Our friends in France had more information about the path/strength of the hurricane than we had here. They telephoned us the day of the hurricane and told us what to expect.
Trying to get an update on the hurricane, I turned on my short-wave radio and found out that there are virtually no radio stations in Vietnam.
I was told that Vietnam has only THREE radio stations! Can you believe that? 85+ million people with only three radio stations!
To keep my mind active here, I really enjoy listening to MP3 lectures because I get some “mind-stimulating” info. Without the internet, there is an info-blackout here. Take a look at the website http://radio4all.net which has lots of MP3 lectures which you can legally download and http://peterbeter.host which is a real “eye-opener” concerning world events during the last 40 years.
This country/culture is a non-information culture, i.e. very little information comes here because everything needs to be translated into Vietnamese for 99% of the people to become aware of it. No wonder almost everyone here has no idea of what’s happening in the world outside Vietnam.
Even Mai admits that her Vietnamese education was just the basics. We’ve met numerous people here who have graduated with a university degree in English, but cannot speak nor understand English when it is spoken around them.
Which ever elite minority ruled Vietnam, it seems that motto was and is: “Keep the masses ignorant and obedient.” It didn’t matter whether the ruling elite minority was foreign or domestic, the mindset has remained constant through time.
Hey Hurricane Veteran,
Glad I finally checked your log. Didn’t have to outruin the typhoon? Run, hurry, run and you outran it? I guess Vietnam is still in the grips of keep quiet and endure? I can believe about the radio stations numbering all of three!!! And they all broadcast the same line: keep quiet and sitdown?
I lived in Italy six months in ‘71 and ‘72, and I did not understand any of the stations or newspapers!!! Keep the masses dumb and ignorant seemed like their government line. I guess the government operates their tv’s!!!
Boy, oh boy!!!—was I so glad to get back to where I really understand the language and way of life even if I knew it was not perfect. I think I really enjoyed London. France was not anything I loved, though on the way back/. I’ll write more later. Ciao
Hey VN buddy—tried to figure out how to do the hrl and I got no luck—but I will figure it out with your help down the line somewhere and somehow. —
I can recall being bored in high school and not learning much of anything. My hardest subject was girls: I knew not how to relax and get into them —lucky them huh? I did have one in the cafe–a young high waitress–came unto me—lucky me huh? In the confessional the priest said to lay off the gal. They make you feel so bad about sex and yet they play the game in the back of the altar?
My hardest was algebra and latin and mechanical drawing. I got through classes every day and then took the bus to dowmtown and work at whatever someone was missing at. My boss, my old man, would hire and fire if sex was not present? Who knows? Maybe better not to know? I enjoyed being busy at the cafe, but I never enjoyed the old man coming in drunk now and then and giving me hell!!! I got to eat lots of great stuff: cheeseburgers, malts, hot beef sandwiches, homemade chicken and noodles, hot meat loaf sandwhiches, —. I would study whenever it was slow. I went to the diocesan high school for boys only. It sure was not fascinating nor a great centre of learning. Not a luring centre of learning? I made it through and wondered why I had to do it? I never learned anything for a future in the working world. But then it was not meant for anything but a pretension at tension. I struggled after that till I entered St. Benedict’s Abbey on the banks of the Muddy Mo. —Well, now that is a tease entry to the story of my life!!!Stay tuned for the main entre!!!—-
—-…..////sorrry to make this so sultry….don’t let your imagination roam too far afield!!!!
Hi Again to the Captain of VN Monologue,
I had hard time getting back to sleep and so I got to thinking what to do and I thought to write about what’s going on in the greatest test of democracy in the greatest country in the world: we are about to vote on SMART: the railroad to nowhere—from way up in Sonoma County to Corte Madera in a hour and half. And then there is the crosstown access through the 101 in Petaluma. It will have to wait till 101 is widened and at the juncture where it crosses the Petaluma River and the railroad tracks, 101 will be elevated enough to allow the crosstown access to go underneath the viaduct. If this makes sense to you let me know!!! They call it the Rainier something or other!!! Right now they are cutting tress along our 101 border with the park. Always something here to make things interesting. Somehow we have some smart politicians that got CalTrans to cut our park trees with taxpayer money!!! And yeah, we got a new bridge over dirty water here!!! The park put in a new bridge over our treasure island!!! You know the cross pond bridge near Gina’s? Old one got tore out and new put in. Really neat. Wider and brandnew superstructure. A carrier can now pass underneath. The freeway might want to use it now!!!
Last night we had a party at Linda’s backyard: German dogs (sausage on the bbq) olives, garden fresh tomatoes, Dutch beeer, home fried taters and great company and a fire afterward to talk into the late evening. No dancing gals, but it was fun. Adrian, the wolrd famous artist, has a friend from Germany and Italy here: he has gone around the world and is exploring California now. He wants to get a car and go to New Orleans, NY City. Who knows, but he might go see our brilliant leader in DC—not the DC Comics, but close!!!Well gotta close and leave some room for some other famous writer!!!Joseppe
Hi Chris,
Nice hurricane coverage! Not much said about it here in the States…at least as far as I was able to find. Sounds like you had fun, and the look on the girls faces in the picture hauling limbs makes everything look like a fun time was had by all.
Lu Thu and I are back here and in the groove (rut?). She’s due in a couple of months, while I’m working at the college in the computer lab.
Keep up the great reporting! Bill