17th Apr

I’m leaving Vietnam today. To be honest, I don’t want to leave this country. I promised Vietnamese friends to come back.

The air is so dirty… I got ripped off so many times.. but I still love Vietnam so much!

Everybody is living in close relation to each other unlike my country and I feel a sweet sense of peace for their lifestyle. I don’t want them to change despite the development of the country.

Some points I felt through Placement are as follows:

Although Vienam nation published the official document which reports 100% enrollment ratio of primary school, the children with visual impairment are excluded from this data. Some of the interviewee didn’t receive the primary education.

Vietnam is one of the countries which have received foreign Aid for a long period. Through the interviews, I felt the social structure which tends to rely on the help of others. I think the schools really don’t have enough funds to buy materials or employ trained teachers. But I’m conscious of the word ‘We are waiting for the financial help’. In the interviews, I heard this word so many times and something about this bothers me each time I heard it. I thought they can do something while they are waiting, for example, collecting the mistake of the braille textbook.

From this year, Vietnam changed regulations of people with disabilities. Under the new regulation, people with disabilities in Vietnam do not need to take an entrance exam to university. One of the interviewee said that many of the people with disability in Vietnam must be happy about this new regulation. There is no doubt that this new regulation will expand access to higher education for people with disability. But I can’t support this because everyone has the ability to pass the entrance exam regardless of the disability. I think they should not get the special treatment this way and the nation should hold the entrance exam in braille.

The lifestyle of the blind people in rural areas looks quite hard and poor. But it does not always mean unhappy. Compared to the blind people in Hanoi, people in rural areas can walk around the village alone because there’s no traffic jam. Also, people in rural areas are more likely to have a job because generally people in rural areas are engaged in family operated business. They can help it in their house.

The traffic problem definitely hinders the possibility of blind people to be independent in the social life. In order for the blind people to get a job and receive an education, the safe transportation should be needed. Or, the special traffic signs for blind people should be provided. In many of the developed countries, guide dogs are raised to help blind people. But in this country, I think dogs cannot guide them under this traffic condition.

Those children studying at Nguyen Dinh Chieu School are just lucky. They have braille textbooks and the trained teachers. (→but this also has problems. The braille textbooks have many mistakes, some teachers had received the training for the special education only one week..etc.)About 100 blind children are studying at this school. But if the children cannot enter this school, their way to schooling is closed. Other regular schools in Hanoi and nearby provinces are hesitant to receive special children.

Mrs. Nimura’s secretary helped me to carry my luggage. The possibility of motor bike is pretty much unlimited.

16th Apr

Today’s Plan.. Visit Nguyen Van To high school

This morning I visited Nguyen Van To high school. Before I came to Vietnam, I didn’t know this school. But many of the interviewees graduated from this high school so I’ve wanted to see it. I didn’t know any staff here so I visited there without informing. Despite my unexpected visit, one teacher dealt with me and gave me some information about the school. In secondary level, only this school is positively receiving the blind children in Hanoi.

                  The school gate of Nguyen Van To high school

The teacher told me about one students who is disabled by Agent Orange. Although more than 30 years have passed since Vietnam War, even now quite a lot babies are born with disabilities caused by Agent Orange. He mentioned about atomic bombs which were dropped in Japan, and he said we shouldn’t forget about it although a long time has passed since then.

In the afternoon, I went to ‘Japan GENKI Festival’’. This is an annual cultural event which is held by Japanese language centers and associations. I’ve been there four years ago. Unlike in previous years, this year’s festival is the funds raising event for the quake. Many Vietnamese students were dancing Japanese traditional dance. I felt relaxed in a Japanese atmosphere.

14th Apr

14:00@ Mrs. Nimura’s House

In the afternoon I went to Mrs. Nimura’s house. It may be the last time to visit her house. During the Placement, she helped me a great deal. Today I went there to help her new project. She wants to generate an employment among blind women by making mats or something scrappy products. There were so many trial models in her room.

