Butter!!! And other things.

We found butter in Barat!  Previously we were buying butter by the ½ pound in the big city whenever we were there.  Our purchases were somewhat limited by our small freezer space.  Here in Barat John happened upon a can, yes a can, of ‘creamy butter’ at a local shop.  We decided to try it and were quite pleased.  It is definitely butter, not margarine!  It just happens to come in a can, which also happens to save precious freezer space!  After our first trial can, John returned to buy more.  He did not immediately find it on the self the second time so he asked the shop attendant if there was any butter.  In the national language there is only one word for both margarine and butter.  So as he asked for it, he specified by saying, “The kind made from cow’s milk.”  The shop attendant replied, “Oh, there’s butter made from cow’s milk?”  Ha!  How do you reply to that.  Especially when margarine and butter are the same word.  We have since bought many cans, and though a little pricey, are thrilled to find it here in Barat!

 

 

Other things, in pictures:

The boy's are thrilled with new shirts. 
Fun to sport home town teams, whether they know it or not!

We attended a neighbor's birthday party.

The family had special outfits made just for the occasion. 
The birthday girl sat in the chair, accepting all her gifts as guests arrived.  Her father then shared about her and hopes for her future.  Then we all sang and she cut the cake.  Treat bags and food were then served.  The cake on the other hand was not served, nor were the presents opened in front of the guests. 



Whitman and I attended as Caedmon stayed home sick.
A tent and chairs were set up outside in the street for all the guests, over 40 parents and kids.

The boys playing with chalk on our street with a neighbor friend.

The boys waiting to come out. 
On school days they have to stay in their room till 6:30am.

Style
I am frequently bewildered with what is considered as matching or clashing.  With white skin and a large nose that is desired by everybody here, and the above example of matching patterns, there are times I am not too concerned with how I look.

Weaving

We were invited us to see the process of weaving sarongs in a near by village.  Our province is well known for hand made silk sarongs.  The silk is grown and the sarongs are woven in various areas of this province.  I know the things we have these days originally were ALL made by hand, but to see it in action knowing the result is so fine and beautiful is just amazing. 

Women begin learning the many aspects involved at a young age and continue as they are physically able.  .

Weaving.
Skilled woman can produce three sarong per week.

Preparations. 
The silk thread is first wrapped around various bamboo poles just to prepare for the loom like structure. 

A finished product. This is actually a piece of fabric about 4 meters long.  It is sown together, matching the pattern, to become a sarong that is worn for special events by both men and women.  Above is a pattern worn by women.  Smaller box patterns are usually worn by men, just as colorful and fancy. 

We attended a wedding last week, see the tent in the background. 
For a previous wedding I had bought a sarong at the market, but I did not know at the time that it had to be sown together.  I after finding a tailor I went ahead and had a traditional outfit made. 

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Out of the Country

It was time to leave the country as our visas expired at the beginning of October.  We chose to travel to Vietnam.  We enjoyed a whole week of applying for new visas, relaxing, sight seeing, studying history, and enjoying food and shopping which we can’t find in our current country.  The boys thoroughly enjoyed the break too: taking full advantage of the play ground and swimming pool at our hotel.  Caedmon is still taking about various sights we visited. 

We have now returned to the town of Barat, the boys are back in school (they couldn’t wait to see friends again), and we are again seeking the best way to spend our time.  We unfortunately had to return on another social-cultural visa, not our original goal.  As this visa does allow us to devote our time to language and culture study, John is still unable to work.  The work visa is stuck at the ‘Office of Workforce’ in the capital.  Why, we are still unsure.  So, John and our sponsor will likely travel to the capital later this month to iron out the details, hopefully!

In the mean time we aim to continue studying language and culture (I, Erin, plan to begin again), building relationships, and be thankful for our recent break!

We got to take a medium sized speed boat from our hotel to the city center.  It was a fun way to see the area.

We visited a war museum.  

The boys enjoyed all the airplanes, tanks, and helicopters!

Though we enjoyed a great deal of western things, there were still differences!

Reunification Palace
The presidential palace of the south before the end of the war and the official ending site of the war. 

Room to welcome dignitaries. 

Presidential family's personal dinning room.



Helicopter landing pad.



The red circles are where two bombs were dropped causing American dignitaries to be pulled from the country. 

French Cathedral (also named Notre Dame Cathedral)

French constructed Post Office, still in operation today.

All French post offices have the same layout, including this one. 
Girls in pink are wearing traditional Vietnamese dress. 

In Saigon, lots of motorcycles there too.

We visited an area of tunnels used during the war.
Locals constructed over 200 km of tunnels used for housing, preparations, travel, and other work. 

Hidden tunnel entrance, center, under leaves.  The opening was 1x1.5 feet.

Rooms were also part of the tunnel complex.  During the war the room actually had a flat dirt roof, disguising the location. 

A common trap initially used by the people for hunting food, but incorporated later into warfare.

Artifacts from the war. 
The locals collected unexploded bombs and used the gunpowder in the construction of their own weapons or bombs. 

A visit to the zoo!

The boys love seeing all sorts of animals!

There were at least 20 crocodiles on exhibit.

Having fun!

Whitman wasn't interested in being eaten. 

Wildebeest
(thinking of aunt Angela, who studied wildebeest in Africa)

Caedmon took the picture himself.

 

A temple erected by the French for locals.

I was glad not to be the center of attention.  Smartphones sure all popular around the world!

We thoroughly enjoyed the food!  Pastries, ice cream, and even Turkish and Indian food. 

Boats & Kids

Last week was an annual boat race showcasing traditional sail boats from Barat.  More than 20 boats began in the big city and sailed up the coast, stopping along the way.  Each stop included smaller races of 5 laps off shore.  Then event ended at the provincial capital, 4 hours north of us.  We had been informed about the races by many people, for quite some time.  Finally, after learning the boats had actually arrived in Barat, we ventured down to the beach to take a look. 

We watched the boats making their laps, then enjoyed lunch at a neighbor’s parent’s house.  It was amazing to see the teams of six sail these very tall, but very skinny boats. 

Traditional boats anchored at the beach.  Usually used for fishing or merchant travels. 

A Traditional Boat

Sailing

Racing

On Saturday we were invited to an annual talent show at a middle school.  We made the boys takes naps, then after eating grilled fish with rice made with coconut milk (at a local restaurant) we went to the talent show.  The invitation said it began at 7:15pm.  We arrived about 7:20 and were ushered to the second row where there were nicer chairs and a table with snacks.  We tired to politely decline, but were told these where the seats for those given actual invitations.  At about 8pm the event got underway with greetings from all the invited heads of local government offices, such as the local department of education, etc.  About 9pm the students began performing.  At 10:30pm we had to call it a night, though the event was still going strong.  We were quite impressed with all the kids who decided to sing or dance.  It was fun to watch!



All the participants performing together to open the event

a dancer