over the mountain

on day 13 of our trip we travelled by bus from nha trang to da lat....nha trang is a beautiful beach city, and da lat is located in the central highlands...travel by car or bus in viet nam is very different than here...there are not highways, so it's a little slow....a 100 mile trip, which might take us 2 hours, takes 3-4 hours in viet nam....

so, here we get on the bus early in the morning in nha trang to head to da lat....the trip would take about 4 hours, and we would have to go through the mountain pass to get there....it had rained during the night, and it was still a little cloudy, but there was no rain falling when we left....as we got into the mountains, our guide explained that the government was working on widening the road, so it was a little dug up, but the last trip he had, they couldn't take this road, so he was excited it was open again....

once we were pretty high up into the pass, the road became very muddy....very muddy....there were many other buses and cars on the road and with all the construction on it, it was very narrow....many times we had to stop to allow cars and buses coming from the opposite direction to pass....but as we got farther into the mountain and pass, the mud got worse and deeper....then one of the buses in front of us got stuck....

the people on the bus got off and pushed it out of the mud....however, it didn't stay unstuck for long...

 

our very skilled driver did a good job and stayed behind and did a great job driving us through the mud...we didn't get stuck, but we continued to watch the red bus in front of us get stuck....then we came to a hill tribe village....the people there were fascinated by all the cars and buses trying to get through the mud...

one of their houses...while we were travelling through this village the red bus got stuck once again...

as they got the bus moving again....our driver tried driving through a different part of the road, so we didn't meet the same fate....and our luck had been great so far, though we were already an hour behind schedule....but our luck soon ran out....as our driver and his helper were trying to get us through the village, the bus stopped moving....there we were, stuck....then the driver, our guide, and the helper all put their brains together to figure out how to get us out....

they made us all move to one side of the bus, thinking the extra weight would give us enough traction to get us moving...that didn't work....then they started to talk to the villagers....and asked for help....during this time, most of the village was out of their houses, watching us....

 

a few even took our pictures....eventually our driver and guide reached an agreement with the villagers about a price for their help....their original price was 1,000,000 vnd....they reached a compromise to 250,000vnd....the villagers then started pushing the bus....but the bus wouldn't move...so, they found some gravel from the construction and started using wheelbarrows of gravel under the wheels....the bus started to move...and we weren't stuck anymore!  the villagers however, upped the price to 500,000 vnd....and when the money wasn't crisp enough for them, they fought the driver and our guide about that....but eventually, they got their money and we continued on our way...

i am happy to report that we didn't get stuck again, and neither did anyone in front of us...we made it to da lat, about 2.5 hours late, but our group didn't mind...we were happy to be at our destination....

another semester gone by

tomorrow is friday of finals week, to end fall 2009....this semester was one for the books...and as i look back on it, i can't believe i made it to this point...

this semester i covered one of my CD's maternity leave...that meant for the first time in 5 years, i was doing RA one on one's and RA staff meetings....at first i wasn't sure i would know what to talk about with the staff or if i would even remember how to have RA one on one's, but it wasn't too bad....some of it came back to me quickly, some of it more slowly....i was extremely lucky to have a grad student who tracked their programming and just kept me informed of when they were fallen behind....so, that piece had support....the staff was extremely patient with me, as i tried to find my feet again in these meetings....it's funny how fast your supervision brain can change when you go from undergraduates to professionals...and it's hard to go back...

their staff meetings were also different....they were held in conjunction with the other RA staff in my area....the other CD, myself, and our grad ran them together....i am used to professionals getting a little cranky about things, or the ebbs and flows of their semesters...but i have forgotten how week to week the RA lives can be so different....these meetings were held on a day where i went into work at 8:30am and worked straight until midnight....i attended two area council meetings and RA staff meetings during the evening...it made for a long day....and most days i wasn't sure how i would get through...

as you know, i took a three week vacation through this all....it's true, during a 10 week maternity leave, i took 3 weeks off....the grad supervised the staff with lots of support from my other CD....everyone survived just fine....

we had a new conduct system put into place this semester....one that seemed like it would be okay for us- the area really didn't have a lot of conduct issues in the past....that didn't seem true this semester....our case load was heavier and with the new system, things were slowed down....i have been more involved with it than ever before....and if you know me, my dream job would have no student conduct responsibilities....i know it won't ever happen, but a girl can dream....

i asked to work 5 hours a week in our student affairs assessment office....i felt that i needed to learn more about assessment and expand my skills....if i want to be in charge someday, it's a skill i will need to have....these hours have been amazing and the amount i am learning and able to do has been great....i am excited to keep working in this office and continue to learn....i am working on a project right now that is really helping me to see all different sides of assessment and evaluation....i can't wait to see the end product....the other great thing about this experience has been working in a different office and seeing how other offices function on our campus...

safe zone continues to grow...this year i have been able to take on 2 collateral RD's to work 10 hours each week with it....this has given me the chance to get more groundwork completed and continue to get our name out there....our trainings have brought some new a different people to the safe zone....the conservative newspaper executive board came to a training.....the health and counseling centers were trained.....and a few others along the way...we've been able to create a train the trainer program, so starting in the spring new people can be trained to do training....a website has been started, though still needs lots of work....and an advertising program is on it's way, though we have no money to have posters printed....that's a task for the spring.

through all this, i still took one class....i started with two, but had to drop one because i had a sense of reality with my work load....i got through my one class, it was enjoyable....the professor was a little all over the place....but i made some new friends....and had the chance to write part of a strategic plan....something i have wanted to learn to do, and now i have the knowledge and skills to do it....

so, this fall has been a semester to remember....i look back at it and wonder how i made it to december, but here i am....i guess it's true life never gives you something you can't handle...

some random pictures of Viet Nam

now that the first snow has come and it's cold, it made me think of viet nam and the warm weather...i was telling someone at work how i would love to move there....so, here are some more pictures of my trip and the country that seems to have my heart right now.