When I was in secondary school, I was living in Sơn Tay, a small town situated near Duong Lam commune, 45 km to the west of Hanoi. My Russian language teacher was married to a Duong Lam native, so I and my classmates would go there every November 20th to pay her respect on Teacher’s Day. I don’t remember much from those visits today apart from the seemingly long, dusty trail leading to the village, and a lot of bamboos and buffalos, buffalos and more buffalos!