Chaud et froid: Changements climatiques au Vietnam

Ai-je déja mentionné qu'il y a une bénévole ici (de l'organisme allemand, GTZ) qui travaille sur les changements climatiques au Vietnam? Je dois avouer que je ne m'y connais pas vraiment, mais je garde l'oeil ouvert parce que c'est un sujet qui m'intéresse.

Climate change (or climatic change as one of my former colleagues would say) is affecting Vietnam in a BIG way. According to an Asia Development Bank report, Vietnam is one of the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

It [the report] predicts that by the end of the century rice production will decline dramatically and rising sea levels could submerge tens of thousands of hectares of cropland, forcing thousands of families in coastal areas to relocate. More than 12 million people could be affected by increased water stress.

The ADB, of course, is not the only well known organization that has expressed deep concerns about climate change in Vietnam. OXFAM released a report in November 2008, outlining their findings from field research in Ben Tre and Quang Tri provinces. Their main findings? Not surprisingly, that poor women and men are the most at risk from the likely increase in extreme weather events (for example, typhoons in Ben Tre province, neighbour to Tra Vinh). Women, in particular, are vulnerable because A) they can't swim, B) they have no money or alternate means of earning an income when their crops are destroyed, and C) they have fewer employment opportunities away from home. The OXFAM researchers recommend a number of things; I found it interesting that "There is a pressing need for a much greater knowledge base of the possibilities of salt-resistant, flood-resistant or drought resistant crops, which should be developed with the active involvement of smallholders on their plots." Reports like this often make me wonder how realistic the recommendations are, but in this case I think training farmers to adapt to a saltier water environment is pretty basic and should be done immediately.

This article in the Courrier du Vietnam also explains a little more about the threats to the Mekong:

En général, la température moyenne dans l'ensemble du pays a augmenté de 1ºC à 2ºC par rapport à la moyenne des autres années. La rigueur du climat a entraîné de nombreux problèmes pour le monde agricole, surtout au Nord et au Centre. Les faibles précipitations, qui ont fortement affecté le débit des cours d'eau, au grand dam des riziculteurs.

....Actuellement, la sécheresse et l'invasion de l'eau salée menacent le delta du Mékong. Des milliers de foyers vivant sur le littoral manquent d'eau douce. L'invasion de l'eau salée dans les rizières met la production rizicole en danger. Environ 6.000 ha de riz d'hiver-printemps seront affectés plus ou moins durement. Full article here

Rice production is being threatened, not to mention that there have been reports of 13 forest fires in the month of February alone. Pretty terrible stuff, for a region that depends on agriculture. The volunteer from Spain (Ms. not Mr.) is working with the agriculture department at TVU for the remainder of her term here...she was actually at a conference on climate change, up in Hue (in the central part of Vietnam), before Tet. I will have to ask her what she learned...Am a little frustrated at times with my complete lack of Vietnamese (I know, partly my own fault for not trying harder), English language newspapers are not available in Tra Vinh Town so I have to get news from online sources.

And complete non sequitur here...But CANADA WON! Men's and women's hockey won gold at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Of course you already all know that, I just wanted to say WE ROOOOCK! LET'S GO CANADA!

Karaoke (bis)

Eh bien devinez quoi...je suis retournée au karaoke hier soir! Cette fois, c'était avec un groupe de "plus jeunes" - avec les deux Américains, les deux Espagnols, deux amies vietnamiennes, et nous, les deux Canadiennes! Un karaoke international, quoi. Un peu plus fou cette fois-ci...nous avons hurlé "Bohemian Rhapsody", et d'autres chansons du genre.

Hier matin, je suis allée à l'université pour assister à une compétition de décoration de gâteau, de cuisine et d'arrangements floraux (florals?). Les hommes étaient les seuls compétiteurs, puisque le but de l'événement était de souligner la Journée internationale des femmes (le 8 mars). J'étais vraiment surprise et émerveillée de constater avec quel sérieux les hommes se sont appliqués à créer des bouquets et des plats impressionants.

