Big Birthday Bash !

Today is the 60th birthday of Hanoi National University of Education. This is a HUGE event here and not for the faint of heart! Not only do you have to be able to sit in 90+° temperatures for hours, but you also have to be able to eat copious amounts of wonderful Vietnamese food, drink lots of Vietnamese Beer...and for me, even down a few shots of Vodka with the Vietnamese Military! So far, I have passed most tests...but I still have one big dinner to go! Pictures below are from a dinner last night at a fancy restaurant. I decided to only eat sushi and these are two pictures of several plates I consumed!




But....to back up a bit. On October 11, 1951 the Hanoi National University of Education was founded. Today it is a major university in Vietnam and trains thousands of educators every year. The campus area is very large and is located on the western edge of Hanoi. So today is the 60th year since it’s founding and they really had a major "bash" to celebrate. In fact, I am told that the campus has spent over a million dollars to fix the place up for this celebration. They totally renovated the stadium and put down artificial turf to replace the mud and dust bowl that was previously there. They added lights, seating, new fencing, and a paved track. This is where the event was held today.

But in addition to the "new" stadium, they have painted all the buildings...(good bye black mold), repaved the broken stones and blocks around the dormitory area. They also replaced windows and doors in the dorm complex, put in new lighting, new walkways, almost new everything. So a very spiffy and clean campus welcomed everyone to the celebration today.


I had to be at the sports complex at 7am this morning. We were taken into the indoor arena seating area and while we waited they showed a movie of the history of the university. One chilling segment of the movie showed US bombers over the city and the resulting damage. I don't see much of this type of film or mention of anything to do with the "American War", so I was surprised and sad to see it. What a waste of both American and Vietnamese lives.


But they had some great singing too!


At about 8am we headed out into the sun and heat. And there we remained until about 11:30am. It was HOT...it was humid...and everyone was huddled under umbrellas and other sources of shade trying to stay out of the blistering sun.

But soon the event started with guys holding Vietnam flags running in and circling the field.




Following them in true Olympic style...every department at the university marched in, stopped at the reviewing stand with all the dignitaries (including me) and then they lined up on the new field. This took about an hour and was followed by much dancing, singing and fancy moves from all types and groups of people.



The place was packed when everyone was finally in the stadium. And then the speeches started! Typically I get this glazed eye look when the speeches are given because I cannot understand a word they are saying. But surprise! They had translators and headphones--just like at the U.N. So it was interesting to finally understand what was being said.





At 11:30am the event ended--but I must confess that I departed a bit earlier and headed to my room to get a drink and cool off a bit. We all headed to a local restaurant for another HUGE meal...and so far, this was the best! Lots of traditional Vietnamese food for luch. I loved everything except the salad with pigs ear in it. I had that last year, so I knew it is like eating gristle...no taste...no nothing except a very bad "mouth feel". But the rest of the meal was splendid. Soft shelled crab....huge grilled shrimp....roasted chicken...beef and onions...puffy rice....and much, much more. Of course there was plenty of Hanoi Beer.

After finishing my meal, I looked around the restaurant and saw that a private party from the university was celebrating in a private room. I saw one of my friends from my afternoon volleyball group there….and she was wearing a uniform from the Vietnamese Military! I didn’t know she was “military”. Wow…I wanted a picture…so I stuck my head into the room and waved at her hoping she would come out for a photo. Whoops!….the Army guys roared when they saw me and in I went….. Whoa….what a roudy group of guys! They all were doing shots of a white liquid (vodka or rice wine) with beer and everyone was feeling pretty jolly.




Well…..I got some photos with my friend and as a bonus, got to meet “the guys” and of course had to try that “white liquid”…… What fun! I met the head of the Military program and lots of other VIPs. I left after a few minutes and found my seat back at my group’s table. You have to understand that I was sitting across from the President of the University at this lunch. So it probably was not the best thing to incite a mini-riot in the next room while everyone else was trying to eat a pleasant lunch. But things settled down and the President and his wife gave me a ride back to my dorm room.







So….it is now 4pm and I am still full from lunch. I have to be dressed and ready to EAT again at 5pm. We have another big dinner tonight at a restaurant on West Lake. So this should be another interesting meal….and as I said in my last post, I REALLY am turning into a butterball with all this food!!! But, it is so tasty….so good.