospital and talked with some patients seeking health care there as well. Our main goal was to assess how social networks affected the health seeking behaviors of these different groups. In short we found that people in urban areas felt like they had less social support than those in rural areas. In many cases rural people will accompany those who are sick to hospitals. The flip side of this though is that the urban population has much greater access to health care, on average it takes 5-10 minutes to seek care while rural people may have to travel anywhere from .5-2 days to get care. It is a very interesting topic and we only touched the surface of the issue.

Tomorrow our group travels to HaLang bay for the night. We will be sailing on a boat around the coastal islands of Vietnam. On monday we will leave Hanoi and go for a week to a rural home-stay where we will continue classes as well as gain perspective on the health and lives of rural Vietnamese.

Sapa

"Midnight train to Sapa"



This weekend four of us traveled to Sapa an area in central northern Vietnam. In the past this location was used as a mountainous retreat for the French. It was later mostly destroyed during war time and later rebuilt as a tourist destination in the 90's. We traveled by over night train which left at 8pm and arrived at 5 am. From the station we were meet by our guide Co Pra (sounds like Cobram bad ass I know) and made the final hour leg of the journey by bus. Needless to say the area was beautiful. In Sapa one can look upon the tallest mountain in Vietnam and although there was a lot of mist you it is possible to feel just how big it is. Sapa and the surrounding region is home to two of the many ethnic minorities of Vietnam. In Sapa they set up a market to sell hand made goods to tourists as well as to each other. From the second I stepped out of our car until the moment we left we were constantly accosted by these people to "buy from me." At first this was very hard to deal with but once we grew accustom to this we rather enjoyed interacting with the locals. After arriving we were feed a quick breakfast and then we lead up to Dragon Mouth Mountain. It was a small mountain that over looked the bigger ranges in the area. The hike up the mountain was easy and along the way there were orchard gardens you could stop and look at. At the top we were treated to a 360 view of Sapa and the surrounding area. Funny thing though, we were told that it would be about 40 F the whole time so we all packed for cold but instead it was warm, sunny and 70 so we were very hot by the top, I suppose that is what you get for not doing your own research.

That afternoon we were driven to Lau Chi Valley. This valley is home to the Mung people. Again the second we exited our van we were greated by people eager to sell us their goods. By now we were used to this and enjoyed their company through out our two hour walk through the village. As we descended down the path into the valley we passed by terrace after terrace cut into the mountain for rice farming. As a stark contrast from rural South Africa these people had running water and could grow much more of their own food. Still the conditions that these people are living in is less than ideal. It was also much more dificult to interact with the people since we can't speak Vietnamese. Within the village we observed a clinic and being good IHP students we inquired about the levels of care that were accessible to the Mung people. Basic care is available to these people but if anything serious should occur they must travel to Sapa which is about 10 K away (6 miles for those reading this from the West). We also found that like in BBR many people seek traditional methods of health care although as of 2009 ethnic minorities are covered under the health insurance policies of the government, making more treatments available then were previously affordable. As we continued to walk through the village we came across small shops that were selling very nice items for very cheap prices. Spoiler alert!! (I may or may not have acquired some very nice gifts from some people at home).




We learned a great deal about the lives of people from rural Vietnam on this journey to their village, the more I learn though the harder it becomes to accept the levels of poverty that these people live in when there are so many basic necessities that are presently unavailable for no other reason than it may not be cost effective... The more we learn the more I realize has to be done everywhere to bring better health care to people in need, but this is a conversation for another time.

Upon our return to Sapa we found that there was no running water in the entire city. This was fine for us, but as you can imagine some of the older tourists were quite unhappy that they could not shower. We were assured that the water would return but alas it never did so we had to go another day and a half with out a shower, so basically a day in the life of a college kid, especially and IHP college kid.

The next day we went to another village and observed more rural life, with beautiful scenery and water falls. That afternoon we were on our own to explore Eliza decided to get a massage and get cupped. I had never heard of this but as her back would later show it consists of creating suction on ones back with a cup leaving circular bruises from her shoulders to her back, basically one can now play twister on her back with all the bruises. As we were about to depart to the train station the company whom we were supposed to pay decided to inform us that the price we were originally told for the trip was actually less than we owed. After about an hour of argument through a translator we avoided this hidden fee. It was not the best way to end our stay in Sapa since we left feeling like we had almost been cheated. All in all the weekend was great and the experience valuable. As the saying of the weekend went it was "Sapa cool."