Fleurs pour la Journée internationale des femmes

Dragon fait de fruits (les 2 fruits roses se nomment "dragon fruit")

De plus, c'est officiel, j'ai acheté mes billets d'avion, et je pars à Bangkok du 19 au 21 mars, et ensuite à Hanoi du 26 au 28 mars!

Karaoke

Karaoke comes from two Japanese words: kara - meaning "empty" - and okesutora, meaning "orchestra". Apparently, Finland holds the world record for the largest number of people singing karaoke at the same time (over 80,000 people singing "Hard Rock Hallelujah"). But Asia is surely the continent where karaoke is the most popular. Any excuse is good for bringing out the karaoke juke box, really - parties, weddings, going out with friends, a long car or bus ride...

I've had at least 3 nights of epic karaoke so far. Tonight the WUSC volunteers decided to treat our offices to a night out - we ate nem nuong, picked up some che ba ba (yummy sweet pudding and beans for dessert) and then headed to the only karaoke place in Tra Vinh that has English songs. Early on I picked Radio Ga Ga by Queen...and other people followed up with a mix of Vietnamese and English songs. My voice is gone now - belting out "Total Eclipse of the Heart" really maxed out the vocal cords!! But it was totally worth it. Plus, it was educational - I'm getting better at speaking Vietnamese thanks to the only Vietnamese song I know, the "Uoc gi" song.

Manger comme des rois

Typical Vietnamese spread

Mmmm...one of my Cambodian lunches

Nem nuong - roll the veggies, bun (noodles) and meat all together in a rice paper, dip in fish sauce and voilà!

J'avais promis à mes frérots de leur montrer des photos des festins que je déguste au Vietnam. Impossible de tout décrire dans un seul billet, hélàs! La nourriture au Vietnam est tout simplement délicieuse: les ingrédients sont frais, les sauces sont excellentes et les saveurs sont...inhabituelles (mais habituellement elles se marient bien!). J'hésite à "parler gastronomie" car je ne possède pas tout le vocabulaire nécessaire. Pour cela, je vous invite à parcourir l'excellent blogue de Gastronomer. Ou tout autre blogue qui parle de bouffe vietnamienne!

More Pictures of Tra Vinh

Last weekend we met three photographers - 2 Americans and 1 German - travelling through Tra Vinh for the weekend. They gave us their cards and told us to go on their websites to see the photos they had taken during the weekend. Have a look at Christian Berg's photos - they are stunning.

Some Thoughts on Gender

From the Facilitator's Guide for Gender Training:

Men and women are different biologically and socially. The former is called “sex” and the latter “gender”.

Difference in itself is not the problem; the problem is that because of these differences, men and women are valued differently and in relation to each other. This is called social relations of gender.

These differences are manifested in a number of ways: gender division of labour, gender needs and access and control of resources.

These differences are inter-related and affect each other. They also shape society (in terms of who is valued, who gets to do what) and, in turn, society reproduces these differences creating, as a result, gender subordination.

Vietnam seems like a society where gender equality is important. For example, women are a valued part of the labour market (all the vendors at the market are female; they are very money-savvy) and generally seem to have an important status within the family. Vietnam has signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and has passed marriage and family laws granted women equal rights in the case of divorce.

Fruit and flower vendors on the way to the market in Tra Vinh

However, as the following quote from a Cambodia gender profile attests, men and women are far from equal in South-East Asia.

Although women representation in local government has increased, 15% in 2007 compared from 8% in 2002, female commune councillors (CC) still face obstacles in terms of participating in local government. Low levels of education among women mean that many feel they do not have the skills, experience, or qualifications to act as representatives of their community. They feel unable to assert themselves during council meetings, and they know that this has an impact on their ability to raise issues of concern to them as well other marginalised groups and poor people. High levels of poverty force many women to focus solely on supporting their families and also means they do not have sufficient funds to stand for election.

