Last night I sat in a cafe that was playing music I've heard before and actual enjoy listening to (songs from the Once Soundtrack, in Hanoi?!) while reading a book recommended by my little bro and sipping on...wait for it....a London Fog*. Yes, that is right, I have found the drink of pure joy here in Hanoi!
You may remember that before coming to Viet Nam I did not drink coffee. And yet being a college student in Seattle basically requires that one spends half your time in any of the million coffee shops, so I had to find a drink to enjoy in these various social or studious situations. London Fog was the solution. And oh what a fantastic solution it was. An earl grey latte with a hint of vanilla, I don't know if you'd ever need anything else from the world! As I sat there, everything about this little drink and it's mug made me so happy. The smell alone brought a huge smile to my face. I was transported to the glorious days of sitting with, well, with anyone who was a part of my Seattle family. It was exactly what I needed last night.
*who knew there were articles about the London Fog and that it originated in my home area! Oh the Pacific Northwest, you are so cool. Why does anyone ever leave that beautiful place?!
It's the best and worst idea I've had
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Attempts at Communication
People keep saying that Viet Nam is a place to have clothes made, so last week I figured I'd give it a try. This isn't a disaster at the tailor story, everything went well--in fact, I'm wearing my new dress today! This is more of an attempt at communication story. I tried to ask a question about how much fabric was used. I know words for "how much", "use", "when", and "make", but not the word for fabric. Being that fabric is the subject of the question, it made it a little more challenging. I figured I'd give it a try anyway. It was such a ridiculous process! The women at the tailor were very friendly and really patient, I could tell they wanted to understand as much as I wanted them to. But as soon as I started talking they both had this, "it's trying to speak" kind of look. I persevered and asked my question:
sidenote: if you are Hannah--or any else who speaks Vietnamese--please don't be appalled by my attempts, I realize this is probs not accurate at all, hence the confusion yesterday!
Em muốn hỏi, khi chị làm này sử dụng bao nhiêu (point to fabric)?
sidenote: if you are Hannah--or any else who speaks Vietnamese--please don't be appalled by my attempts, I realize this is probs not accurate at all, hence the confusion yesterday!
Em muốn hỏi, khi chị làm này sử dụng bao nhiêu (point to fabric)?
I want to ask, when you made this use how much....?
Blank stares. They looked at each other, realized neither understood, and looked back at me. So I tried again:
Cho váy này, bao nhiêu mét (again, point to fabric)?
Still nothing, but earnest looks so I feel encouraged enough to try again. This time it is a group process. I say a word, they repeat it, think about it, realize they know it, and look excited. So then I move to the next one. I tried one more way of asking:
Khi em mua (point to fabric while they repeat slowly), mua bao nhiêu (point to fabric and try to indicate length and measurement)?
Cho váy này, bao nhiêu mét (again, point to fabric)?
for this dress, how many meters?
Still nothing, but earnest looks so I feel encouraged enough to try again. This time it is a group process. I say a word, they repeat it, think about it, realize they know it, and look excited. So then I move to the next one. I tried one more way of asking:
Khi em mua (point to fabric while they repeat slowly), mua bao nhiêu (point to fabric and try to indicate length and measurement)?
when I buy (fabric), buy how much (fabric)?
Meanwhile I'm looking all around for something else to help in the charades for the word fabric. Finally I realize I'm standing in front of a wall of fabric (duh!). So then I point to that. And that was it! It felt like the whole room cheered and let out a collective, ah ha! The woman measured and wrote down a number for me. Success!!
Turns out, the word for fabric is vải, which to the in-exact learner and untrained ear (aka, me!) is similar to váy, the word I was using for dress, which actually means skirt. Oh, the confusion of it all.
Today I need to go back because I need my measurements to send home to order bridesmaids dresses. Yeah...we'll see how that goes. It could be interesting!
Turns out, the word for fabric is vải, which to the in-exact learner and untrained ear (aka, me!) is similar to váy, the word I was using for dress, which actually means skirt. Oh, the confusion of it all.
Today I need to go back because I need my measurements to send home to order bridesmaids dresses. Yeah...we'll see how that goes. It could be interesting!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
As This is My Life.
"Outlook I can only imagine
I am floating in a new direction
As this is my life."
I am floating in a new direction
As this is my life."
This fantastic little poem comes from my Vietnamese notebook, which is full of lots of special treats :) I think it very accurately represents a new phase for my life.
Drumroll please........................
As of this week, I have extended my time here in Vietnam and will be staying until May of 2011*.