The view of the Mountains from our room...



Xander, a local seamstress and myself, he bought the shirt I didn't.


Eliza and Xander on the See Saw


Bridge shot, Stefan is this artsy enough for SCAD?



IHP


Did this one with the self timer haha



Seeing double??

The food chain (or convery belt)

Yesterday my host brother took us to a Hot Pot resturant. For those of you unfarmiliar with the concept (although there are many styles) each person has their own boiling vat of water in front of them. THey can then choose what to put in ie pork, chicken, shrimp, noodles ect. The food is than cooked and you take it out of the water and eat it. This particular place was even more intersting than that because through out the entire resturant ran a conveyer belt that you took plates off of. Each plate would have 2 or 3 bites of shrimp, or some greens ect and you would take that what ever you wanted and place it in your pot. The down side to this was we were sitting at the very end of the conveyer belt. So between where the food was placed on and us were 50 other hungry people who had "first dibs" on the food they wanted. At first we didnt realize why we were only gettting the dishes that no one else wanted, not to mention how rare it was to see a plate of noodles go by. It than dawned on me that I was on a metophorical low end of the food chain, and everyone else was in a sense choosing what I could eat. I thought it was pretty funny to be in this situation. Needless to say all we had to do was ask for noodles and they would be brought to us, but if we had to rely on the convery belt itself we would have had much water and little noodles, I know the extremly tough life I lead.

A few pics

Eddie and I at the Waste Management Center and the cool hole poker
Cool ladder
Bridge at night in the center of Hanoi

Purchasing Power

Probably one of the best things about Hanoi, Vietnam in general is the amazing purchasing power the US dollar has. For instance I can get food for lunch consisting of noodles, bread, tofu, and chicken, with a coffee for under 1.50. It is a very good feeling to get so much and spend so little. The other day I also bought seasons 1-5 of lost for about 16 dollars so coming back to the US is going to be pretty hard to adjust to in that aspect. On Sunday we went to see Alice in Wonderland, and the cool thing about movies here is that they start at 9 am so if you want to catch an early movie you can catch a real early movie. Also one can buy a bucket of beer (5 beers) and enjoy them at the movie, why anyone would want to do that ay 9 am is past me but at least the option is there.

We are already in week 2 of 3 in Hanoi, it is crazy how fast time is going. After next week we will be heading to a rural home stay for a week and then we will be leaving. Very hard to believe. This week we have begun to focus on our case studies. I am once again looking at health seeking behaviors of individuals, but this time our group has chosen to focus on the health seeking behaviors or rural vs. urban people. We plan to talk to people in Hanoi, as well as travel to a rural area outside of Hanoi to obtain information on this topic.

This weekend the group is splitting up and traveling to different parts of the country. I will be heading to Sapa which is in northern central Vietnam. It is located in a mountainous region where the main attractions are hiking, and visiting the weekend markets that are set up by the different ethnic groups in the area. This area was in the past well known for it tiger population but presently there are only 100 left in the country and very few in the area, I hope to see one but I am not getting to excited about it since if I do see one it probably means that I am in trouble...

Joel

Field Classes

Two days ago we took a trip to the Hospital of Traditional Medicine. This is a government sponsored organization that provides Vietnamese with an alternative option to modern medicine hospitals. It was very interesting to view becasue for all practical purposes the building was a modern medicine hosptial. They offered surgery, dialysis, internal medicine, had an urgent care center, and many other departments that one would see in other hospitals. The difference came with methods of treatment. As was explained to us at this hospital treatment is most of the time a mixture of modern and traditional medicine. in the case of a surgery modern techniques would be used for the actual surgery, but for recovery and any further ailments traditional remedies would be used. Within the hosptial there is a center where all these medicines are made. in the storage room are hundreds of containers of roots, leaves, herbs, spices, ect. Each person is individually evaluated and a treatment specifically for them is created. We observed a women with gangrene on her calf, the doctors told us that they had successfully stopped the spread of the disease and although much damage had been done there would be no further damage to this woman's leg. Patients at this hospital stay for anywhere from 1-3 weeks while they are treated. Another large area of this hospital is acupuncture, and methodical massaging. Both of these practices are very effective at restoring health to the patients in need. As in SA the amount of privacy that the patients recieve is much less than what is considered adequate privacy in the US. The group found itself in more than one awkward situation as doctors lead us in to rooms where patients were actively being treated. After a visit like this it is really interesting to reflect on how I view medicine and how other countries come at the same problem. I am completely unfamiliar with these practices yet in this culture it is believed to be more effective than any other treatments, and really who is to say that it isn't. most of the remedies used have been in practice for generations. I found this trip to be extremely valuable in helping to shape my view of how the world perceives medicine and treatment.

