The Tale of Kieu

A few months ago, when I started looking for books to read about the various countries we will visit, I came across The Tale of Kieu by Nguyễn Du. This is an epic romance poem and part of the national literature of Vietnam. In her preface to the Huynh Sanh Thong translation, Gloria Emerson recounted a visit to Vietnam where a customs official saw a copy of the book in her suitcase.

"You know it?" he asked me in English. I said I hoped to, and it made him smile.

It is also said the most Vietnamese can quote lines from this poem. That sounds daunting since the English translation stretches to 109 pages. I finished reading it a couple of nights ago, but I won't be able to quote any lines from it. I can certainly see how much of it is quotable, and it was enjoyable reading even though I'm sure the Vietnamese version has a nicer sound to the ear of a Vietnamese speaker.

An extensive synopsis is available for those with more interest, but basically, this is the story of a young woman, Kieu, who puts a premium on loyalty, honor, love, and family.

Kieu falls in love with Kim, but Kim is called away to attend to family matters. They have pledged their love and intent to be wed. In the meantime, a slanderous accusation jails Kieu's father, and she sells herself to pay a bribe to have her father released. She goes with her new husband (who is the husband of a madame) to her new home which turns out to be a brothel. She trusts another man and thinks she escapes, but is caught and beaten. Then she falls in love with another man who buys her away and lives a happy life, except he is only living in this town to help his father's business, and must return to his wife. The wife hears rumors of Kieu and has her abducted and forced to be her chamber maid.

There are other escapes and relationships along the way as Kieu seeks to find happiness and eventually re-unite with her family and perhaps Kim.

This story is filled with deceit, broken promises and the idea that love will conquer. It would fill an entire season of a soap opera.

To give you a feel for some of the verse (translated) read this passage after young Kim meets Kieu.

Back in his room, surrounded by his books,
Kim could not shut Kieu's image from his mind.
He drained the cup of gloom--it filled anew:
One day away from her: three autumns long.

or later in the book:

"Each action, good or ill, weighs in the scale.
When judged for her past sins, Kieu must be charged
with reckless love, but not with wanton lust.
Requiting love for love, she sold herself
and saved her father: Heaven did take note.

and near the end:

A Karma each of us has to live out:
let's stop decrying Heaven's quirks and whims.
Within us each there lies the root of good:
the heart means more than all talents on earth.

This is a story to read in many sittings. Find a copy and enjoy.

Brazil Connection

This evening, we had a bon voyage dinner at the home of our friends Phil and Susie where we were joined by other friends William and Inga. The dinner was excellent, the wine superb and the company marvelous. Did I mention that William is half Brazilian and a font of knowledge on the country? After I outlined our itinerary, William mentioned that Salvador was going to be a lot like Ghana--slow moving and with an African flavor, especially on the music. I also learned that Brazil is an energy independent country thanks in large part to sugar cane and subsequent ethanol production.

While in Brazil, we will take a field trip on an Amazon Riverboat where we will sleep in hammocks. William recommends sleeping diagonal in the hammock, and I'm grateful for any tips that will keep me from falling out. Our trip will fly to Manaus then a 30 min bus trip to the boat. I have to say that seeing the enthusiasm of a countryman made me feel more excited about this trip. I'm stocking up on mosquito repellent.

William also recommended a black bean dish. The beans are peeled and cooked as a spicy dish.

A few safety tips were: stay in groups and use street smarts. I think this means don't leave anything valuable lying around or flash money. Oh yeah, don't wear a ball cap. That will make you stand out as a tourist.

The population is made up of many mixed cultures, but in contrast to our cultures, they proudly prefer to see themselves as Brazilians. I can't wait to meet some of them.

The Ghana Connection

I had a wonderful lunch today with my friend Edith who is from Ghana. When Edith goes to Ghana, she takes her watch off, because hardly anything is going to be on a schedule. Then she puts it back on when it's time to leave, because "things move slowly in Ghana."

