Le Phat Dan

I got up earlier than I really wanted too but the sun in Vietnam was bright this morning. I think they should seriously consider daylight saving time. However, in a mostly rural and agricultural country it is good to start the day off early. It seems most people are up and about by 5:30am and so when I was smugly thinking that I would make to Cau Bac for early church services only to realize I was an hour and half late. I walked on down to a shady square I know and stopped at a bakery and got some coffee; thus fortified I worked on some drawings and doing some people watching.

The traditional pipe for smoking tobacco and I suppose other things, is a long pipe of bamboo about 15 inches long and a less than an inch long platform on the nozzle where the small wad of tobacco sits. This is light and with very powerful puffing (considering the dead space) you get about two puffs. I would guess that although not good for you the amount that you can smoke is somewhat limited and as expensive cigarettes come down in price this will pass away as a shared pipe.

I have been meaning to get my haircut. I am looking shaggy and it is hot. I have looked for a place that cuts hair. There are salons for women and then there are places set up for impromptu barbers. I negotiated the price and tried to explain 5 on top and 3 on side. I even inspected the guards and selected the #7 which I thought would be to long. Obviously the guards are not the same here and I have one of the shorter haircuts I have had in several years! Good thing after 8 weeks I still have my hat. Somewhat beaten up but doing its job under daily use.

Time to go back to Cau Bac for church and it was Pentecost Sunday. 40 days since Easter and my coming to Viet Nam and my time here is coming to a close. Vinglish is what I call the mix of Viet and English and now we had a mix of French too. The Bishop was there for First Communions and Confirmations and there was some pretty enthusiastic flag waving. Pentecost Sunday was when the less educated Galilean and now leaderless apostles suddenly eloquently and elegantly begam speaking in every known language. I could have used this gift the day before when singing Karaoke.

It is Mother’s Day back home and Lydia was our family emissary to Marci. I called on Skype but not the best connection with so many people around the world I suppose calling their mothers.

This week is the beginning of the celebrations of the Buddha’s birthday and enlightenment (another birthday I would guess). It is kind of the combination of Christmas and Easter into one week but more on Phat later.