My life now has a house :)

I have accomplished something. Actually it was mostly through the help of a friend, anyway I got an apartment. Living in a hotel is not good for one’s health. Or one’s wallet. I can now cook a duck in my own kitchen. That is, if I knew how to cook, of course. How difficult can it be to cook a duck anyway?











A couple pictures of my apartment, in case anyone feels inspired to come clean it for me here it is…




















From the back porch you can see a tree. That is good. It increases the air quality and the greenness in my life. Vietnam is a very green place. My apartment is not the best place to see that, possibly excepting the floor in certain places lacking the strategic competence to draw my attention to their hue.

Un Nouveau Malaise

Few comments.

Looking for a job is an annoying business.

Sitting in a park is more fun.


The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology is worth a look.





I have run into several French speakers here in Hanoi, and so I have a new kind of headache from conversations in mixtures of three (instead of the typical two) languages. I like this kind of headache.

Playing with my camera at night is a sign that I don’t have enough to do.



Check out this book. Really good. Character definition reminds me of Steinbeck. I like Steinbeck a lot.


"Saigon traffic is Vietnamese life, a continuous charade of posturing, bluffing, fast moves, tenacity, and surrenders."

"Vietnam is a country of food, a country of skinny people obsessed with eating."

This is a long quote, but I found it way too amusing to resist. Just read it, don’t read into it. This is after the author’s family has migrated to America and is being baptized in the Church that sponsored them.
"I was thinking Grandpa Pham must be looking down on us and smashing his opium pot in fury. I told [my brothers] this meant all our sins were forgiven, but they were jumping up and down, yelling. We’re Americans! I was confused about the whole religion argument. I asked Auntie Dung why Americans go either up or down when they die, but Vietnamese go in a circle. We go up to the sky and stay there for awhile – like Grandpa Pham – to watch over our children, then come back down again for another go on earth. Auntie said you have to believe in one or the other, not both. I said, Huh? But what about this sin thing? Now that we’re Christians, can we really sin and all we have to do is pray for forgiveness and we’re forgiven just like that? Over and over? But if we were just Vietnamese, Mom said we collect our sins like stones in a bucket to be counted when we come full turn on earth again. Auntie said you have to pick one or the other, not both. I said I hope my bucket doesn’t get too full because I don’t want to be reincarnated as a pig and end up skewered on a spit. Auntie said, Don’t be stupid. Still, I felt very lucky to be baptized because it seemed a really good deal."

Waking up after Hoi An

Leaving Saigon last Friday I was thinking suddenly that it really is a cool city, maybe I should stay. Indecisiveness is one of the things I love most about myself … NOT. Anyway, from Saigon I flew to Da Nang, the industrial hub of Central Vietnam, not to see it but to get a taxi to Hoi An. Hoi An is a very old trading village along a river at the coast. And tourist heaven, that too. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The streets are tiny and motor traffic is only allowed at night. The old part of town is regulated so any new buildings fit the unique architectural style of the place. In the unique old buildings are endless knick-knack shops full of paintings, postcards, woodcarvings, hats, Chinese lanterns, etc. Restaurants and cafés, truly endless numbers of family tailor shops where you can have anything made for you in a few hours for the right price, every one graced by somebody roaming the street out front saying “come have a look my shop, very cheap…” Anyway, I spent my time in Hoi An in three pursuits. First, hanging out with a friend who I met there three years ago, it was fun to catch up with her again. Second, sitting in cafés drinking iced coffee and iced lemon juice and mango shakes (of course) and sour sop shakes, and most amusingly making the staff laugh at my stilted Vietnamese. And third, I developed a real passion for holding down my chair at the beach. The last night I was in Hoi An I met someone on the beach who wanted to connect me with a job in a resort near there… hmm. I’m still thinking about that!


Drinking jus de papaye and looking at water.



















Beware the local wildlife.















Did I mention the food? The seafood was incredible. You can get a huge plate of salt-butter-garlic mussels brought to your beach chair for like $2.



Vacation. You end up staring at things that no one intended you stare at.









In the end, I am in Hanoi. After three years, the city feels like someone I met long ago, but now don't quite know what to say to. One of my favorite cafes with Japanese food and a great view is gone. On the other hand, several places that I only remember as giant dirty fenced off lots are now fancy new buildings. Haven’t been back to my old neighborhood yet, where I lived when studying here. I will get to that. It is good to be here though, someplace where I might actually stay for awhile.

My last hurrah from Saigon, for the time being, anyway.

Last week I finished my TEFL course. I now have a truly official certificate, time will tell whether or not it means anything more than something to hang on my wall. Enough about that. One of the more interesting things I did over the last week was visit the Ho Chi Minh City Art Museum. It has a fascinating variety of displays from traditional to some good contemporary pieces as well. Here are a slew of pictures I took there, enjoy, comment, ask questions, tell me I am a pathetic photographer, but whatever you do, smile and have a good day...


















Always a few more pagoda pictures, for good measure...