Capturing an Opportunity: Home Away From Home

On paper Vietnam has so much to do and see it can almost be overwhelming. A standard for United States Citizens can obtain a visa for 30 days at about $ 60 - $ 70 USD. That's definitely not enough to time to "see it all", looks like I'll have to come back Vietnam. After much deliberation I narrowed down my list with the most realistic things I can accomplish with my precious time here. With about two weeks left in Vietnam I have already checked off the top two things on my list. One of these two things was a homestay in a Minority village outside the city of Sapa (about a 12 hour bus ride north of Hanoi). Most homestays have similar itineraries lasting two days and one night. You start out by trekking through the rice terraces outside the city of Sapa to the respective host family's home and where you then spend the evening and morning living with a Vietnamese family. What you do with you time at the home is completely up to you. For me, it was a no-brainer, observe. In the most respectful and un-intruding fashion I literally watched this wonderful family live their life for one day. Abiding to one of my main goals for this trip as to saturate as much culture as possible from every SE Asian country, this homestay with the Su Shu (pronounced Shoe-Shoe) Family was the perfect chance. Once we arrived early afternoon to the Su Shu home I did a tad bit of exploring in the surrounding area as well as some writing in my journal to gather some quick thoughts (and sounds) as to what was really going on around me . Let's take a second to go back to my journal and try to relive one of the most intriguing parts of my time there.

"As I sit here in the outskirts of the kitchen watching Mama Su Shu dice vegetables for dinner it's the sounds around me catch my attention. With little to no insulation the sounds on the outside and in are easily heard. The soft footsteps of the family puppy hopping in and out of the house, the numerous roosters and chickens squawking and bickering as they trot around somehow knowing their limits as no fence stands around the house, the mysterious insects high up in the trees making a persistent ticking sound that never seems to stop, the screaming babies from the neighboring house, a seldom oink from the families pig just meters from the front door and quaint chirps of the wild birds throughout the surrounding forest. "

All these sounds were so wonderful to hear it was like listening to a song I never wanted to end, although it did. I didn't elaborate anymore in my journal about the sounds around me as one of the most mind-numbing noises put everything else to rest (including my pen) and unfortunately that sound was Mama Su Shu's cell phone. Yes, cell phone. As cell phone technology has advanced it's opened doors for families like the Su Shus' to get them as the prices have dropped drastically and coverage is available in such areas. It's not uncommon for someone in a minority village like Mama to have a cell phone, after all that's how this whole thing was set up, a simple phone call. I don't know the exact price but getting a serviceable Nokia cell phone and SIM card in most SE Asian countries is DIRT-CHEAP. Pretty sure Mama's Nokia is better than my cell phone in the States but that's not saying much. Mama has her cell phone for the reason I think people should have cell phones, to answer and make phone calls (I understand some People NEED smart-phones for work and all that good stuff but that's a different story). I had no idea what Mama was saying on the phone but from the tone of her voice it sounded semi-serious, hopefully making it a worthwhile call. Again this is only going off assumption, for all I know she could have been making fun of the stupid skinny American sitting in her kitchen mesmerized by her chopping vegetables but let's not think that. It was so interesting to me that she had a cell phone but once I took a step back and realized this is the families main and most useful luxury, I was actually happy for them.

Anyway enough with the cell phone business, lets get to dinner. After about 45 minutes of dinner prep the younger of two sons and father rolled into the house around 6-6:30. Their day started by getting up at 4am and ended back at the village around 6pm, doing this for six and sometimes seven days a week, depending on the time of year. Their long days are spent at the family's rice terraces with the water buffalo working to churn the soil to keep the water from clogging and continuously filtering down the platforms so it's grown properly. Needless to say these two were once beat they got home. By the time they got in settled it was roughly 6:45 and Mama and her daughter had set the table and nearly dinner was ready.

While I have heard some stories of more commercialized homestays where the guests eat at separate times and separate tables from the host family my friend and I were fortunate enough to have scored a wonderful opportunity as the Su Shu family allowed us to eat with them. As we nestled our hinies on the smallest stools of all time (honestly these things were no bigger than 7 "by 7" standing no taller than 5 "off the ground, seriously) we feasted on a wonderful dinner and maximized our interaction through hand gestures as Mama was the only one who could speak any English. The dinner was fantastic. The dishes consisted of fresh Vietnamese spring rolls, Sauteed tomato's with tofu, pan fried shiitake mushrooms with chives, boiled bamboo tree and onion (so good!) and finally some sort of char-broiled pork fat. After munching down pretty hard we sipped a few small glasses of the Su-Shu Family rice wine (tastes just like cheap vodka .....) and things really started to wind-down. As you can imagine everyone was pretty tired from their long days work and dinner ended around 8:30(ish) and bedtime came shortly thereafter. As I was slipping into bed I tried to think of the last time I was in bed before 9: 30 and not a single night came to mind. But since everyone in the house was doing it ... so was I. After a little writing and some tossing and turning thrown in there I finally got to sleep around 11 ... I think.

By the time my friend and I woke for breakfast the rest of the house except for Mama and the daughter were already on with their day. The four of us enjoyed some fresh pho noodles then my friend and I packed our day bags for the journey back to Sapa. We reached Sapa around 2 in the afternoon where the goodbyes were said as we parted ways. This time with the Su-Shu Family is something I'm very grateful for and will definitely never forget.

Below are a few pictures from the few days with the Su Shu Family.