Thursday 5 May 2011

Back in Sapa 2

Sapa is an interesting mountain town.  Here are a few interesting pictures and a video of the place.

This is the church on the square.  It was built by the French and now I'm not sure who takes care of it since there don't seem to be very many Catholics here any more.

The stairs down to the market at night.  In the day time this tightly packed thoroughfare is filled with all sorts of food:  veggies, blood sausage, fried tofu, dog, sugar cane, etc etc.

A house that's fairly typical outside of Sapa.  In town you won't find any of these.

This is the lake up the hill.  Despite the water being relatively clean for Viet Nam, the girls from Sapa O'chau told me that no one swims here.  Apparently the reason is that a long time ago, there was a massacre and the bodies were dumped in the lake.  No one could elaborate on who was involved on either end.


The clouds roll up the valley and through Sapa town.  Sometimes this can make the weather change dramatically.  Watch as a sunny day on the square gets covered in fog in less than a minute.

Back to Sapa

The first time I went to Sapa, our tour guide told us that the H'mong people were always looking for volunteer English teachers.  Considering I didn't have any gainful employment in Hanoi at the time, I took the bait and planned a return trip.

Within an hour of my second arrival I was an English teacher at Sapa O'Chau.  I just asked a few local H'mong girls and they put me in touch with Shu, the director of the school.  The next day I joined the two other westerners who teach English there and took over the beginner class.

It was an interesting experience.  Below are some pictures of my time there with a touch of commentary.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask.


This is the Sapa O'Chau school house.  There's only one classroom where 1 - 3 teachers, depending on availability of volunteers, teach some 40 students.  The lower levels of the school are a dormitory for the students.  For most of the students, this is the only way they can go to school because their families live in villages that are several hours' walk from Sapa.

This is the portrait of Ho Chi Minh that is mandatory in every classroom in Viet Nam.  There's also a mandatory Viet Nam flag in the entryway.  I'm not really sure what either has done for the H'mong.

The students' lunch.  Boiled greens, squash, tofu and tomato, and fatty pork with bean sprouts.  Oh, and rice.  In H'mong, you say what sounds like 'no more' before and after you start eating.  It literally means 'eat rice'.

Some of the students from Sapa O'Chau.  From left to right: La, Chi, Sai, (I'm not sure who's on the farthest stool on the left, or who's crouched down), Zuh, Sho, (I'm not sure who has their backs turned to the camera), Thanh in blue in the back, Vang, Thi, Shinh, Sui, Sam and Lam.

Having a little lunch.