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.

20th Mar

Today’s plan… print out the questionnaire

              Move to the guest house

I have decided to move to a guest house today. I do love this house and host family, but the location is a little bit inconvenient for my research. My friend found a guest house for the international students of Hanoi institute of Technology, which is located near Nguyen Dinh Chieu school.

I went out to print out the questionnaire after I’ve finished packing the luggage. I hope it will go well this time.

When I was leaving the house, the host mother put her daughter’s clothes, boots, scarf and pajamas into a bag so that I can bring these to a new place. She made some dishes for me to eat in the evening. She said that I can come back here anytime if I like. Now, I’m here and doing research because of everyone’s support.

My new place is quite small yet cozy room. When I asked about amenity last week, the owner said that they have WiFi, but now I know I cannot use Internet inside the room. I need to carry my laptop to the outside corridor or stairs to access the network. There were some unexpected small problems, but I like this place. There are so many places to eat around here and it’s quite cheap because this is a town with lots of students.