Excerpt from Andrew X. Pham's "Catfish and Mandala"
"The [Vietnam] I see isn't visceral. I'd be deceiving you if I took your hand to walk you through it. It isn't just something you see. It's what you feel, an echo in the blood that courses through you. It is a collage, a vanishing flavor, a poison, a metallic tinge, a barbarous joy, strange impressions unconvictable in the usual conventions."
Insane!
Listen everyone. There is something in the air here now, and its not good. Watch out for me, because I can't quite tell if I've been affected or not. But everyone is going insane. There is some kind of chemical in the D8 air. I'm very concerned, and just documenting it publicly, in case it is true. But everyone is going insane. I feel like Julie and I, room 403 are the only ones unaffected, but perhaps we are affected and can't recognize it. We all need a psychologist. I'm serious. What is up with everyone. Insane. I'm not trying to worry anyone, but man...insane people surround me. Either everyone has been replaced by weird aliens, or I'm a cognisant alien, only now becoming aware of the flaw of humanity. Oscar Wilde says only the shallow know themselves, but listen, I'm pretty sure I know myself well enough to know that I'm at least normal. But that's what all insane people say, so when I get back to the United States, keep an eye on me, and feel free to recommend solidary confinement in a plush, round, white room. That would be better than my experience as of late.
Soccer
Vietnam lost to Indonesia tonight. :(
Our drive back from Ha Long bay...looks like a painting hah? I love Vietnam man. This reminds me of a shirt that many people bought in Saigon, that says in Vietnamese "Don't forget the Vietnamese Sun".
I made sure Masato got to see Ha Long Bay, we took a day trip. Still beautiful :)
This is Thay Thu. He is the Dean of Management at Dai Hoc Ngoai Ngu (University of Foreign Studies, where I live). It was so nice of him to take us out. Earlier in the day I simply asked if he had the address of a snake restaurant so I could take Masato, but he insisted on taking us. Good thing too, cause I would have gotten lost on the way there (snake village is across the red river, pretty far from my dorm) and I wouldn't have known how to order. Cobra is not exactly what I usually ask for when I go out. Thay Thu is the nicest guy ever, and I hope he can visit the U.S. so I can return the favor and show him around Southern California. Thay Thu is one of Gerard's (our director) best friends btw, so we often meet up with him for coffee or drinks.
Two nights ago, Masato, me and Thay Thu went to snake village, and we ate this cobra. At first I was having second thoughts, not wanting to witness the 'murder' of the beautiful creature, but then the cobra snapped its fangs at me and I was like "Give me that knife!" Hahah just kidding, but after the snap of it at me, I didn't mind watching them cut it up. Masato drank the beating heart in a mix of snake blood and vodka. They then cooked up the snake for us in about 10 different ways, utilizing every part of the snake, even the bones. Masato says snake village was his favorite part of the trip.
Yesterday's crowd trying to get a Thanksgiving dinner at the bougie Horison Hotel. It was a good effort, but no Turkey or Mashed potatoes. It was Mexican food night. Still yummy, and I said grace over it, just to believe for a second that I was back at home with my family celebrating Thanksgiving in the traditional way.
When Nguyen Trai, turned into Tay Son Street, another rioting crowd intercepted and made the procession even larger, and then turning right onto Hai Ba Trung Street, we were joined again, from a thousand people coming from the opposite direction. Its impossible to tell from the pictures, but there must have been ten thousand college students in the screaming crowd of motorbikes. I seriously felt like I was in the middle of the 1925 protest of Phan Boi Chau's arrest or in the funeral processtion of Phan Tru Trinh of the same year. Luckily there were no French around shooting into the crowd, like in 1925. Anyways, it took Masato and I a good hour to drive to Finnegan's because of the crazy Vietnamese soccer fans. But I must admit, it was the most exciting drive I've ever taken! Good Luck Vietnam, with tomorrow's game!!! (i'll stay off the streets this time)
Last night I was driving Masato to Finnegan's Irish Pub, so we could participate in Quiz night. But driving along Nguyen Trai Street was not an easy feat. You see, people were basically rioting in honor of another winning soccer game. I have to take Nguyen Trai street to get to where I was going, but what happened was that at every intersection, every single intersection we stopped. The crowd of motorbikes just stopped, held up the traffic/traffic lights for 2-3 minutes, while screaming "VIETNAM, VO DICH" and singing a song that I assume was some kind of soccer song. On the left, you can see a guy standing on a motorbike banging a drum. Everyone was screaming and honking and waving flags. This was like 10:00 at night too... Police were everywhere around the city, but they couldn't do anything about it. Too many people. I saw one guy get thrown off his bike by a cop because he took a road block and threw it to the side. The police tried to road block all major streets, but there was no stopping excited Vietnamese youth.
