During the car ride I had spent a long time talking with Trinh's older brother despite the fact that he knew very little English. Trinh's older sister would occasionally make jokingly make a comment about me marrying Trinh. I got a lot of those comments over this weekend.
That night I shared a bamboo bed with Trinh's brother and father. I woke up the next day and took some picture around the house.
Huge dump trucks drove fast down this road in front of the house. While I was taking pictures, a dog ran into the middle of the road and got run over by a dump truck. Guts spilled out everywhere. Guess what we had for lunch.
Of course we didn't have the same dog but we did eat dog meat which was a little difficult to do after witnessing that scene.
However, before we had lunch we went to visit Phat Diem Cathedral. This cathedral was built around 100 years ago under the guidance of the priest Tran Luc. Parishioners prepared this once unstable sight by driving thousands of stakes into the flood plane followed by layers of earth, gravel, and bamboo rafts. It was here that Graham Greene watched the Viet Minh battle the French, which he would later right about in The Quiet American.
It is probably the most interesting church I have ever scene. Unlike St. Joseph's Cathedral in Hanoi, this stone structure isn't just a knock-off of European style architecture. It actually more resembles a Buddhist temple. However, as you can see, it features crosses and statues of the saints. Carved into the stone are also scenes from the passion.
Trinh told me that the cathedral was bombed during the war.
"Của Mỹ!" said her sister. (By America!)
I knew by her expression she was just joking around but I didn't know what to say so I just said "Xin lỗi. (sorry)"
Her family laughed and we continued walking around taking pictures. The site included smaller chapels around the larger structure as well as a grotto.
There are sometimes when the American War (Vietnam War for all you North Americans) is brought up and I'm not exactly sure how to act. The Vietnamese are never accusatory when they talk about it. However, it is clear that it is a victory they are proud of and they hold firm to the belief that they were in the right and America was in the wrong. I do agree that America was in the wrong during the war but since I didn't live through it, it's hard to feel any sort of feeling either way. Later that day I would meet a neighbor of the family who was a soldier during the war. He told me that he killed 15 American soldiers. However, he assured me that now America and Vietnam are friends. I told him that I was glad for that.
We came back and I met some relatives. Trinh has five brothers and one sister. Her father also has five brothers and I don't know how many sisters. Therefore, every hour or so I would be introduced to another uncle, aunt, or cousin.
That evening we drove around the countryside and took pictures.
That night we went to mass at the local church. It wasn't as big as the stone church but it was still quite large. It's been a while since I've gone to Catholic mass so I'm not sure how much was unique to Vietnam. However, at the end of the service, a brass band played some music which I never remember experiencing at a mass before. It caught me off guard because I didn't see them in the back of the church. I felt like I was at a pep rally.
Trinh's brother helpfully ran around the church during the mass to take pictures for me (try to spot me in the first picture).
I ended up going to mass three times that weekend. The next day I went with Trinh at around 10:00am. There were probably around 2,000 people there. Most of the people were sitting outside on plastic chairs.
The evening I visited some more relatives. One man showed me around his garden where he grew mint and his pond, which was full of fish. He told me everything in hand gestures although it would have actually been more helpful if he had spoken Vietnamese.
At around 4:00pm we went to evening mass. I joined a group of men walking around the church I think to symbolize walking Jesus's walk to Golgotha.
It was quite the musical experience. Chanting mixed with bells, flute playing, a brass band, and large drums. I've never seen this at a Catholic mass:
Some more pictures.
We came back, packed, and left for Hanoi. On the drive back we added two more people. It was a pretty uncomfortable four hour drive. I finally got back to my house around 12pm. It was an exhausting but exhilarating trip. Before I left, I thanked Trinh's parents. Trinh's mother told me to come back and visit again. I hope someday I can.
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