We were escorted into another very formal meeting room with the ceremonial chairs placed purposefully around the perimeter of the room. These were big square wooden intricately carved chairs, with side tables strategically positioned between each two chairs, the two largest of which were on one side of the room (I guess for when very special dignitaries and the University President were present). Water was brought and poured and I waited with several younger aides until the VP quite ceremoniously arrived. The VP did not speak English and Thiem attempted to translate everything I said until it became obvious that the VP's aide had a very strong grasp of English and quite embarrassingly (to Thiem) took over the translating. I brought greetings from Yale University, which has had a signed "memorandum of understanding" with them for some 5 years now, acknowledging that I was not there to speak on behalf of Yale, only to bring greetings and suggestions that there were other depts and professors at Yale who might wish to engage in dialogue and possible internship opportunities, particularly in the areas of language, philosophy, arts, medicine, architecture & planning and that always the South East Asian Studies program would welcome collaborations and exchanges. I particularly mentioned Dr. Quang Phu Van, Erik Harms and Dean Sakamoto at Yale with whom I have been discussing these ideas.

The VP acknowledged our relationship and indicated that Hue University is in need of all the professional expertise it can access in the areas I mentioned. He apologized that our relationship has not been closer and indicated that he sees our meeting today as a chance to begin a more intimate and productive working relationship. At the end of the session, I presented him with a small token of appreciation in the form of a commemorative medallion from the city's 350th Anniversary back in 1988. In response, I was presented with the largest, heaviest plaque of some sort, the likes of which I've never seen in a big gold ornate frame. It must weigh about 10 lbs.

Visit to Artists Exhibition

Following a walk around the health fair which was occurring at the university in conjunction with the Hue Festival, we proceeded to the Arts Foundation exhibition hall just down the street where I was finally able to catch up with Mr. Le Duc Thanh, and later his twin brother, both of whom are important contemporary artists in Hue. Quang had put me in touch with them via e-mail and suggested I meet them. They are both performance artists as well as artists who specialize in the ancient art of Vietnamese lacquer, although their work utilizes this ancient craft in a very contemporary flair. They had organized this show at the foundation center, which features a 2nd floor gallery that they curate. Thanh has visited the US several times and spent time in New Haven in conjunction with the Yale School of Art and the South East Asia program. He was very welcoming and we toured the gallery together after meeting briefly in his very new, yet unfinished office. Following a viewing of an installation video performance by him and his brother which focused on the reunification efforts between North and South Vietnam, he introduced me to the director of an important Vietnamese dance project who had just arrived at the hall to begin preparations for a master class he would teach later that day. We parted with the promise to keep in touch and explore ideas for New Haven artists to visit his studio residency in Hue and Hue artists to come to New Haven.

An Afternoon of Arranging Travel

Our trusty aide and handler, Thiem, offered to spend the afternoon helping us arrange our onward travel (after a quick trip to the Post office to see if there was any possibility of shipping my plaque back to the states so I might avoid the need to lug it with me for the next week - unfortunately at US$79 it didn't make much sense to bother). We had a nice lunch in the hotel garden bar where Thiem ordered a small steak and french fries so he could test out his abilities with a knife and fork. He did pretty well but decided he'd stick with chopsticks in the future.

After several excruciating hours of research on the lobby internet, Kelly and I decided to splurge on our trip to Hoi An, our next intended city on our itinerary, and stay at th 5* Victorian Resort and Spa on the ocean just outside of town. At $127 it's extremely expensive by Vietnamese standards, but probably about half of what we'd spent last year for a tiny room in central London with next to no amenities. The City of Hue has graciously insisted we use a City driver for the 3 hour drive to Hoi An and in spite of our protests, I guess that's what will happen.

Official Dinner of the Mayor's Office

At 6pm trust and efficient Thu arrived to transport us to the restaurant where I'd had breakfast on Sunday (was that only two days ago . . . seems like a week or more has passed) with her boss, Mr. Nyien. We continued on to another hotel where we picked up four more visitors, all from France, who were there on a mission similar to mine. Once at the hotel, we met two gentlemen from Korea - one of whom's English was so good, I mistook him for an American.

We dined with the Deputy Mayor (or Vice Chairman, actually) of the City and other members of his staff, including the ever friendly and fun Mr Nyien who sat directly across from me. A lot of good French wine (I guess it was good) was served although in 100 degree heat it was probably not the best thing to be drinking. An elaborate meal was served, with dish after dish being presented. Kelly was starting to feel faint from the constant stream of endless exotic dishes.

I had an interesting conversation with Philipe across the table from he, who runs a forestry program back in France but is working with some people in Hue on a re-forestation project to amend areas of the Hue countryside and province which are still impacted from the war. I suggested there might be some opportunity to dialogue with the Forestry School at Yale although I wasn't sure if there was anyone there with particular interest or expertise in tropical forestry.

The dinner ended early as both the French contingent and the Koreans had evening plans for the festival. As exhausted as we were, Kelly & I were just as happy to go back to the hotel to call it an early night.

To be continued...

Source: http://www.traveljournals.net