City hall with park in front

Quite lovely. Humidity 98%. No worries that anyone would steal my rings 'cause I can't get them off.

And you thought you had power line issues

This is but one of many such electrical marvels.

I think I ate a fox

Still jet lagged. Tried to Skype my dad and realized it was 2:00 a.m. his time. Ooops.

This may seem an innocuous restaurant scene but for those of you who remember the war, the Rex Hotel -- upon whose rooftop Sara and I lunched -- was the favorite of wartime journalists and politicos. Step inside the lobby, and one could easily think it was The Hyatt downtown. Very European in both style and inhabitants. Step outside, and it is crazy scooterville.

Spent time with Trinh Thi Loan, Vice Dean of the school of nursing at Nguyen Tat Thanh University. They are desperate for a partner for both BSN completion and MSN. They have only 60,000 nurses in the whole country; contrast that with the 65,000 in Colorado alone Their pharmacy, medicine, and therapy programs are more developed, but still missing infrastructure. The Ministry of Education dictates the curricula, but no other accreditation exists, and there is no licensing for any of these professions. Physicians make about $600 a month, pharmacists about $400, and therapists and nurses $200-300. When there is so much to be done, it is either overwhelming or great opportunity. I feel both. Maybe it's fatigue. She slyly asked me if I wanted to sign an MOU before I left. Thank goodness I wasn't that fatigued.

Dinner with Maureen and Lora. Their tales of the students are inspiring. The students stand up when they enter the classroom. Yes, you read that right. The students took them to lunch and attempted to teach them chopsticks 101. It was during this adventure that Maureen uttered the subject line of this post.

Headed to bed but first am crazy trying to catch the mosquito that is living in my room. Made crazier by the fact that I elected not to take the anti-malarials this trip. I think I feel a fever coming on. Stay tuned.

A high level view

From my window, I could be in nearly any city. Except -- there are actually construction cranes in action here. Some of these rooftop gardens would be the envy of Lodo. Awakened by the sounds of traffic and roosters; made for a bit of disorientation when mixed with jet lag. That is one big pond to fly over.

Got in about 1:00 a.m.and there were two graduate students waiting on us to bring us to the hotel! They looked unwrinkled and fresh; one could not say the same for us. They were gracious and thoughtful, particularly given they had class this morning at 0730. I believe we would have students willing to do the same, but I must say I was impressed.

The drive was an adventure at 2:00 a.m. on narrow dark streets. The taxi and a scooter bumped, and we discovered road rage isn't limited to Denver. The scooter drove beside Sara's open window, and smacked the rear view mirror. I think we all held our breath, wondering where this little exchange was going, until the scooter driver gave an internationally understood hand gesture and moved on. Sara was cool and non-plussed; I had locked my door and was prepared to wet my pants if necessary. Thankfully it was a non-incident.

We passed the hotel, and I was extremely grateful that Sara knew where it was, as she gestured to the driver that we had passed it. We were on a one-way street, so she tried to get the driver to understand he needed to go around the block. He took the somewhat unconventional approach of simply driving in reverse back to the hotel. Apparently, if your car is facing forward, then you are officially one-way.

Started the day with a conversation about the nature of service and education in a foreign country. What kinds of service are unique and sustainable? If we just want to come and work in clinics, then frankly we're better off just sending the money. For what it takes to get here, we could support half a year of a nurse. On the other hand, the idea of education as service is intriguing to me. Could our doctoral students provide a unique service as part of their capstones, helping to develop health care practitioners here with innovative blends of intensives, online, and exchanges? I have to think that developing leaders and educators that stay in-country is better than short-term mission trips. And do we bring our programs here, or our standards and state of the art and adapt to them to this emerging country? And so begins the familiar process of generating more questions than answers.

I've not had a chance yet to visit with Maureen and Lora, as that will have to wait until dinner. I understand we will also be visiting with a feisty, innovative, and opinionated Dean of a school of nursing for tea. How cool. Stay tuned.

The airport saga continues unrevised

Those of you that have followed my travels from Nicaragua to the present know that I have historically been relegated to the screaming-baby-who-spits-up-on-me section of lengthy flights (see 2010). . The leg from Denver to San Francisco continued my good fortune, where I seem to have found myself in the pediatric ward of a small hospital. Poor kids. All the crying -- and that was just me. Meanwhile, Ms. Premier-executive-frequent-flyer-queen Sara was in first class, quietly sipping what looked like a mimosa. The next leg is 17 hrs. I feel certain my fate is sealed judging by the number of strollers in the boarding area. Pray for me. Stay tuned.

Preparations commence

Bags are getting packed and final lists have been made. I'm anxious to hear what opportunities will present on this trip-- for students and faculty. On a personal note, I'm looking forward to my own personal myth-busting trip. Here is the scenario that most stands out in my mind when I think of VietNam: it's 1970, and we gather at a friends house to watch the draft lottery, clutching pieces of paper with our boyfriends bithdates, waiting for the first 175 lottery draws, the ones most likely to get drafted. I had only the most vague understanding of the politics of the war then; even less about what has happened since. I understand VietNam is not third world, but rather an emerging, middle class market that has made remarkable progress in the last four decades. I look forward to this trip with an open mind, intending to listen carefully for opportunities for mutual benefit, and hoping to change my long-held impressions of this country. Stay tuned

Gus already looks forlorn

He's watched me pack.