Last month, I proposed that they may be able to make a sandal. Today I tried to make the first sample. This is my work.

It was difficult than I expected and I found that it’s too hard for blind people to make it. In order to sell it, the certain level of quality is required, but if they cannot see it, the point of attaching sandal thong and producing symmetric appearance is hard to identify. But I think it’s very cute and the foreign customers may buy these products at a high price. I think it’s much better than making blooms in a dusty place although it’s a little difficult.

13th Apr

Today’s Plan … Visit to VBA Bac Ninh province

8:00@ Bus terminal

Today I visited to VBA in Bac Ninh province. Bac Ninh province is located next to Hanoi and it takes one hour from Hanoi. I have had a stomach ache from last night, so I was worried that I may feel sick in the express bus. But fortunately nothing happened.  

10:00@ VBA Bac Ninh province

I found the address I was told. But it was not VBA, but the city hall. I called the headmaster and he came to pick me up at the gate. Actually, VBA is in a room of the city hall. Compared to the other VBA provincial offices that I visited so far, VBA Bac Ninh was small and it doesn’t provide any vocational trainings. The principal is quite young, only 31 years-old and vice principal is my age. I was little nerves when I interview the principal because all staff were sitting around me and listening to our conversation.

I thought the situation of the children with visual impairment in Bac Ninh is quite tough. The principal said there’s no school receiving blind children in this province in all levels of education from primary to tertiary. He also said the children can go to Nguyen Dinh Chieu School in Hanoi if they want to study. But I know so many children apply for that school but the school cannot receive all of them. Moreover, the dorm fee is far from cheap especially for the family from rural provinces. Although the primary and secondary education is compulsory, children with visual impairment are excluded from it.

12:00@ lunch with staff

After the interview, the staff offered me to have lunch with them. We headed the local restaurant by motor bike. I still had a stomach ache but tried to eat a lot. Everybody except me was drinking beer despite the lunch time. Personally speaking, I really like this lifestyle.

13:00@ the office

We came back to the office and took a rest for a while. The vise principal presented me the traditional song of Bac Ninh province called ‘Quang Ho’. It was really nice.  

12th Apr

P.M.…Introduce Mrs. Nimura to the interviewee

14:30@ the house of the interviewee

In the afternoon, I went to the house of a blind girl I interviewed last month. Today I went to her house to introduce Mrs. Nimura to her. I and Mrs. Nimura introduced her activities helping blind people in Vietnam. The girl seems to have an interest in that project Mrs. Nimura is working on.

She just passed the program supported by Japanese organization and going to Japan this summer. But her mother was really worried about the aftershocks and radioactivity. So I tried to calm down her worries. I hope everything goes well.

6th - 11th Apr

6^th ---11^th was my holiday. My friend came from Japan and we really enjoyed sightseeing!

5th Apr

Today’s Plan… Visit to my friend house in Hai Duong province

7:00@ Bus terminal

Today I went to my friend house in Hai Duong province. In the morning, I met my friend at the bus terminal and headed her house.

9:30@ the friend house

I’ve heard that her house is under reconstruction at the moment. But I didn’t expect that her family still live inside the destructed house. There are only a bed and a TV, the curtain was attached instead of the wall. Her family was building their new house by themselves. In Japan, no one knows how to build a house except the people in the construction industry. But here, they all know about it. Now, her house has no infrastructure such as gas, water and toilet. But they are equal to the occasion in the unusual situation. How indomitable they are!

I helped to carry bricks only for 20 minute. It was really hard work, but a lot of fun!

After lunch, we visited to the grave of their ancestor. She explained that today is the Buddhist special day which welcomes back the spirits of the dead. The style of the grave is almost same as Japanese style. Decorating the chrysanthemum on a grave is also same. After placed a flower on her ancestor’s graves, we went back to home.

