Asia Vacation: Day 9 & 10 / A to Z Challenge

C is for Catharsis.

Days 9 and 10 were my last in Vietnam. As I write this, it's like I'm going through a process of catharsis and saying good-bye to this small sliver of my life that meant so much to me. It just goes to show that time for me isn't measured in days, but in moments. These ten days stuck out more than the past year; not because it's recent, but because I know it'll be top priority in my memory bank.

On Day 9, my aunt and uncle hosted a dinner for us with tons of food, and the main course being bon bo hue. If you haven't had this dish yet, it's a must try! One thing I'll miss is the outdoor eating in Vietnam. It's so casual pulling up tables and chairs on the sidewalk and sharing a meal with neighbors and family. There's such a sense of community there that is lacking in the U.S. I love the noise of conversations in the air and smiles all around. The love and affection that one has for their kin; it's such a wonderful thing.

After dinner we took a stroll to the beach. Oh how I miss those beaches. It was nice to look for shells and chase sand crabs. I can still smell the damp salty air of the evening.

Our last day, Day 10, was very bittersweet. Our flight wasn't until late evening so the day went on like an impending knife over our heads. Our smiles now had a hint of sadness, our laughter less audible, and our eyes more moist. Time seemed to count down with every repressed shudder, as I tried not to think of it as good-bye.

After packing and checking out of the hotel, we had lunch at my grandpa's before heading to the market to buy last minute things. When we returned, my sisters, Michael, and I took my grandpa out for coffee.

My grandpa is the sweetest and gentlest man I know. It's cruel of fate to only give us days together, a blimp in our whole lives really, but I knew it was a necessary sacrifice of my mother's to bring us to the U.S. Yet it still hurts to know that he would only know me as I was during these two visits  and I, him. When he brought up the idea that he may not be alive the next time we visited, it brought me to tears.

The whole extended family would change just as it had in these past six years. It's truly a lesson that one must live and cherish in the moment, because you never know if you'll ever get it again.

When we returned to my grandpa's house. Everyone was there to send us off. We had one last dinner, and then we were off to the airport. A few hours later, we were greeted by Seoul's bitter morning wind.

Asia Vacation: Day 7 & 8 / A to Z Challenge

B is for Bầu cua tôm cá. It's a Vietnamese gambling game played on the new year. For Michael it was his first time playing, but he quickly got into the groove of things and started looking like a local, barefoot and all.

Days 7 and 8 were pretty slow paced compared to the beginning of our trip. Again we visited my grandpa on my dad's side before playing Bầu cua tôm cá. The next day we went to the beach and then over to my Aunt's house for lunch. After that, my cousin and I went into the city for street food, and boba. It might be really disgusting to you, but the snails were awesome!

They were smaller than the snail's I ate in Paris or the US, and instead of being cooked in butter, this was cooked in lots of spice!

The rest of the day was leisurely spent. We took a walk along the river, had some ice cream, then hit the local bar for drinks. I won't go into detail, but I will say a lot of memories were made :)

Asia Vacation: Day 5 & 6 / A to Z / IWSG

A is for 'Asia.'

I've realized that I've fallen quite behind on my vacation posts! So I'll try to wrap them up by combing the days and transitioning them into April's A to Z blogging challenge and today's IWSG post!

After the holiday, I had some stomach troubles. Of course, that's to be expected considering I ate/tried everything. Nonetheless, I rallied, despite my cramping and spasms. Our first stop was the Marble Mountains. However, my mother is quite superstitious so when she heard that dating couples her family knew had broken up after going into the mountain, she wouldn't let Michael or I go. So we waited outside at a café with my mom, aunt, and sister, while the rest of the family went to explore.

When they returned, we all filed into the van and made our way to the Ancient town of Hoi An. This little tourist town was super crowded, but we walked around taking it all in. At the temple, we all went in to get our fortunes. My own was relatively good, saying that this upcoming year would be a good one for me and that I would get what I want, as long as I'm not too selfish about it. Ha, okay, I guess I'll take it!

