Day 2: During Which I am Boiled, Beaten and Renounce Capitalism

   I am actually working quite hard here. I am picked up from my hotel at 8:30 AM by Vinh, the university driver who takes me to the Hanoi University of Science (20 – 30 min drive, after which I will never complain about Boston drivers again).  Starting around 9:15 I meet with Drs Quang, Duc and Hoang for 2.5 hours to go over in detail their new curriculum and what I see as strengths, weaknesses, problems, how it relates to what we do at Tufts, etc. These sessions, which are the reason I was invited, are, I believe, actually quite useful for them. We clear up a number of misunderstandings and I begin to understand the powerful constraints that the bureaucracy here puts on any effort to change the system.

   Then they take me out to a gigantic lunch (how are all these people so thin?) with many exotic local dishes (this is definitely not the place to keep kosher) and some local beer. I then have a few minutes to prepare my afternoon Powerpoint presentation which goes from about 2 – 4. Then a few brief minutes packing up, my driver endeavors to drive me home through rush hour Hanoi. Today, however, they have a new surprise in store for me (they tend not to give me much warning) and Mr Nga, Director of International Relations, shows up to tell me he has a special treat in store – he and Dr. Huan are taking me to the absolutely best Vietnamese water therapy and message parlor in all of Hanoi.

   At 5 PM we set out for the  Huong Sen Institute of Acupuncture. Fully equipped with separate areas for men and women – this is one place no tourist would ever stumble onto (it is in an outlying district and down a rather narrow and obscure alley. What is interesting is that Vinh, the driver is included in this rather special outing.  He is a nice man who braves the most insane traffic I have ever seen to pick me up every morning and drive me back to my hotel every evening. If anyone deserves a treat, it is that poor soul and I am deeply pleased that my visit has provided an excuse for him to enjoy this perk.

  The Huong Sen institute is quite a scene and there are definitely no instructions printed in English.  I follow my colleagues example, getting undressed and then handed a pair of boxer shorts in which I first take a cleansing shower (boy is that water HOT). Then I head for a small individual wooden barrel into which I barely fit and filled with HOT water and some herbal “restorative” that ends up leaving my skin stinging like hell. From there I move into a modern individual hydrotherapy tub with (you guessed it) HOT water jets and more herbal restorative.  This would be extremely relaxing if it weren’t for the stinging I experience over every inch of my body. From there it is into the obligatory steam room (kinda warm) for 10 minutes or so and then into the sauna room (which actually feels a bit cool to me – what’s with these wussies?). Finally, it is back into the shower, a quick towel down and we are awarded with a new pair of boxer shorts and a robe. We then each head off to a small room for a full hour Vietnamese message. Either this is normally an extremely  intense message or this young woman is making a powerful political statement against western imperialist tendencies.  I start out as resolute as John McCain, but do finally break down and fully admit the errors of our capitalist ways  when she starts walking on my back (she was not all that light!).  One thing of note – she really thought my beard was hilarious and couldn’t stop giggling  - must have tickled her fingers when she was doing the face message.

  After I get dressed, the whole event is completed in a dining room in which I am served ginger tea (very powerful!) and some kind of fish soup. I’m trying to think what would be the Boston equivalent to this experience, but absolutely nothing comes to mind.  Any suggestions?