Some women also feel politics is simply men’s work in which women should not be involved. Perceptions that women are not capable of serving as councillors and that women’s participation in government is ‘inappropriate’ also discourage women from standing for election and entering political decision-making. Some female councillors have reported being marginalised by their male counterparts. In addition, female CC members are also worried about how they can balance their council duties with their traditional household, family, and child-care responsibilities.

I personally think that the first step to take in order to achieve greater gender equality is to admit that there remains structural (and behavioral) discrimination against women. Most of the people I have talked to at TVU about gender insist that men and women are equal. It is true that salaries are equal for male and female teachers, and there are many women in positions of authority at TVU. However, there is a remarquable "gender segregation" when it comes to the labour market - employers admit that they seek women to do a certain kind of job (generally a job that requires a meticulous nature, e.g. working with knives at a food canning factory, or working as an administrative assistant) and men to do another kind of job (security guards, construction work, IT, engineering). Furthermore, women continue to hold the lion's share of family responsibilities as well as managing the household accounts and doing income-generating activities, despite some advances among younger men taking over household duties.

I also wanted to share this statement - a quote from Ann Whitehead at the Institute for Development Studies:

One of the specific forms of oppression which women suffer, and which other oppressed social categories share, is the inability to be in social relationship and social situations in which gender is not present. Our experience as women is of being always perceived and treated as members of a gender category about which there are all kinds of stereotyped beliefs, and which is inferior to the alternative gender category, that of men. [...] Gender then, like race, is never absent.

Food for thought, indeed.

Animal Farm

I went for an early morning bike ride (it was 6:30 when I left my guest house - early morning for me, grasse matinée for the Vietnamese) today, and started to think about all the animals I've seen in Vietnam. Farm Girl might be used to animals (she did grow up on a farm), but for me it's still a novelty to see cows on the side of the road, roosters in my backyard, and chickens on the university campus.

I often see people driving by on their motobikes, either with 20 chickens tied up by the legs all around the side of their motorbike, or pulling a wagon with one or two pigs in the back. It always strikes me as funny...but I'm also amazed at the resourcefulness of people here (I should really take more pictures of people carrying all kinds of stuff on their motorbikes).

Plus you see all kinds of interesting things at the bus rest-stops here. The other day, coming back from Saigon, we stopped for a 10-minute break and I got a banh bao to go (looks like a cha sue bao for those who like to eat dim sum with me). At the checkout counter, where you would normally have little chocolates and gum in North America, I saw this thing:

Yup, that's definitely snake wine! A powerful aphrodisiac for men, apparently.

I almost want to bring some home...except that I think immigration control wouldn't let it through. You just gotta love Vietnam!

Siem Reap

Part 2 of my Cambodia tale

So after visiting the Royal Palace, we had to hop on a bus to get to Siem Reap. I counted about 30 hours on the bus for our whole journey, by the way - so we were looking forward to two full days and three nights in one place! The bus ride was quite scenic, again. I had to laugh at the karaoke being played on the TV screen up front, though: I mean, where else than in Asia do you get karaoke on a bus?

Arrivées à Siem Reap, nous avons eu l'agréable surprise du Thunborey Hotel - un très bel hôtel, très luxueux après l'auberge de jeunesse, et pour $12 la nuit. Il y avait même des draps sur notre lit! et une douche avec une porte! et du papier toilette rose! et de l'air climatisée! Le comble du luxe, quoi. Nous sommes parties à la recherche d'un restaurant - avons mangé du cari pas mal bon - et avons ensuite fait du magasinage au marché de nuit.

Dimanche matin, notre guide et notre voiture privée nous attendaient à 8h. Le guide était très intéressant: il travaille pour les Nations Unies, et a participé au "monitoring" d'une élection nationale. Il nous racontait que le Cambodge demeure un pays dangereux malgré ses charmes - deux de ses collègues ont perdu la vie à cause d'une mine terrestre.

