December photos

Here are a number of photos from December, including pictures from my trip to Thailand and from Christmas festivities in Ha Noi. Click here to go to the Picasa page where I've written captions and you can see one movie. Enjoy!

snapshots of Ha Noi

It's been a while since I've written here and a lot has happened. What follows are a few quotes from my journal, like little snapshots into my life here. I realize there's a danger in posting these that you'll think my life is full of these kinds of stories, all the time. It's not. My daily life mostly involves going to work and back, but within that mundane-ness sometimes strange things happen...

"Today when I was looking to buy baking powder to make pancakes, the woman told me that what I needed was 'poudre pour panification.' Panifi-what? She said it makes bread rise, and I guess my pancakes DID go up like they’re supposed to, so panification powder it is. Nice."

"My host mother showed me the opera program, and basically told me, though a lot of pointing, going through my clothes (see these jeans? No go), and repeating Vietnamese, to look hott. The concert was one of the biggest of the year and I thoroughly enjoyed it with my host cousin."

"This morning I went to the Massage Center to pick up our flyers. There were two big bundles of flyers. It’s really exciting to see my work in actual paper form. My hours on a computer does not just result in a letter grade at the top of a paper, but something concrete to give to people so that these kids have clients and a job. If this is what the real world is, I kinda like it."

"A highlight of today was going out with a coworker and a video camera to capture construction, traffic, and the old/new dichotomy of Hanoi for a movie we’re making. Looking for a traffic jam, now that’s a new one! Hai drove while I worked the camera. We found some 'good' construction (that I usually curse on my bicycle) and drove in through a little door to get a better image. Action for the City spies! I learned that it’s really, really hard to get footage on the back of a bike that doesn’t make you queasy when you watch it."

"Today I filled in as receptionist at Just Massage, which was funny when it came time to answer the phone. 'Tôi không nói tiếng Việt. Anh chờ một phút.' ('I don’t speak Vietnamese. Wait a minute.') Then I would run to get someone to help me. Later on, they asked me if I wanted a massage—business was slow and I wasn’t being that helpful anyway. Sure! It was like a private Vietnamese/English language session for both me and the therapist. Now that’s the way to study language!"

"Yesterday, I joined MCC in going to an HIV/AIDS music and dance competition in a commune outside of Hanoi. It was really interesting to compare it with the competitions at Meeting Point in Kampala. Here, AIDS isn’t such a big deal (yet) and it seemed that the kids didn’t have the same kind of personal, real experience with AIDS as those in Uganda—is was more of a school subject. But they had some creative skits, art, and songs. One group did a rap and their costumes were the traditional long shirts but over tight jeans with stiletto boots. Old meets new! Afterwards we went out to lunch with the organizers. They had these little shot glasses and poured water from a water bottle into them, then toasted. 'Oh ha!,' I thought—'water. No problem to knock back this one.' Except… I quickly discovered that it was not water. No way. That stuff had some serious power. They call it rice wine."

Other highlights in this past month were going to Thailand to visit my dear Wheaton friends Sarah and Sophia, Christmas parties with MCC and church friends, playing my flute and singing in candlelight at the Christmas Eve service with the two international churches, finishing most of my grad school applications, and biking 60K through the Vietnamese countryside for a fundraiser. It's been a good month. Pictures coming soon.

November pictures

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Click here for detailed captions.

wedding, Vietnamese style

My host uncle got married the other week. Come and experience a Vietnamese wedding through this foreigner's eyes:

8:45am--I button up my áo dài (traditional Vietnamese dress) and hop on the back of my host sister's motorbike to scoot off to her grandparents' house and wait the arrival of the bride. As we wait, one of the aunts takes me into a room with a TV and starts talking with me...or to me rather. I try to explain that I'm just learning Vietnamese and if she speaks slowly I might understand, but it seems "speak slowly" doesn't mean much. So I mostly listen and grasp words here and there. The worst is when I recognize question words--uh oh, requires a response from me! I try nodding my head. She asks the question again (hm, must not be a yes/no question). I try repeating the last few words, as in affirming that she just asked a question. That doesn't work either. So then I try responding to what I guess the question is, but she looks really surprised. "Thé ạ!" (Oh really?) No, no, no--my answer is not supposed to be surprising, whatever I just said! So then I resort to "không hiẻu" (I don't understand), but that also feels awkward because it seems like she's telling me some really cool things and I want to understand. Note to self: Learn to say, "please speak to me like you would a 3-year old. I won't be offended, I promise. It'll actually make me feel less stupid."

10:00am--The bride and party finally arrive. They go into the room that holds the ancestor altar, light some incense, inform the ancestors what is going on and let them meet the bride, then exchange rings together in front of the two oldest women of the family. And that is that. The whole thing, maybe five minutes.

10:10am--A few speeches are given by both sides in the dining room while (of course) sipping green tea. Then we head off to a restaurant.

10:30am--Party time! When we get to the reception, there are many people and I see a bride--but wait, that's the wrong one. Then I see another--but she's not the one either. There must be 5-6 wedding receptions going on here. We are directed to the 2nd floor where tables are laid out. There are a few speeches, the food is served (mostly meat), and then lots of picture-taking. We are there no more than two hours.

12:00pm--I return home, change into comfy clothes, and take a nice, long Sunday afternoon nap.

And that is a wedding, Vietnamese style. I was surprised how short the whole thing was. Someone asked me if I felt awkward--yes, of course! I didn't know many of the people, couldn't understand what was being said, and was the only foreigner in the whole place. But I've gotten rather used to this kind of ignorant awkwardness, so it was ok (and it was interesting to see their customs). But what I'd give sometimes for a good hardy Hall gathering... Or for some dancing to loosen people up. I guess the plethora of beer and cigarettes did that sufficiently for most...