In the afternoon, we enjoyed fishing with at the pond of her grandparent’s house. It was time to relax. Her grandmother said to me that she wants me to take a photo of her. When I aim my camera at her, she strikes a pose. Cute!

These are going to be today’s dinner.

4th Apr

P.M… Nguyen Dinh Chieu school

      Observe the prep class

Today, I didn’t inform my visit in advance, but I went to Nguyen Dinh Chieu School. I arrived at the school before one o’clock because I thought the afternoon class will start at one. But actually it was from two. As I’ve got unexpected free time, I walked around premise. In the primary school building, all children were sleeping on the desk.

The primary class has started at two. Today I observed the prep class. Prep class is the class which teaches the braille and the basic study skills so that the children catch up with the sighted children in the inclusive class.

The wall of the classroom is cutely painted. It’s just pity that the children cannot see it. Most of the class time was just like the self-study. After the teacher gave the children one task, what she did was just scalding the chat.

During the lesson, the teacher had disappeared around 30 minutes. While she is missing, the children were chatting, playing at flying paper planes or walking around the classroom. I was surprised that the teacher went somewhere during the lesson although I’m observing it.

while the teacher is missing...



After the teacher came back, she took out fruits from the shelf and gave me one despite the lesson time. The lesson had finished 30 minutes earlier than the fixed time. Today the children only learned how to write ‘uon’ in braille for two hours. I felt that the teacher could use time more efficiently.

After the class, I had a chat with the teacher. I felt that it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have an enthusiasm. She once wrote a long report on the pathways of children in this school. Moreover, her husband is also blind. I used to work for a language school in Vietnam with Vietnamese colleagues. I thought her teaching style is just like the style of my old colleagues. I thought not only teachers but students take that style for granted. I think it’s a matter of culture, not an enthusiasm.

At the end, she talked about the charity drive of the school for the quake in Japan. In this school, all students have to raise money at least 5000VND (≒15p) on it. She said that some students complained that why Vietnam has to help Japan though Vietnam is still poor. She said that she explained to those students that Japan has continued aid to Vietnam for a long period, so now Vietnam has to return a favor. I was thinking about foreign aid that we discussed last month. I argued that government to government aid is inefficient, but now it became a major trigger of the charity drive in many countries and Japan have been saved a lot because of it.

1st Apr

Today’s Plan… Interview a girl

12:00@ Mrs. Ha’s house

Mrs. Nimura introduced a blind woman to me today. She has an experience living in Japan and now runs a massage center in Hanoi. This morning I went to her house and had lunch. She got married this year and got a baby in her belly. I’ve heard that blind women have difficulty in getting married compared to blind men because in Vietnam, housekeeping and child-raising are considered women’s work but it’s difficult to do if they are blind. I’m glad that her husband is really nice and they look very happy.

15:00@ Interview a girl

After leaving her house, I headed to the home of the interviewee by bus. Because her house is in south of city which is unfamiliar area for me, I had some difficulty with finding her place. I got there a little behind schedule, but she welcomed my visit.

The entrance of her massage center

She opened a small massage center six month ago. But there was no customer when I was there. We were keeping talking almost one hour. She said ‘I have done everything by myself, I’m not afraid to face difficulty’. Her words left strong impression on me.

She said that even her parents were opposed to sending her to the school. I think her parents were worried about her and wanted her to keep inside the house. I felt many people think the people with disabilities as the target for the care and their abilities for studying and working are tend to be neglected. We have to change the consciousness for the people with disabilities.

31th Mar

Today’s Plan… Interview a teacher

9:00@ Nguyen Dinh Chieu chool

Since I have visited Nguyen Dinh Chieu school so many times so far, some children remember me and call me when I passed by the classroom. Today I went to the school to interview a blind teacher. In order to talk at the quiet place, we went to the café near the school. He told me that what he feels inconvenient in daily life as a blind person, and some ideas to improve that situation. Although the people with visual impairment are facing great difficulties, he was the only interviewee who provided specific ideas.

