it is said that in Vietnam they grow rice, in Cambodia they watch it grow, and in Laos they awake after it's grown! but don't let that fool you... the implied productivity is relative; the Vietnamese are far from expeditious! none of our buses have left on time and this morning our taxi back to My Tho was an hour late (not ideal when we could have been sleeping)! equally frustrating has been the lethargic "service" at restaurants; even waiting for drinks takes about 10 mins, which is ironic considering the waiters stand at the table waiting for an order as soon as you're seated even though you haven't yet had a chance to look at the menu! but, i guess waiting is part of their culture. i've been told "in the US they have watches. in Vietnam they have time!"
as you can imagine it has been extremely frustrating for me with my punctuality and type-A personality. for example, yesterday we had an hour for lunch before we were supposed to be at the bus station for a 1pm departure back to Saigon. although i ordered a salad (no cooking required!) it took 40mins and was the last dish to come out! we then rushed down the street only to wait 30mins until the bus arrived and we could board! and what is the worst is that we KNEW the bus would be late, but we couldn't risk being late because it was the last bus out (what if it DID leave on time?!). organization and predictability are not exactly Vietnam's strong suits.
what they lack in efficiency in planning, though, they make up in all other aspects. they are extremely efficient with preserving as much as they can of anything and everything. a walk through the market will bring you past stalls of meat, nothing gone to waste. (you want pig heart? they've got it! liver? intestines? brain? yup! what about hoofs, tail, ears, or head? they've got that, too!) and on the streets you can pass people dismantling electronics to separate the materials. (wire! chips! copper!) so it is no surprise that their efficiency has found it's way to the building trade; if concrete drops to the ground when laying bricks, well, pick it up and mix it back into the batch!
and i can tell you that a lot of concrete does plop to the ground with our novice skills! today we were laying bricks again at the "country house" where the walls are only 4 feet high around 2 of the 4 perimeter walls. the previous group had spent 2 weeks bringing it to that point. the construction process starts with site-clearing. then the 6 foundation pits are dug (about 2 feet deep) at the footings of 6 columns (two in the front, two in the middle at the center wall, and two at the back for the rear wall). a shallower foundation (about 14inches) is then dug between each of the column footings. from there rebar is unbent (it is delivered in large rings, so by hand we need to straighten it out!) and is then connected to make a square tube by lacing square rings through 4 straight pieces of rebar. those metal "columns" are laid horizontally in the perimeter and middle wall foundation and connected to vertical columns of rebar. once the structural metal is all in place the concrete mixing begins and the form-work gets laid to provide edges in which to pour the concrete. this is the strong concrete that i have mentioned, which contains the rock aggregate. the perimeter foundation and middle wall foundation is poured, then sets, and then the columns are poured once the form-work is built. at every few feet up the columns there are metal ties added which will be pulled out when the walls are being laid so that the walls will tie in with the structure. once the foundations and columns are up and set, the brick work remains! course by course the bricks are laid and the concrete mixed (without aggregate) using string as the guides by which the walls are made flush horizontally and vertically. all brick walls are 1 wythe thick, and the bricks are not solid (presumably to save money on material and shipping costs as well as perhaps acting as a thermal barrier b/c of the air cavity that is "built in"). the metal ties are laid in the brick mortar as the wall goes up. next, the lintels/ headers above the doors and windows are framed and again, rebar beams are made and concrete poured in the form-work. from there the wooden beams are installed and the corrugated metal roof nailed down. then aggregate is laid on the floor (from rocks, broken used bricks, old tiles, etc) is smashed down and sand with concrete is poured over it and then water to form a concrete mat foundation. the ceramic tiles are then pressed into the wet concrete and then bonded together with grout. and then, doors are installed, windows installed, and "Uncle Ho" moves in along with the rest of the family!
appologies if building sciences bore you, however i thought you may be interested in the construction practice here, seeing as that is what i am here to do! but since the work day is over and it's now 6:30 i'm going to run to go get drinks with our group! that is another thing that i am here to do: have fun!!