Eck!
This may or may not come as a surprise to you. The opportunity came up last month and I've been debating since. It was not an easy decision, actually not at all. There was a lot of back and forth, pros and cons, trying to think of all the places I could be next year, where I want to be, what I want from this time of life, where I think I'm heading and so on.
But then I realized, I have no idea of the answers to most of those questions. I simply have no idea about much of anything. What I do know is that I feel really content here. That I have time to keep exploring the world. That I should not limit myself or keep rushing to do the "next" thing. That wherever I am headed, I like the things this year is bringing up and challenging me to think about. I like learning Vietnamese. I like the idea of being in this job for longer than one year. I like the idea of living in my own apartment here. I just like it here.
I actually don't doubt that I would like wherever I am. I know returning to Portland could be a really good thing also. Being near my family and my friends. And I am excited to someday do that. The choice to stay did not come down to picking what was right or wrong, but simply about where I see myself for now. And as it turns out--rather surprisingly, even to me--I see myself here.
This is a vast over-simplification, but I think sums it up pretty well. This year is kind of like freshman year of college. Now, I really enjoyed my freshman year. But it also was not nearly as great as the following years. So much of that first year is spent just figuring things out: you have to take time to get used to things and adjust, figure out the structure and flow of life, try new things, and then try new-new things. Once you get to sophomore year, it's a totally different experience. You have more ownership over your experience, more freedom simply from the fact of having some level of understanding. I won't be starting at zero but will have a whole year of trial and error behind me. I'm excited to get the chance to have a sophomore year here!
So while my "new" direction actually is the same direction I am headed now, it feels quite different. I'm staying in Viet Nam!! Eck!
*Don't worry, I'll still be coming home for a few weeks this summer. I have a few very important weddings to celebrate. I should be in the states for about the first 3 weeks of August.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Finding Inspiration
I'd like to follow that last post with something completely frivilous.
Sometimes I get overwhelmed by my curly hair. I'm not used to having to live with it this much. I mean, I've occasionally had the chance to straighten it here, but mostly, I'm just a giant, curly-haired mess. I know, I know, it's about time I own up to it and just accept it. And I try, really I do. Sometimes though, it's just too much for me.
But then I'm reminded that it's not that worst thing ever. Last night I watched The Women and was inspired by Meg Ryan. Yes, I'm about to turn to celebrities for inspiration. Don't feel bad, you can judge me. I judge myself for it :)
Granted, her curls look like they were made by a curling iron, but they are frizzy and giant and she still rocks it.
Sometimes I get overwhelmed by my curly hair. I'm not used to having to live with it this much. I mean, I've occasionally had the chance to straighten it here, but mostly, I'm just a giant, curly-haired mess. I know, I know, it's about time I own up to it and just accept it. And I try, really I do. Sometimes though, it's just too much for me.
But then I'm reminded that it's not that worst thing ever. Last night I watched The Women and was inspired by Meg Ryan. Yes, I'm about to turn to celebrities for inspiration. Don't feel bad, you can judge me. I judge myself for it :)
Granted, her curls look like they were made by a curling iron, but they are frizzy and giant and she still rocks it.
And who can forget Sex and the City and seasons full of Carrie's frizzy curly hair?! I mean, the majority of the early seasons her hair looks awful. But yet, she's Carrie Bradshaw, so she does what she wants. It is surprisingly hard to find a good picture of those early seasons, this is the closest I got.
If they can do it, so can I, right?!
Seriously, I'm ridiculous.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Development on the Brain
So I've talked about this development book I'm reading a couple times now. Here is a quote that I seem to keep coming back to:
"The most daunting challenges in 21st-century development have less to do with the 'development' that we rich countries transfer to the Third World than with changes we make in our own unsustainable, high-consumption lifestyles. We must call into question our very notions of what constitutes progress."*
Interesting, eh? Maybe the way we can best bring about any sort of positive, lasting change is not to send money or go ourselves or help to bring countries up to our levels of Western development, but to live in a different structure ourselves.
For example, the sanitation project I recently mentioned. One of the battles MCC has to fight is the notion that flush toilets are "proper" toilets. In reality, they are ineffective and wasteful. It might take the issue away from one household, but it simply moves it to another, or downstream. Even in the US this is true, although we have created the infrastructure to deal with it as effectively as possible. A realistic, affordable, and very efficient solution for the people we work with here in Viet Nam is a dry latrine, where fertilizer is created through a composting-like process. This not only deals with the waste but also provides a resource for their farms, lessening the chemicals used and the money spent. But because flush toilets are more "modern" and are "proper" people aren't as likely to want to install a dry latrine. Which is only making the sanitation in the communities worse, even after they've spent money to "update" their plumbing, build new canals and put a lot of time and money into a new structure.