   

17:00@ Water puppet theatre

In the evening I went out to have dinner with friends. One of my friends is working as a Japanese tour guide in Hanoi. She called me to come to water Puppet Theater. The water puppet is one of the most famous tourism features in Hanoi. It’s was very crowded with foreign tourists when I arrived there. We had a tea and Vietnamese cake near the theater while her customers were watching the play. After the show, we moved to another place and while her customers were eating dinner at a restaurant, we had dinner on the street. I feel the meals on the street are more delicious than the meals in restaurants. But I never see her when she is cooking or washing dishes because I know it’s so dirty.

30th Mar

Today’s plan..A.M. Nguyen Dinh Chieu school

9:30@ Nguyen Dinh Chieu school (class 8)

Today, I went to Nguyen Dinh Chieu school to observe the class. I observed 14 years-old class. There are 41 students in the class and three of them are visually impaired. They were studying about diagrams and the angle. I haven’t studying math in ages so I felt it’s difficult. Despite the lesson about diagrams, there was no diagram in the braille textbook. Each point of the complicated diagram has sign such as A, B, C… and the students have to prove the equality of their sum. I wondered that how can they imagine the complicated diagram and remember the place of each sign without touching it. When the teacher called on them to answer the task, the blind children could answer just like looking at the diagram. I thought the blind children must have studied a lot compared to the sighted children. Many teachers told me that mathematics is the most difficult subject for blind children because there are so many diagrams, tables and charts in the textbook and it’s difficult to show in braille.

This is the window of the classroom which is unglazed. I thought the children must be cold in winter. In Vietnam, all primary schools will close if the temperature drop to below 10℃. When I first knew about this regulation, I thought it’s fanny because 10℃ is not cold enough to close the school. But today I felt that the children cannot concentrate on study in such condition. There’s no heating system in the classroom and the window has no glass. Moreover, the concrete building made us feel colder than outside. I thought they should try to make the classroom warmer, not close the school.

28th Mar

Today’s Plan… Visit to VBA in Vinh Phuc province

              Interview a teacher and a worker

8:00@Mrs. Nimra’s Home

Because Mrs. Nimura also has planned to go to Vinh Phuc province on other unrelated business, we decided to go together. At 8 o’clock, her secretary, Mr. Son and I got together at her office and left for Vinh Phuc. 

10:00@VBA of Vinh Phuc province

At first, we were escorted to the biggest room. It was decorated with many flowers, drop curtains and the bronze statue of president Ho Chi Minh.

 

At first, the president of this association gave me the message of condolence and sympathy for the quake in Japan. Then, he introduced all staff and started to explain about association itself. Their thoughtful greeting was really nice, but it was a little bit long. When his greeting and explanation had finished, the class lessons also had finished… Because the primary school curriculum in Vietnam is only half-day schooling, the children don’t study in the afternoon. So I missed the chance to have a look at the lessons.

11:00@ Local primary school

I left VBA and went to a local primary school which is receiving some blind children. The lessons had finished already and the children were eating lunch.

This is the folding desk in the classroom. The reason why this is folded is for daytime nap!! It will become a bed during lunch break.

12:00@ Have lunch with the staff

The staff took me to the restraint near the association. Despite the lunch time on Monday the staff had drunk alcohol a lot. They encouraged me to drink vodka, but I was just pretending to drink it. After a number of repetitions of ‘mot tram phan tram’ (drink down) and shake-hands, one hour later, everyone except me was totally drunk. I’m not sure how can they work in the afternoon.

Outside the building, there was a site to make brooms. Some blind people were making it to make a living. That was quite dusty place. I interviewed one of them although it was unscheduled. He is 26 years-old but just has studied how to write his own name last month because he couldn’t go to school. He used to be an orphan child in a village deep in the mountains. Compared to other interviewee I met so far, I felt he came from unhappy background. But there may be a number of people like him in rural village. It was good that I could listen to his talk about his experience.