Nous avons visité Angkor Thom (`Big City`) en matinée, puis passé l'apres-midi à parcourir les ruines de Angkor Wat (`City Temple`).

Angkor Wat

Apsara Dancers carved into the stone at Angkor Wat

The next day, we spent the morning with our guide. We went for a walk in the mountains, up to Kpal Spean (River of a Thousand Linga) to admire the carvings of Vishnu and Shiva, submerged in a river.

River of a Thousand Linga; "Kpal Spean"

Ensuite, nous avons visité Bantay Sreai, d'autres belles ruines, encore plus vieilles que Angkor Wat. Nous avons ensuité diné et remercié notre guide et notre chauffeur pour leurs services. En apres-midi, nous avions l'intention de visiter un des villages flottants, mais, faute de temps, avons simplement passé un apres-midi à relaxer. En soirée, nous avons rencontré une jeune Hollandaise (dont le père est impliqué avec l'OMS et la lutte au tabagisme, tout comme mon père) qui travaille à Siem Reap comme professeure d'anglais. Elle était très sympa et nous l'avons invitée à nous rendre visite, un jour, à Tra Vinh.

Mardi matin, notre dernier matin à Siem Reap, Farm Girl et moi avons décidé de nous séparer et chacune faire à notre guise. J'ai loué un vélo ($1.50 pour la journée, une meilleure aubaine que les locations de vélo à Rent-a-Bike à Ottawa! mais la qualité du vélo était proportionellement moins élevée) pour retourner à Angkor Wat. Trois quarts d'heure plus tard, j'étais rendue à destination, et j'ai passé deux belles heures à explorer les ruines un peu moins fréquentées. Sur le chemin du retour, je me suis perdue (mon sens de l'orientation n'est pas fantastique) et suis enfin arrivée à notre hôtel, trempée de sueur et avec un beau coup de soleil, 10 minutes avant notre heure de départ pour la station d'autobus.

Le retour à Phnom Penh, et ensuite à Ho Chi Minh-ville, s'est déroulé assez bien. Farm Girl est retournée à Tra Vinh mais j'ai décidé de rester à Saigon pour explorer la ville d'avantage. C'était vraiment trop tranquille (à cause de Têt, tout le monde est parti et la plupart des magasins sont fermés) mais idéal pour un peu de tourisme. J'ai passé jeudi à visiter des pagodes, une mosquée et une église dans le quartier chinois (Cholon). J'ai très bien mangé, avec les recommandations du Lonely Planet! Malheureusement je n'ai pas trouvé de dim sum...ça sera pour la prochaine fois!

Ong Bon Pagoda or Nhi Phu Hoi Quan: built by the Fujian Congregation and dedicated to the guardian of happiness and wealth

Holiday in Cambodia

I'm baaaa-aaack!

Quel voyage magnifique! Le Cambodge est un pays très charmant, malgré son passé sombre. Il y a plusieurs ressemblances avec le Vietnam, mais la culture et l'histoire du Cambodge sont uniques. Une différence importante est que les Cambodgiens sont les descendants de l'empire Khmer, qui a dominé l'Asie du sud-est pendant très longtemps, englobant le Cambodge, la Thailande et le Laos (autour de l'an 1000-1050, environ). Le Royaume du Cambodge dépend aujourd'hui du tourisme (Angkor Wat est le site le mieux connu) et de l'agriculture (le riz, le bois, le poisson et le caoutchouc).

Our trip went quite smoothly, thanks in part to our travel agent who was an angel of patience and sat through at least 5 changes in our plans. We finally left Tra Vinh last Thursday and stayed overnight in HCMC (we wanted to get an early start on Friday). Left on the bus at 9 a.m. along with Dr. A's family (also spending Têt holidays in Cambodia). I was kept well-entertained by the youngest daughter, K2, four years and a half and smart as a whip. As I got my hair braided and asked K2 about Vietnamese kindergarten, I saw beautiful scenery out the bus window: flat, dry land (it is the dry season and there have been reports of drought), occasional patches of muddy water, water buffalo, cows and families hard at work on their farms.

