Southern Hospitality

Still have a case of the jetlag woozies, so this will be brief. But what a couple of days!

Got into Saigon yesterday mid-morning and had a low-key, get-acclimatized day that mostly revolved around food. More about the culinary adventures in a later post. Lilac-colored soup and durian (a.k.a. the fruit that smells like old gym socks) ice cream deserve a page of their own.

Weather-wise we're enveloped in heat and humidity. Take a wet wool blanket, run it through the dryer on high heat for 15 minutes, then roll up in it like a spring roll and you've got a pretty good idea of what it's like. Thankfully, though, it is sunny: there's a regional draught that has been bad for agriculture, but great for visitors.

Exploring a slice of the Mekong Delta was today's agenda, and it was fabulous. We started in the town of My Tho, an hour's drive south of Saigon, where we boarded a boat and set out onto the 3-kilometer-wide Mekong river and made several island stops. Our "mini-tours" included fruit-tasting, a local music performance, a honeybee "farm," horse-cart travel, small boat travel, and a brilliant lunch-time feast at an unnamed restaurant that disappeared back into the greenery as we floated away. It almost felt as though we dreamed it.

Most striking for me was the travel through the palm- and mangrove-lined canals. We were on traditional boats -- long, narrow and wobbly -- being paddled and poled by local women (the boats, not us). We didn't speak; the stillness felt heavy in the humid air. Foliage formed a tunnel around us and spots of sunlight played on the water and reflected back, dancing on the greens above. The only sounds were insects, birds, and the soft splooshing of paddles in the brown water. There were abundant butterflies: large, iridescent black ones; small ones of orange and brown and yellow. I was impressed both by the beauty of the place and also by the maze of waterways. To my eye all the palm and mangrove trees look pretty much alike; it would be impossible for me to tell one waterway from another.

Tomorrow morning we'll depart the hotel at 4:00 a.m. and fly to DaNang at 6:00. I'm glad for today's brief chance to see the rural south. It will provide a point of contrast to other areas and help to paint a more complete picture of Vietnam.

A last note. While we were having our day on the Delta, one of our group members was having a very different experience. She lost her brother in the Vietnam War and today had the opportunity to visit the place where he gave his life. It was a healing journey for her, and she told me she left the spot feeling profoundly grateful for the opportunity to be there. From talking with some of the vets who are also with us, I think it's a healing journey for them as well. More than I realized, PeaceTrees is a fitting name. The first seeds that we're planting on this trip are seeds of healing and renewal in ourselves. I look forward to watching them grow.