This past weekend was my first weekend in Vietnam. My sponsor at the embassy invited me to join the family on an afternoon trip to the Bat Trang pottery village. Now, any of you who know me at know, must know it’s killing me not to write Bat Trang properly. But I’ve been lazily avoiding any real upgrades to the website and blog because that would require effort. Right now, I’m keeping efforts to a minimum …
Need two giant vases? No problem.
I digress. The Bat Trang village was great and the usual all wrapped into one great big tourist attraction. What was great? Seeing the motorcycle driver getting ready to deliver two huge vases to someone. There were also some very interesting pieces of pottery. I’ve got patters I like posted on the flickr site, but you can get a good idea of what’s there by going to Pearl River Market (in NYC) or a Chinese shop in any other country. Marjie said she read somewhere that the village has been flooded with cheap, mass-produced crap from China. Someone else I met said that the Delicious pottery place, yes Delicious is apparently the name, has unique pieces and small sets made by a real Vietnamese potter. So, next time I go to Bat Trang, I’ll have to check Delicious out.
All that is wrong with tourist traps...
What’s horrible? Let me show you. It is all the squirrel and dog statuary that is available for purchase. I mean maybe we could use a squirrel on our balcony, but maybe Marjie and I just found a good wedding present for Billy and Clare. Be on the lookout youngins.
So, it’s easy to poke fun at these pieces obviously aimed at Western tourists. The real joke is that after you buy the thing, you have to transport it or pay extra to have it shipped.
I didn’t buy anything. I figure Marjie will want to come visit and I know our tastes tend to run at opposite ends of the spectrum. My man-cave/room already has too many items from previous travels to be immediately inundated with new purchases from my first few jet-lagged days in Vietnam. Besides, if we missed the Delicious shop, then we definitely need to go back to look for art, which would absolutely be worth buying!
After visiting the pottery village, we stopped at the artist village, just down the street on the way back to Hanoi. There was more of the same sort of pottery in a more scenic setting (photos on Flickr). Because it was more tourist friendly – cafe on the lake – it was also more expensive to buy the pottery. Though I didn’t take a photo of it, one of the recurring pieces was an attractive Vietnamese woman on all four, looking back a little with a Mona Lisa like smile while her pants were falling down to expose the top of her butt. I can understand who buys a pottery squirrel, but who buys a slightly suggestive porcelain woman? It was very odd.
Like it?
The best part of the artist village was the flower I found. There was a neat path of concrete circles in a pond of water plant. It wasn’t really a pond, more like a 4 or 6 inch pool, but the effect was neat. This flower poked up through the green plants. Though my photos might not do the flower justice, the flower definitely made it worth the trip.
Would I recommend visiting the village. Yes. If you want to get some pottery and dishware made in Asia (most likely Vietnam, but potentially China, too) then definitely come visit. If you want some sort of unique cultural experience, well, perhaps this isn’t the place, unless seeing what a tourist-focused town looks like is a unique cultural experience in your book.
To end it all, I quickly edited a 30-second clip of the car ride back to Hanoi. There’s nothing really special (other than the music (Cette Planette, Club Sushi Remix by JP Juice that I heard when I was in LA), but I thought you might like to see a little of what suburban sprawl looks like in Vietnam.
So, this post is about two difficult things. First, there’s learning Vietnamese. As if learning the tonal language for a tone-deaf person like myself weren’t hard enough, the continuation of my study is a series of one-on-one sessions with a few different teachers for 5 hours each day. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to focus on a foreign language for 5 hours a day, but it’s really hard. There’s no one to lean on. No Adam, Tree, or Claire to listen to while I think of what to say or lean on while they figure out what the teacher said so I can just copy their response. Nope, in the one-on-one it’s you and the teacher. Of course it’s a lot more learning time, but there is no room to hide. If you don’t prepare and you don’t study, they’ll know it.
I did enjoy my day, though. Cô Quyên is very nice. I have two other teachers that I should meet the rest of this week. No funny stories from language training, just a full brain.