Can you imagine trying to convince people in the States that their flush toilet is harmful to the communities sanitation and resources? Do you think anyone would listen, at all? Even though many people do need fertilizer, if only for the grass and flowers. Even though we are already talking about water shortages and limited resources. Even though we're advocating for these innovative technologies around the world. It seems like the opposite of progress, doesn't it? To go from a flush toilet to a system that requires work from the individual. Isn't that the convenience of development, that we no longer have to deal with all the annoying facts of life, instead it is taken care of for us by something else.
Now, I'm not really advocating for a revolution in plumbing techniques. I can't imagine my parents going through the house and re-modelling all the bathrooms to get rid of the flush plumbing. But what I am thinking about (and therefore writing about) is how our Western structures and notions of progress negatively impact the chances for global development, and the consequences we will face eventually because of it. Resources are not infinite. We all know that. There are many problems we must face about our way of life, why not do it sooner rather than later? Why not be learning with the developing nations?
If nothing else, I hope that is what I'm beginning to do here. Learning with people. Learning about people. Learning from people. I like to think that it will shape how I live when I return to the States. I guess we'll see about that one.
*The book is Development to a Different Drummer, written by Yoder, Redekop and Jantzi and published in 2004. The quote comes from page 165.
"The most daunting challenges in 21st-century development have less to do with the 'development' that we rich countries transfer to the Third World than with changes we make in our own unsustainable, high-consumption lifestyles. We must call into question our very notions of what constitutes progress."*
Interesting, eh? Maybe the way we can best bring about any sort of positive, lasting change is not to send money or go ourselves or help to bring countries up to our levels of Western development, but to live in a different structure ourselves.
For example, the sanitation project I recently mentioned. One of the battles MCC has to fight is the notion that flush toilets are "proper" toilets. In reality, they are ineffective and wasteful. It might take the issue away from one household, but it simply moves it to another, or downstream. Even in the US this is true, although we have created the infrastructure to deal with it as effectively as possible. A realistic, affordable, and very efficient solution for the people we work with here in Viet Nam is a dry latrine, where fertilizer is created through a composting-like process. This not only deals with the waste but also provides a resource for their farms, lessening the chemicals used and the money spent. But because flush toilets are more "modern" and are "proper" people aren't as likely to want to install a dry latrine. Which is only making the sanitation in the communities worse, even after they've spent money to "update" their plumbing, build new canals and put a lot of time and money into a new structure.
Can you imagine trying to convince people in the States that their flush toilet is harmful to the communities sanitation and resources? Do you think anyone would listen, at all? Even though many people do need fertilizer, if only for the grass and flowers. Even though we are already talking about water shortages and limited resources. Even though we're advocating for these innovative technologies around the world. It seems like the opposite of progress, doesn't it? To go from a flush toilet to a system that requires work from the individual. Isn't that the convenience of development, that we no longer have to deal with all the annoying facts of life, instead it is taken care of for us by something else.
Now, I'm not really advocating for a revolution in plumbing techniques. I can't imagine my parents going through the house and re-modelling all the bathrooms to get rid of the flush plumbing. But what I am thinking about (and therefore writing about) is how our Western structures and notions of progress negatively impact the chances for global development, and the consequences we will face eventually because of it. Resources are not infinite. We all know that. There are many problems we must face about our way of life, why not do it sooner rather than later? Why not be learning with the developing nations?
If nothing else, I hope that is what I'm beginning to do here. Learning with people. Learning about people. Learning from people. I like to think that it will shape how I live when I return to the States. I guess we'll see about that one.
*The book is Development to a Different Drummer, written by Yoder, Redekop and Jantzi and published in 2004. The quote comes from page 165.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
The Weekend
This last week I realized that since my family has left I've been in kind of a lull. It wasn't a bad thing, but the month of December was just so busy that I stopped doing much of anything come January. I even allowed myself to get addicted to watching American Idol, which was on everyday leading up to the new season--I don't even like watching American Idol at home! So this weekend I decided to get my act together. No more being lazy! I think I started out on my new resolution quite well.