I was wondering how easy it would be to get a visa into Cambodia (do they take bribes here?) but turned out to be a smooth process. We handed over out passports, $20 USD and two very photoshoped visa photos (ask me about my visa pictures when you see me back in Canada!), and got a shiny green Cambodian visa with a picture of Angkor Wat in the background.

Angkor Wat is a huge source of pride here, by the way; it's even on the Cambodian flag.

Puis notre autobus a pris le traversier, où j'ai eu ma première expérience avec les enfants de la rue qui sont si débrouillards et si astucieux mais font également pitié. Les enfants sur le traversier nous demandaient de l'argent ou de la nourriture; nous leur avons donné des petits pains mais avons par la suite deviné que les enfants prennent la nourriture donnée par les touristes, pour ensuite la revendre dans le marché.

Children begging or selling things is a common sight in Cambodia (more so than in Vietnam, or maybe it just seemed that way to me because we were only seeing the touristy parts of Cambodia, whereas we are living in a small town in Vietnam). We had many encounters with children trying to sell books or trinkets to tourists. Although I don't like it one bit and think they should all be in school, the children I talked to said that they only go to school for half a day, and are free to sell things for the other half of their day. I hate giving money to kids because often the money will go directly to an adult; but again, it's maybe better to have the kids selling things rather than be sexually exploited. Child prostitution is growing in Cambodia and Vietnam; even as the government in Thailand has cracked down on it. There are lots of signs begging people to "Respect our National Treasures" - meaning the children, not the ruins - and I took some pamphlets that warn tourists that exploiting children is illegal (I will be working this summer on the topic of child sex tourism with the International Bureau of Children's Rights).

After that we arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital and in many ways quite similar to HCMC. However Vietnam has no tuk-tuks whereas tuk-tuks rule in Cambodia! A tuk-tuk, by the way, is a four-person carriage drawn by a motorbike. Pretty much the best way to get around if you are a tourist with a heavy backpack. Accordingly, Farm Girl (I've renamed Fellow Canadian) and I took at tuk-tuk to our Grand View Guest House, which has...you guessed it...a Grand View of Boeng Kak Lake. It had Internet and air-con, too, so a pretty good deal. We were too tired to do much that night, so ate at a little place right in the backpacker area (the Lazy Gecko café - incidentally there was a real live gecko above the sign as we were sitting down for supper). We met a really nice guy from Holland and he gave us a few tips about what to see and where to go in Siem Reap, where we headed out the very next day.

But first we had the next morning to explore Phnom Penh. We decided to have breakfast down by the waterfront and see the Royal Palace. Quite a grand place, and so different from European palaces (to say nothing of the Chateau Laurier). Cambodia is still ruled by a King, although, much like Good Ol' Liz, the sovereign plays a mostly symbolic role. The real decisions are taken by the Cambodian People's Party. Anyways, the place was swarming with tourists but Farm Girl and I got a good look at some amazing gold Buddha statues and some beautiful gardens.

Royal Palace in Phnom Penh

Têt and Flowers

I received a beautiful greeting card from TVU today - wishing me a happy new year! The card had an illustration of a cherry blossom tree, which is supposed to bring good luck if it blooms for the New Year. I was just coming back from the market this morning (had the day off - the university is mostly empty anyways, with the students gone for 2 weeks) and couldn`t help comparing Têt holiday with Christmas in Canada. You know I like to make lists, so here is my list of similarities and dissimilarities between Christmas and Têt:

1. FAMILY TIME: At Christmas, most Canadians will travel to spend some time with their family(ies). Têt is also all about spending time with your nearest and dearest. As an example of the travelling thing, tickets to Hanoi from HCMC were completely booked for Têt at least one month in advance (which is why I`m heading to Cambodia instead of Hanoi).

