Adventures with Khanh

Every journey comes with a bit of adventure; mine starts today heading towards Bim Son, not far from Ninh Binh. I arrive early at the train station and buy a ticket, which was easy. I pass the time with my cheap Gameboy. The train is rustic and slow, and the dining car is huge. Khanh picks me up, and I definitely stand out. At his home, there's Vietnamese home cooking, and then we head to the police station. I need some sort of permit to be allowed to move around there. Apparently, tourists aren't allowed everywhere; that's new to me. Probably it's not even necessary, but Khanh wants it to show the parents of his students. He is very rule-oriented. It's a bit like Asterix conquers Rome. We visit several different rooms. The police officer wants to see my visa, but I don’t have one (EU citizens can travel for 45 days without a visa). Then he wants a passport photo, which I don’t have. Okay, once he has sorted out the visa situation somehow, he asks for an entry document. Again, I explain that I don’t have one. So I get the paperwork done, paying a fee of 100,000 Dong, and that was it.

Back at the school, the first students arrive. 9-11 years old, some are curious, some shy. We talk a few preset sentences. I assist a bit with the young students. Then they try to teach me a few Vietnamese words and laugh at my pronunciation. What fun! Then it goes to the advanced students. Each can speak with me for 2 minutes. Videos are being made for the parents. I find it very amusing; they have energy. Everyone who dares gets two little bees from me. There's a wild commotion during the group photo. At dinner with Khanh, I notice that I am being secretly photographed. These are now the teenagers. Khanh says I'm the first foreigner they have seen. So I go to them and take selfies. Wild, very wild. Especially the teenage girls. I am an attraction and surely now seen on several Instagram profiles. Khanh's family is very nice; his wife also teaches English. His father always offers me fruits, and his sons are very lively.

Day 19. Khanh has a day off, Teacher's Day in Vietnam, seems to be an important holiday. The man has so much self-discipline to get up at 5 AM to exercise. He tries to be a good role model for his students and teaches them respect for their parents. He studied engineering for 5 years in Hanoi, then returned to his family and founded the school. First, Khanh shows me his garden, great. Chickens, fish, fruit, and vegetables – everything is tasted. He asks me if I want to catch and slaughter a fish. No, thanks. Khanh, Mai (his wife), his cousin, and I make our way to the local market for breakfast. There’s a kind of rice pancake. I don’t mind that I stand out. Then we head to a mountain with a huge three-headed Buddha statue. It’s not very old either. Religion is on the rise here. He tells me a lot about the history and the region. We walk a few meters to traditional houses. The people let us in and share a lot of stories. They have their own 200-year-old temple, dedicated by a king. Khanh says they are rich people. An older man shows me his DDR driver's license from Schmalkalden. We smoke a cigarette together, but there’s not much communication possible. Khanh doesn’t really understand the DDR situation. In the neighboring house lives his grandmother's sister or something. His family practices ancestor worship, like almost all Vietnamese. We greet the ancestors with incense sticks. The shrine is always passed on to the eldest son. All other family members must go to his house to honor the ancestors. Lunch is at home today; chicken that they have slaughtered. Around 1 PM, it’s nap time; every day. Why not? I sleep on the classroom floor. It’s fine. He is very proud of his tea preparation. Green tea isn’t really my thing. In the evening we visit a former teacher of Khanh; his classmates are also there for the holiday. We eat on the floor; there’s hot pot. It couldn’t get more authentic. Seafood, meat, vegetables, tofu, noodles. I tried a lot; they keep offering me more to test me. I don’t touch the fertilized eggs and stuff like that. There’s beer and rice wine that hits hard. Everyone wants to drink with me, making the mood rise quickly. I have to hold them back. When you toast, the person who is younger or lower in hierarchy toasts below. Since I am older than Khanh's classmates, everyone toasts lower with me. Except for the old teacher, with whom I do it the other way around. I mentioned that I taught at a university and am now considered a teacher too. Later we go to a karaoke bar, a shielded metallic room that’s infinitely loud. I perform '99 Luftballons' and 'Du Hast' by Rammstein. They’re so nice, even though we can't converse. Wild experience, but I understand why it is so popular here. No photos!

Wednesday, 19.11.2025. I smile my hangover away. For breakfast, there’s again something local. Khanh knows everyone here, as many are his students. The woman at the snack bar gifts me a coconut because I practiced English with her son on Monday. Khanh shares the enthusiastic reactions of the parents and children. We all go to the next town for shopping again. I couldn't figure out why the cousin lives with them. With her, we go to a market, and we eat sweet, cold soup. We visit another teacher of Khanh to deliver gifts. Throughout the day, parents and children repeatedly come to his school to deliver gifts and chat. I also receive a gift for Teacher's Day and plenty of food for the trip (Bun Dumplings). I give them a melon and my UNO game. In the evening, the neighbor takes me to the night bus for a small fee and waits patiently with me. Otherwise, I would have been lost. On the bus, there are only Vietnamese, and it’s packed with luggage. I have a three-person cabin with a young Vietnamese, and he shares his food with me. These rides aren't very refreshing. And not much drinking, as there is only a break every 2 hours. Best experience so far on the trip. It won't get better.

Weather topic: It’s overcast, and there’s a bit of rain now and then. In the evening, it starts to rain continuously. Khanh said the monsoon is coming. Very unusual during the dry season. As you can tell from the clothing, the temperatures have dropped significantly. It's gotten really cold. The weather forecast also predicts a lot of rain. I was able to expand my vocabulary significantly to 7 words. New: một, hai, ba (1, 2, 3 see also toast), tạm biệt (bye), and Đức (Germany).