Ben Tre, Vietnam

Music is Power

05.11.2007 - 09.11.2007 80 °F
View Asia and Pacific 2007 on cattandmeg's travel map.

one of our star students is learning dance steps in Ben Tre, Vietnam

(For background information on the origins of our Ben Tre trip, check out the previous blog entry on Saigon.)

Our Ben Tre adventure began very early in the morning. Catt, Hong and I were picked up by a large, people-mover styled van at 5:00 AM on Monday morning, November 5, 2007 from Hoa and Yoon's still-slumbering home. The sun was just peeking over the concrete blocks of Saigon as we made our way through the eerily silent streets towards the main southbound road. We each lay down across a row of unoccupied seats and slept, despite the freezing cold of the van- unaccustomed to the luxury of air conditioning, we were quite chilly! The driver woke us up at the halfway point; a dilapidated, road-side rest-stop with steaming bowls of pho on offer, served amid clouds of cigarette smoke in the early morning air. Continuing on, we made the ferry crossing and soon found ourselves in the Delta.

The small, sleepy town of Ben Tre and its friendly locals and relaxed pace belies a turbulent history of conflict. Sadly, the town found itself at the heart of some of the bloodiest fighting during the Vietnam War- specifically during the Tet Offensive. Many of the people in Ben Tre (and later, as we would learn, families of children who would be our students at the school where we taught) also suffered birth defects and illnesses as a result of exposure to Agent Orange, or dioxin, the defoliant sprayed by American planes to deny cover to Viet Cong guerrillas. The result of this poisonous and horrific practice is well documented at the Museum of War Crimes in Saigon as well, with plenty of accompanying grisly photographs. We would visit the museum after our week in the Delta, on return to Saigon for a few days.

Here are a few links with some interesting tidbits of history on Ben Tre:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/03/23/edpringle_ed3__1.php
Article from the Herald Tribune on the sad fate of Ben Tre during the Vietnam War, written by James Pringle, who covered the war for three years as a correspondent for Routers

http://www.rfa.org/english/features/blogs/vietnamblog/2005/08/26/blog6_vietnam_southerland/
Diary entry from Radio Free Asia on Ben Tre

http://www.nhe.net/BenTreVietnam/
"We had to destroy Ben Tre in order to save it."

Now, though, the town of Ben Tre is a friendly and industrious town, displaying few signs of the wounds of its past, worlds away from the tourist trail of neighboring My Tho. Among Vietnamese, it is perhaps most famous for its local production of coconut candy, made in factories surrounding the city. The Vietnamese, indeed, refer to the province as "coconut island" and the saccharine scent of candy hangs heavy in the humid air.

We arrived at the Ben Tre School for Special Students early that Monday morning, and immediately were escorted to a small room for a morning tea and a meeting with the school's principal, the vice principal, Ms. Ho Thi Thu Thuy, Ms. Thu, our friendly, extremely helpful and energetic interpreter, and Hong. It was at this first meeting that we most clearly were made aware of the expectations of our teaching in Ben Tre. Originally the foundation sponsoring our visit had hoped that we would be able to teach violin, but the violins had yet to be delivered to the school when we arrived, so we would teach the children the basics of piano, guitar, and singing (the request for singing, specifically, was "singing American folk songs." I later would interpret this as teaching them Beatles songs... I figured as long as it was in English that was okay, right?) The majority of our students in music class were blind, but (as we would find out,) extremely eager to learn, attentive, and naturally musically gifted. I also learned from vice principal Ms. Thuy that many of the deaf students had made a special request to learn "disco dancing," as well as the basics of classical western dance. Unsure of exactly what that entailed (but hopeful to please in any way,) and lacking any formal training in dance instruction, I agreed that we would do my best to teach them.

After our morning tea, we were ushered into our music classroom, already filled with our students for music class. Almost all of the students were blind, and ranged in age from 8 to 25 years old. They began by making a formal introduction, delivered by a particularly talented guitarist and singer named Tho. He sang some Vietnamese classical and patriotic songs for us while accompanied by an exceptionally gifted guitarist. They then asked Catt and I to sing and play them a song. We obliged, even though we really didn't have anything prepared. They blew us out of the water, but I'd like to think that our rendition of Jack Johnson's cover of "Pirate Turns 40" set a good tone for the week's lessons.