2. "MON BEAU SAPIN!": Even if you`re not Christian, chances are high(if you live in Europe or North America) that you bring out the Christmas tree around December 25 (be it a real tree, a potted tree, or just a plastic one). As I mentioned, Têt in Vietnam would not be the same without an abundance of vegetation: flowers, mini trees, cherry blossoms in particular. I find it quite amusing to see everyone on their motorbikes, trying to balance one or two (or more) plants on their laps. Of course some people are smart and invest in a wagon to carry all that vegetation home.

3. NEW STUFF: Christmas is the most lucrative time of year for most businesses in North America. Gift-giving is common, especially for children. Têt, on the other hand, does not focus as much on giving gifts (although gift baskets are common). Instead the focus is on "new" stuff in general: it`s the time of year to buy new clothes, get your hair cut, get your house painted and cleaned from top to bottom.

4. RELIGION: This is where the similarities end (or maybe not). Christmas is the time to celebrate the birth of Baby Jesus (or the arrival of Santa Claus hah). On the other hand, I don`t think Têt has any religious significance. Maybe someone can correct me?

5. HOLIDAY FOOD: Turkey, stuffing and Chinese food are common Christmas foods in my family. For Têt, there is also lots of cooking to do if you are hosting your family. I am still pretty ignorant about how Vietnamese food is made but I have heard that special `cakes` and other goodies are prepared for Têt.

Ìf I think of anything else, I`ll edit this post. You won`t hear from me for a week now, as I`m off to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap for my holiday! Chuc Mung Nam Moi, tout le monde!

Une nuit à Saigon

Les préparations pour le Nouvel An vont de bon train! Ho Chi Minh-ville (Saigon) est de plus en plus décorée. Nous commencons l'année du tigre (ce qui s'annonce bien pour la companie qui gère les profits de la bière "Tiger", très populaire ici!).

Tigers made of fruit, in the park near Pha Ngu Lao

We went up to Saigon early on Saturday, planning to do some shopping and general sight-seeing. I definitely was not expecting to spend so much - after Tra Vinh, though, any city is bound to seem expensive. Food and drinks are double, sometimes triple the price in the Big City of Vietnam. Anyways, no matter, compared to London, ANY city is a good bargain.

Upon arrival, Fellow Canadian and I hoped onto the Number 2 City Bus (dodging taxi drivers offering their services) and headed straight to our hotel in the backpacker area (which Mr. America had kindly booked for us - since he was going to Saigon too). We left our bags in our room (which had 3 beds and a private with Western toilet, but no toilet paper or towels unfortunately - gotta remember to bring toilet paper next time!) We decided to head to Ben Tanh market and do some souvenir shopping. I managed to restrain myself for the most part, but ended up buying a gorgeous blue skirt by a Japanese designer...all the while thinking "ok, the price I paid for this could feed a family for 2 or 3 weeks in Tra Vinh!"(this was in one of the boutiques, not in the market).

After the shopping experience (we were getting really good at bargaining by the end of the afternoon), we walked around for a bit & then headed back to our hotel for a nap. For supper, we picked a place just down the street from our hotel, an Indian restaurant called Mumtaz (apparently, the local Indian community really likes this place. So do the tourists). Had a delicious fish masala curry and a glass of mango lassy. The naan was great, too.

Following the Lonely Planet's recommendations, we decided to head to the Acoustic Bar (after debating - I also wanted to check out Apocalypse Now, a well-known bar in the upscale Dong Khoi area) for some live music. We had to stop for directions a few times; when we finally got to the address, we found a nice café down an alley with a jazz singer, keyboard & violin - not quite the Jimmy Hendrix hommage we were expecting, but still kinda nice and relaxing after a long day of walking.