Okay, I have to first write the disclaimer/explaination. I know some people out there that may be angry with me, for this and the next picture, but I am not a communist! I love democracy, and I love America. I am risking chastisement by putting these pics up, but I have to...You see, Vietnam right now is participating in something called the SEA games. Its soccer. Vietnam thus far is undefeated. I can not even begin to explain the zeal over here, from this soccer season. Yesterday, Vietnam beat Myammar/Burma. Before that they beat Laos. Tomorrow the Vietnamese team plays Indonesia. Now, I like soccer. Its a cool game. But here, the zeal has gotten to me, and I'm rooting the Vietnamese team on. I try to watch the games, or at least call my Vietnamese friends to tell me the score, and I scream along with the Vietnamese when Vietnam scores. I can't tell you how cool it is to be here in Ha noi during this soccer season. Here, Masato and I are wearing headbands that say "Vietnam * No Competition". I'm so exciting that the Vietnam team is doing so well. This pic is from last night, and we walked around with the headbands, and everyone was screaming at us, in a good way. Complete strangers wanted to take pics with me because they were so happy that an American was rooting on the Vietnamese soccer game for the South East Asian games. People here are crazy. Completely crazy for soccer. It even more of a big deal than the Lakers winning in L.A. is. So, I'm sorry for putting pics up with the communist star, but its seriously only for the soccer, not for the government in any way.
Masato just left back to Japan, we had a very very fun week. This is one of the nights, playing Texas Hold'em at Hai's house. Pictured: saku, kristy, hai, masato. I didn't stay in the tournament very long, because I went all in, and Masato, called me on my bluff. Its funny cause all the experienced players folded, but Masato has never played before. The novice gets me out... grrrr.
I enjoy being a 'value customer' at Highlands cafe. Everything chicken here is generally being substituted with pork. Wonder how many Kosher Jews and Muslims there are in the country, all going "grrrrrr".
I'm eating Kristy's cheesecake at Highlands coffee...
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!
Happy Thanksgiving, and eat extra turkey for me, since I probably won't be able to get my hands on it due to Avian flu crisis.
Some things I'm thankful for:
-Mommy & Daddy
-Jenny & Kenny
-Extended family
-Best friends
-Good friends
-Gerard Sasges
-Twinkies + Saku
-Aquaintences
-Ex boyfriends
-Future boyfriends
-Thay Nam
-Thay Tuny
-Thay Minh
hahha, I'm being silly. I'm thankful for everything and everyone, except Republicans with no redeeming qualities. I could start that list too, but it would be even more silly.
What I'm not Thankful for: Avian Flu. If I don't eat an egg soon, I think I'm gonna die. BTW, its a bad idea to go to a restaurant famous for steak and eggs, when there are no eggs. Its not the same, and it was still regular price. grrrrrr...
21 Nov 2005 Journal Entry
I'm sitting at the airport (Ha noi) eating jackfruit and drinking Halida, while waiting for my friend Masato to arrive. A lady, about 35 years old, just walked up to the register to purchase who knows what. She is clearly Vietnamese, not Vietnamese American or anything else. And she is wearing an American flag bandana on her head. As I watch her, it sort of baffles my mind...One the way over here to the airport, my driver says "Em la nguoi nuoc nao" which means 'what country are you from?' and I answered "Em la nguoi my". He then exclaimed "America!...America! America!!!..America number one!", smiling and jovial. Everything American here is good. People wear hats with American flags, and generally talk about America like its the best country ever.
I never thought Vietnam would be like this. It's not like I'm studying abroad in Sai Gon. I'm in Ha noi, I'm in a communist country, in an area that was decimated by U.S. bombing raids. And only once have I faced animosity for being American, and that was from a young, heavily drunk guy outside of Apocalypse Now, who was looking to start a fight with anyone.
I'm not the first to recognize this phenomina. I actually recently read an article that my classmate on this EAP program wrote for one of the Berkeley campus newspapers. The article was titled somthing to the affect of "Vietnam: The last pro-American country"....It's an interesting article, and I suppose since reading it, I've been even more aware of how welcome Americans and American culture are here.
Masato, who has been teaching English in Japan for months, lives in an undoubtably more Westernized/Americanized country, but I feel that even he will recognize that being here is completely different from previous perceptions. And all I can say is that I can only hope Vietnam will always maintain its unique beauty and character, even after being admitted to the WTO and such. Change is not bad, but losing grasp of its history and culture would be. And as Masato's plane lands in 5 minutes, I still contemplate on exactly what part of this history and culture I can shove down his throat in a short five day period of him being here.
Its a Sunday morning, so not very trafficky. Like my new purse?? Rose on the right side of the photo is carrying it for me.
Looks like I'm about to sneeze or something. I enjoy riding my motorbike around.
Here's Thay Nam, and one of his sons, Nam Anh. Thay Nam is my language instructor, who speaks Vietnamese, Cambodian, Japanese, English, Chinese and French, the first four fluently. Before Dim Sum, our language class met him at his house. He told us that it was important to him for us to come, because it was teachers day. We hung out with his family for an hour and a half. He is in the process of building a new house, 6 stories high, so we took a tour of it, with all the construction workers inside. It will be VERY nice when finished, and there will be two guest rooms for let when its finished. So I hope I can move back here after college and rent one of them. :)
Today is a very famous Vietnamese national holiday. Today is "teachers day". Teachers definitely don't get paid as much here, but they get a lot more respect than in the United States. Teachers day is a very big thing here. We took all our teachers out to Dim Sum at Fortuna hotel this morning. We brought flowers, cards, gifts. We had a great time, and I love all of my teachers. Here's Gerard, our director. Coolest guy ever. And next year this time, we'll be calling him Doctor Gerard, as he's finishing up his PhD in history now. Happy teachers day Gerard! (btw, he speaks fluent Vietnamese).
