Mường Hoa, Sapa, Vietnam - Day 2

 Good Morning,

Another damp misty morning here.

I went for an early evening walk yesterday and saw a few more interesting things. One being a rice mill. Rice harvest is done and the fields are bare, cultivated and waiting for a few more weeks until it is time to plant the next crop.

I noticed a dormitory down the street from where I am staying. Talking to the family here. I learned that it is a primary boarding school. Education is not highly valued in the area, so students are offered free room and board to make the free education more attractive. The school is cautious not to miss meal time. If that happens the students will return home and not return to school.

I am not sure this is the boarding school. It is however it looks relatively new and nicely decorated.

This is a picture of a newish house. This is house is typical of the style of many houses in the area.

I was just about ready to order dinner at the hostel when the owner's son We told me that his mother had to take one of their dogs to the vet, but wanted me to join them for their family dinner when she returned.

She got back a little later than expected and we didn't sit down to eat until almost 8 in the evening. They prepared spring rolls, fried tofu, and stewed chicken. Way more than we could eat.

I thought maybe the hostel had been in the family for some time, but as it happens they only bought the property about 8 years ago. They are originally from Hanoi.

In the picture left to right: Myself, the mother, Huê, the Hmong cook/house keeper, and the younger brother, Hòa.

We has already graduated from university with a major in graphic design, Wa is currently still at the university studying business.

The conversation was interesting, the family all speak English to a limited degree. So if one was having a hard time saying something in English another family member would jump in to help out.

As I mentioned before this is primarily a community of Hmong people. They do not speak Vietnamese but rather there own indigenous language. The family, having come from Hanoi, speak Vietnamese not the Hmong language. Wa mentioned they felt like foreigners here because they can't communicate with most of the people here. The cook is Hmong and speaks both the Hmong language and Vietnamese, so she is by default the translator for the family in the community.