Lacking any specific lesson plans or instructional resources, but blessed with plenty of time, eager students, and friendly and helpful staff, we got to work. Regular classes had been canceled all week for our teaching, so we had plenty of students and plenty of time. We began by playing a rhythm game with the blind class to try to illustrate the concept of a "steady beat" in music. They would tap their thighs and then clap to a beat established by us (up on the drum,) and then take turns chanting an introduction, followed by a list of each other's names. The staff urged us to teach them games and songs in English where possible, as they were all studying English as part of their daily curriculum. The game went well enough, but especially because the students were blind, it was a little bit challenging for them to recall the order in which everyone was seated around the circle. In time, though, even the young ones got it. We finished the morning by teaching them the classic hit, "Row, row, row your boat," first as a melody, and then in a round. The students had beautiful, clear voices, and despite the language barrier (I mean, can you imagine singing a round in Vietnamese in one hour?) learned the song quite well. We finished off the day by teaching them the basics of the "ABC" song. Here are some pictures from our singing class:

These two girls were start students and leaders among their classmates. Great voices, too.

The girl on the right was a great guitar student. The boy at left was learning to play piano, and had a very nice singing voice.

Throughout the week, we taught our blind students introductory lessons on guitar and piano as well. These lessons presented all sorts of new challenges and insights for us. Certainly we gained an appreciation for the extra determination and effort our blind students put into learning their instruments. Instead of teaching through visual imitation, we had to physically show the students the difference between black ("skinny") keys and white ("fat") keys, by guiding their fingers along the keyboard. During the guitar class, Catt, Ms. Tho and I were able to instruct almost nine students at one time, thanks to the many donations of guitars the Degenhardt Foundation had obtained for the school, but it took a little while to demonstrate the fingering to each student. They were very patient, though, and in time we were able to teach basic chords to everyone. Many of the guitars were in need of new strings and picks, though, so we are hoping to send some new ones over in the future. Also, the ability level of the students varied quite considerably. Most were beginners, but two or three were quite advanced. We hope to organize another trip in the future in which we can bring several music teachers to the school and give the students more individualized attention on their instruments.

This student in particular was very, very talented on the guitar. He could pick up almost anything by ear, immediately.

Performing "Imagine" with voice, piano, and guitar.

Further on in the week, we also taught the children "If You're Happy and You Know it," complete with all of the dance motions, and as the final, big song, "Imagine" by John Lennon. The lyrics were very difficult for the children, but with hard work and dedication, they learned it in its entirety. They each have portable braille devices, which they can use to transcribe the spoken lyrics into braille on paper, punching out each letter. Each student created their own sheet of "Imagine" lyrics. We spent a lot of time reviewing the lyrics, their pronunciation, and their meaning. There were not very many dry eyes in the house when they performed the song at the end of our time together.

The children reading braille lyrics

Our singing class, as we would sit each day.

Reading the lyrics.

Our music classroom

The next morning we had our first dance class. This time most of our students were deaf. This made things a little bit easier, mainly because even if they weren't deaf, we still wouldn't have been able to understand each other (given our lack of Vietnamese), and the students were extremely talented at deciphering body language, reading facial expressions, etc. The interpretation took a while, because first we had to interpret our English instructions to Vietnamese (via Ms. Tho,) then Ms. Tho had to interpret the Vietnamese to the sign-language interpreter, and finally, the sign language interpreter would sign to the students instructions. You can imagine the chaos that ensued once we tried to teach an eight count dance step. I never realized how much we use shouted instruction (and lack of eye contact) in dance class. Instead of counting off "1, 2, 3, 4..." etc, we had to remember to count off on our fingers, raised high above our heads, while performing dance steps for the class to mirror.

We started off by playing some ice breakers- charades, followed by a series of dance stretches and warm-ups. It was all giggles after that and we decided to break down the steps of the waltz for them. The kids, to their credit, were wonderfully patient, energetic, and fun over the course of our two and a half hour session that morning. We had such a blast teaching them the waltz- and got a work-out, too. We devised a system where we used the green and white checker pattern of the tile floor in our classroom to teach them the basic steps on their own, first. Later we would put it all together, matching them up in pairs. Once everyone paired up to dance, we would beat a drum in three-count on the floor so that some of them could feel the inner rhythm/vibrations and dance to the beat more easily. At the end of the lesson, we divided the class up into two groups so that they could perform for each other.

