Link Tucson to Hanoi

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Old and New Vietnamese Language, originally uploaded by khasan.

In order to break away from the Chinese Culture the Vietnamese created the new language.

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The men who transform the Vietnamese Language, originally uploaded by khasan.

Chinese letters were used in Vietnam for a thousand-year period until the begining of 20th century. Alexandre de Rhodes (born at Avignon in 1591; died at Ispahan, Persia, in 1660), who spent six years in Vietnam (1624 - 1630) for his catholic missions, had done a lot to introduce a system of Roman writing into Vietnamese language. Continuing the efforts of Portuguese Jesuit missionaries like Francisco de Pina, Gaspar d'Amaral, Antonio Barbosa, etc. in romanizing the Vienamese language, Alexandre de Rhodes published the first Vietnamese Catechist and the first Vietnamese - Latin - Portuguese dictionary (Rome, 1651). This writing system is called "quoc ngu" (national language).

Nguyen Van Vinh was born in 1882 in Hanoi, the same year when Hanoi was taken by the French army. His parents were poor and could not pay for their chidren's education. To earn money to help his family, the eight-year-old Nguyen Van Vinh had to work at a school for interpreters in Hanoi. His work was to pull a bamboo fan hung under the class ceiling to get fresh air when the class was going. This allowed him to watch and listen to the French teacher, and he managed to learn and memorize quickly all the lessons. His brilliant ability was soon noticed by the teacher, who requested the school director to give him a scholarship to study in this school. He finished the school at the age of 14, topping the graduation exam, and became an excellent intepreter. He was then appointed to be the assistant of French governor of Bac Ninh province.
In 1906, at the age of 24, Nguyen Van Vinh was sent to an exposition fair in Marseille. He had been aware of the important role which the press could play in Vietnam in the modernizing process, so on this trip he intended to learn as much as he could about this subject. He was the first Vietnamese who joined the French Society of Human Rights.
Back to Vietnam, Nguyen Van Vinh resigned from his post and devoted himself to journalism. In 1907 he established the first printing house in Hanoi and published the Dang Co Tung Bao, which was the first newspaper in "quoc ngu" in Tonkin (North of Vietnam). In 1913 he founded the Dong Duong Tap Chi (The Indochina journal), where one learned to use "quoc ngu" to write literature. He was also the first author who translated masters of French classical literature, such as Balzac, Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, La Fontaine, Moliere, etc. into Vietnamese "quoc ngu", as well as the famous Vietnamese novel in verse "The tale of Kieu" by Nguyen Du into French. His effort helped the Western knowledge and culture to spread among the population and facilitated the acceptance of quoc ngu by the Vietnamese society. In 1918 Kinh Khai Dinh declared "quoc ngu" to be the official writing language of the country. Chinese characters were officially abolished.
Nguyen Van Vinh, however, could not earn living with his journalist and publishing carreer. His publishing house went bankrupt and his properties were confiscated. He went to Laos in a gold-rush and died there in 1936. His body was found in a boat by a river at Sepole (southern part of Laos) with a pen and a notebook still hold in his hands. He was writing his last report until his last minute. When his coffin arrived by train at Hanoi, thousands of Hanoians were waiting in a solemn silence at the main gate of the Central Railway Station to bid farewell to the man whose talent and tireless effort had made "quoc ngu" really become their written language.

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Chu Nom at a temple in Hoi an, Vietnam, originally uploaded by khasan.

The earliest example of chữ Nôm dates to the 13th century. It was used almost exclusively by the Vietnamese elites, mostly for recording Vietnamese literature (formal writings were, in most cases, not done in Vietnamese, but in classical Chinese). It has now been completely replaced by quốc ngữ, a script based on the Latin alphabet.

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Hanoi crazy traffic - Oct. 2008, originally uploaded by khasan.

Traffic on Hanoi streets is extremely chaotic. Traffic on a typical thoroughfare includes buses, heavy trucks, cars, motorbikes, bicycles, cyclos, pedestrians (often pulling handcarts), and even the occasional pony cart, all jockeying for the same pavement. Motorbikes are by far the most common vehicles, followed closely by bicycles. Average speeds are quite slow because of bicycle and pedestrian traffic, but speeding and darting motorbikes are becoming more common, with negative consequences.

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Lunch at Mekong Island, originally uploaded by khasan.

On one the islands located in the middle the Mekong River. On the island we visit a fruit orchard and sample some of local produce , then board a smaller sampan that windsalong narrow canals.We also have the oppornity to enjoy some local hospitality over lunch before returning to Ho Chi Minh city.

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Banh Beo, originally uploaded by khasan.

A bánh bèo (literally "water fern cake") is a variety of small steamed rice cake or rice pancake in Vietnamese cuisine. It is white in color and typically features a dimple in the center, which is filled with savory ingredients including chopped dried or fresh shrimp, scallions, mung bean paste, crispy fried shallots, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and oil. It is considered most typical of the cuisine of Huế, the ancient royal capital located in the center of Vietnam.
You can this at G&L Market in Tucson.

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My son and me, originally uploaded by khasan.

I am feeling alot better and my son will return to New Zealand by the end this month.
We had many wonderful time together and I will miss him very much.

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Happy Holidays, originally uploaded by khasan.

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Vietnamese Folk Art, originally uploaded by khasan.

Dong Ho Painting or Vietnamese woodblock prints refers to a Vietnamese folk art originating in Dong Ho Village, Song Ho Commune, Thuan Thanh County of Bac Ninh Province (north of Hanoi). It is one of the most popular Vietnamese folk arts.
It was a "must have" of every vietnamese household for Tet, vietnamese new year.
The prints in Dong Ho are made with local wood and paper. The paint is also made from local organic materials and is applied to wood and pressed on paper. The process is repeated with different colors

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