The other thing that’s harder than you think is finding a place to eat. For a tortured, tone-deaf soul like myself who spent quite some time backpacking around places like Vietnam, you would think that finding food places should be easy. I used to eat every meal out. But something seems different this time around. I think it’s more of a thought about hygiene and what’s in the food. Where have the clams come from? That disgusting lake with lots of pollution? That doesn’t sound terribly tasty. Then there’s the question of where they get the water they use to wash their pots and pans, or even cook the food in. As the questions about how clean the stuff is mount, I realize it’s been a long, long time since I was a cautiously adventurous backpacker. I console myself with the observation that this is only day 5 of a roughly 760 day adventure; perhaps I shouldn’t be so hard on myself. But, the once-more-adventurous backpacker in me thinks I should be eating at all the local places instead of going to nicer restaurants.
A little Pho gà on the street
So, last night, I finally sat down at the street side pho place (can’t write it properly with WordPress). It’s about two blocks from my apartment. I picked it because there were a lot of people there. Delicious. As seen by this photo. The meat was all white, no grizzle, and the broth was quite tasty. I was happy and satisfied to have been on the street. I think they overcharged me a bit for the pho, but I’m not really going to haggle over a dollar if it tastes good, is better quality than other places and I don’t get sick.
Today, I continued the eating on the seat of my pants trend and let myself be talked into a bun cha place. I was walking from the language class back to the office and I was starving. There were a bunch of teenagers encouraging passers by to come into the restaurant to eat. I had already been thinking about bun cha, so I let myself be stopped. Then I let myself be led to a seat. As soon as I sat down and immediately a bowl of dipping sauce, grilled meat, rice noodles, and other vegetables all appeared. Delicious.
Of course, bun cha is grilled pork, which I knew in the back of my mind before my teacher confirmed it after lunch …. So … Oops. Doesn’t make it any less delicious, just not what I had hoped the meat would be. The ground pork is grilled to a blackened crispy exterior, then lovingly slopped into the bowl of sweet vinegar sauve that you drip (or dump) your noodles into. Now that was really delicious. No photos of my bun cha, but it’s so close to the office, I suspect I’ll be back there.
So, to find street food is a harder than you think when you don’t know anything about quality, you don’t really know what you want, and there are so many options to choose from. Wait until you come visit and you can see for yourself!
I’m in Hanoi. I arrived on the 13th around 10pm. By 2am, I was sound asleep, only to be awakened at 4am when the dehumidifier beeped to tell me it was full. Somehow, that set the wakeup time for my body for the next couple days. But I digress, first things first.
Well, training in the US is over. I passed the Vietnamese language test on April 1st with a 2+/2 and now it’s onto the month of in country Vietnamese training. It’s a great opportunity. I don’t have to worry about consular duties and can simply focus on improving my speaking, comprehension, and reading skills. It’s amazing how fast all of that fades … since the 1st of April (check the date of the post, April 17) I feel like I’ve already lost lots and lots and lots of Vietnamese speaking capability. The half life of the Vietnamese in my brain seems to be more like that of gallium 67 (3.3 days) than that of cobalt 60 (~5.3yrs).
The week of April 3rd was a whirlwind of activity, though. Lots of meetings with folks at the State Department, squaring away the pack out of all our stuff, getting final vaccinations, saying bye to friends, and getting to our friend’s wedding in NJ. It was busy, but not overwhelming. The only thing I will comment on is the pack out.
Did I really bring this stuff?
For any other new Foreign Service people or people moving overseas for the first time with an option to ship things ahead with unaccompanied air baggage, here is my advice. Plan what you want to send. Don’t just start dumping things in the big box the day the movers arrive. I have random stuff with me now – stuff I brought with me on the plane. Stuff like little elastic black pieces of material with Velcro ends. What? Don’t ask me, we found them, so I put them in my bag rather than throw them away. How about Hungarian money from Marjie’s trip to Hungary to be at Julz & Peter’s wedding? Or what about a pedometer with a burned up battery? Methyl cellulose for glue in book binding? The only reason I have that is because the movers didn’t pack it up. Obviously, then, I needed this with me immediately upon arrival.
Happy to Have!
On the flip side, the things I’m most happy I brought are: 1) my small Japanese style knife, and 2) my espresso maker (with coffee from Stumptown). Things I wish I had … are slacks. Lots of slacks. I have one pair of jeans, one suit, one pair of khaki pants that I wore to my wedding, and a pair of suit pants that no longer fit. Hmmm, not a whole lot of casual options. Ah well.
