You know you've lived in Hanoi too long if...

I have lived in Hanoi for 1 year, 7 months, and 2 weeks. And though I am far from being "just like a Vietnamese person" as many people attempt to praise me, I nevertheless have reached a degree of assimilation. Here are some of the indications that you've lived in Hanoi long enough for things to sink in:

• You casually say things like "Today I was riding my xe đạp and decided to stop at this one tea stand in my ngõ and got lots of xinh đẹps from the lady there. Then a xe máy almost ran into me." (credit: Calah Schlabach)

• You can cross a shoe checkpoint without even breaking stride.

• An alarming proportion of your personal items are decorated with chubby animals, and/or something monstrous is dangling from your cell phone.

"Fu female"

• 20-degree weather causes you to dress like this (because you know those cement walls and floors were not designed to keep you warm).

• "The Lake" means Hoàn Kiếm Lake.

• When you go out to eat, you look for the smallest plastic chairs possible (because everyone knows the size of the chairs is inversely proportionate to the deliciousness of the food).

 

• Alternately, you choose your restaurant solely based on how funny the name sounds. 

Highschool Restaurant Teeny Pizza actually sells teeny pizzas!!!!

• You find yourself asking things like "How old are you?" "Are you married?" "How much did you pay for that?" of people you only just met.

Civic Pride is the New Patriotism

Oh, Hoàn Kiếm Lake!

Oh, Hero-King Lý Thái Tổ!

Oh, morning traffic!

Oh, pork trotters with noodles,

and the star fruit tree on my balcony!

Oh, Hà Nội! May I count the ways in which I love you? You speak my 3rd language; you are my 9th home. And though, admittedly, that sounds less than romantic, can I help it that I was born into a family of modern-day gypsies? I have loved each of my homes, but you are indeed something special. And what do lovers do best but write each other love poems? Here, for you, Hà Nội, the first love poem I have ever written to a place:

For Hanoi, after a stroll along West Lake

And what if you do speak my third language? Have I not loved you as my own—yes, and even more than all the other cities?

Did I not just this afternoon discover a shred of quiet lakeside that took my breath—such was the contrast between

the joyful, eager madness

of a Friday route home and

the fishermen of this afternoon

who with such sedate patience cast

and reeled, cast again, and reeled.

With same such patience I have wound myself into your streets. Just to know

the taste of phở at dawn

the scent of the milk flower in fall

the baking heat and wet

when we all go about mad as hornets or

too tired to pick a fight.

Have I not felt

the quiet triumph

after downing a cà phê nâu nóng

before accomplishing a single thing and

the chagrin of spending three times the going rate on xe ôm?

Your charms and your traps, I have fallen for them all. Will you not acknowledge it?

I was not born into your rose-colored past, but I can see

as clearly as any your writhing present, and my heart

aches with the pangs of a patriot to see

Thống Nhất Park

laid waste in the name of progress and luxury hotels.

And the more subtle shock of peering from under

the ancient tiled roofs of
Quốc Tử Giám to see

a bevy of tuổi 'teen' in plastic hip-hop sleek

with matching smirks.

Have I not loved you all the more for your contradictions?

I have been there in the green quiet, and the red smoke,

and the gritty traffic I have become

part of your scenery, watching you

attentively from under a banian. Will you deny it?

Oh, blazing,

running, crashing,

howling, growing city of my third language, so painstakingly learnt and loved—

Will you still take me for a tourist?

-----------

phở = the national dish, a soup made with flat rice noodles

cà phê nâu nóng = hot espresso with condensed milk

xe ôm = motorbike taxi

Thống Nhất Park = Unification Park (formerly Lenin Park), the largest park inside the city

Quốc Tử Giám = the Temple of Literature

tuổi 'teen' = teenagers

-----------

Now, about the title of this post. There is something about being in a foreign country, and especially about making that foreign country into your home, that makes you see your native land in a different way. I have never been one to be very patriotic. A brief survey of 20th century world history—even a glance at the morning news—was enough to replace any pride I might have had with shame at my country's bloody escapades. But as the holidays approach and my thoughts turn more frequently towards the land of my birth, for better or for worse, I have realized two things.