16:00@ Visit to an interviewee’s home

After leaving the association, I visited to the home of a blind man to interview him. His house was in a rural poor village. He makes a living by raising pigs. His lifestyle seems to be very hard, but it’s seems not because of his disability. The life of families around there looks as hard as his family.

He said that he can walk around the village with bare foots by himself despite the blindness. I remembered the girl I interviewed last week. She said that she cannot go out by herself at all because of the horrible traffic condition. The lifestyle in rural areas is much harder compared to the life in Hanoi, but in here, I felt the people with visual impairment are treated same way as sighted people.

26th Mar

Today’s plan… Interview a girl and her parents

11:00@ The house of the interviewee

Today I interviewed a blind girl who is working as an interpreter and her mother. Despite her physical difficulty, she graduated from university and got a regular job. When I talked to headmaster of VBA Hai Duong province on Monday, he said that he doesn’t know anybody who is working at a regular company with sighted colleagues. So her circumstance is quite special. But through the interview, I recognized that her privileged lifestyle is by her own effort. In Vietnam, there’s no braille textbook for higher education levels. Even the braille textbooks for primary and secondary levels, these are not proofread and actually many mistakes have been found. Under this circumstance, she has studied English and became an interpreter.

After interviewing her, I interviewed her mother. The parent has a different perspective from blind person themselves, it was quite worthwhile.

12:30  Lunch time

After the interview, her mother offered me to eat lunch with her family. To my surprise, she appeared on TV program while we were eating. On TV, she got a prize as one of the brightest youth in Vietnam. I’m really surprised because she is so famous as to be chosen as a representative of the nation.

13:30 have a nap

Vietnam has a nap time routine. Her mother offered me to have a daytime nap with her. I hesitate for a moment, but I had a good nap in the same bed with her.

16:00 Leave the house

I slept too much. When I woke up, a newspaper journalist was there. She also came to interview her. She is special indeed. I said thank you to her and left her house.

24th Mar

Today’s plan… A.M. Nguyen Dinh Chieu school

              P.M. meet with Mr. Son

8:00@Nguyen Dinh Chieu school

This morning I went to Nguyen Dinh Chieu school to observe a class. I observed nine-years-old class. There were 54 children in this class and three of them are visually impaired.

The second lesson was computer skill, so all students except blind children went to the computer room. I was surprised that only nine-years-old students have already studied computer skills. Many of them said that this subject is the most favorite. I was waiting at the classroom with blind children and one sighted girl who had to practice Vietnamese character during that time. Suddenly, one boy returned to the classroom. He said that he absent the computer class because of stomach ache. It was funny because she scolded him like a mother.

The third period was math. The teacher let blind children to touch many materials to explain about dimensions. Not only blind children but sighted children seem to enjoy the lesson.

In the class, girls are mature for their age, scolding the naughty boys. I was thinking about the quiet women I met last week in HaTay.

From when women become silent?

13:30@ opera house

In the afternoon, I met Mr. Son who had studied in Japan for three years. He passed a Japanese national exam for the acupuncture and massage despite the blindness. He came back to Vietnam ahead of schedule because of the quake. So fortunately I could meet him while I’m here. Mrs. Nimura, Mr. Son and I met in front of Opera House and headed to the Mrs. Nimura’s house to have a coffee and a chat.

23th Mar

Today’s Plan…P.M. Training Centre

14:00@ Training Centre

Today I went to Training Centre to distribute a questionnaire. Although this is the center which provides the vocational trainings such as massage, IT, music, etc, only one course has been held at the moment. This course is for the person who wants to work at the provincial offices of Vietnam Blind Association (VBA). Around 60 people are taking this training to get a job after the course. The range of ages is quite wide, from teenagers to over 60 years-old. It is quite pity that I don’t have a chance to see other vocational trainings during the placement.