Watch Tower in the center of Hanoi


Houses on a lake in Hanoi.
Artsy? roof shot at the Temple...



Temple of Literature built for Confucious

Sunset Cape Town on top of Lions Head Mountain

Vietnam

I have been in Hanoi for 3 days now and it is an experience to say the least. First off the weather is extremely different than I thought it would be. The first two days here is was 90-95 degrees and muggy (hotter than SA) and now it is 65 and chilly (jeans and long sleeve shirt weather), but next week it is supposed to get to over 100 so I go from hot to cold to hot. The city of Hanoi is full of people, foods, and MOTOR BIKES. It is impossible to cross any street without almost getting hit by at least 59 motor bikes. Most streets are two way streets but there are no "rules" and you can enter the opposite lane and drive into oncoming traffic if you choose to. You can also bring you motor bike onto the pavement if you choose. When crossing the street on foot you ahve to man up step into traffic and let the bikes swarm around you as you move to the other side, or wait for a car to go by and follow quickly in its wake. With all this chaos it would seem like people would be getting hit all the time but that doesn't seem to be the case, it may seem crazy but there is some respect for pedestrians as long as they themselves are respectful, still I am waiting for the frist IHP student to get bumped by a bike... After two days of staying in a hotel Eddie and I have moved into a home stay about 5 K from the Hanoi School of Public Health (HSPH). Our host brother Tam (tom) and our host sister speak English while our parents do not. Tam and his girlfriend have both just graduated from high school and have applied to many schools in the US and are waiting back to hear from them, they have just as many questions for us as we have from them.

We started classes today and to get there it is a 15 minute bus ride through busy streets. Today was an orientation of sorts and tomorrow we start right in going to visit the public hospital and hearing a lecture on Agent Orange and its health effects on the community. It still amazes me how quickly I went from being in SA to Vietnam. One plan ride and 24 hours later I am completely immersed in a new culture and find that I have to quickly adjust and learn not only academically but culturally to the people and surroundings. It is very taxing at times but worth the stress.

I am only just beginning to understand understand the culture here. For instance it is not proper to say "goodnight" because that implies that the people you are saying goodnight to are going off to do "romantic" things. So there is a lot to learn but between our classes and living wiht my family I feel like I will learn quickly. Check back soon for pictures!

Joel

Tomorrow the group will be leaving South Africa and heading to Hanoi Vietnam. I have to say I am pretty disapointed to be leaving SA so quickly. My experience here has been amazing from Jo'burrg and BBR to Cape Town my time spent here has been worth while. We are all looking forward to our next leg of the trip and meeting our new host families.

This past week 8 of us came to Cape Town for our "holiday" aka spring break. The time spent here was packed full of all the things that we could possibly do in the time we had. One of the most exciting things that I did here was a hike to the top of Lions Head mountain to watch the sun set. The view from the top was amazing and as the sun went down we were lucky enough to see the green flash of light as the sun completely vanished. The way down from the mountain was guided by the light of the full moon. This full moon hike is a local tradition and we were lucky enough to be around for one. I also tried Sand Boarding which was similar to snow boarding except on sand dunes. This sport had the benefit of being able top wear shorts and a t shirt instead of layers of clothes, but the down side was that you had to re-hike the dune after each run.

Cape Town is a vibrant city with almost every activity imaginable. The people are really friendly and the drinks are cheap. I cant really find anything negative to say about this city!

For now I have to go catch a flight but hopefully will be back to update on Vietnam fairly soon!

Joel