• First, that every country has its sources of shame. Some of Vietnam's sources of shame I have hinted at in the poem above. Consumerism, lack of respect for the environment, etc. But you will notice that it is equally full of sources of pride and affection that allow me to accept it for what it is. Why shouldn't it be the same with my own country?

• And second, that
  
  

  The United States ≠ The U.S. Government

  Or perhaps more accurately,
  
  

  The United States > The U.S. Government

  Even though the government is what holds them together, the states—and each distinct city and family within them—is its own animal, with its own set of flaws and charms. And while I still can't often hold my head up and proudly declare my membership in the "Yoo-nited States of Amerrrrica," I can indeed be proud of my family and of my city (whichever one that happens to be at the moment).

So today, even as I write love poems to Hà nội, I am feeling more comfortable with my identity as a native of the U.S. And I am confident that the ways in which I have learned to love this city will only help me all the more to love the next city I end up in. Isn't funny how things like this work sometimes? You have to love yourself in order to love others. You have to lose your life in order to save it. And sometimes you have to leave in order to really come home.

love,

Hannah

Welcome to Club 62 Nghĩa Tân! or, Third Time's the Charm

Here it is, my home. For real this time.

After being kicked out of my home by the complication police, moving back in with my boss, and then passing a rather dramatic two weeks at a house which I eventually chose to leave, I have found a host family.

I have just posted a virtual tour of the house on facebook. And just in time to celebrate my move, Thế Giới Publishers held a children's Mid-Autumn Festival party in which I played the role of chị Hằng, the woman in the moon.

Here is a picture of my host family. From left to right, we have Tám (pronounced sort of like "Tom," means "eight"), Hiếu (pronounced "hew," means "filial piety") and Hạnh (pronounced kind of like "Hank," means "happiness").

Hạnh is my co-worker, so I call her "chị" (older sister) instead of "cô" (aunt). That makes her husband my older brother and her son my nephew.

This family is atypical in a few other respects, too. First, unlike most families, which have two children, this family has only one because, in Hạnh's words, it's "exhausting." Second, most nuclear families live with the husband's parents, but this family lives with Hạnh's father and mother, Uncle Huỳnh ("H-wing") and Aunt Hồng ("home," means "pink"). And third, my host "older sister" is a bad cook and has no shame in admitting it. We frequently eat out when Aunt Hồng is gone.

I can tell things are settling down now because I have established some solid routines. For instance, every morning chị Hạnh wakes me up at seven and I go down to the kitchen for my morning ritual.

This little domestic picture you see here is very dear to my heart because it is the 100% certified authentic Vietnamese way to get caffeinated: Trung Nguyên brand coffee beans (grown in Dà Lạt and roasted to a strength of 5 on a scale of 1-8), steeped in a stainless steel filter, sweetened with Ông Thọ* condensed milk, and stirred with a dinky tin spoon.

*Ông Thọ is the name of the god of longevity, who for some unspecified reason is always depicted with a protruding forehead.




Another routine dear to my heart is the morning commute. Check out this album to see the sights, some ancient, some modern, and all rather off-kilter and out of focus, that chị Hạnh and I pass every day on our way to work. Believe it or not, this is one of the highlights of my day because...(drumroll)...I have learned to drive motorbike!






Finally, a third routine we have developed is going out for evening drinks. We always order the same thing: fruit juice for me, iced coffee for anh Tám, and yoghurt coffee for chị Hạnh and Hiếu. The cup in the foreground is tea, provided free by the cafe.

