Hanoi Day 3


On Day 3 I tried to attend a session of the conference, but no one showed up. I met with another contact working on the A.O. issue, and had dinner at the apartment of Chau, the photojournalist I met the night before.

Dinner at Chau's apartment was really the highlight of the day. He and his wife, who have a 3-year old son named Dan, are typical middle class Vietnamese. They do not own a car, but they live pretty comfortably. Their apartment is tiny by American standards. They have a living area the size of a small bedroom (where Chau's mother-in-law sleeps), and a bedroom where Chau, Dan, and Huong sleep. They are expecting a second child in June, and Chau said they will look for something bigger.

Our dinner was another steampot. Huong went really overboard with fish, squid, oysters, tofu, and beef. We also had these really tasty rolls that consisted of a sliver of each of the following: beef, pineapple, starfruit, ginger, and a bit of cilantro. These items were rolled up in something like a lettuce leaf and then dipped into soy sauce that was mixed with wasabi (which they called "mustard").

After dinner, Dan brought out a set of little Vietnamese books, each based on a popular fairy tale. Dan and I looked through them and he would say "what's that?" in Vietnamese and then I would tell him the name in English. It was a lot of fun, though playing with Dan made me miss Luc and Claire even more.


Posted: Wed - January 11, 2006 at 03:09 AM          

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