My weekend was very full, I maybe even did a little too much. But totes worth it. To avoid writing a long and boring story, I'll write you a list:
1. We took our host siblings out for the evening! Calah, Hannah, Joel and I took Calah's two sisters (13, 15), Minh (my 12 year old bro) went to dinner at, get this, "High School Restaurant Teeny Pizza". Pure Joy. And actually not horrible food. After Teeny Pizza we went to this great cafe that had board games to play where Hannah's 9 year old brother joined us. Not only did we play great games, jenga and spoons, but there were inflatable plastic hammer to hit the losers with. While I can only get Minh to say he "maybe" had a good time, I know he loved it. Saturday I caught him practicing his moon walk skills, something that we talked about and Joel demonstrated the night before.
2. I had to go pick up my bike from Derek's so I hung out over there for a little while.
3. Brunch with Joel.
4. Lunch with my host family. We ate bun cha which is quite delicious.
5. Calah, Hannah and I went out for snails with Co Giang, who was our Vietnamese teacher and her Japanese friend. The afternoon was spent catching up in Vietnamese. I caught maybe half of what was going on. But the snails and clams were actually really good. And afterwards the 3 of us just chilled on a bench by the small lake there for a bit. That sounds like it should be a very pretty and nature-y thing, but the lakes here are not much different than the city. Unfortunately it was not like Seattle. Still, it was fun.
6. Spent Saturday evening at home, played a few card games, watched a movie with Minh, and went to bed fairly early.
7. Went to a different church than I normally go to because on my way to church I ran into Calah and she was going there to meet a friend who just moved here. It was an interesting experience to say the least.
8. Lunch with people from the church I normally go to and Calah's new friend.
9. Straight from lunch to coffee with a friend.
10. Took the bus home and realized I had so much energy, maybe due to the coffee I had just drank. So I went for a run! I have not intentionally worked out for so long and it was really great. Except that I'm sore today...
11. Came back just in time to be invited to a cafe with live music. So I rode my bike over to Joel's, met up with Calah, Hannah, Joel and new comer Steve, and enjoyed some nice music and a lot of laughing.
I came home last night exhausted and very ready for bed. After such a busy weekend, today feels very "monday-y". You know the feeling...the, I'd rather still be in bed even though it's already 3pm feeling. Maybe I'll leave early and go take a nap. Although I don't know how that'll contribute to the new goal of being active...we'll see!
My weekend was very full, I maybe even did a little too much. But totes worth it. To avoid writing a long and boring story, I'll write you a list:
1. We took our host siblings out for the evening! Calah, Hannah, Joel and I took Calah's two sisters (13, 15), Minh (my 12 year old bro) went to dinner at, get this, "High School Restaurant Teeny Pizza". Pure Joy. And actually not horrible food. After Teeny Pizza we went to this great cafe that had board games to play where Hannah's 9 year old brother joined us. Not only did we play great games, jenga and spoons, but there were inflatable plastic hammer to hit the losers with. While I can only get Minh to say he "maybe" had a good time, I know he loved it. Saturday I caught him practicing his moon walk skills, something that we talked about and Joel demonstrated the night before.
2. I had to go pick up my bike from Derek's so I hung out over there for a little while.
3. Brunch with Joel.
4. Lunch with my host family. We ate bun cha which is quite delicious.
5. Calah, Hannah and I went out for snails with Co Giang, who was our Vietnamese teacher and her Japanese friend. The afternoon was spent catching up in Vietnamese. I caught maybe half of what was going on. But the snails and clams were actually really good. And afterwards the 3 of us just chilled on a bench by the small lake there for a bit. That sounds like it should be a very pretty and nature-y thing, but the lakes here are not much different than the city. Unfortunately it was not like Seattle. Still, it was fun.
6. Spent Saturday evening at home, played a few card games, watched a movie with Minh, and went to bed fairly early.
7. Went to a different church than I normally go to because on my way to church I ran into Calah and she was going there to meet a friend who just moved here. It was an interesting experience to say the least.
8. Lunch with people from the church I normally go to and Calah's new friend.
9. Straight from lunch to coffee with a friend.
10. Took the bus home and realized I had so much energy, maybe due to the coffee I had just drank. So I went for a run! I have not intentionally worked out for so long and it was really great. Except that I'm sore today...
11. Came back just in time to be invited to a cafe with live music. So I rode my bike over to Joel's, met up with Calah, Hannah, Joel and new comer Steve, and enjoyed some nice music and a lot of laughing.