I used to think it was lame when people always ordered the same thing, but I'm coming around to this routine thing. We are indeed creatures of habit. In the right amount, routines support us and let us know what to expect, like school and work schedules. They also refresh us, like the weekly rest on Saturday and Sunday. Or they keep us in shape, like regular exercise and going to church. So what I mean to say in this rather scattered blog post is, I am doing well. Thanks as always for your prayers and support.

G-nam

It started with google search.vn, then came gmail, googledocs, and blogger in Vietnamese, and now it's gotten as far as google maps. Vietnam has joined the g-world.

Here is a very pretty picture of G-noi. And for a really surreal experience, check out the satellite view where you can almost see my house on hong mai street. Creepy.

But this is a recent development. A few months ago when I needed to figure out how to get to the central post office, I instinctively sought out google maps, innocently assuming that the g-minions had gone ahead of me photoing, labeling, and uploading every last inch of this city.

I was forced to return to my well-worn analog version.

The only thing google maps had to say about Hanoi included a few major streets and a pink hot air balloon labeled "A" where, presumably, the precise center of Hanoi was located. This caused me a fair bit of anxiety. How was I going to find anything? What if I got lost, would I actually have to talk to someone? If the city of Hanoi didn't exist in virtual form, could I be sure it existed in reality?




= REAL?






And this epistemological concern gave way to another, related question, namely, why do I feel the need for a digital map? Why can't I feel comfortable in a city unless it has already been explored, cataloged, pre-chewed and regurgitated, as it were, for me?

I think that the anxiety stems from my fear of making mistakes, of making a wrong turn, of looking like a fool. But that's what the Bible calls us to be. Fools. Not people who know what we are doing or even where we are going every step of the way. Christians are not called to be impeccable; we're called to love our neighbors as ourselves.

No one likes to make mistakes, but the simple fact is that mistakes are one of the most effective learning tools. And what did I come here for, anyways? To be perfect? No way! I came here to learn about a new culture, a new language, and about myself and God, too. So let's get out there and start making some mistakes!

I began this post with my discovery of the brand-new g-version of Hanoi now available, but what I discovered soon after is that I don't actually need it. Within the first month of being here, I already knew how to get to work, to school, to the MCC office, and home, and more importantly, I knew that if I got lost it was actually not the end of the world. Are you listening, google? Because if you are, you can take this as my declaration of independence. I don't need you. I can find it on my own.

And to prove it, here is a list of several places that I discovered before you did.

1. My workplace, Thế Giới Publishers (the building with the v-shaped roof)
2. My place of study
   
3. My favorite coffee shop, Puku (letter B)
4. My favorite bookstore, the Bookworm (actually, google, you got it wrong. It's been moved to Yến Thế street.)
5. My favorite museum, the National Arts Museum
6. My favorite pagoda, Trân Quốc
   

The list goes on, and on, and on...

And this goes for you, too, friend. If you find yourself depending on Google to do your living for you, take it from me: you don't need it. Google and all its functions are a nice tool for getting some work done fast. But it's just a tool. You still have the right to exercise your free will while you are using that tool. And if you happen to make a mistake with your free will...well, that's what grace is all about.

Top ten things I like about Vietnam.

As mentioned previously, I have been considering staying in Vietnam for another year. Now it looks quite certain that I will. I have had my fair share of culture shock and loneliness while here, but it can't shake the certainty that I love this country! Thank you to all of you who have prayed for me and responded to my e-mails, letters and posts; you have been a great support.

When you really like a place, it's a good idea to write down the reasons why. Then later on, when culture shock comes back in full force and you question how you got yourself into this place where nothing makes sense...well it can be a helpful reminder that even if you don't understand anything, there are still some things you like.

So here is my top-ten list of things I like about Vietnam.

