Vietnam: A Television History; Sondra Williams - Education - Chi Long - South Vietnam

The you do you get the you go to the you know the you who the guy who ran in the thunder way in and forgot pastore. And i went to school in texas korea. And then the classics. I was interested in coming to vietnam in the summer of

sixty five. So are flattered i have and came to vietnam. As an english teacher and was an a a stand in a technical school and then long in the delta. And after teaching there for a year they opened a new program idea. Its list of. The girls in community development. And so i asked to switch to community development and refugee work. And with this change came the change in station. And i was sent here to ban me to it or am now working in community development. Where and she's on right now. And here we have one car drive from the hundreds of programming bunny to it. Who works for the girls here all the time teaching sewing and cooking. And encouraging home improvement. And i have family my. The girls that i work with from bonnie to and i come out here very often to visit. The classes to make sure the condrey are kept up to date on the things that are happening and how about the congress because many times their classes are too large and they do need some help to the student. And then we visit home to make sure projects

are carried on to whom you. Americans see pictures and. Homes in vietnam. Makes the poverty. They see people making. Maybe even a cup of rice. And a little bit a fish to go along with it. B.c. i don't know any people sleeping on one bed not even if they had maybe just. Just don't board table. And they think all this is really awful. But actually. Their way of life is very practical. For instance sleeping on the hard bed to court. You had a mattress for me very hot to eat. You can eat a heavy food over here because the weather mostly time is so hot. So might float like rice and say this is what we need to eat now after being here for a while and american food is just too heavy for us to learn many things we would look at and say oh yeah this is really terrible. Let's go over there and change their way of life. But actually they don't need it. And it's not very practical for the you

know the the the the the the. The the the i'm what. I think the very often in the villages we're going to the homes of the students and. Home improvement class. And when we go it's not to criticize our don't tell them. You know what they can do to improve their homes. Not just that. It's more or less to get to know the families. It's more of a social visit than anything else. Because unless you get to know them and they're confident. And you really can't do any work at all and he was that black thing.

Let me go to the home. Is leave the family all gathers around and then the other people nearby. Here that were visiting the home and come over to really have great conversations just about everything. And in to long especially if they want to talk about the north. Conforms to the people there are north vietnamese. And they talk about the old days and what they did in one hundred i was like. But i have. I've never heard them. Criticize where they live now or i've never heard them say that they want to go back. Even though they probably do. Because in vietnam. Your birthplace and slice of your childhood and where you spent most of your life. Is always something you want to return to the

the i really like getting out in the villages because the people there seem so different from the people in the cities. The provincial capitals. The people are polite. Grateful for any work. That people want help them to. One day for instance if you see any stars going high find. Bali and i were in the car. And a small child. Ran up to the tire to stocks of sugar came and said oh and when she said. I want to give these to you too. And then she ran away very quickly. Well i went over to her house and. Thank all the children who are there cutting your sugar cane and another came out and i said thank you very much and they stand there thank you. Because one of their students was in our class there. And they're just very grateful people. The new you know

the you know who the buddha who's you know who's you the now. Who has the news you know who's. The you.