NY Times mentions Ha Noi.

The Awakening of Hanoi...(click on image)














Enjoy.
Tran, Quy-Hac.

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!

Tết is here! I wish all of you who read my blog a Happy Lunar New Year! Wish you all good luck, prosperity, success and good health in the year of the pig.

Chúc tất cả mọi người một năm mới thật là vui vẻ, nhiều hạnh phúc, súc khỏe dồi dào, và mọi sự như ý!

I have a memory.

Sitting at my friend's dorm currently, and we're talking about Việt Nam. He mentioned Clinton going to this phở joint called Sài gòn 98 Phở 2000 for a nice steaming bowl of phở and it reminded me of Bush coming to Hà Nội for APEC. Here is a picture. Look at Bush's smile in that nicely stylized Aó dài. Talk about reverse colonization.

Trần, Qúy-Hạc

Top ten things I miss about Việt Nam.

7. Beefsteak (Bò Bi Tết)
There was this joint, on a road right off of Phố Huế. Make a right and go down a little bit. The restaurant is always filled with people. When locals crowd a place, you know its good. I was introduced to this place by Jimmy, who was introduced by Quốc Anh. It is Quốc Anh's hangover joint, and it surely makes your headache go away, or perhaps distracts your mind from focusing on the headache because the bursting flavors from the dish rapes your tongue. Basically this dish is a sizzling platter with a fried egg, steak, meatball, french fries and loads of green onions on it. Served with freshly baked french bread. It really hits the spot. Back here, there really is no equivalent to such a "ghetto" meal. No pizza puff, hot dog or gyros can compare to this marvelous creation of beef steak. When I return next summer, I plan to make it my very first meal.

6. Exploring Hà Nội via Xe Máy (Honda Wave)
Although prohibited from driving motorbikes, most of the CIEE students rented bikes anyway--all Honda waves. Likewise, mostly all the EAP folks rented Honda waves too. Its the cheapest, and most reliable (well maybe not) bike for visiting college students. It is a possibility that we're just so used to ascribing Honda with "reliable" in the states that we rented the waves. One of the greatest things about Hà Nội life is being able to just cruise around the city. Take the side roads and get lost. That is one of the best ways to get to know Hà Nội. See new things, and learn new shortcuts. I miss the wind blowing in my air, and as December strolled along, the cold air scrapping my tender skin. In one memorable event, Kevin and I decided to be adventurous and circle the circumference of Hồ Tây, which is the largest lake in Hà Nội, at around 1 AM. In order to fully grasp one of the essences of Ha Noi life, one must join the thousands of drivers in the organized chaos we call traffic.

5. Hà Nội's Old Quarter, Sài Gòn's Quận 1
Phố Cổ, as a Vietnamese would call it, is a very booming area. Although its history traces back to the original borders of what used to be Hà Nội, it remains one of the hot spots for not only tourist and expats, but also Việtnamese locals, which makes it so interesting. Each street is designated to a certain item or good. For example, Hàng Bạc consists of many DVD stores, which I frequented often. Within this area one could find gift shops, cafes, eateries, cheap clothes stands, lively night joints, and of course DVD stores. Essentially all one's tangible neccesities can be found within the confines of Phố Cổ. Tree lined streets, bustling with vendors everywhere, this was one of my favourite spots in Ha Noi. O and of course, I cannot forget, Hồ Hoàn Kiếm--Lake of the Returned Sword, resides just South, merely steps away from Phố Cổ.

While in Sài Gòn, I remained mostly in Q1, which is quite developed. What makes this district so interesting and enjoyable is that one can find "western" culture embedded within this area, but also the essence of traditional Việt Nam. A mixture between Western and Việtnamese cultures creates a unique identity; a very appealing one. Chợ Bếnh Thành resides in Q1, but of course, that place is such a rip off. Only the food is worth buying. From paper stores, to shoe shops, to good cafes and eateries, to lively night life spots like the Jazz Art jazz club, it really digs deep into your sense of appreciation for a place. Despite all the negative judgements of it being too commercialized or westernized, Sài Gòn comes in as second after Hà Nội on my list.