Before starting the training class, I went into the classroom and introduced myself. I’m glad they welcomed my visit. Suddenly, one boy sitting at the end of the line came to the front and gave me a message of condolence for the quake in Japan. He also sang me a Vietnamese song. After his song, I was requested to sing a song. So I sang one song in Japanese and another song in Vietnamese. I felt shy but I’m glad they enjoyed it. After I informed that I’m coming on Friday to collect it, I left the center.

22th Mar

9:00@ Nguyen Dinh Chieu school

This morning I went to Nguyen Dinh Chieu school to interview teachers. The teachers I interviewed today not only bring a high degree of enthusiasm but also have a rich experience in teaching.

Now I know why this school is called ‘elite track’ among blind children. The number of trained teachers, facilities and teaching materials may be still insufficient, but I thought it’s much better than studying at regular schools.

During the break time, sighted children were playing badminton with a paper ball and a notebook racket. It seems to be much harder than normal badminton.

More than 1000 children are studying at this school. During the break time and the commuting time, the ground is very crowded with children and their parents.

In Vietnam, the traffic rules are not working well and the problem of traffic jam is becoming increasingly serious. Even sighted children cannot go to school on foot because it’s too dangerous for primary school-aged children to walk the road alone. So everyday their parents take their children to the school by motor bike and meet them there when they come back. In the afternoon, so many motor bikes were waiting for their children in front of the school gate. But this makes traffic jam more serious as you see in the picture.

21th Mar

Today’s Plan … go to Hai Duong Province

               Interview the headmaster and two students

8:00@ Bus terminal

Today I visited VBA in Hai Duong province. Hai Duong is located in east of Hanoi and it’s about a two-hour drive from the capital. In the morning I headed to the bus terminal to get the highway bus. After telling the place to get off to the ticket seller, I fell asleep.

11:00@ VBA Hai Duong

Fortunately, I could find the building easily. It was a quite small, damp and dark building. The narrow and steep stairs seem to be unsuitable for blind people. Despite the appearance, the function of this association is very important for people in rural areas to go to regular schools and get a job because this is the only one association to teach braille and provide vocational trainings in rural provinces.

                                                          

This is the dining room. 45 children living at this building eat each meal in this room. As you see, it’s quite dark.

Today’s interviews went very well. I had expected that people in rural areas may be shy and speak with reserve compared to the people in the big cities. But this anticipation was inaccurate. All staffs and students have a sociable atmosphere and willing to answer my questions.

At first I met the headmaster of this association. He told me his own experiences and an opinion as one blind man not as a headmaster of the association. It was quite worthwhile for my research. Although I have interviewed about ten people so far, he is the first interviewee who said the word ‘insufficient’ for the national welfare services. He said that there are about 4500 blind people in this province but only 30 people per year can receive educational help from the nation.

After interviewing the headmaster, he introduced one girl to me. She lives in the dorm in this building and works as a massager. At the end of the interview, she said her dream. She is studying Japanese by listing cassette tapes and wants to work for a company as a Japanese interpreter in the future. I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to study the language without a teacher and a textbook. The headmaster said that there are no blind people who were accepted to work for a regular company as far as he knows. She knows this reality but still doesn’t give up her dream. I hope her dream will come true.

13:00@ Visit Training Centre to interview a boy

I left the association and went to the vocational training center with a teacher. Compared to the main building, it was much larger. VBA is renting a part of this building to provide vocational trainings. Some blind people also live on a premise. I interviewed a boy who is receiving the vocational training in here. Everyone studying here was cheerful and lively. After interviewing a boy, I participated in the music class for a while. The teacher was explaining about the sound with knocking some materials, playing the piano and using his own voice. It is very hard to get job related music skills despite the special vocational training. But regardless of such situation, the people in the class seem to enjoy studying.

14:00@ restaurant

I was absorbed in conversation with the interviewee and had forgotten to have lunch. After I’ve finished everything, the staff took me to the restaurant near the bus station. After lunch, she took me to the bus stop and I went back to Hanoi.