The Faces of the Season
Growing up, my immediate family never celebrated Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year), preferring to dodge all the superstitions that surround it, like it being ill-advised to sweep your house for fear all the good luck would go out with the dust, or the fear of being the first person to...
The Repro Men — Saigon’s Anonymous Artists
Confession: I’m a bit of an art snob. I once planned an entire trip to Holland around the Van Gogh Museum. And I’ve dabbled in paints and pastels. I once took an evening art class at a local community college just for the joy of having two blissful hours where...
Photo of the Week – The Secret to Happiness Is…
Singaporeans have Singlish. Chinese have Chinglish. The Latin community has Spanglish. Where’s Vietnamglish? Vietglish? Vietnameseglish? See? You can’t even make a decent word out of the combinations! What I’ve found strange about Vietnam is that there really isn’t that much English spoken outside of the tourism industry. Yes, students get...
Dollar Days – Shopping in Saigon on the Cheap
Times are hard everywhere. I had proof the other day when the woman ahead of me in line at the grocery store paid for her groceries all in change. I am not joking. She had a bagful of VND 500 and 200 coins. With 20,000 Vietnamese dong to the USD...
Photo of the Week – Vietnamese Embroidery
I remember as a kid, going through a crafts phase. First it was popsicle sticks and glue. Me: Mom! Look what I made! Mom: Another popsicle stick basket? Really? OK. Maybe she didn’t actually say that, but I’m sure that’s what she was thinking. Surprisingly, there are only so many...
The Birdmen of Saigon
I’ve always had pets, as far back as I can remember. My parents lovingly put up with a menagerie of animals, starting with me bringing home a guinea pig from 2nd grade (I didn’t like it) and various reincarnations of birds and fish. There was even the smelly rabbit I...
Photo of the Week — Keys and Kids
I recently had house guests, dear friends who I’ve known for years. A sweet couple and their two little kids, aged 7 and 10, cute as a button. I knew the family from when we were all living in Cambodia. They’ve since relocated to the countryside of Vietnam. He makes...
Photo of the Week — You Don’t Bring Me Flowers
There’s this sad love song by Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand called “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers”. Don’t ask me why I know it. Seriously. I don’t know. Probably too much karaoke in my wayward, misspent youth? In any case, the song opens with: You don’t bring me flowers You...
It’s Report Card Time! Grading My First Three Months in Vietnam
As a true nerd, I always loved getting report cards as a kid. Some strange, twisted streak in me loved getting judged (and the inevitable praise that followed). Anything less than As were unacceptable. Even a B+ was the equivalent of an Asian F. To set the record straight, there...
Photo of the Week — Model Boats On Steroids
I remember getting my first ever model kit as a kid. I was excited because all the kewl kids seemed to be “into” putting together model planes and cars. And by kewl kids, I mean nerds. (Confession time. It’s a bit hazy, but I think I hung out with the...