Update 32

Before we left home, our friend, Dan Ellsworth gave us contact information for an English teacher he met here in Vietnam last year. So we talked via Messenger, made a plan, she arranged a hotel room & we booked a Grab and took off to meet Vuithi (Joyce) Nguyen in Yen Vinh. We first went to the hotel that was pretty basic which made us realize how soft we've become! Joyce had the hotel owner drive us to her school. She ran to meet us & immediately hugged us. Her smile would light up a stadium! Her class of about 45 students cheered & clapped when we came in. She put on her headset to tell the noisy students they should ask us the questions she'd asked them to prepare for our visit. A few kids were brave enough to ask & then Joyce kept encouraging so more spoke up. One asked for our love story. I told them about when Rog was 16, he got knocked out playing football. His couches kept asking him questions like where he was, when is his birthday, etc and he didn't know the answers. Then they asked him who his girlfriend was and he said, "Janie Baby!" The kids howled with laughter. Soon we were ushered to another class where we were asked more questions & again there was more laughter & excitement. Joyce was beaming the whole time & taking lots of pictures & videos. When the school day ended & as we left, the kids swarmed us asking for autographs, handshakes & high 5's. Next Joyce took us to meet the principal. We visited for about a half hour talking about school issues like scheduling, curriculum, discipline & motivation. He is currently taking a class on the STEM curriculum. He said he did have some discipline issues but mostly due to divorces in families…rate in this area is 4%. Then the principle ask us how we felt about the war. After a moment of silence, Rog said it was bad for everyone involved. He immediately stood us, reached across the table & shook his hand. It was one of those moments you don't forget. Joyce had asked 3 boys to walk with us on our way to her house so they could practice their English. She is such a remarkable teacher! The boys tried hard to talk to us as we dodged the traffic & walked through the open market. We stopped to buy & eat oranges, fried sweet potatoes & bananas & some chicken…all of which Joyce insisted on paying for. When we got to her home, her husband, Tinh (who spoke no English but used Google translator) took us back to our hotel. Next morning at 8, Tinh used a video call to show us he was there with coffee grounds. Our arrangement had been to meet at 10, so we quickly finished getting ready & headed down to meet him. He had also brought his Vietnamese coffee press. Since Rog had no idea how to use it, he made a big mess and ended up with little coffee. Tinh then using the translator, told us he wanted us to go with him now. So after checking with Joyce (who gave Tinh a hard time), we packed up our bags & went with Tinh. He took us to the school he teaches at & he proudly showed us his office. Then he took us to a class where girls were preparing Pho (soup) while a bunch of guys watched & chatted. Tinh took several pictures making sure the girls looked good & mask were off. So much laughter! We then walked a short way & stopped at a street restaurant & he ask us to sit down at the small plastic table on the the short stools. Tinh then ordered for us, paid & left indicating he'd be back in 30 minutes. We watched as a woman washed veges (me thinking-this is not the best plan) and then she fried thin, crispy rice pancakes. She filled them with a mix of veges & shrimp(?) and served them with a big grin along with some greens & rice paper. She demonstrated how to make basically a spring roll using what she had served. What could we do but throw caution to this wind & eat. It was quite tasty (and no negatives effects!). Tinh came back & drove…raced really using his brakes as a last resort…us down narrow streets barely missing many obstacles, people & even a baby in a stroller. We arrived at his house and found Joyce with 5 students in a small classroom attached to his house. She'd prepped the kids & they asked many questions & told us about their future plans. Then off to her school where we visited 2 more classes. In the last one, one student asked us to sing. So we sang "You are my Sunshine" and then they sang to us…not sure what. More laughing, hand shaking, high 5's and this time hugging. It was about noon when we left to walk to her home chatting the whole time. We walked on the street because Joyce thought the coconuts above the sidewalks were more dangerous than the motorcycles whizzing by! As we walked, many kids & adults along the way called out a warm "Hello, Miss Joyce!" She beams with love for her students & the local merchants. Joyce is truly a life long learner. She studies & practices using only nat'l medicines & eating healthy mostly from her garden and 80% raw. She is practicing using her non-dominant hand to stimulate that side of the brain and feels it has helped her memory tremendously. She is also learning Chinese. When we reached her home, Tinh & his older sister had tea ready for us in their entry room where their parent's portraits sat on a lovely buffet with inlaid mother of pearl. Joyce called her 2 children so they could talk to us. They both live in Hanoi. Her mother lives right down the road and comes for breakfast everyday. As we sipped tea, Joyce said she felt very happy with her husband, family and country where the food was fresh & healthy and weather was good. She exercises & sunbaths daily. Joyce is very thing & full of energy so guess she's doing something right! Around noon, we went into their kitchen where Tien had the table full of food he'd prepared: potato soup, green beans, fried tofu, sausage meatballs, cold pork slices & rice. Rog did a great job of eating lots with chopsticks. I felt lucky to try to eat a little with the fork. There was lots more talking & laughter before Joyce served a special grapefruit that was actually deliciously sweet! Finally, we walked out to admire their garden which took up their entire backyard. About 2, Joyce called us a taxi & after many more pictures & hugs, we took off for Hanoi…booking our room on the drive. Love these total immersion experiences! Thanks Dan for the contact!!