I came home last night exhausted and very ready for bed. After such a busy weekend, today feels very "monday-y". You know the feeling...the, I'd rather still be in bed even though it's already 3pm feeling. Maybe I'll leave early and go take a nap. Although I don't know how that'll contribute to the new goal of being active...we'll see!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Bored at Work
The last month or two I've been pretty busy here at work. Even last week I still felt decently busy. Well, I don't know what happened now, but suddenly I have nothing to do!! No emails to send, no annoying questions to answer, no charts to make, no places to visit, nothing to edit, nothing to organize, nothing.
Lame.
So today I took matters into my own hands. Here is a little peek into my day at work today:
Ohhh...a MCC button in a MCC calendar box. Sneaky.
Lame.
So today I took matters into my own hands. Here is a little peek into my day at work today:
Fortunately, Hannah is also here. She found MCC buttons. And made A LOT of boxes from 2009 calendars. Those mennonites, so good at recycling things :)
Ohhh...a MCC button in a MCC calendar box. Sneaky.
Vietnamese news is always entertaining. Notice the top two articles: praise from Singapore and praise for the Prime Minister. We're all about positive stories about our government here. Not that they aren't true, they definitely are. They just might have a slight one-sided bias. I think just about everyday is praise for some government department or another. Also, I just looked and the word "lauds" is on the front page of both yesterday and today's paper. I think someone at the newspaper is enjoying their thesaurus.
I worked on some collaging. Always a good use of time. I kind of miss doing crafts, making cards and other pretty things. Although I do have some great construction paper and markers to play with now (thanks to the Yost Family!)
Here is me and my development book in my little corner of the office.
I also have listened to a good selection of music, some Regina Spektor, A Fine Frenzy, Jose Gonzalez, and Breathe Owl Breathe (on Hannah's recommendation). I had a delicious cup of hot chocolate courtesy of Hannah this morning as well. Facebook supplied me with some interesting articles to read (gotta love when people post good things!) and I read a little bit on Haiti (poor poor Haiti. That country did not need more to deal with. Hopefully the relief work is beneficial in actually creating sustainable development). And I ate phỏ bò for lunch. Oh, and now I've written a blog.
Now I have about 2 more hours to kill....hmmmm.....
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Toilets, Tea and Development
Today I found myself eating lunch in the district headquarters in Vinh Phuc, one of the provinces MCC works in. We had moved from the food table to the tea table for very bitter green tea and some delicious fruit. We were discussing the benefits of what was translated as “two-hole toilets” versus flush toilets. Two holed toilets might better be translated as composting toilets, or dry latrines or a variety of other nice sounding ways of describing a process which takes human “waste” and makes it usable for agriculture as well as taking away the issue of waste being sent to road-side canals or the main village water system. I’ve learned a lot about water and sanitation this week, which has contributed to a lot of other things I’ve been thinking about recently.
For some reason that moment at the tea table added to this bank in my head of things I’ve been thinking about. A lot of it has to do with development. Community development might even more specific, but also bigger than that. Big Picture Development. National development. Personal development. Development even when you think you're in a "developed" place. A person's role in development. A person's responsibility in development. What it really comes to, is that I've been thinking a lot recently about life and what I want from it. Ha, one might say it's kind of a big subject :) It's been overwhelming; some moments really exciting, some really stressful.
Below are a few loosely connected thoughts. I normally try to avoid posts like this, but today I felt like sharing. Feel free to stop reading now :)
The reason water has been discussed a lot this week is that Dan, Dan the water man as I like to refer to him, from MCC was here. He is a very interesting person. He has done and seen a lot. He has been with MCC both in Haiti and Africa, but considers himself a sustainable farmer from Canada. He obviously thinks very intentionally about the things he does and has been very purposeful with his choices throughout his life. He is also a very verbal man and he shared a lot of his thoughts with us. He talked about very diverse things, from government and it’s role, to philosophy of development and business, to very logistical business practices, to North Korea—which it may be my new goal to someday go to—and life there, etc. etc. So interesting.
A friend recommended a book that has some short biographies of different people who have worked at different levels of development (grass roots, policy, etc). It's fascinating. Reading about the things people did, the way they moved in and out of various positions in the academic world, non-profit realm, international work, etc is exhilarating to me. There is so much going on in the world that I would love to be a part of! It reminds me that no dream is too big. That to try to figure out where I’m headed would be limiting because the world and its possibilities are endless.
Over the last few months I’ve met a couple different women here that have inspired similar feelings. There is this moment, when I’m talking to someone, where I’m almost in tears because I feel so overwhelmed by what life could be. I walk away feeling like I’m simply bursting with excitement, but about things that I am nowhere near articulating. It is again, that reminder, that so much is possible. I can think of times I felt that same way at home. I love hearing the stories of people’s lives, the places they’ve gone and the choices they’ve made.
