Brunch with the boys

Minh-Four months

Vnese brunch ;-)

Just thoughts

When I recently talked with my uncle, I realised that it will be my 10th year in Nov, I will also be turning 30 in Oct, plus the graduation ceremony. So, this year deserves the biggest celebration :-). Turning 30? I forget that I am getting old :-).

I could not help to imagin in the period of my grandmother, and my mother, how they liked? I am sure that a 30 years old woman in grandmother's time had to work hard on the rice field, raising many kids while trying to keep the husband and his family happy, not to mention she had to deal with all the hassles of social pressures, not be able to go to school or a woman really had to know how to cook, how to keep herself beautiful, how to keep manners and language...etc. I used to think that my mom was rather lucky because my grandparents took her back home when my father turned out not to be a good husband. Many parents would not do that, for them, a girl who married belonged to another family. I guess one of the reasons is because Saigon has always been a bit more liberate than Hanoi. Even now the people from Hanoi are tied with traditions, women are still expected to follow a certain ethics. I usually have to behave a bit more when I goes to Hanoi to visit my aunt :-)

But I feel that I am so much luckier than mom when she was in my age. She had to raise two girls, working hard to make sure that my sister and I went to good school (although to be honest, that probably would not make a difference if you are willing to study) or that we had everything that the other kids had. We were even spoiled like getting new clothes, new shoes on new year or new scholar year while many others had to wear the old clothes; I remember everytime I passed an important exam, I either got a Seiko watch or a bicycle or when I passed the exams to enter state funded highschool, I got my own scooter :-). Now, I am able to do different studies, travelling, meeting new friends, falling in love, and still now worrying about my own family, raising kids. For many Vnese girls, I probably am not lucky :-) because the lucky ones should have got married by now, having at least two kids :-). However, many of my friends in VN are still busy with jobs, so I guess I am talking about the Vnese girls in Hanoi. Seems like they get married early there. Nothing wrong with the choice every makes, but those who got married and had children think that it's not good to be single at my age :-).

My mom sometimes suggests that it might be time that I consider having a family, maybe indeed I should. Just the thought already makes me stressed :-), no wonder how I got a stomach sick. Career, love, family, kids....

The clock keeps on ticking :-)... I am drowning in the sea of being an adult :-)

The Stomach story ;-)

Well, the start of new year has been not so great since I had to go through a few appointments in hospital for my sick stomach. It was a bit sick just before Xmas, and got worse and worse after new year. Apparently, I got a virus in the stomach ;-). Don't ask. I have no idea how it got there. So, after the appointment with the anesthetist last week, I has a small medical intervention (they said it was an operation, so that scared the hell out of me since I have always been very skeptical when it comes to doctors, and medications) yesterday.

So, I arrived in an operation room, and started panicking when I saw plenty of people in white or green uniforms. They told me to lay down on a table, under a super big flash white light, putting a tube into my right arm, and three little patches on arms and chest to measure the heart beat. And then, a nurse spoke to me whilst putting an oxygen mask "this is an oxygen mask, and you will sleep shortly". The whole scenario reminded me of when I was about 10 or something, I had a cyclo accident (still have a big scar now on my knee), and was also taken to the ER block in children hospital in VN, so they could put the stitches on the wound. It was the same although the difference was that my grandmom had to give the doctor and nurses money before they did it, so they did not hurt me. Oh yeah, that how it works in hospitals in VN, so getting sick is really bad. Even when you wife gives birth, you will have to spread money from the moment you got to the door of the hospital to when your child actually was born. I also have heard from some friends from Hanoi that sometimes there are two women with two babies in one bed! I have considered myself lucky to be here because I know that many of my friends who have high education, who have big dreams to move mountains but they are trapped into a system that they can not do much. And now with the WTO, and globalization, the poor in VN will unfortunately suffer thoudsands time more.

Anyway, not a story to start the year. After the nurse spoke to me, I woke up in a small room, felt not much pain, and I could go home. My stomach is fine now (I really hope so, nobody wants to have a sick stomach) since I am extremely hungry for the first time after a few weeks ;-).

