Monday, June 30, 2008

Hanoi Lenora Pt. 1

Hello all! Here I am in Hanoi crashing with world traveler and former fellow budget-foodie Mikka.

This trip is a series of firsts for me, first time in Asia, first time on the back of a motorbike, first communist country. The flight was long and slightly surreal. Crossing the International Dateline means that I lost an entire day, last Thursday to be exact so I spent the first 2 days feeling pretty disoriented. Conversely when I go back I will leave at 11:20 pm on Sunday, and arrive in L.A. at 9:20 pm, also on Sunday. I learned about this way back in elementary school, but I still feel that this should violate some kind of law of physics.

When I arrived I was immediately accosted by a group of teenagers who wanted to take a picture with me. Somewhere in this city a bunch of fresh-faced Vietnamese kids are laughing at the panicked sweaty frizzy-haired American clutching at her bags. Mikka informs me that this is pretty common as foreigners still attract a lot of attention. This is also why they stare a lot. Once you get accustomed to it, it's fairly easy to ignore it.

The first thing that struck me about Hanoi was how completely moterbikes outnumber cars as the primary form of transportation. I could probably devote a lot of blog space to motorbike culture here since it's so much a part of getting used to the rhythm of the city. They've even replaced cyclos, which are now mostly a tourist attraction'

The second thing that struck me is how young people are. Walking or riding around it seems that most of the people out and about are between the ages 0f 17 and 25 zipping along on vespas and bikes, managing cafes, out in front of shops, eating bowls of pha. It gives the city a kind of bouncy high energy feel. The guidebook says that this is sort of a commercial renaissance period for Vietnam and also the longest sustained period of peace since the 80's. That may be oversimplifying things a bit, but the atmosphere is definitely upbeat. There's a lot of commercial activity and a lot of construction.

It's pretty hot and humid but no worse than Chicago or New York in the summers. After it rains the air is fresh and cool for several hours which is wonderful after a long day of picking your way through narrow streets looking at silk and silver and baskets of dragonfruit.

We spent Friday and Saturday exploring the Old Quarter before heading out to Halong Bay on Sunday. More about this later when I can post pictures and video.

TBC...

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Things About Hanoi that are Going to Take Some Getting Used To*

Staring is not considered rude.

Small children ride with their parents on motorbikes.

People here are tiny.

Chickens walk the streets.

I am probably one of three people of African descent in a 100 mile radius.

TBC...

*Did I mention I was coming to Hanoi? Nope. More about that later.

Monday, May 05, 2008

Miss Me?

(cue "Morning" by Grieg)

Apologies for the lack of activity here but it's no fun writing in a fugue state. It's also impossible to write about life in New York when said life is...well...this:



Granted my lab is a windowless shared office in the basement of the same building that houses my department but you get the general idea. At any rate, I finally have something to write that isn't about stress, inertia, or panic.

Kate, Sonny, and Betty were in town last month. Kate is one of this year's Poetry Society of America's National Chapbook Award winners for her Dream of Water series. You can see the accompanying images as well as some of the poems here.

We also saw the Tisch School production of El Grito Del Bronx . I am truly ashamed of the fact that this was the first time I've seen anything at Tisch, which, given that it's right here and student tickets are insanely cheap, should have been a no brainer. But there it is. Chalk it up to lack of imagination. Oh well.

If this was typical of the quality of work the students are putting out then I will definitely be back. The play itself was very episodic, going backwards and forward in time. The first act felt uneven, but the pacing was better in the second act, although I'm not sure if that was a problem with the play or my own need to adjust to the rhythm.

Winter here wasn't particularly harsh but kinda clingy so since the weather's turned nice Spence and I have been exerting ourselves to be outdoors more. Spence bids farewell to NYC in about two weeks and is trying to cram the things he hasn't seen over the last four years into the space of a couple of weeks. Tales of his recent exploits avec and sans moi are here.

One of my new favorite places to go on a nice day is the South Street Seaport to look at the tall ships. It's a cheesy touristy area but you can't beat the tall ships and the view to Brooklyn.



Appropriate since I've decided to write about ships.


See what I mean about the view?

The weather hasn't been consistently great, yesterday windy and rainy, today, gorgeous. I was prepared to hole up for a second day in a row and catch up with missed TV on my DVR when Spence texted me: "It's gorgeous. Go outside right now." He wasn't wrong. I took the train to Prospect Park and wandered around a bit before finding a place to sit and read for an hour or so. Prospect Park is the other large park in New York designed by Frederick Law Olmstead. I can't say I actually have a preference for Prospect Park over Central Park but, being a Brooklynite, I opt for distance over fame.



Ah, green space.

Once again, I am decamping to Chicago before this wonderful weather turns vile. Next year will see me in a new apartment and, possibly a new neighborhood. I'm crossing my fingers that I find a place not too far from where I am now. Moving will be traumatic enough without the added nuisance of establishing a new routine regarding grocery, laundry, and train.

More soon-ish.