Trái Táo To, The Big Apple.

So it seems my spring break this year will be even more exciting than it already was planned to be. I bought a ticket today to go to NYC to meet up with Julie, who I studied with in Vịêt Nam. Also, Ms. Kim-Mai is living and working in Manhattan. Danielle, a Queens resident, hopefully will be around during that time. Khánh is thinking about coming to NYC too! It is a semi-small reunion, which is exciting, not only because I get to see my friends again, but because I feel that this time to NYC will be a better experience than the last.

Two years prior, my three cousins and I jumped into a Dodge Neon and hit the road for a Canada, East Coast tour. As many folks know, driving in New York City is not the brightest idea. This proved true for us. Lost for over two hours, and stripped from our wallets, 28$ from toll bridges, we arrived in Chinatown close to midnight. The Chinese food was mediocre at most and extremely expensive. Disappointed with our meal, we set out to find a hostel at close to 1 AM. No luck with the hostel, we went to this shady border town in New Jersey, where the office of the motel had bullet proof glass. That tells one something. Of course, it might not be New York City's fault, but rather our inept ability to plan our travels.

This time around, I hope to see all the well known sights and entice the nightlife there. From the Statue of Liberty to Central Park. Bagels, New York style pizza; all the good stuff. March might be my best month since December in Vịêt Nam.

Until next time.

Trần Qúy-Hạc.

Power-monger.

Vietnamese Association of Illinois has been representing, aiding, and providing services for Chicago's Vietnamese-American community for close to thirty years. Now it is about to dissolve to nothing. Thanks to a power-hungry bitch. Four employees who have been part of the organization for close to twenty years were "released" for inadequate work. Now the services have stagnated and the place is completely empty, consisting of probably at most, 3-4 people running the whole place daily. An interim ED was hired, some 22 year old puppet who, wait this needs a grand introduction, ***~~.... interned for the White House. This minx (Jimmy's word) left immediately after she fired these people. With the way this organization is being run, soon enough VAI has no future, and no longer will I be able to attend the weekly Vietnamese Language class. So for the sake of all of us, step down Mrs. Hitler.

the constitutive other.

Years ago my father would always say on the car ride to some destination, "không có người sấu thì làm sao biết được người tốt?", which loosely translates to the inability to identify a moral person unless present is an immoral. In society today, language, linguistics, lexicon, which are essentially one of the same, help individuals identity our surroundings and ascribe understanding to situations that exist before us. Often times it is this dichotomy of good versus evil which individuals look upon to forge this understanding. But by viewing our surroundings in such a dual way, a chunk of grey, the ham and cheese of the ham and cheese sandwich, is left out. But this claim of constitution is an interesting one.

What is man? Can we define man without defining woman? What is beautiful? Can we define beautiful if we do not know what is ugly? These questions can be asked the opposite way likewise. The ways in which we use to identify what is man is dependent on what is not man; woman. Thus, we must look at the qualities which fail to describe man in the forging of a woman's identity. What is for one identity is a consequence of what is not for the other. Thus we can view dichotomies such as this as co-constitutive. What derives from this idea of man and woman is the applications of masculinity and femininity. Although these are different dichotomized ideas, they often run parallel to one another. Man; strong, protector, breadwinner, leader. Woman; fragile, protected, housewife, supporter. Now does that not sound awfully familiar? Why it should!, because that's how the world, well America (damn the ethnocentric thinking!), views it.

The problem of this dualism of man-woman and masculine-feminine fails to recognize the possibilities of man-feminine, woman-masculine. Without a reasonable doubt, in society there exists individuals who possess both masculine and feminine traits, but such a dichotomized stereotype/label denies the recognition of these possibilities. Essentially, this idea can be seen with any dichotomies existing in society today. Viewing a woman as either gorgeous or heinous leaves out all the cute girls! (reference from picture above)

Qúy Hạc