Edith has a good friend from childhood who has a restaurant in Accra called "Favourite Fast Food". Fast food in Ghana is not McDonalds. It might consist of Jollof (a rice dish) or kelewele (fried plantain chips). The kelewele is made from green plantains. I can't wait to try these, and I will buy them in a restaurant and not from a street vendor.

Edith also told me about the Art Center in Accra where her friend Kojo makes and sells jewelry. I know that I'm expected to haggle over the price and then at the end to say "Medaase" (thank you).

I'm also looking forward to seeing a former student assistant in Ghana--Fifi Quanseh. Fifi will make a super tour guide. I can't wait.

Fashion Watch

We recently got a J Peterman Catalog in the mail. I've always enjoyed the product descriptions and the way Peterman was depicted in the old Seinfeld show. Peterman often explained how he had paddled a dugout canoe into depths of the Amazon to find a particular hat that had style and function and was unlike any other hat.

As we watched the movie, Amu, a few nights ago, I noticed that the wardrobe director had outfitted many of the males with a scarf, even though it was not winter. Observing the wardrobes and dress of the different cultures that we meet will be very interesting. It will also be interesting to try to discern who is "entitled" to wear a particular item of clothing--maybe by economic status.

I'm thinking I will need to sharpen my powers of observation.

India Movie

I have access to an excellent video collection in Clemons Library, so I brought home a movie, Amu, to get a sense of India life. The Los Angeles Times review states that "some scenes, such as the incidental domestic ones featuring Kaju's elderly grandmother (Aparna Roy) or the humble café-owner Gobind (Yashpal Sharma), have an authentic, vérité feel".

The films dealt with the anti-Sikh riots in the aftermath of the assassination of Indira Gandhi as flashbacks.

It was interesting to see the depiction of government officials as very Westernized. Family home scenes gave an interesting glimpse into personal interactions. The scene with college students could have been made anywhere in the U.S. instead of Delhi. One scene showed a group of kids following a group of visitors to a slum. This is pretty much how I have imagined our reception in some parts of India that we will visit. I'll go armed with candy.

The Internet Movie Databasegave the movie a 7.2 rating.

Electronic Gadgets

I'm trying to figure out which of my electronic gadgets I need to take along. I have a several years old hand-held GPS that might come in handy. I'll need to read the manual again since I haven't really used it in a couple of years. We also have a pair of Walkie Talkies that we took with us to Alaska to keep in touch in ports. It could come in handy for the library assistants to use to contact me on the ship, but I wish I knew if it would transmit through several floors of steel.

I also got a new Netbook to use for blogging in ports and for just general email and communications. I'll be taking my work laptop, but I don't want the weight in ports. Of course, these require chargers, etc. The etcetera includes an external 320 gb external drive to back up all our pictures. I'll also use it to take some documents that we will use for classes. I just got an external DVD/CD reader/writer for my Netbook, so I can watch videos anywhere and swap photos with people.

For pictures, I have a Flip Ultra video camera that I've had for several years. I'm also taking my Canon Powershot and Rebel XTi. These require cords for downloading and different chargers for the batteries.

I've got a pocket full of SD cards for the cameras and USB drives for various uses. We don't have international coverage for our cell phones, so they will get little use once the voyage begins.

Let me know if you can think of anything else I might wish I had.

New Year's Resolution

It's been years since I did a New Year's Resolution, but this year seems so fraught with possibilities that I thought I would take one on. I resolve to fully immerse myself in the Semester at Sea Voyage by participating in as many shipboard and port activities as I can that involve the students. One goal is to be able to call at least 100 of the student by name and be so "present" that they will be able to say "Hi Warner" when they run into me.

I've had a lot of conversations with past librarians and faculty, and they have all been involved with the students to different degrees. On the ship, the librarian is always "on duty". I embrace that idea. I'm not the type to seek refuge in my cabin (although, I'm not the type to sing Karaoke either). I've worked directly with students for all my adult life, so I know that the interactions can be very fulfilling, and they can sometimes break your heart. It's just a risk you take.

So, I'm going to throw myself out there.