Today, we got up early, had a great breakfast at the hotel, then was picked up by Ms. Nguyen and Ms. Hieu to first go to the High School for the Gifted for a two hour presentation. It is the rainy season here and the season lived up to its name with showers all morning. Everywhere, people wearing plastic ponchos were riding on their motorcycles and scooters. It’s the most amazing thing to watch literally hundreds of these two-wheelers mixed in with cars and taxis and pedestrians somehow figure it all out and move without hitting each other. After our quiet life in relatively small Huntsville, this city is amazingly dynamic, energetic, and busy. Actually, I love this pace and the energy that is exuded. I’m sure after awhile, I would get tired of it but right now, I’m just kind of eating it up. Here’s to Asian cities! Just as I loved Tokyo, Kobe, and Tskuba in Japan, I love being here. I think I would be happy to live here although I suppose that time for me has passed. So I will be satisfied with the life I have back in the USA but if I were younger . . . well, who knows?
The class that greeted us were full of bright and shining and happy faces who were eager to hear the story of the Rocket Boys. Of course, I’ve written ten books now with two more on its way but it’s Rocket Boys/October Sky that everyone wants to know about and that’s fine. It’s my classic and I’m proud of it. There was no need for a translator as these teenagers all work hard to learn English. I told the story of growing up in Coalwood and how I had two dreams, one to work for NASA and the other to be a writer. The school wanted me there to help these students think about what their dreams might be and how to plan to make them come true. The reaction from the students was very good. They paid attention even though the room was warm and laughed at my jokes (always a good sign). Afterwards, they were loaded with questions. Many students said they were trying hard to discover what their dreams were. I responded that this is the hardest part. A lovely time at this great school.
Our ladies from the International Institute of Education – Vietnam then took us to a “vegetarian” restaurant named Hoa Dang. They said when we had barbeque, we wouldn’t be able to tell it from meat and they were right. We stuffed ourselves with this great food.
Afterwards, we headed to the Institute of Potential Leaders (IPL) at the Pace Corp. to meet with adult students, journalists, and representatives of Dan Tri publishers which is issuing the Vietnamese version of Rocket Boys. For three hours, I talked and fielded questions from these nice folks. There will be some articles in the local newspapers. By the way, we received some great gifts today, a wall hanging of a traditional Vietnamese scene and a fantastic inlaid wood work of art showing children riding water buffalos. Amazingly beautiful and true works of art. We’re going to have to be extra careful to get them home successfully. We also received a beautiful orchid bouquet that would cost a fortune in the USA.
It was dark by the time we got back to the hotel and I thought maybe I deserved a gin and tonic after this long day so… well, let’s say I got what I deserved.
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