Distant forest fires.

We are heading towards Myanmar, leaving Singapore behind.

Tonight we were at a stargazing party on the front deck, 8th level.  They turned out the lights and we could see the Milky Way, Orion, the 7 Sisters, Jupiter, and others.  Reminds me of the winters at the farm in Wisconsin -- though tat was more clear.

All the while there was a chai-like smoky smell from forest fires raging in Sumatra.

Vietnam immigration

Two days before our arrival in Vietnam, some immigration officers boarded our ship to begin processing our embarkation cards.  And when we got to the mouth of the Saigon River, more immigration officers boarded along with the pilot captain who guided the ship for 4 hours upriver.  That is a lot of person-hours for 800 printed slips of paper!  We were told of the importance of these papers for leaving the ship, and the difficulties of replacing them if lost. 

Turned out that no one ever looked at them!

The bureaucracies of leaving Japan

My “cultural exchange” visa ran out on the last day of December, and my flight was scheduled for Jan. 3.  So I tried in November to get an extension of the visa.  They said to come back in December.  In early December, they said to come back in later December.  And in later December they said I needed my passport, a form filled out, my residence card, and a “stamp” recognizing my paying a fee of around 40 dollars.  When I returned with those, it was actually quick and straight forward to get the visa extended.  

I have a great prescription medicine for dry eye that is only available in Japan.  (It is in trials in the US.)  I wanted a refill when I was there at the end of January, so I stopped by the pharmacy.  BUT – a refill required a visit to the doctor.  So the next morning, I went back to the Kyoto University hospital, without an appointment, and worked my way through the system. 

You start on the first floor where they give you a folder and a buzzer/text thing.  Then I went to ophthalmology and waited about an hour – at that point I went directly in to see the doctor and got good care.  The last step is to go to a window, wait for the thing to buzz, and then use a machine to pay with credit card or cash.  About $10.

At the pharmacy, they were efficient and very kind.  Customers sit, and the staff kneels down next to them to look up at their face.  I got drops to last several more months – don’t know what I will do after that.  Total, under $10.

Next bureaucracy was the Ward Office – where we had registered when we arrived.  We needed to tell them we were leaving, and close down the Japanese health insurance.  I took Will’s cards and tried in the morning to go through the procedures for both of us.  No go.  So both of us went in the afternoon, paid the remaining fees for the few days in February for the Japanese health insurance, and finished the procedures.  

Japanese bank.  Several people suggested that it was very hard to open a Japanese bank account, and that I should therefor consider leaving it open.  In the end, I decided to close the account and take my money with me.  They gave me a number, and quickly I was able to go to a desk and take my money out in cash (a few thousand dollars). 

Then I went to the money exchange part of the bank.  They had a box for UNICEF, and were VERY surprised at the large quantity of coins that I was going to donate.  They took them directly through the window and gave me a big thanks.

Then I worked to change my 10,000 yen notes into $100 bills.  She brought out the oddest items as $100 bills.  I asked a lot of questions since I had never seen anything like that before.  She said they were a new design and she showed me the security features.   Finally I asked her to show me a picture.  She brought out a poster, and I was convinced to accept them.

I asked for some ones – apparently crisp ones are very useful in Myanmar.  They were so crisp, that I asked for more – hope that they work out. 

And the Post Office.  We were not organized enough to mail our boxes and give them a forwarding address on Friday.  At the information desk at the Kyoto Handicraft Center, I was told about one big post office that was open on Saturday.  With a couple of tries, we found it, mailed our boxes, and with 3 trips through lines, completed our forwarding address card.  Surface mail – might arrive in 3 months.

Reuse/Recycle in Japan

On the average, the Japanese are not interested in used goods.  This idea may go along with the Shinto focus on cleanliness.  There are a few used things stores, but very few.

So, for leaving Japan, I did not want to see the things that we had purchased, but no longer needed, thrown out.  We posted ads for our Sayonara sale, but had no takers (probably not a convenient address). 

Clothes.  I took the used clothes to the one store that had bins for used clothes (Uni-qlo)

Kimono.  Yes, too many kimono.  Yes, it is even possible for me to have too many kimono!  So I took them back to the shop that I had bought some from , and he gave me a little money.

Towels.  I brought a bag of used towels on the ship.  Here in Vietnam, I led an orphanage visit, and took the towels to them.

Art supplies.  There were left over art supplies from grandchildren visits (including crayons from the US) and from my projects.  I gave a bag of those things to a family on the ship with a 5- and an 8-year-old, and they are going to share them with other kids.

Toys and books.  Some books were sent back to the US, but others and the toys were brought onto the ship.   I gave the bag of toys to a family with 3 kids, 2 ½-year old, 4- year-old, and 6-year-old.

That is reuse.  For recycle, we referred to the THIRYTY--page recycling handbook.  This included careful instructions about how to cut apart your milk and juice cartons, wash them, dry them on the line, and return them to the store where they were purchased……….  So I made a trip to the store with the cleaned cartons.

Paper and cardboard.  Will finally figured out, after I left, where to put the paper and cardboard down in the basement for recycling. 

Arrival in Vietnam

Two nights ago we had a panel presentation on the history of the Vietnam conflict.  Will was one of the panelists.  Another was someone who had served, and later married a Vietnamese woman, and later worked with Vietnam Veterans Against the War.  And another was Bob Brigham – a Vassar faculty member who had a very active role in normalization of relations some years later.  He has some books, including one co-authored with McNamara.

Will did a great job just telling his story and putting it into a somewhat larger personal context.  Several people have come up to him since to compliment him and to continue the conversation.

The whole experience of arriving in Vietnam is actually quite odd for me.  I grew up with the war on TV at dinner every night.  Skip started down the road to Conscientious Objector status until his draft lottery number came up good.  My student apartment in Michigan was covered with very large maps of Vietnam that we used to keep track of the conflict.

As we were coming towards land, the sea was littered with small fishing boats.  We took a 4 hour trip up the Saigon River to reach Ho Chi Minh City.  Along the way was a lot of low-lying forested land, some more fishing boats, and a few dwellings.  There were also 2 or 3 story concrete buildings with one row of small holes on each floor where windows would have been.  Bird noises were coming from these.  Puzzling.

We were briefed last night about all the horrors that can befall us here in Ho Chi Minh City.  Malaria, dengue fever, pickpockets, petty thievery, automobile/motorbike accidents, drugged drinks, unsafe sex, drug overdoses, burns from moped exhaust pipes, etc.  Caution will guide us.

Vegan (plus fish)

I could not do it.  Peanut butter was the only protein for breakfast and lunch for days on end.  Every dinner had fish, so at least there was some other form of protein by the end of the day.  

So I spoke to Carol – the Semester at Sea front office person – she checked and sent me to Ronnie in the 6^th floor dining room.  He said he could not do anything about breakfast, but could give me fish or beans or tofu for lunch.  Now they look for me to see if I am OK.  Now they have started making beans available at the salad bar every day, so I am usually fine.

I bought some soy milk in Hong Kong, and showed it to Ronnie – he said he has it and all I need to do is ask.  So now I can have whole grain cereal as one option.

Food is more or less basic 1950’s cuisine.  Potatoes 3 meals a day, pasta, casseroles, meat, fish, steamed vegetables.  Always a good salad bar.  Seldom any whole grains.  I am seeing if I can have potatoes for 21 straight meals.

Actually, I got a good cookbook in Hong Kong, and was given a cookbook from Bahrain in Japan, so I can imagine other food.  Hong Kong food was good, and Will and I are signed up for a market and cooking class in Ho Chi Minh City.