Recently I’ve also been dreaming about grad school a lot. I’d love a chance to truly study, from an academic perspective, the things that are happening in the world. What better way then sociology?! So I spend a good deal of time researching schools and programs and day dreaming about where I could be.
You might ask, what is the point of all this thinking? And particularly, what is the point of the horrible articulating of it that I’ve just done in this post? Well, really, there is no point. Just dreaming. Dreaming about what life is and what it could be. About where I see myself, and where I don’t see myself. About what comes next. About the fact that maybe I don’t need to be thinking so hard about what to do next and start simply LIVING right now. Step by step, that is how life comes together.
PS This is a truly an awful post. If I hadn't just spent so long trying to find a way to articulate these things I probably wouldn't post it. But, it's written, so I guess I might as well. Think of it as a picture into my brain right now--a lot of incomplete thoughts about a lot of things that seem to mean both nothing and everything at the same time.
For some reason that moment at the tea table added to this bank in my head of things I’ve been thinking about. A lot of it has to do with development. Community development might even more specific, but also bigger than that. Big Picture Development. National development. Personal development. Development even when you think you're in a "developed" place. A person's role in development. A person's responsibility in development. What it really comes to, is that I've been thinking a lot recently about life and what I want from it. Ha, one might say it's kind of a big subject :) It's been overwhelming; some moments really exciting, some really stressful.
Below are a few loosely connected thoughts. I normally try to avoid posts like this, but today I felt like sharing. Feel free to stop reading now :)
The reason water has been discussed a lot this week is that Dan, Dan the water man as I like to refer to him, from MCC was here. He is a very interesting person. He has done and seen a lot. He has been with MCC both in Haiti and Africa, but considers himself a sustainable farmer from Canada. He obviously thinks very intentionally about the things he does and has been very purposeful with his choices throughout his life. He is also a very verbal man and he shared a lot of his thoughts with us. He talked about very diverse things, from government and it’s role, to philosophy of development and business, to very logistical business practices, to North Korea—which it may be my new goal to someday go to—and life there, etc. etc. So interesting.
A friend recommended a book that has some short biographies of different people who have worked at different levels of development (grass roots, policy, etc). It's fascinating. Reading about the things people did, the way they moved in and out of various positions in the academic world, non-profit realm, international work, etc is exhilarating to me. There is so much going on in the world that I would love to be a part of! It reminds me that no dream is too big. That to try to figure out where I’m headed would be limiting because the world and its possibilities are endless.
Over the last few months I’ve met a couple different women here that have inspired similar feelings. There is this moment, when I’m talking to someone, where I’m almost in tears because I feel so overwhelmed by what life could be. I walk away feeling like I’m simply bursting with excitement, but about things that I am nowhere near articulating. It is again, that reminder, that so much is possible. I can think of times I felt that same way at home. I love hearing the stories of people’s lives, the places they’ve gone and the choices they’ve made.
Recently I’ve also been dreaming about grad school a lot. I’d love a chance to truly study, from an academic perspective, the things that are happening in the world. What better way then sociology?! So I spend a good deal of time researching schools and programs and day dreaming about where I could be.
You might ask, what is the point of all this thinking? And particularly, what is the point of the horrible articulating of it that I’ve just done in this post? Well, really, there is no point. Just dreaming. Dreaming about what life is and what it could be. About where I see myself, and where I don’t see myself. About what comes next. About the fact that maybe I don’t need to be thinking so hard about what to do next and start simply LIVING right now. Step by step, that is how life comes together.
PS This is a truly an awful post. If I hadn't just spent so long trying to find a way to articulate these things I probably wouldn't post it. But, it's written, so I guess I might as well. Think of it as a picture into my brain right now--a lot of incomplete thoughts about a lot of things that seem to mean both nothing and everything at the same time.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Another One...
I thought of another one: everyone knows that yogurt is not good to eat on an empty stomach and not suitable for breakfast.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Everybody Knows...
I haven't been feeling too well today, which isn't really a big deal, just lots of sleeping and drinking hot water to soothe my sore throat. But Co Sa just told me that the reason my throat hurts is because I didn't wear a scarf or turtle neck today. Somehow I don't think thats true because my throat has hurt every morning when I wake up. Unless I'm suppose to be wearing a scarf in my sleep, I'm going to go ahead and attribute it just to a common cold.