The next day, we decided to have pho for breakfast, then head to the Annan Gourmet Market and then to Cholon (also known as District 5, or Saigon's Chinatown). We met with Mr. America and discovered that he had been to the Acoustic Bar the night before! Turns out we were in the right spot but we should have gone all the way down the alley to get to the right place! Still kicking myself, we headed out for some more sightseeing & shopping. We ended up not having enough time (or energy) to go to District 5, but did manage to get our fix of Western food at the Gourmet Market. After debating (do I REALLY need this?) I got some oatmeal...yummy! Had lunch at a Wrap & Roll (I ordered two main courses - delicious spring rolls and beef wrapped in grape vines) and then it was time to head to the bus station.



Prochaine destination: le Cambodge! Nous partons jeudi soir et y serons jusqu'à mercredi.

De tout et de rien

Voici quelques observations sur le Vietnam et les Vietnamiens (un peu pêle-mêle):

- Moi lorsque je sors dehors, j'enlève mon pull pour profiter du soleil (et parce qu'il fait chaud à mon avis). Les Vietnamiennes, par contre, lorsqu'elles sortent au soleil, se couvrent la tête d'un chapeau, se couvrent le corps de gilets, se couvrent les mains de gants et se couvrent même le visage d'un masque...tout pour se protéger du soleil/rester le plus blanches possible. (Le masque est peut-être aussi pour protéger de la pollution, mais à Tra Vinh il y a très peu de pollution!)

- Les Vietnamiens boivent beaucoup (surtout les hommes). Lors des fêtes et des soupers, toutes les excuses sont bonnes pour crier "Tran Phan Tran" = 100%!

- Il n'y a pas beaucoup de conscientisation face aux problèmes environnementaux. Par exemple, les déchets sont jetés par terre et on utilise beaucoup de sacs de plastique. Par contre les gens aiment la nature et la verdure...

- Les Vietnamiens détestent marcher. En conséquence, tout le monde se déplace en moto ou en vélo (ou en voiture pour certains). Si on marche, de toute manière, c'est très désagréable car 1) il fait chaud et 2) les trottoirs sont faits pour stationner les chaises et les vélos/motos, donc il faut marcher dans la rue.

- Les gens sont très curieux et aimables (dans le Mékong, en tout cas). Par contre ils n'ont pas peur de rire de toi! Et ils n'aiment pas s'embrasser ou se donner des câlins. Par contre, se promener main dans la main est tout à fait acceptable.

- Les gens ADORENT: le karaoke, être bien habillés, leur famille (en général), les couleurs et les "gogosses" colorés, les fleurs, les photos officielles, l'Oncle Ho (Ho Chi Minh), les jeux Internet et les motocyclettes.

Bon, ça fait juste à peine 3 semaines que je suis ici, et mon Vietnamien est vraiment mauvais à date, donc je suis sure que cette liste sera différente dans quelques mois.

Santé maternelle

Le premier ministre du Canada, Stephen Harper, a annoncé récemment que la santé maternelle serait une priorité au prochain sommet du G8 au mois de juin (oui, je continue de lire les nouvelles canadiennes !). Mais dans un article du Globe and Mail, on se pose des questions a savoir pourquoi cela a pris aussi longtemps.

Les statistiques sont effrayantes: 10 million de femmes sont mortes des séquelles de la grossesse et de l'accouchement depuis 1990. Le trois quart de ces morts auraient pu être évitées. Mais c'est un sujet pas très "sexy" et donc on en parle peu.

Au Vietnam, heureusement, la situation semble s'améliorer: selon un article du Ministere des Affaires étrangères, le Vietnam serait capable d'atteindre son objectif de développement du millénaire de réduction du taux de mortalité maternelle de 3/4 d'ici 2015. Pourtant, il reste des obstacles avant d'atteindre cet objectif, notamment l'accès aux soins de santé pour les minorités ethniques vivant dans les régions montagneuses éloignées des grandes villes.