10. Naptime is a must.
9. In the Old Quarter, there is a coffee shop about every ten meters.
8. Disney channel is NOT just for kids, and vegetables are NOT just for grownups.
7. Escargo can be had for pennies.
6. On the side of the road on a typical day you can buy the following: bunnies, goldfish, jackfruit, lottery tickets, cell phone stickers, roses, and haircuts.
5. It's totally okay to burp. And pick your nose. Seriously, everyone does it!
4. Purple jeans are normal.
3. It's okay for people of the same sex to hold hands in public.
2. Bún bò, phở cuốn, avocado shakes, pork rolls, yogurt coffee (or is it coffee yogurt?), and bún chả, i.e., the reasons I gained five pounds my first week here.
1. In the city of Hanoi, you can go just about anywhere that's worth going to by bike.

"A funny thing happened in asia the other day..." Vol. 1 Ed. 3

This edition was sent in a mass e-mail on 1 Nov. 2008

Dear friends and family,
I hope you all have been well. Some of you may have heard on the news that Vietnam is experiencing record-breaking rains. It's true. Two days ago I never expected to find myself riding on the back of a motorbike going the wrong way down a street with water washing up to my ankles, but that is exactly where I found myself Friday evening at 5:05pm.

At 4:50pm, when I looked out my office window and saw that water had washed over the sidewalk and was lapping the edges of our building, I turned to my coworkers Thuan and Long and asked point-blank "what am I supposed to do?" Miss Thuan kindly offered to take me home, and we promptly donned our ponchos and shed our socks and shoes. As we passed waterlogged motorbikes and taxis abandoned in the street I was simultaneously scared I might not make it home and disappointed that I hadn't brought my camera along for the ride.


For lack of a camera, I resort to two pictures downloaded from the internet.

Here is a link where you can see more like them.

Up top is a picture of me in full rain attire (note the shoes in a plastic bag).

But before you are shocked and horrified at the terrible hardships I am suffering, consider this: rain, to Vietnamese, is like snow to Michiganders. Any tropical-born foreigner who experiences a Michigan blizzard for the first time is shocked and horrified at the sheer amount of it, and no less so by the behavior of Michigan natives as they go on with their lives, apparently oblivious to the peril to life and limb all around them. The foreigner might even write letters home about it (complete with photos downloded from the internet and pictures of themselves in full snow attire). These Americans! he/she exclaims in disbelief, How can they put up with this? The answer, of course, is that they (and their parents before them) have been putting up with it before they even knew what "it" was. And there are so many other things that keep them there: family, friends, the leaves in fall, etc. The same is true for Vietnam. The city of Hanoi alone is nearly 1,000 years old. A little rain--even a lot--is not going to make it wash away overnight.

Second things second

It occurred to me that some of you may want to know details like, what do I actually do all day, who do I live with, how do I get around, and other practical things like that. It also occurred to me that practical things like that should probably have gone in the first entry. But the title "first things first" has already been used. So...second things second:

- Work: English editor at Nhà Xuất Bản Thế Giới (The World Publishing House). Mostly, I edit a magazine called "Vietnam Cultural Window," which is given to guests of the ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. Here is the link on the publishers' website: http://thegioipublishers.com.vn/en/magazines/index.php?cat=1

- Home: I live with the Nguyen family. If you know anything about Vietnam you should be laughing right now because upwards of 50% of Vietnam has the surname Nguyen. My host family consists of Grandma, Dad (Tâm), Mom (Loan), brother (Tiến, age 21, currently studying in Japan), and sister (Thanh, age 19).

- School: Rosie and I used to go to language school 3 half-days a week, when MCC was paying. Nowadays we go once a week. Our teacher is Miss Giang ("Zang") and our fellow classmates fluctuate from week to week. But the majority are Korean and don't talk terribly much, in case you wanted to know.

- Transportation: Bike. Despite the heat in summer I loooooooove biking because in a tiny, traffic-clogged city like Hanoi it gets you there fast and in style (see above and decide for yourself).

Want a better picture? Just can't get enough of me? Well, here is a link to a facebook album entitled "My daily life in Vietnam."

Or if that doesn't work, try http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2062427&id=15302590&l=e27cfc4470.