Movies

Haven't been to the cinema for quite some time, and I plan to check out some new movies this weekend.

Yesterday I saw a Ame-Indian movie called "Love at first sight in Bollywood" on TV, and loved it. I remembered when I was young, Indian movies were really big in Vn, usually they were musical comedies but very sad, mostly about love, family, and especially the role of women in Indian society. I always like them because I am fascinated about the belly dancing, and how beautiful the women are.

Anyway, I think I love musical comedy (and Kungfu movies ;-), but those who wouldn't) in general, don't know how many times I saw again and again Grease ;-)).

Minh 3months

I am sure this guy will break some girls' hearts later, he is really cute!

Seafood fondue with Vnese fresh veggies and rice noodle

Doe filet "au four" in teriyaki sauce, sesame and gingembre

Thai dessert

Grapefruit n green papaya salads

Both of the salads are typical South VN, especially the green papaya, it is a student type of snacks. When you talked about papaya salad, every student from Saigon would talk about how much they love it because it is cheap, and it is really a delight after classes, gathering with friends in famous places that sell this salad. The salad is usually mixed with dry beef, and served with super hot sauce. Yummy!

Happy 2007, everyone!

2007 is here, and I would like to wish everyone a super year with a lot of love as without it, our lives means nothing.

Me, this year, I especially do not have any resolutions, I think many of the things we want to do or achieve are in our abilities, only to see how strong our will is. The end of 2006 gave me much of nostalgy of what had happened, and at the result, I was feeling a little bit melancholy.

But a new year is here, and it deserves a bit of reflection. What I am about to write is two sensitive subjects, religion and racism. Many of us think that Muslim is a religion with trouble and there are certain practices that we see as wild like killing a sheep to worship (and I still believe that no beings should be killed in the name of any supernatural power "people"). But there always are good Muslims who do not eat pork because pork is an animal which can eat anything for its intestinal system is strong in defending against sickness. For Muslims, God gives us a healthy body, so we are not allowed to destroy it by drinking alcohols and eating pork (our bodies do not have strong defense against sickness). A truly practicer in any religion is good. My uncle told me a story long time back that he forgot his wallet at the market in Kigali (there is a big number of muslims there), and the guy who sold something to him looked for him, and gave him back the wallet. That is a real practicer.

Unfortunately, there is always a rotten egg that makes the whole basket smell, and we tend to assume a lot after the first impression or experience. Moreover, somehow deep in our unconciousness, some of us are racists. The difference is that before, it is more transparent (which is easier to see to fight), now it is hidden. I am not only talking about racist about skin colour, but disability, and people who are illiterate. Sometimes our behaviours are so systematic that we do not realise that we hurt other people feeling or creating a serious offence. Even in a country, in the past when I was young, I really do not like anybody who come from North, let alone the people in the Central (and I am sure they do not like us in the South). For people in the North, we are those who only know to live life extravagent, only to spend, not to save, who only know to party, not to study because of the climate, and prosperity, richness of foods, rice, seafood that our live daily life easier than the rest of the country. People from the Central suffer the difficult climate, that they can not do anything to produce foods, that make they live with saving, with a typical characters that sometimes still irritate others. In fact, they only want to take in, and not give out.

While working in the hotel industry, I notice a tremendous difference in the way people behave toward people who are in the office and people who are doing the hard work (those who actually do the difference between a four stars and a five stars). People in suits think uniformed people are stupid, and the uniformed people (because of the treatment think that they are racist-at some extent I understand them) think the managers are *sshole who know nothing but to give orders (and at some extent this is true ;-)). In a company, we could hardly see it, but in hotel you see this every day. I guess that is the only thing I do not like in hotels. People automatically presume that workers are illiterate, and therefore dumb.

A few months ago, a friend of mine told me she heard a white woman talked to a black server that he had to serve her because she is white! This kind of things you do not expect to hear nowadays, but I think people like that exist in great number. That is scary.

So, the new year comes is the time for all of us to start noticing our own behaviours, the things we do, or say should be thought over, don't let anger blinds us to avoid hurting feeling. Be generous is probably a resolution!

Again Happy New Year, dear friends!