Personal: Attended mass at the cathedral that we saw last Sunday on our tour. Church was nice--hotter than I imagine hell to be but at least they had fans at the end of each row. After a rest in the shade, we made our way to a market. Kay and I wanted to take a cab but her husband, Gayle, assured us that it was only a couple of blocks and he had met a splendid chap from England that would lead us there. Well, about 10-12 blocks later we arrived with our make up melted off our faces and hot, tired feet. Cabs are so cheap here, there is no good reason to walk in heat of 100 degrees with 85% humidity! Kay and I assured Gayle that we would be eating in an air conditioned, sit-down restaurant. I think he was tired of hearing two strong-willed women complain so he readily agreed.
The market is...well, overwhelming! There is so much "stuff", narrow rows, lots of people, many different smells from the food as well as the fabrics, and who knows what else. My students told me that I had to bargain when I went to market so bargain I did. The trick is to ask for the price in Vietnamese Dong (VND). Some will tell you the price in dollars but this is always much more than you would pay if you negotiate in VND. I got a little confused once but Kay caught me before I handed over too many dong. She has traveled quite a bit as has her husband. They have both been a great help and wonderful companions. I bought most of the gifts that I needed at the market or along the street. No toy shark for Micah but I can probably find that when I get back to San Francisco. I had a traditional VN soup--Pho--for lunch. It was delicious. One of the pictures is in the market and another is a jewelry store along the street near the market where I bought a ring. Husband Dan needs to know that it was a really good deal! ;>)
Professional: Spent some time late in the afternoon reviewing work from two of my MSN Major Project advisees. I am trying to be as responsive as possible to keep them moving along while I am out of the country. I am so thankful for email!! Tomorrow, all 18 pairs of our VN MSN students will present their concept analysis. Then they will have a group presentation on Wednesday (I think...) on Florence Nightingale. The same pairs will use their concept to develop a simple nursing theory. I am anxious to see how this unfolds. I have always been opposed to this as an assignment for our NWU MSN students because truly developing--and testing--a theory can take years. I do see that putting together 3 concepts can be a theory and a good starting place for our MSN students who plan to go on to pursue a doctorate. I foresee some revisions to my MSN theory course.
That's all for tonight. It is 7:30 p.m. here and I still have some reading to do. Will try to post the story of our trip to the South China Sea after class tomorrow. It was a wonderful day and we are so very appreciative of all that our VN students have done to make our stay in their country truly memorable.
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