Uniquely Hanoi

It's been a while since the last post, and that can be explained by the fact that not too much exciting has happened. Of course, if I had experienced a week like this at the beginning of my trip, I would have been bursting with stories. But by now I am so used to the culture that it takes a moment to discern what I would have considered "strange" before coming here.

That doesn't mean there aren't occurrences that still take me aback, things that are so blatantly different that they stand out. Things like...

The Vietnamese Taste in Celebrities

Exhibit A, one day I turned a corner and came face to face with a giant Nicolas Cage.

I laughed at this for 5 minutes. No one else found it funny.

At the summer camp in Hai Phong, we asked the kids to name somebody they looked up to. Roughly half the kids said they idolized Michael Jackson because "he is so talented and very, very handsome". A couple things with this:

1. I think it may be because he was super duper white toward the end of his life. Given how much value they put on white skin, this must make him a hero of sorts.

2. Do they know he's dead? I'm leaning towards no, but I wasn't about to break the news to them.


The Unique Pick-Up Lines

Most of the people I go out with are young white girls. This is pretty typical at the ex-pat and backpacker spots, but when we venture into areas more frequented by locals, we get a lot of attention. On the upside: we get a lot of drinks bought for us by the wealthier locals. On the downside, being inconspicuous is a challenge.

For a culture that I've heard described as "flirtier than America", the men certainly need to work on their pick-up lines. Some of my favorites include:

-"Your smile is very fresh"
-"I like it when you sit there like that"
-"I hear you have a lovely voice"
-*no words, just swerves at us on a motorbike*
-"I WILL EAT YOU"

Dogs Raised for Food

RUN WHILE YOU CAN LITTLE BUDDIES!!

I thought the concept of Asians eating dogs was a racist generalization, but it truly is considered a delicacy here. Every day on the bus we drive past multiple stands with roasted dogs hanging by their hind legs. I would post the picture but I think my little sister Amy would have a legitimate heart attack.

Children Oblivious to the Risky Fashion Choices they are Making

Oh.

Wow.

**side note--these weren't poor children who had to make do with whatever vulgar hand-me-downs they received. These were children from reasonably rich families whose parents apparently didn't understand the insinuations of the clothing they bought their children. Let's hope nobody else got the point, either.

Absolute Silence on Public Transportation

You better believe this was a silent ride

In America, anything goes on public transport. The train in Chicago is typically 95% loud people, 5% me. But here, even though the bus is loud and creaky and blares its horn, you get glares if you speak. The exception to this rule is if you're speaking on the phone in Vietnamese. Then by all means, scream as if you are trying to communicate through a brick wall rather than a perfectly functional mobile device.

On another note, ten days left in Hanoi!