Blah
I was looking at everyone else's blogs today, blogs from people im my program. And I realized that there is so much that I have neglected to put in my own blog. There are a thousand wonderful and horrible and mediocre experiences that I have had here, that are shaping who I am, and I can't share them with the ones I love the most. I can tell story after story and still never be able to accurately portray the overall experience I am having. I don't really know what I'm saying, its just sad that I can't record everything, and I never want to forget anything. I suppose I'm just getting sad because the end of the program is right around the corner, and saying goodbye to my new friends and Vietnam will be one of the most difficult experiences of my life. I think we will all probably end up crying at the goodbye dinner. Anyways, besides that, a lot of amazing and cool stuff happens here that I don't tell you about. I could tell you about all of them, such as our visit by Suel Jones (American veteran), or eating at the Orphanage training restaurant, but if I did, I wouldn't have time to live any of it.
Oh, one more. Tan and I almost crashed the boat. We barely survived. Okay, goodnight!!! For reals this time.
After 3 or 4 weeks of being in Hanoi, we broke, and had to go to a Western food resturant. I've never tasted such a good tuna melt in my life. Now a'days we eat Western a lot more often, having given up on the 'Vietnamese only' regiment. K. All for now. Those were the meat of the pre-blog pics anyways, so maybe I'll just stick to current day from now on. ummmm..."meat"....Em doi qua!
Thuy, carefully stepping onto the boat, that got stuck in low tide. Dangerous looking.
The little blue hut on the left side....that was where we slept. Quan Lat beach was simply beautiful. Sleeping on the beach, swimming with jellyfish, dancing on the sand. I lived a fantasy!...besides the getting stung by jellyfish part. :)
Postcard material man...
No picture could capture exactly how beautiful this scene at Ha Long Bay was. I literally burst into tears of pure emotion.
This pic is taken on the boat during our Ha Long bay trip (early September). I only put it up because I know my mommy will love it. Vi sau, you ask? Because I look like Chrysanthemum. Yes, mom, I will always be your little Chrysanthemum face. To everyone else: don't ask. :)
Me and the boys (Don, Noah, Saku) doing our first group clubbing night (early September). Seems like so long ago, or just yesterday, but nothing inbetween. :)
So I realize that I didn't start this blog until late September, and a lot of cool stuff happened before then, so I'll throw in some early Vietnam pics now, and maybe a few more later. I'm still working on aquiring the pics of me scuba diving and parasailing and stuff. This is one of my favorite Vietnam pics. These schookids were part of a parade that happened on Sep. 2, the Independence day for Vietnam (Independence from the French, Sep. 2nd, 1945)
Chicken
Yesterday reminded me of when I studied Japanese at U.C.I. I remember for my Japanese 1C final, there was this long oral interview. Matsuura Sensei kept asking me things such as "what are you're summer plans" and "what classes are you going to take next quarter" and such. Of course, never having studied Japanese quite enough, I had to keep my answers simple, and easy for me to say. Summer plans: "I am going to take a trip. I am planning on taking a trip to the mountains. I also want to go to the beach many times". I knew that I wouldn't be going to the beach, or the mountains. What classes was I planning on taking? "I'm taking a math class." Did I have any idea how to say 'Foreign Policy of Southeast Asia" or "Israeli Political System"? Of course not. Its funny...language teachers are the ones we spend the most time with (language classes are everyday, not twice a week like other classes)...but do they really get to know us? We lie all the time!!! We lie because we literally do not know how to speak the truth!
So the reason I am reminded of this is because Thay Nam asked Oren yesterday "What did you eat for breakfest"? Oren said "Hom nay sang em an chao ga." or something like that...which means "today for breakfest I ate chicken porridge." Chicken is like the first food item that we learned in Vietnamese, so its easy to say, and sticks in our heads. The only thing is that this lie, unlike my "i'm going to the mountains and the beach" was unbelievable. The teacher was like "Chicken????". As we found out recently, the Vietnamese government banned chicken in Hanoi while we were taking our trip to the South. We are gone for a week, and come back, and chicken is now a blackmarket commodity. So eggs are also unavailable. Man, I'm gonna miss my eggs. Freaking avian flu. Anyways, it was funny, and from now on we will all know not to say that we ate chicken when asked about our meals. And maybe someday I'll go back to learning Japanese and be able to have a real honest conversation with Matsuura Sensei.
But for now, I better get back to my Tieng Viet homework, so that Thay Nam won't give me his 'you didn't study' glare. hehehe.
This is a picture of us girls (Jenny, Diane, Christie, Christine and me) on what I believe was our first night in the WONDERFUL city of Nha Trang. I'll put up more photos as they come (common Don and Eric, you have good pics...cho em cho em!)
