Things that are making me happy today

I have been accused of being a blog perfectionist. And I was challenged to write an impromptu post about things that make me happy. No prior preparation. No camera on hand. Just old photos, the internet, and my wits.

I am not going to disagree with that accusation per se...in fact I am going to prove it true. Because not only did I meet the challenge, but all of my items start with "B" and that's cool because it's called alliteration. So here you go, things that are making me happy today, even if none of the photos were taken today:

• Books: There should be a law against reading more than one brain-bending book at a time because of the following principle that I have discovered:

+

= BRAIN EXPLOSION

(but a happy one)

• Bicycles: Specifically my bicycle, specifically riding it around Hanoi, specifically when I pass through the gaps between large, shiny SUVs who can't penetrate the traffic jam but I can and I go "Ha! I am cleaner, greener, AND faster than you!" as I speed past and feel righteous.

Bluegrass: Lately  I've been rather obsessed with a cover of Float On by Iron Horse (thanks Asa). Bluegrass is just so silly with a tinge of sadness at its core. Now why on earth did I ever hate it? Anyways, I'm cured.

• Birds: The Audubon Society of California has the following message for you: "Birds matter." Do you know the difference between a Cedar Waxwing and a Bohemian Waxwing? Does anybody else besides me find this every bit as interesting as the difference between a Republican and a Democrat? 

• Blogging: Because Ali and Calah are also writing posts on the same subject. Check it out!

If you're looking for a fresh perspective on Vietnam...

...then try these books. 

After the blood and rage and tortured patriotism of 

(which, let's face it, wasn't really about Vietnam at all, but about Americans facing up to their own brutality in Vietnam) the following books are a welcome reality check.

On Vietnamese culture in general:

Wandering Through Vietnamese Culture: Published by Thế Giới Publishers (that's where I work!!!) this massive tome by 90-year-old cultural scholar Hữu Ngọc is a rather random collection of cultural tidbits gathered under such lyrical titles as "Mr. Lam Lives on Bonsai and Acquarium Fish" and "The Cicada and the Flamboyant."

From Inside Post-War Vietnam:

After Sorrow is brought to us by Lady Borton, a friend of mine--oh yeah, and also the foremost expert on Vietnamese-American cultural exchange. She was the first American to return to Vietnam after 1975, offering us a rare glimpse into the world of pre-free market Vietnam.

Reaching the Other Side: Subtitled "The journal of an American who stayed to witness Vietnam's postwar transition," this book offers a similar glimpse into post-war Vietnam from a Mennonite perspective (represent!). Considering that I'm in Vietnam because of MCC and MCC is in Vietnam partly due to Earl Martin...I owe this guy a lot.

And if you really must, on the Vietnam War (commonly known as the American War):

Vietnam: The Definitive Oral History as Told from All Sides: Don't be fooled by the cover, this book contains more than just veteran stories. It brings us voices of northern and southern Vietnamese soldiers and civillians alike, as well as peace protesters, policy makers, and the orphaned. It gives a proper sense of just how big and complicated the war was.

Last Night I Dreamed of Peace: This diary written by the 24-year-old Viet Cong guerilla doctor Đặng Thùy Trâm has been called the Diary of Anne Frank of Vietnam. When it was found by an American soldier after her death, the Vietnamese interpreter told him, "Don't burn this one...It has fire in it already." The story of its rescue and the events it deals with are portrayed in the film "Đừng Đốt" (Don't Burn It). 

Not the best acting on the part of the American actors, but really a lovely and moving film. Not yet available on DVD (to my knowledge) but you can download pirated copies.

Special guests soon to be appearing in 'Nam...

You may or may not have heard of the award-winning Latino writer Silvio Sirias, author of Bernardo and the Virgin, a novel about a Nicaraguan priest, and Meet Me Under the Ceiba, a novel about a Nicaraguan lesbian (read the synopses here).

I happen to know him because he is my friend. I met him in 2000 in Nicaragua, and by 2003 I had also met Bernardo and the Virgin (the Virgin being Our Lady, not Bernardo's girlfriend). I first met the pair in draft form, one chapter at a time, read out loud by the author, in the company of said author's friends, lounging of a tropical evening on said author's porch. I am now very pleased to introduce them to you, here, in a very different (though still tropical) setting.

That's right, Bernardo and the Virgin are comin' to 'Nam!

As part of a virtual book tour the first two weeks of June, Bernardo and the Virgin will be holding a Q&A session hosted by yours truly, as well as visiting exciting spots like Ha Long Bay and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Stay tuned for pictures.

They will be escorted by my family:

Okay, maybe that picture's a little misleading. Take two. They will be escorted by my family:

Robert Forsythe, Ph.D. Mathematics

Nina Forsythe, MFA, Poetry

Asa Forsythe, sooon-to-be BA, Philosophy

You can tell I come from the finest stock that the world of goofballs has to offer. I think Bernardo and the Virgin are in for the ride of their literary lives.

Stay tuned to join the adventure.

How to have the Ultimate Italian Gelato Experience

What you do is you take a Starbucks model:

And bring her to HaMy Sophie Ice Cream From Europe at 1A Tràng Tiền St., hotline: 04.35149253. Then buy her one scoop of Ice Cream From Europe (preferably vanilla flavored, price $0.50) and plop it into her coffee. 

Voila! You have just created the

!!

There is a profound thought here, actually, and it is this: So much of advertising strives to make your life look boring and incomplete and so, by way of contrast, make the product look exciting and fulfilling. But what if we turned this concept on its head? What if we went about "advertising" our own lives instead? What if we chose to see the little things in our lives as exciting and fulfilling and so, by way of contentment, make much of the commercial advertising around us utterly superfluous? 

What if a simple combination of coffee, vanilla ice cream, and a friend was all you needed to have the Ultimate Italian Gelato Experience?

For the sake of thoroughness, here y'all go.

The resident perfectionist who dwells inside my brain has dictated that I include links on my blog to my facebook albums. Considering that it has been a while since I last did that, I've got a large batch for your perusal. Browse and enjoy!



Long overdue photos from my host sister's birthday celebrated in Hai Phong last year.






The Lim Festival, with an enlightening article published in Vietnam Cultural Window, edited by yours truly.






An excursion to Ba Vi Mountain where Uncle Ho hung out a lot during the war and where pollution remains blessedly absent.




Thế Giới Publisher's latest field trip: a triple spiritual site sampler, in which Hannah learns the difference between a shrine, a temple, and a pagoda.

And my personal favorite, an illustrated step-by-step guide to bringing the Lunar New Year to your own home.

I ♥ English Pronunciation

This is my host brother Hiếu (pronounced kind of like "Hue").

This is a closeup of the patch sewn onto Hiếu's pants.

This is what Hiếu and I do most weekday nights.

Hint: we are studying English. This is how a typical pronunciation review goes:

"Okay, Hiếu, I want you to read the first word in this list."

"Pro-nun-ci-a-tion."

"No, no, no, that's the title of the list. Read the first word in the list."

"Veter...veterniratiry."

"No, it's veterinarian."

"Ve-te-ri-na-ti-ry."

"Repeat after me: ve"

"ve"

"ter"

"ter"

"in"

"in"

"ar"

"ar"

"ian"

"ian"

"Ve-ter-in-ar-ian."

"Ve-ter-in-ar-ian."

"Great job! Read it again."

"Ver-ti-ni-raian. Trời ơi, khó quá!"

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.