"A butterfly goes wherever it pleases, and pleases wherever it goes."

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Butterflies--And a Chance to Win a Prize!

As you know I’m in Vietnam to help keep track of (to monitor) the butterfly population in Tam Dao National Park. I’m going to tell you a bit about my days here, and then there’s a quiz. The first person (this includes students and their family members) to post all the correct answers to this quiz will receive a special present from Vietnam.

6:30 am: wake up, shower, get dressed, tidy up room
7:30 am: breakfast of hard boiled 2 duck eggs and a baguette (this is a small loaf of French bread), tea or coffee
9:30 am: Walk a transect. My reading students might remember that a transect is an area of land that is marked on a chart. In each transect there are regions—usually 9. We walk the transect very slowly and look for butterflies. Mostly we see these white butterflies that have black spots. They are very common here and in the United States. We call them cabbage butterflies because they eat cabbage plants. I bet you’ve seen them around!
1:30 pm: Lunch. Lunch is a large meal in Vietnam, much larger than breakfast and about the same size as dinner. There are two of us who do not eat meat so luckily there are lots of things for us to eat, which include boiled cabbage, chayote, eggplant, and French Fries. They do not seem to have drinks of any sort with their meals—no water, pop, or milk (actually I have not seen any milk since I’ve been in Vietnam).
2:30 pm: walk a different transect.
5:00 pm: rest (sometimes I sleep, sometimes I read—I have been reading The Thief Lord in preparation for book club).
6:30: dinner. Many different dishes, always rice is served second to last (not with the meal). Fruit (like bananas, mangoes or a wonderful fruit called dragon fruit) is served at the very end. This is our only dessert. No cookies, cakes, or ice cream.
7:30: walk to computer/internet café and wait, wait, wait for pages to load. Sometimes it takes me two hours to post one passage like this one. No joke!
10:30 pm: read and bedtime.

For the quiz: I have posted photos of four butterflies and moths. To win a prize, look carefully at each photo and tell me if it is a photo of a butterfly or a moth. I will give you a hint: there is at least one of each, and here is a reminder of the differences between the two: moths are usually fuzzier, when they land they usually lay their wings flat, and they have straight antennas. Butterflies usually (not always) have clubbed antenna, when they land they hold their wings up above their bodies, and they usually (but not always) fly during the day while moths usually (but again not always) fly during the night. Be sure to label your answers like this: A. Moth B. Butterfly C. Moth (all of these answers are made up).

50 comments:

Anonymous said...

A. butterfly
B. moth
C. moth
d. butterfly

By Mikey

Anonymous said...

A. butterfly
B. moth
C. butterfly
D. moth

By KAITLIN

Anonymous said...

A.butterfly
B.moth
C.butterfly
D.butterfly

By Mikey

Anonymous said...

Picture D is a moth and picture C is a butterfly. I can't believe it Can take you so long to write one paragraph! Are computers in Vietnam slower than the ones here? Please Answer me in your next blog.Is life a lot different in Vietnam? I hope you are having lots of fun. What is your main job?
-Sienna

Anonymous said...

A.moth
B.butterfly
c.moth
d.moth

Anonymous said...

A. moth
B. moth
C. butterfly
D. butterfly
Jamie

Anonymous said...

1. Do you think that there are fewer behavior problems in Vietnamese schools than compared to United States schools, because of how teachers can punish students? Explain your answer.
Yes! I think that there is not very many behavior problems. Because the kids get hit, pinched, and get striked.

2. In United States public schools, poor children can get free or cheaper school lunches. The taxes your parents pay help pay for this program. But in Vietnam poor kids go home for lunch. Which system do you think is better? Do you think it is fair that the taxes your parents have to pay go toward paying for poor kids’ lunches? Explain your answer.
I think everybody should get free lunches or cheap lunches. I wouldn’t want to walk all the way home just to eat lunch. And I bet the people in Vietnam would rather not walk home then getting a free lunch or a cheap lunch also.

3. In the United States, schooling is free until grade 12, when you hopefully graduate and get your high school diploma. What if we had a system like Vietnam’s, where only up until grade 9 is it free. How would this change our world? How would things be different in the United States? Explain your answer.
I can’t wait to read what you write. Today I had duck eggs for breakfast
We would be more rich. The school would not have a lot of money. And the schools would not be as good.