Being sick brings up lots of these sorts of things though--the things that everyone knows. For example, everyone knows that when you are sick you need to eat oranges. That is true both here in Viet Nam and in the States, but do you know why you need to eat oranges? Here they will tell you it's because they are good for your heart. If you want Vitamin C, there are different fruits you should eat. Also, if you are visiting someone in the hospital, you take them a bag full of oranges. Everyone knows you take flowers for babies or funerals, not illnesses.
Also, did you know that chao, the rice gruel we went out for on New Year's Eve, makes your head ache go away? Or that the weather changing is a good excuse for just about any behavioral or health related issue? Or that some cell phone numbers are luckier than others and worth paying extra for?
There are many many more. I should start writing them down when people say things because I always think it is so interesting. I'll let you know if I think of any others.
Being sick brings up lots of these sorts of things though--the things that everyone knows. For example, everyone knows that when you are sick you need to eat oranges. That is true both here in Viet Nam and in the States, but do you know why you need to eat oranges? Here they will tell you it's because they are good for your heart. If you want Vitamin C, there are different fruits you should eat. Also, if you are visiting someone in the hospital, you take them a bag full of oranges. Everyone knows you take flowers for babies or funerals, not illnesses.
Also, did you know that chao, the rice gruel we went out for on New Year's Eve, makes your head ache go away? Or that the weather changing is a good excuse for just about any behavioral or health related issue? Or that some cell phone numbers are luckier than others and worth paying extra for?
There are many many more. I should start writing them down when people say things because I always think it is so interesting. I'll let you know if I think of any others.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Cooking a Family Meal
I made dinner for my host family last night! It came about after eating dinner at 10pm on Monday because Cô Hue is gone and there were a few complications, so I volunteered for Tuesday. They seemed very hesitant to let me cook. But I eventually convinced them it'd be ok. I made a very normal American dinner, well basically I just made exactly what I would make if I were cooking for myself at home: chicken with lemon, pasta with broccoli and tomatoes, green beans, and delicious bread.
Note that the "lemons" are green, and they aren't limes. Weird.
Vang decided to help. She was actually a great helper and sweet for about an entire hour. Being that recently I've been harshly reminded that she is just 7 years old, it was a nice break and a good interaction. She doesn't like pictures, so this is the closest I got.
The third picture was the last to be taken because that is about the time the gas ran out and the stove no longer worked. Things were half cooked. Fortunately, a perk of being in Vietnam is you just call someone and within 20 minutes a man arrived with a new propane tank. Dinner continued, just a little delayed. I have no idea if they enjoyed the results or not. I do know that it wasn't enough food for them. Not in the sense that we ran out, but that they actually consume more food than I would. I would have served that meal to anyone at home and felt good about the portions and variety, but they were a bit perplexed at why I eat so little. Oh, and also if I eat so little at home, they wondered how I am so fat. Haha. Oh Viet Nam. Sometimes you're so silly. If nothing else, I loved cooking and was very pleased with the meal. We'll see if they ever let me cook again :)
Friday, January 1, 2010
Chuc Mung Nam Moi!
2010. It came so fast!
I definitely had an interesting New Year’s Eve, but I don’t use interesting as a bad thing. It turned out to be a lot more fun than I anticipated. Calah’s host family was going out bowling and they invited me to join. This New Year's is not the "real" new year here because culturally Viet Nam follows the lunar calendar, so the new year will begin in Febraury. But some people celebrate this one just for fun anywyas. My plan was to go to Calah’s work after I got off, be picked up there and head to dinner, then bowling until 12. I’m not a huge bowling fan and it seemed like that plan equaled about 4 hours of bowling, but I figured, it was plans, so why not go.
The plan changed slightly when I got to work in the morning and they had decided to close the office at noon. I wasn’t about to complain about getting off work early, but that left all afternoon open until I had to be downtown. Before I even had a chance to give much thought to how I would fill it, Co Bay invited me to have lunch at her house. And then Chi Oanh invited me to come to her house after that. I haven’t seen either of their houses yet and it was great to get a chance to hang out with co workers outside of work. From Chi Oanh’s I took a xe om (moto taxi) to the publishing house Calah works at. I got there early and Calah happened to be done early so we grapped a coffee to help us make it through the night.
Dinner turned out to be at this great place. Lau is a Vietnamese specialty where you boil things as you go in a pot on the table (if you saw pictures from when my family was here it is what we ate with my host family). But at this restaurant, everyone had an individual lau pot! A conveyor belt went around with small plates of things that you could add to your lau. It was so good and really fun!
