-^-for posterity-^-

we decided to start the 'vietnamese video project.' it's a novel idea involving only three or four people and hopefully lots of return for the university.

the goal is simple: we want to increase the amount of teaching material we have here at the university without begging for it. we are going to make a series of video's that talk about different interesting aspects of the vietnamese culture and bundle them all up in a nice, neat and professional digital package and offer them to the west.

hopefully, if the videos are interesting enough and fairly fast paced, a university or two in the west will be willing to trade for them. we're going to set up an old-fashioned barter post where a university will offer some of the excess books they have in the library or some old computers to the university here. we need books, they, hopefully, would want to know some more about modern vietnamese life.

we don't want to be a beggar walking around with a faded conical hat and a small pan looking for alms. we want to establish relationships that will last and increase the level of education.

so, today we began filming. i am the narrator and script writer and interviewer and have to dress nice and somehow make things interesting. i keep imagining groups of uninterested students watching a video that has little to do with their immediate concerns of being popular, interesting and up on all of the latest news. i had to push the thought out of my mind or the video would have had no chance.

we started with an introduction of the market in long xuyen. the market is the heart of the city, a place where old ladies go every day in order to cook. in a place where many families don't have a freezer, fresh food is a must. most people will not eat anything that is frozen and buying fresh fish and fresh pork is something everyone needs. the market is also a place where people go to meet each other. it's a place where you can buy tomatoes from the same wrinkled lady who sold tomatoes to your mother and maybe even your grandmother. it's a fascinating study and the pictures of tight alleys with gigantic piles of fruit, meat and vegetables is quite eye-catching. we thought it would be an easy beginning.

i gave a few speeches and had to do them over a number of times because i fiddled too much or someone walked in front of the camera or something went wrong. i interviewed a number of people and that, in my opinion, was the most interesting. the images were wonderful. a lady who had worked in the market since she was a child sat on a wooden stool and chopped chillies up with two giant cleavers while i talked to her about her life. she didn't stop chopping for one second and answered all of my questions fluidly. the image of her on the chair and the chili seeds flying through the air was brilliant.

an old lady sitting on a large table cutting different pieces of pork. most meat vendors actually sit on the table with their product. she was casually sitting cross-legged in the middle of giant piles of meat trying to explain to me the difference between the different cuts. i wanted to know how they ordered. did they call? no. they simply guessed how much they would sell a week or so in advance and it came on the next boat.

we talked to a young man who was recently married and who carried papaya's from can tho to long xuyen every week. him and his wife lived on the boat which was small, slim and owned by his family. he was dressed very neatly and his hair was combed perfectly. his wife stood on the bow of the boat watching and giggling.

we went to the part of the market where they sold breakfast and talked to a man who was cooking 'bo ne'. 'bo ne' is cooked on an iron skillet and does most of the cooking on your table. they heat the skillet until it is flaming and then throw oil, beef, onions and butter on it. they do this all over an open fire and the oil evidently burns and there is the constant sound of screaming beef in sizzling oil. the man was busy and didn't stop for one moment as the beef and flames and oil lept all around. there was a moment where i got too close and, in the middle of a question, had to leap backwards as an unexpected flame shot up towards my face.

all in all the material was wonderful. we went home and watched it. things were not as glorious as we had expected but we will try again this week. all in all the 'vietnamese video project' will continue and we will eventually have a product the west will appreciate.