Our dance class was very special to us. During breaks, the students would give us hugs, play games with us, and teach us there own dialect of sign language. Unlike the States, where we have ASL, in Vietnam there is no "standardized" sign language. Thus, the sign language taught in the Mekong River Delta is a completely different dialect than, say, sign language in Danang or Hanoi. It even differs from the sign language of Saigon, just a two hour journey north. As a result of this lack of standardization, (and also, of course, because resources for deaf children in schools are expensive), our deaf students typically were far behind the blind children in their academic subjects. This is of no fault of their own, but a result of the need for more resources for them. The number of staff that could communicate to them in detail in sign language was a bit limited. That said, though, the teachers were extremely dedicated, and certainly did the absolute best they could, given their limited resources, materials and funding. One of our most treasured souvenirs from all of our travels is the care-worn sign language picture book one of our students presented to us at the end of our tenure in Ben Tre. When we come back to Ben Tre again, we should be able to communicate much more easily!

our dance class rehearsing the waltz

the waltz can be tricky when you're dancing it alone!

Megan demonstrating the steps

sometimes everything would just break down into total hilarity

Megan keeping the beat for the deaf dance class by beating a drum on the floor

Dancers watching half of the class perform

On our last day of classes, we adjourned early for an assembly. All staff, students, and even the local Ben Tre press (complete with photographer!) came to take pictures and watch the fruits of our students efforts. Our dancers performed the waltz, followed by a modern dance we choreographed for them. Our singers and guitarists performed "Row your Boat," "ABCs," and last of all, "Imagine." They did a wonderful job. Here are some pictures:

Singers on stage at the assembly

Students having a laugh on break from the assembly.

This student was the star singer who sang to us when we first arrived. He also performs at tourist shows at local hotels. Hopefully he can get a scholarship to music school at university.

In the end, though, I was unable to get away from the request for "disco dancing." The staff insisted that I teach them, along with the students, a few hip-hop moves. It was one of those mortifying moments that somehow transformed into being completely hysterical, liberating and uplifting. We all danced around in a huge circle. It was great. Here are some pics of disco dancing, Vietnamese-style.

During the week, we were assisted greatly by the help of Ms. Tho, our interpreter, (and incidentally a guitarist,) who was instrumental (no pun intended) in assisting with instruction as well as interpretation. Ms. Tho and her husband love music, too- especially the Beatles- and she helps teach an English course at the local university. We want to give a big thanks to Ms. Tho from the bottom of our hearts. Hopefully we will meet again one day in Vietnam! We are searching for a good picture from Megan's camera to post of Ms. Tho. Hopefully we can do that in the future. We also want to say thank you to the kind members of the teaching staff that ushered us to and from lessons each day. Those motorcycle rides were unforgettable. I can now ride side-saddle on a motorbike, carrying bags, cameras, etc, in a dress, no problem. Catt can, too! Just kidding.

While in Ben Tre, we stayed at the Hung Vuong Hotel, set prominently on the riverside. Our outside-of-school routine was simple and sweet- each day we would wait for teachers from the school to pick us up on the backs of their motorbikes for the fifteen minute ride to work for the day. They would return us for an hour and a half lunch recess, and then we would return in the afternoons. In the evenings, we'd poke around the market, get several smoothies from the greatest fruit shake lady in Vietnam, check up on internet at the post office, and work tediously on our curriculum and lesson plans for the next day's classes.

Riding to work on motorbikes in Ben Tre, Vietnam

Here are some pictures of our time, after school, in Ben Tre:

On the riverfront in Ben Tre

sunset over Ben Tre in the Mekong River Delta

The greatest fruit shake lady in the whole of Vietnam. We'd get a mixed shake (Vietnamese style, with condensed milk for sweetness) almost every night after work.

View from our hotel, the Hung Vuong Hotel, at night

One of our last nights in Ben Tre, Ms. Thuy (the vice principal,) Mr. Minh (a teacher at the school who speaks excellent English,) and another teacher took us out for white coffee and fresh fruit at the new, flash coffee shop on the Ben Tre riverfront. As the moon rose, and the music went on into the night, we had a wonderful conversation about music's ability to empower young people, and the importance of having a strong music program at the school. Most of the children live there, away from their families, because it is the only school in Ben Tre Province with staff and facilities specifically catering to deaf and blind students. Ms. Thuy explained to us that music can be a source of inspiration, creativity, community, and empowerment in the lives of these young people. We couldn't agree more. We want to say thank you to the staff and administrators of the Ben Tre School for making this inspiration a reality in the lives of the young students who call the dormitories of Ben Tre home. You have forever made a difference in their lives, and you certainly have forever made a difference in ours. We will see you again one day.

Us with Ms. Thuy, Vice Principal of Ben Tre School