From dinner we headed to the bowling alley. We played 3 games and I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. I’m really bad, but so was everyone else so it was fun. There were black lights and the same Abba song on repeat the entire night. A very stereotypical bowling experience.
After 3 games it was still only 10:30, but that seemed to be everyone’s bowling limit. We headed downtown, along with everyone else in Viet Nam. But it turned out the festival we were going to closed at 11. So after wandering for a bit, we jumped back into the car to get more food. We went for chao, another Vietnamese specialty—rice gruel.It is kind of like oatmeal, but not sweet and kind of just strange. But it was there, at the chao place that we brought in the new year. There was confetti and cheering and more rice gruel.
That was the last stop, by 1:30 we were back at Calah’s where I spent the night. It was by far the latest I’ve been up and out in so long--I was struggling by the end! But it was worth it.
And now it is 2010. I like New Year’s a lot in the sense that I really like significant markers of time. I like to have a moment to stop and thing about where I was last year—Gold-Themed Party that ended up at Gasworks Park to see the fireworks. A year ago I never would have imagined going to Viet Nam. And now it’s another new year. I won’t be pretend to have any clue about where I’ll be next year, but I really like to try to imagine it :)
PS Last night I watched a count of the best music videos of 2009. There were so many that I didn't know! Not that I watch a ton of music videos when at home, but normally I've at least seen clips of them or know the song. It was one of those moments where I feel like I've been gone for a really long time.
Ohhhh...black light :)
I definitely had an interesting New Year’s Eve, but I don’t use interesting as a bad thing. It turned out to be a lot more fun than I anticipated. Calah’s host family was going out bowling and they invited me to join. This New Year's is not the "real" new year here because culturally Viet Nam follows the lunar calendar, so the new year will begin in Febraury. But some people celebrate this one just for fun anywyas. My plan was to go to Calah’s work after I got off, be picked up there and head to dinner, then bowling until 12. I’m not a huge bowling fan and it seemed like that plan equaled about 4 hours of bowling, but I figured, it was plans, so why not go.
The plan changed slightly when I got to work in the morning and they had decided to close the office at noon. I wasn’t about to complain about getting off work early, but that left all afternoon open until I had to be downtown. Before I even had a chance to give much thought to how I would fill it, Co Bay invited me to have lunch at her house. And then Chi Oanh invited me to come to her house after that. I haven’t seen either of their houses yet and it was great to get a chance to hang out with co workers outside of work. From Chi Oanh’s I took a xe om (moto taxi) to the publishing house Calah works at. I got there early and Calah happened to be done early so we grapped a coffee to help us make it through the night.
Dinner turned out to be at this great place. Lau is a Vietnamese specialty where you boil things as you go in a pot on the table (if you saw pictures from when my family was here it is what we ate with my host family). But at this restaurant, everyone had an individual lau pot! A conveyor belt went around with small plates of things that you could add to your lau. It was so good and really fun!
From dinner we headed to the bowling alley. We played 3 games and I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. I’m really bad, but so was everyone else so it was fun. There were black lights and the same Abba song on repeat the entire night. A very stereotypical bowling experience.
After 3 games it was still only 10:30, but that seemed to be everyone’s bowling limit. We headed downtown, along with everyone else in Viet Nam. But it turned out the festival we were going to closed at 11. So after wandering for a bit, we jumped back into the car to get more food. We went for chao, another Vietnamese specialty—rice gruel.It is kind of like oatmeal, but not sweet and kind of just strange. But it was there, at the chao place that we brought in the new year. There was confetti and cheering and more rice gruel.
That was the last stop, by 1:30 we were back at Calah’s where I spent the night. It was by far the latest I’ve been up and out in so long--I was struggling by the end! But it was worth it.
And now it is 2010. I like New Year’s a lot in the sense that I really like significant markers of time. I like to have a moment to stop and thing about where I was last year—Gold-Themed Party that ended up at Gasworks Park to see the fireworks. A year ago I never would have imagined going to Viet Nam. And now it’s another new year. I won’t be pretend to have any clue about where I’ll be next year, but I really like to try to imagine it :)
PS Last night I watched a count of the best music videos of 2009. There were so many that I didn't know! Not that I watch a ton of music videos when at home, but normally I've at least seen clips of them or know the song. It was one of those moments where I feel like I've been gone for a really long time.
At the bowling alley
Ohhhh...black light :)
Why not have a million balloons on New Year's Eve Downtown?!
It's midnight! Let's eat rice gruel....
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