Asia Vacation: Day 4

Chuc Mung Nam Moi! Happy New Year!

February the 19th marked my 4th day in Vietnam! And better yet it was the holiday. The new year is like the biggest holiday in the culture. It's equivalent to the American Thanksgiving. All about family, food, celebration, and hope for the year to come. I was beyond excited since it was my first time ever celebrating in the homeland with the extended family.

My sisters and I all woke up and got dressed in traditional Vietnamese dresses and met the rest of the family at my grandpa's house. My mother had rented a van for the day to take us to the temple, the village where she grew up, and then onto Hue.

The main temple in Da Nang sits alongside the water facing the city. With the temple and neck bending monuments, it's a very beautiful and serene place to be--but not on the holiday. It was buzzing with people. We quickly went around saying prayers before going crazy with photos.

After that it was off to my mom's home village Vinh Hien. We had gone there too during my first trip, but going again, with fresh eyes it really struck a chord within me. This little town is based off one little dirt road with little houses pressed against each other. There are no streetlamps, no gutters. Just yellow sand and dirt, with the exception of green rice paddies in the distance.

We passed by my mother's old house, the school she had gone too, and houses where she remembered her friends. It was a very different upbringing than the opportunity she had given us in the states. As a sign of respect, my mother paid visits to relatives and friends, and those that had passed by going to their gravesites.

It was hard not to imagine my mom as a young girl just like the little kids I had seen the day before. Odds stacked against her. Living in conditions we hadn't. No power, no electricity, no creature comforts. It makes me respect her even more.

Our final and last stop was Hue to see the imperial palace. It was huge. Bigger than I remembered my first time around. Here there were a lot of tourists from many different places as well as locals. The city was bustling with people.

 

 

Michael and I walked side by side holding hands and it was the first time that we got more than the occasional glances. People were staring and it made me uncomfortable. It wasn't like it was rude stares or anything, more like curiosity. I could only imagine what they thought: mail order bride. Ha! I brushed it off and made the most of it. When we got back to the Van, I knocked out, and before I knew it we were back in Da Nang at my grandpa's house for dinner.

[[photo credit: all amazing and clear photos were taken by Michael. All the fuzzy ones were from yours truly on my iphone :P]]

Asia Vacation 2015: Day 3

Onto Day 3. Wednesday, February 11th, was an interesting one. We were off to another ceremony (there are a lot of those around the holiday!), but this time we were visiting my grandfather on my father's side. I'm not sure what I expected, having been there before, but it was eye opening.

The first time we went over in 2009, it was just my grandfather, his son (my uncle) and daughter (my aunt). This time around, there were these little kids there! Not related to me whatsoever, they took to my sisters and I quickly. Or perhaps it was our cameras they took to since they just loved taking pictures.

Either way, we were enamored by them. But it only took some time and eavesdropping on the conversation from the adults to pick out the unfortunate upbringing of these little bundles of happiness.

There was this six-year-old girl, bright as the sun with such an enigmatic smile. It's hard to think that she had an abusive father. She and her mother left him, but those type of memories are something you can't ever run away from.

Then there was this little guy. Only three, he was quiet, shy, and polite, but loved to hold hands. And yet his father didn't want him. Rather he left him and his mother and took up a new wife and child. Replacing them like broken dishes.

Even my own aunt, had a disabled full grown son. He couldn't walk. Couldn't speak. Spending his days at home. He would never see the rest of his country. He would never see any other part of the world. He wouldn't even get to see a movie in a theater.

It's difficult after learning their stories not to notice the difficult cards life had dealt them. Tiny, skinny, with scabby feet, they didn't come from a wealthy family, but a hardworking one. And yet, a hardworking one may not be able to provide them with the opportunities to build a better future.

It's definitely something that hits close to home. As a child with a single immigrant parent, I knew it wasn't an easy task to make ends meet. Yet in a country of opportunity, there's always the chance to rise above. But in a country devastated by war, with the majority of families low income, the odds for them are stacked even higher.

These are things we already know, but not something we encounter on a everyday basis. So when you come across kids like these, you can't help but feel for them. You want to help, but sometimes help can only go so far.

It's encounters like these that really humble a person. I found myself that night counting my lucky stars that I was blessed with a loving family and a courageous mother who conquered land and sea to a place where we could grow to our full potential. Though we were not rich, we were rich in love, and memories.

That night at my grandpa's house on my mom's side, I took comfort that though I wasn't fortunate to see our extended family on a daily basis, I would take these few days to heart. It's in the limited time you have with people and even the day-to-day menial things that really are the best. Like roasting clams on the sidewalk and eating skewered shrimp. The small snippets in time where you are completely yourself and bare, enjoying the moment.

changes on the way

One month down from the New Year, but just a few weeks until the Vietnamese New Year (Tet)! I know I haven't blogged much (well as much as I normally do), but that's because I'm in this weird transition period. You know, that sliver of time before everything changes completely? Yeah, that's it.

So some updates. This year I didn't go to Hawaii as Michael and I had planned with his family, but no worries, or next planned trip is right around the corner with my family: Da Nang, Vietnam and Seoul, Korea. On Valentine's day, Michael and I will be boarding a plane for the long flight. We booked these flights sometime in October, so it's kind of surreal that it's coming up in just two weeks!

The last time I was in Vietnam, I was eighteen, and had just graduated from high school. Below are some pictures my sister sent me yesterday morning to get me pumped up for the trip.

 

 As children we used to use sheets and pretend to make royal garments, so it was a real treat playing dress up when we were in Vietnam.

 

A first for me was riding an horse! They were so big, I'm still kind of scared to get on them again.



Just posting these photos makes me all nostalgic again.

This trip was also the first time I got to meet relatives on my mom and dad's side of the family.





Just around the corner from my Grandpa's house is this cool cafe. I can't wait to go back. The ice cream in Vietnam isn't heavy in cream or milk, it's more light and refreshing!

Sadly, most of my photos of the trip were lost when my computer crashed in college, so I'm glad my sister still had these photos. Even this one below:
 

But other than the big Asia trip that's coming, Michael and I are moving! And I mean right after we get back from Asia. So you see what I mean about everything changing completely?

So come March, we'll be trading the city in for the 'Eastside' (the terminology used for the eastern suburbs of Seattle). I'll miss walking to brunch, or getting a drink below at the bar, and not to mention the coffee shops right outside our apartment building, but I think it'll be good for us. I come from a suburban area so I'm used to it. Michael, however, has been living in the city for almost a decade now, so it'll be a huge change to go back to the suburban life. Blaire on the other hand, will have three floors to run around in instead of two rooms, so I think he'll definitely like the change!