Thaler Travels

Who was Ho Chi Minh? Yesterday I headed off to Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, which is an impressive building with a parade ground in front of it.  This mausoleum is a national treasure and is treated like sacred ground.  Visitors are firmly advised to walk through quickly and quietly.  When I arrived at 7:45 a.m., I stood in a line outside the building which was at least two city blocks long.  I am told that this is the one place that Vietnamese citizens visiting Hanoi MUST see.  Ho Chi Minh or “Uncle Ho” as he is lovingly called, is considered to be the Father of Vietnam.  His name- which he chose for himself after many other names- means “Bringer of Light”.   It was interesting to me that he never wanted to have this mausoleum built- just as he never wanted to live in the beautiful presidential palace located just next to the mausoleum grounds.  Instead, he wanted to be cremated and his ashes scattered in all across the country.  He did ...

Good morning, all.  I have been here less than a week and yes, Jessi, I have crossed the street successfully many, many times.  We have managed to find our way to the market, which is three stories high and several blocks square.  I could not, however, find a bug to eat, Nathan, so we must wait for another time. We have started to settle in at the university.  Bob and I will share an office in the administration building.  It is a large room with many cubicles, but no other teachers seem to be assigned to the office.  I am struggling with their expectations of me.  They want me to commit to a schedule, but I want to remain free for our company!  I did sit in on a few classes on Thursday.  I was then asked to critique the teachers and tell them how the lesson could be improved.  That's awkward on day one- but those who know me best will appreciate that I offered very little criticism.  However, I did note that neither teacher could...

Hi, My name is Karen Thaler, 7th grade English teacher by trade.  When my husband had an opportunity to visit and work at VNUA, Hanoi's National Agriculture University, I was eager to join him.  Luckily, my school district (the greatest!!) agreed to let me take my 100 seventh graders on this adventure with me (virtually, of course).  Thus, once a week I hope to explore something new and unique in Vietnam and share it with my students.  When Jill (who would never mislead me) told me that her 8-year-old grandson could run a YouTube account, I was inspired to learn something new.  Please be patient with me as you  follow along on the adventure! (Go, Bobcats and 7 red!)