 

The next day my stomach recovered, so Michael, my two sisters, and I ventured out to the beach. After all the touristy stuff going on, it was nice to just chill out for an afternoon and soak up the sun.

When evening hit, our extended family took us out to a New Year's carnival. It was very crowded, and I'm not one for crowds, but it was enjoyable for my extended family so their smiles made it all worth it. It was kind of strange though, it seemed like one song was playing on the speakers on repeat the whole night, but I liked walking and looking at the lanterns.

To end the night we went to a café. Instead of a night cap or coffee I opted for some fries. When it came out, my sister's and I devoured it. My uncle laughed. "You guys really like this kind of stuff in the US? It's so easy to make at home. You just cut it up and fry it."

Michael found his sentiment hilarious and looking back I now do too. Just thinking about the authentic Vietnamese food I had there makes me pine for it even more. I'd trade a lifetime supply of fries to have another authentic meal again!

I guess for IWSG, my main concern is not remembering my trip clearly enough. Yeah I kept a travel journal and I'm doing these blog posts, but it's never quite the same. It relates to writing in the sense that I wonder if the story in my head is being properly translated on the page.

Thoughts?

A girl's kind of weekend.

One thing I really missed when I moved was having that solid group of girlfriends. If only it were possible to pack them up with you too! For me, I had a hard time finding friends when I first moved to Washington. I was no longer in the environment where everyone was in my age group, or people going through the same thing I was. Soon the distance between California and Washington became more apparent, and phone calls from my old friends less frequent (though we are still good friends and able to pick up right where we left off when we do see each other). It was a huge adjustment period.

Personally, I prefer having a small handful of close friends than a big network, as I find it difficult to really get to know a person otherwise. This past weekend I was able to do just that and have one-on-one time with a few gal pals.

On Friday, Cristine and I went wine tasting in Woodinville and had dinner afterwards to calm our spinning heads. We encountered really cool people at the tastings, sparking conversations with strangers we may never come across again. Before I knew it, it was already past ten and time for me to make the drive home.



Photo Cred: Cristine Peters

Saturday was a bit different. I met with my writer friend Lisa for a hike and we were rewarded with an awesome view. Afterwards we headed to Din Tai Fung for some much needed dumplings and drinks and nachos at Tavern Hall.

In the evening, my friend Hyojin came over. She made cocktails for us and I made dinner. Afterwards we did some facials, gabbed all night, and ate dessert. The morning after we went to brunch and drank tea and talked all afternoon.

Throughout all these separate encounters, the big takeaway from it all were our conversations. If you can talk about anything and everything, and also be okay with comfortable silences, then you know they're the real deal. Conversations that are reciprocated is a big indicator of a friendship's success.

I feel the need to write about successful friendships in this post, only because I went through a period of my life where I was really social, always had a bunch of people around me, but never did I ever feel more lonely in my life. It was a rude awakening realizing I didn't even know them. Yeah, I could spout superficial facts about them, but that was it. Nothing under the surface.

I am lucky in the sense that I have permanent friends. Though sisters by birth, I have a friendly relationship with all of my sisters, but friends outside my family allow me to get a different perspective on things.

One thing my friends and I contemplated was about the future. What's planned, and what is not. What do we want out of life. How to achieve personal happiness. Though I hardly had any writing time this weekend, it made me think a lot about how my protagonist would answer these questions, and how I should convey her friends.

Since the characters in M3 is loosely based on people I knew, I find myself thinking about the real life versions of them a lot. What are they up to now, are they happy? And how do they remember themselves in the time where our lives crossed?

I'm rambling into a tangent now, but it's strange how different friendships come across certain periods of your life, and even more amazing when some friendships can endure all of life's changes. There's one friend in particular that I am oh so very fond of. He is my oldest childhood friend. And though I've moved over three times since we first met, he has been the one constant (besides my family) in my life.

Who is your oldest friend? And would you ever write them into a book? Answer with a comment below ;)

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]]