Vietnam

  When does a trip begin? Is it when the contours of daily life take on a transparent aspect; when you note that the days… Read More »You can’t plan everything

Beyond the triple glazed glass dome of the airport unfamiliar long legged birds duck and strut on the white sand  encroaching the 5 lane highway.… Read More »Passing through kingdoms

Hanoi –an unexpectedly small airport. There is my brother standing at the exit gate, his face all alight and grinning – a bunch of cellophane… Read More »Arrival

From our kitchen window on the second floor I see roof terraces –peeling dull ochre concrete walls; bamboo struts supporting dried palm leaf rooves. TV… Read More »From our kitchen window

I am reserved about the cockerel head and the yellow waxy chicken claws in my stew I am buoyed down by the heat I am… Read More »Uncertainty

Two days later I  know how to get to the Foundation Studies Department with its French terracotta tiled roof I have removed the stickers from… Read More »Satisfaction

I love the calm and space of the university campus – a glorious collection of colonial, peeling, French buildings set around a huge sports field.… Read More »Bonded

We are invited to lunch in Hanoi Old town with my brother and two new students fresh up to Hanoi from far-flung rural provinces. We… Read More »Proverbs and motorbikes

I have met somebody who informs me about Blue Dragon – an organization on the outskirts of town which works with street children. I'm going… Read More »Joining in

First lesson. A lively group of 25 eighteen year olds. Plan -different ways of introducing yourselves. . .. told them about my former work with… Read More »Starting