Cruisin' Ha Long Bay with the Red Storm

St. John's trip to Vietnam is wrapping up, and with our latest report from the team's trainer, Jennifer Hamilton, we learn a few things:

• Head coach Joanne Persico-Smith has The Pussycat Dolls on her iPod
  
• Jennifer has a background in cliff-jumping in limestone quarries
  
• You can't hunt squid when it's windy
  
• Water on Vietnamese cruise ships in Ha Long bay smells like moth balls

But another interesting tidbit comes not from Hamilton's report but from the Thanh Nien Daily. Turns out that Ngoc Hoa, a star for the VTV club team St. John's lost to in the finals of their tournament, has caught the eye of Persico-Smith.

In fact, she's "agreed to grant the 1.83m-tall Hoa a scholarship worth US$39,000 per year for two years" (or more if you use the Tomasevic Sliding Scale).

"Ngoc Hoa will become an international standard athlete if she has chances to compete abroad,” Persico-Smith is quoted as saying.

Now that's a pretty cool trip: travel to an exotic locale, get great experience against international competition, finish very high in the tournament, AND land another international athlete for your already varied roster.

But St. John's isn't the only one interested in Ngoc Hoa's services. Japanese club Shikuko is interested, and their coach "said he wanted Ngoc Hoa to play for his team for the last two months of the year when the Vietnam league ended."

So scholarship to St. John's in America, or play for Shikuko on the fabulous empire of Japan. Decisions, decisions.

Lyrics are really more of a guideline, anyway

St. John's is in the middle of competition at the VTV Cup in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Most recently they posted a 3-0 win over the VTV Club team Long An and over Sri Lanka. But that's not the real highlight, IMO.

After the match, the team had massages, ate food, and then did a little karaoke. First to perform was assistant coach Li Chen who did his rendition of "Can't Help Falling in Love," then it was head coach Joanne Persico-Smith, who "changed the lyrics of Billy Joel’s New York State of Mind to say 'a Vietnam state of mind.'"

Look, I know you want to show your appreciation to your hosts, but "A Vietnam State of Mind"? That must have been as smooth as "Christmas is all around us." What is a Vietnam state of mind, anyway? A fresh outlook on socialism?

And did she change the rest of the lyrics?

Some folks like to get away, take a holiday from the USA
Hop a flight to Hanoi Beach or to Da Nang.
I'm taking jet planes, for a number of lengthy flights-
I'm in a Vietnam state of mind.

We're a long way from "Platoon"

The last Americans in Vietnam were evacuated from the roof of the American embassy during the fall of Saigon in 1975. Few people could have believed that day that a time would arrive when we'd be sending a women's volleyball team.

But that time has arrived, and St. John's is that volleyball team. They're already knee-deep into the Vietnam Television (VTV) International Women’s Volleyball Cup, and the players have provided a lot of reports.

Sophomore outside hitter Valeria Kovaleva tells us about the view from her hotel room in Ho Chi Minh City, saying it "seems like I am in an 'Asian Manhattan.'” You know what else seems like an Asian Manhattan? Chinatown.

The Red Storm also took the time to send Mother's Day shout-outs from the Far East:

Kochana Manus!
W tym dniu zycze ci hrzystkiego naylepszego duzo zddowia. Szczescia I pomyslnosci zycze ci rowniez usmiecmu na twadzy kazdego.
Kocham Cie, Wioleta Leszczynska #14

Uh-huh.

Lubimaya Mama!
Ya seicmas ochen daleko I budu doma ne skoro, no ya cleochu chtobi ti znala cuto ya ochen. Tebhya Lublu, dumau o tebe kajdi den I ochen sdu togo dnya kogda smogu tebya obnya I skrat cmto lublu tebya glyadya vzlaza.
Valeria Kovaleva #13

EXACTLY.

Mae!
Mesmo de longe quero te desejar um feliz dia das maes e quero tambin dizer que sinto muita saudade de te ter todos os dias do meu lado. 13 dias e estaremos juntas de novo! Te amo muito!
Beijas com muito amor, Ruisa Scheffel #15

Well said and beautiful.

Oh, don't speak Polish, Russian, or Portuguese? Are they not teaching those core languages in the schools anymore? Ah, well here you are respectively:

My dear mom,
On this special day, I would like to wish you a happy mother’s day. I wish you health and happiness and a smile every day.
Love you, Wioleta Leszczynska #14

Dear Mama!
I may be far away from you right now but I will be home soon. I want you to know that I love you so much and miss you so much. I can’t wait for that day when I’ll tell you that looking into your eyes.
Valeria Kovaleva #13

Mom!
Even though we are so very far away, I want to wish you a Happy Mother’s Day and I also want to say that I miss you so much every single day that you are not by my side. 13 days and we will be together again! I love you so much!
Kisses with love, Ruisa Scheffel #15