Mangroves, Chinese class, My last few weeks in Vietnam

I haven't written for awhile because we've just been in Ho Chi Minh City for the past week and a half, but a lot has happened.

On Thursday, we took a field trip to Can Gio for my environmental sustainability class. Although Can Gio is considered Ho Chi Minh City by some sources, it was about a two hour drive away and is actually on the ocean. We went to learn about mangroves, mangrove restoration, and biodiversity in Vietnam.

Can Gio is not very wealthy or developed, but is extremely important to Ho Chi Minh City. Our teacher calls it "The green lung of Ho Chi Minh City" because all the trees are very important for providing oxygen to an already very polluted city.

First, we went to see the beach at Can Gio. It is a really interesting beach because it goes to the ocean so gradually. Because of this, the high and low tide are dramatically different. We saw many people fishing and catching various crustaceans.

Sifting through the sand for mussels

Then, we went to an island that has a mangrove protection area. Mangroves are very important to the environment because they provide a habitat for many species of animals, stabilize coastlines and mitigates the effects of tropical storms. Many of the world's mangrove populations have been greatly diminished and this is an especially big problem in Vietnam due to over-farming of shrimp and some lasting damage from the Vietnam War. The place we saw was actually a Vietnamese base during the war to protect Saigon from ocean attacks. In recent years, the government has implemented mangrove restoration projects and the results seem to be quite favorable so far. The island also had a lot of monkeys on it. The monkeys were very used to people and would come right up to you. They were both very cute and a little scary at the same time.

Mangroves!

Monkeys!

Yesterday, Trang invited me and Anna to a cooking competition in her Chinese class in celebration of teacher's day. It was a really interesting experience. Anna said it was a lot like a Japanese party. Everyone cooked a "Chinese Dish" although I'm pretty sure none of them were really Chinese. Trang made Singapore spring rolls, another group made sushi, another made chè which is a Vietnamese desert and another group made fried shrimp. It was also kind of funny that they spoke mostly Vietnamese with some occasional English but I didn't hear anyone speak Chinese the whole time. After that, we did performances (Anna and I sang the one song that we know all the words to in Vietnamese) and had a competition to make cards for the teacher. There was an extremely complicated point system for everything we did. After being judged on and assigned points for about 20 different categories, our group won the overall competition out of the four groups present!

Trang working on the Singapore spring rolls

Today, we also went to an art exhibition featuring artwork by blind children. It was really incredible what the children were able to produce, even without the ability to see. Many of the pictures used textured materials such as beads or were carved into wood. Everything was for sale and the proceeds went to a school for blind children where Vi did her internship.

Some other things to look forward to in my last couple weeks here are:
-Baking pumpkin pie and doing activities at the Little Rose Shelter for Thanksgiving
-Only one full week of classes left followed by a week of final presentations and tests!
-Loretofest, a huge music festival featuring bands from Vietnam, Thailand, New Zealand, Australia, and group from the US that I really like! Ratatat! Also, the expat magazine that Anna is working at is giving her a press pass and she gets to interview Ratatat! So exciting!
-Another visit to the HIV clinic
-Visiting The Green Bamboo Shelter, a partner shelter with Little Rose that takes care of only boys
-Farewell dinner for CET program
-My dad coming to visit and a huge Vietnamese food festival in Ho Chi Minh City

A busy last couple weeks before meeting my mom in Hong Kong!

Thứ tứ tôi đi chuyền với lớp "bảo vệ môi trường." Chúng tôi đi Cần Giờ, gần Sài Gòn. Chúng tôi đi Cần Giờ để học cây đước. Cần Giờ có nhiều cây đước và bảo vệ môi trường ở Cần Giờ quan trọng lắm. Cô giáo bảo vệ môi trường nói rằng Cần Giờ là "phổi xanh lá cây của Thành Phố Hồ Chí Minh." Cây đước ở Cần Giờ quan trọng vì nhiều chim và cá sống gần cây đước và cây đước làm dịu bão. Chúng tôi đi bãi biển và đao khỉ. Đao khỉ có nhiều con khỉ. Các con khỉ dễ thương mà tôi thấy hơi sợ.

Hôm qua, em đi lớp tiếng Hoa với Trang. Mặc dù lớp tiếng Hoa nhưng chúng tôi không nói tiếng Hoa. Chúng tôi không học tiếng Hoa mà có cuộc thi nấu ăn. Tất cả các sinh viên đều phải nấu ăn món Trung Quốc. Trang, Anna, và tôi nấu ăn "gỏi cuốn Xin-ga-po." Sau đó, chúng tôi hát và làm thiếp mừng cho cô giáo của Trang. Cô giáo tính điểm và đội của Trang thắng!