The other aspect of packing the UAB (unaccompanied air baggage) on the day the movers arrive is that you might not remember what’s in there. I know I have a printer coming as well as (roughly) 100 clothes hangers and my slacks – I hope. Other than that, I kinda don’t remember what I put in there, so when it arrives in the next few days, it will be like Christmas in April.
Anyway, the apartment is great. I’m working on a walking tour of the interior that doesn’t compromise security and advertise to the entire world what I have inside (aka nothing). I’ve also posted photos on flickr of the views, which most of you have seen (below if you haven’t).
So far, the biggest thing to report is I’m slowly overcoming jet lag. The 4am to 8pm sleep schedule is slowly being shifted. As of yesterday, I was up until about 8.40 and didn’t awake until about 6.30am. I kinda like the morning schedule, but I know it won’t last long.
We went to the Sea Pearl restaurant this past weekend because one of our friends had recommended. It’s out in Merrifield, VA. I thought it was an Asian Fusion cuisine, but apparently I can’t read. The website clearly says that Sea Pearl serves modern American cuisine with a California flare. More important than all of this is what’s on the menu.
I ordered the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes … simply amazing. They weren’t too heavy, but were pretty rich and deliciously sweet with the distinct lemon flavor that made me eat the whole stack. Marjie ordered an Egg’s Benedict with smoked salmon over a bagel. Um, delicious doesn’t really go far enough to describe it. The eggs had the perfect amount of run and mixed deliciously with the salmon and bagel.
I highly recommend the place and look forward to going back for another round of pancakes.
Since I last wrote about A100, I went through the basic consular course and am over halfway through the Vietnamese language training. I have to say, I’m impressed with my progress in a comparatively speaking sort of way. 18.5 Weeks ago, I couldn’t speak a lick of Vietnamese. I think I might have remembered that ‘thank you’ was something like ‘caahhhm uhn’ but even that statement stretches the truth of what I remember from my three weeks in country five years ago to the limits of believability.
Now, I can talk disjointedly on a number of subjects, including: 1) the period of colonial subjugation at the hands of not only the Chinese, but also the French; 2) APEC meetings in Vietnam in 2006; 3) the price of coffee; and 4) a little about the important part of life … food. It’s tough going not only because the language is tonal, count 6 of them, but because of the aforementioned 1000 year Chinese domination, there are not only the Vietnamese words, but there are also hundreds of borrowed Chinese words that have been Vietnamized. It makes it doubly tough for those of us who don’t have the Mandarin background, but a bit easier for those with some Mandarin because they can quickly build their vocab.
Still, it’s pretty amazing that I’m being paid to learn Vietnamese and in about four months, I’ll be working in Hanoi reviewing visa applications. Luckily, that work begins after an additional month of in-country Vietnamese training. It’s all going to be quite an adjustment.
Today, Marjie and I went to Artfully Chocolate, Kingsbury Cafe for brunch with some friends. I had heard about this place from someone in our dance class last year, as in last December or so. They have two places, one in DC and one in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, VA.
What sold us on the DC location was the bottomless mimosa for brunch. Only, I’m not a huge mimosa fan and it cost $10, not including the brunch. Ah well. We arrived around 11.15am, were told it would be a half-hour wait for a table of four, then waited for about an hour and fifteen minutes for a table to open up. Why double the time? First, the cafe is tiny and there are only a few tables for groups larger than two. That’s not terribly conducive to Sunday morning brunch. Second, the kitchen staff was either super slow, short-staffed, or an optimal combination of both that allows for maximum hunger to set in with potential diners.
We got lucky in only having to wait an hour plus for our table. If our friend hadn’t been diligent, the baffled host would have given away our table to a group that arrived about twenty minutes after us. As soon as we sat down, we ordered. Starving! Thankfully that killer combo of a slow, understaffed kitchen gave us plenty of time to think about how hungry we were because it took another thirty or forty minutes for eggs, french toast, potatoes, and sausage to show up.
All told, it took over two hours to get basic food. Not my ideal Sunday brunch.