Anonymous said...

a.moth
b.butterfly
c.moth
d.moth
alexis

Anonymous said...

A Butterfly
B Moth
C Butterfly
D Moth

Sorry I put two but I forgot to put A and B in the posts.
-Sienna

Anonymous said...

1. Do you think that there are fewer behavior problems in Vietnamese schools than compared to United States schools, because of how teachers can punish students? Explain your answer.
Yes! I think that there is not very many behavior problems. Because the kids get hit, pinched, and get striked.

2. In United States public schools, poor children can get free or cheaper school lunches. The taxes your parents pay help pay for this program. But in Vietnam poor kids go home for lunch. Which system do you think is better? Do you think it is fair that the taxes your parents have to pay go toward paying for poor kids’ lunches? Explain your answer.
I think everybody should get free lunches or cheap lunches. I wouldn’t want to walk all the way home just to eat lunch. And I bet the people in Vietnam would rather not walk home then getting a free lunch or a cheap lunch also.

3. In the United States, schooling is free until grade 12, when you hopefully graduate and get your high school diploma. What if we had a system like Vietnam’s, where only up until grade 9 is it free. How would this change our world? How would things be different in the United States? Explain your answer.
I can’t wait to read what you write. Today I had duck eggs for breakfast
We would be more rich. The school would not have a lot of money. And the schools would not be as good.

Daniel

Anonymous said...

a.butterfly
b.moth
c.butterfly
d.moth
alexis

Anonymous said...

a.butterfly
b.moth
c.moth
d.moth

It took you that long to post.

by cody

Anonymous said...

i can not belive it took you two hours to just fill out one paragraph do you have a car you travel in?

Anonymous said...

A. butterfly
B. moth
C. butterfly
D. butterfly

Daniel O.

Anonymous said...

a.butterfly
b.moth
c.butterfly
d.butterfly



-Gabriella

Anonymous said...

Forget about the first blog and count the my second blog

P.S. SORRY


By Mikey

Anonymous said...

What do you travel in like a__________?

Anonymous said...

A.butterfly

B.moth

C.moth

D.moth

Daniel

Anonymous said...

I think it is interesting how butterflys fly at night. It was really hard to identify moths and butterflys. I like all the detail on the butterflys. The moths could easily be mixed up with the butterflys.

Daniel O.

Anonymous said...

I feel bad for you because for dessert you only eat friut and not cookies and all of the good food here




-Aaron

Anonymous said...

I really think it is amazing. The wing patterns is so different from all the other butterflies. It was really hard to identify the moths and butterflies. the butterflies easily get mixed up with the moths.

-Gabriella

Anonymous said...

Wow! i'm suprised of the classroom dirrerence. I mean, that classroom has a chalkboard and ours has a whiteboard. There's a huge difference.

Daniel

Anonymous said...

How were the duck eggs? Ihope they were good.I didn't Know it took you 2 hours to right some of your blogs. Well I hope your having fun in Vietnam. Bye!


by Mikey

Anonymous said...

I can't believe it took you 2 hours to load the blogs sorry I did another anwser.

A. butterfly
B. moth
C. butterfly
D. butterfly

This is the one I want. Please use this one. If not it's only fair. I hope you are enjoying Vietnam. I feel bad for the chicken. You're shedule sounds like you do not have any spare time. Well, it's time to say good-bye! Good-bye!!!
Jamie

Anonymous said...

I can't believe that it takes 2 hours to do just one blog!In Vietnam computers must be really slow!What do you do with the butterflies after you catch them?Do you let them go?It sounds like your having lots of fun in Vietnam.

By Kaitlin

Anonymous said...

I really think it is amazing. The wing patterns are so different from all the other butterflies. It was really hard to identify the moths and butterflies. the butterflies easily get mixed up with the moths.

-Gabriella

Anonymous said...

I really like the picture cute little kittens I also have kittens like that

-Aaron

Anonymous said...

What is the diference between a cocone and crysyles? Do you like your friends? That is cool that they are all teachers!

cody

Anonymous said...

