Y Ban and friends

Just gotten back from a dinner hosted by Y Ban and her sculptor husband Tran Hoang Co. Their daughter translated for me and Karen Turner whom wrote "Even the women must fight" about Vietnamese Viet Cong women fighters. The sculptures in the ground floor were amazing you can see Crocodile Dancing in the photo with Tran next to it. We did not discuss Y Ban's work since her daughter is only about 15 (Y Ban writes about abortions, affairs and domestic violence). But she has said that we will meet again and bring along an adult translator next time. She's also offered to help get my work translated into Vietnamese- which is wonderful. Here is also a picture of myself Karen and Y Ban.
Also recently I have been to Yen Tu mountain which is where the spiritual lineage of Thich Nhat Hanh comes from. The picture is of the stupas where monks remains are cremated- we did a sitting mediation there and had lunch. The scenery is breathtaking as you can see.
I also saw the largest bronze Buddha in Vietnam (pictured) and a village that is owned by a famous lacquer artistThanh Cuong. His lacquer painting is also pictured.