How was the food when it showed up? It was absolutely fine. I ordered the Lavender Chocolate french toast. Though I know there are few places that make french toast the way I like it, I thought I’d try this. The thought of lavender and chocolate was too much to resist. It’s a fine dish. I thoroughly enjoyed the hint of lavender, but I can’t I loved it. I certainly would never wait an hour and a half for it. Everyone else’s food was thoroughly enjoyable, but none of it worth the long wait, either.
At least the person looking after our table was very attentive. In all, I would return for one of their delicious hot chocolates, to go, but I would not do a brunch. It seems like a cool afternoon coffee or hot chocolate hang out, not a thoroughly thought through brunch place.
For my birthday, Marjie took me to Má Pêche for lunch. This is one of David Chang’s new restaurants in Midtown Manhattan. Though we are known on occasion to blow a crap load of money on an extravagant meal, Marjie was devilishly devious in finding an awesome restaurant that did not break the bank. The lunch prix fixe was three courses for $25.
We had the choice of:
squid salad or summer roll,
grilled trout, spicy rice noodles with lamb, and something else
corn meal cookie or double chocolate cookie from the Milk Bar. Apparently, you can order them online.
We ordered both first courses. I got the trout and she got the lamb and pasta. I have never really been a seafood person, but let me tell you, that squid salad was delicious. Hints of cilantro, lime, and basil all evoking thoughts of Hanoi to be. The summer roll was fine, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as my salad. For the main course, the trout was made with some sort of cashew sauce, tiny potatoes mixed with more cilantro and ginger (I think), and it was absolutely perfect. Marjie’s dish was not what we expected, being spicier and more French dish than an Asian dish.
We both could not get enough of the trout. I would go back and order that dish again in a heartbeat. Too bad I don’t have a photo of either the interior space or the dishes, but the whole experience was great. The restaurant is below street level with ceilings that must be on the second floor. It creates a huge space that long, light-colored tables fill. Absolutely delightful.
On your way out, if one cookie per person wasn’t enough, you can get more at the Milk Bar, which we did.
Below is a map to Má Pêche in case you’re ever in NYC for lunch or dinner, on your dime or the company’s.
So, this weekend we might have gotten a bit extravagant with the choice of restaurant we went to, but it was worth it. Marjie and I went to Asiate to celebrate something special. We got the 7 course chef’s tasting menu. I had mine paired with wine. Unfortunately, I’m writing this post about 5 months after the meal, but I still remember it.
What was most memorable? I don’t like seviche, but one of the first courses had a crab meat seviche where lime juice did the seviche-ing. Amazing. There was also a buckwheat noodle with tiny egg course that was similarly delicious. With each course, I had a different wine or sake. By the time we got to course 4, Marjie tapped out. She couldn’t eat any more. Not one to waste food, I ate all of the remaining courses. Needless to say, this gluttony was rewarded with the need to stop on a bench near the Waldorff Hotel on our way to the Metro. Or maybe we took a cab. After all that wine and with such a full stomach, it was a long, long, long time before I was able to go to think about anything else.
Yes, A-100 is only 5 weeks long and it’s 2.2 weeks since we graduated. Life always gets busy. Rather than lots of boring details, let me give you the broad overview of the past couple weeks.
First, the briefing pace never let up. Some were excellent, others were not. We learned about Afghanistan policy, USAID, diplomatic history, cable writing, how to hand questions from challenging audiences, to reclaiming the torch of knowledge from the titans. OK, maybe we were not all prometheans, but we did participate in an off-site leadership exercise. The off-site was quite a bit of fun and provided tons of opportunities to bond.
Second, I signed on with Trident MMA down in Dale City. I only get to go twice a week, but I love the Filipino Martial Arts and Thai Boxing that I get to do down there. I highly recommend the place if anyone is on the market.
Third, I’ve been eating food. Enough said. I finally ate at a place called Ravi Kabab on Glebe Rd. Amazing Pakistani food. I’ve had both the lamb and chicken kebab lunch and both are delicious. I highly recommend the place to anyone in the area.
Fourth. In case you missed the headline on the front page, Marjie and I are being posted to Hanoi, Vietnam. We ship out some time in the Spring of next year. I’m going to be a consular officer. Yeeha!
Finally, that’s it for this update. Not too much else to report. I’ll start Vietnamese language class in September. Aside from the basic consular course in July, life is pretty relaxed and focused on how to be useful when I get overseas.