A. butterfly
B. butterfly
C. moth
D. butterfly



by cade

Anonymous said...

A. butterfly
b.moth
c.moth
d. butterfly

Alyssa

Anonymous said...

I cant belive that it sometimes takes two hours to post a blog.

Alyssa

Anonymous said...

A. moth
B. butterfly
C. butterfly
D. butterfly

Hi Rachel-
how are you? How do you like Vietnam? Do you like the food and your job? I hope you are having fun!
can't wait too see you-
Elizabeth.

Anonymous said...

A.Moth
B.Moth
C.Butterfly
D.Butterfly
-Natalie****

Anonymous said...

Rachel, how do you like Vietnam? what percent of Vietnam speaks english? I still miss you terribly!-Natalie****

Anonymous said...

A. moth
B. butterfly
D. moth
C. butterfly


by joseph

Anonymous said...

A.butterfly
B.moth
C.butterfly
D.butterfly

Drew

Anonymous said...

I miss you Rachel!!!


Alyssa

Anonymous said...

A. Butterfly
B. Butterfly
C. Moth
D. Butterfly

Anonymous said...

A. Butterfly
B. Butterfly
C. Moth
D. Butterfly


Sierra

Anonymous said...

A.Butterfly
B.Moth
C.Butterfly
D.Moth

-Shafeen

Anonymous said...

A.butterfly
B.moth
C.moth
D.butterfly

-colten

Anonymous said...

a.butterfly
b.moth
c.moth
d.butterfly

frankie

Anonymous said...

A. Butterfly
B. Moth
C. Moth
D. Butterfly

Anonymous said...

A.Moth
B.Butterfly
C. Moth
D.Butterfly

-krystin

Anonymous said...

Wow! i'm suprised of the classroom dirrerence. I mean, that classroom has a chalkboard and ours has a whiteboard. There's a huge difference.Tahnks a lot for the pitures bye!

Daniel

Anonymous said...

Wow! i'm suprised of the classroom dirrerence. I mean, that classroom has a chalkboard and ours has a whiteboard. There's a huge difference.Thanks a lot for the pitures bye!

Daniel

Anonymous said...

I can not belive that it takes you two hours to make only one paragraph.I really want to no what duck eggs taste like? It really shocks me that there is no milk in Vietnam.I hope you are having a great time.
alexis

Anonymous said...

A.Butterfly
B.Butterfly
C.Butterfly
D.Moth

I really hope these are right. Of course, I didn't copy anyone elses' answers, but boy can these opinions vary! Although I read some, I didn't read all of them. Just in case, I'm going to tell you that your letters were in the wrong order. Yours went A,B,D,C, and my answers are for the letters, not the order they come in. In a clearer sense, where your D is, my C is, and my answer there is for C.
-Jacob

Anonymous said...

Robin wants me to write some more, something about something about something you did. From what you've written so far, it seems like duck eggs are a common food there. I don't think I could travel very far, because whenever I hear about what travelers eat when they go somewhere far away like Vietnam, I think, "Eww. I couldn't eat that." Speaking of Vietnamese food, what's chayote?
-Jacob

Anonymous said...

a butetrfly
b butterfly
c butterfly
d moth
I wonder if they have maids?Do you get to keep butterflys from there? what is a chayote? I did not know they had french fries there.

by:bryson

Three Teachers--Jeff, Rachel and Beth

Three Teachers--Jeff, Rachel and Beth

Red and Yellow

Red and Yellow
This one is beautiful and also quite common

Rare Green Butterfly

Rare Green Butterfly
This one is drinking water from a waterfall we hiked to

Tam Dao Classroom

Tam Dao Classroom
Yes, this is an actual classroom being used

Rachel at a Classroom Teacher's Desk in Tam Dao Primary and Secondary School

Rachel at a Classroom Teacher's Desk in Tam Dao Primary and Secondary School
Yes, this is an actual teacher desk

Tam Dao was once a summer retreat for wealthy French families when France occupied Vietnam

Tam Dao was once a summer retreat for wealthy French families when France occupied Vietnam
This is what's left of one French villa--there were over 400 here at one time, but were destroyed by the Vietnamese people in the 1950s

Hanoi Time

Hanoi