Looking back to look forward
When you live abroad for a good chunk of time, coming home for a visit can bring about a flood of emotions. I love seeing my family and friends, but I always feel a bit like a stranger or even a foreigner in my own country. Living without has been my m.o. this last year and so stepping into a life full of excess always feels a little awkward. That and all of those drug commercials on TV. What the heck? Of course one visit to Target usually helps me get past my judgement on these superficialities as I can happily stock up on really necessary stuff like flavored coffee and a cabinet’s worth of hair products. And after my first cheeseburger at InNOut, I can sort of fall back into the American way of life. (OK I tease. That’s not going to happen anytime soon, but I do enjoy my vacations home!)
Vietnam is also a country and experience which is hard to describe to people without sounding completely negative. Everyday of my life is filled with a multitude of small to complex challenges. And this past year was a rough year of transition for me. Vacation came at a really good time. I needed to refresh and refill.
During my holiday, one of my favorite friends I’ve visited with is one of my oldest and dearest, Holly. The best way to describe how I feel when I visit with her and her family is NORMAL. Not a very exciting word, but at the heart of the emotion, I simply feel like ME. And remembering where I come from and the person that I am, having a good chat and a laugh with a friend I’ve known forever is really good medicine for a wounded soul. 2009 was a rough year for us both and I am grateful to have the chance to jump these hurdles together. We should never forget who we are and how far in life we’ve come. Thanks for the reminder, Holly. Love you oodles!
My peeps, yo yo!
Whenever I make a visit home, I always split my time between San Diego and Los Angeles. L.A. is like the other place I grew up in the sense that the five years I lived there were really remarkable years of growth for me both professionally and personally. And it was in L.A. where I met some the most important friends in my life.
The tough part about making a visit these days is splitting up my limited time between everyone and having those too-short moments be meaningful. But I think I managed to do well this visit. Even stopped by the City Club and after a good chat with Larry, remembered exactly the stuff I’m made of – important during this challenging time in my life.
Worst part of Los Angeles – the traffic! THAT, I do not miss. It took me two hours+ to get out to my friend Sheryl’s house. Absolutely maddening. Even in the slower lanes, you have the jerks who get right up on your tail and ride your bumper. And for some reason, the drive between San Diego and Los Angeles seems to have gotten longer. Well, driving in the pouring rain up to L.A. probably doesn’t help the situation any. But for as many times as I’ve driven that route, it seems to have been stretch out a bit! It has – right? ;p
One of the fun things I got to do in L.A. was go see my hair stylist. Josef is my favorite. And I’ve gone to him for years now. Even living abroad, I usually plan a visit to Umberto’s in Beverly Hills. I’m not really a Beverly Hills kind of girl, but I have always splurged on my hair. In Japan even, I found a great stylist in Howard and would visit him on my visits to Tokyo. My hair is kind of my thing. And I let Josef do whatever the heck he wanted, because the look on his face when he first saw me said it all…The no bangs, one length thing was NOT working for me! And you know he made a good point. Bangs point to the eyes and if you have a pair…well then. So the bangs are back and my hair is all layered up and ready to grow…let’s hope that it will continue to grow quickly and get past my shoulders soon! This photo here shows off the new look the day after it was cut.
With two of my dearest friends in L.A. I discussed the issue of SKYPE. I’m telling you now, this is a fabulous tool to stay in touch and communicate. It doesn’t matter if you have video or not. Just to be able to talk live and hear your voice – that’s a lot of goodness right there. I use it all the time for work, as our offices are spread out over SE Asia. We chat, speak, hold conference calls and even send documents. So please….please please please. Load up skype on your computer and let’s stay in better touch – I MISS YOU!!!
GLEE!
Fortunately for me, the Star World channel replays the shows of the week on Saturday and Sunday. I just caught the first episode of GLEE, which will now be shown every Wednesday night after American Idol. My friends Mette and Sarah both watch this show on Wednesday night when it first aired and said that they thought it had potential but that it wasn’t what they expected. It sure has been played up a lot this month, so I thought it must have fallen short of the hype. But for me – OMG – I loved loved LOVED the first episode and cant WAIT to see the rest of the season!
What some of you may or may not know about me is that I was a theater kid when I was young. I’ve posted a couple photos below from my performances. I loved taking the drama or voice classes and remember all too well the auditions for the plays. I never got a lead role, but Mr. Russell, the theater company director was always so kind to call me and congratulate me on my role as the townsperson or bunny rabbit or whatever other general role I was chosen for. I practiced so very hard for auditions, but when the moment of truth came, I was so nervous, I failed to sing the song how I practiced, and would undoubtedly fall out of my singing voice.
Fast forward to high school. I was an all-American girl. I played sports but was also a cheerleader. I was part of the popular group of kids. I went to school dances and proms with the greatest enthusiasm. And I also watched every performance of Ensemble.
Mixed Ensemble was a group of 32 students, half girls and half boys. The concerts would being on a classical note and grow progressively toward pop tunes and big song and dance numbers. At our school, this vocal group drew not only musicians, singers and dancers, but football players and basketball stars, cheerleaders and tennis champions. It wasn’t dorky to be in Ensemble, it was beyond cool.
I never found the courage to audition for Ensemble in the first three years at school. The group was so talented. I never thought I would be good enough. But my senior year approached, and I realized it was my last chance. I nervously made my way to the audition to sing for Joretta Wright, our teacher and director.
The audition was tough…you couldn’t bring a song to sing, she just asked you to sing well know tunes, patriotic songs and even some children’s music. I sang America the Beautiful and Mary Had a Little Lamb. I sang confidently and sincerely, hoping to secure a spot in the group. The next day, I went to the Ensemble room to look at the paper on the door. And my name was on it. I made it.
Ensemble was by far one of the highlights of high school. I loved the music and the choreography. I met one of my best friends in my life, Holly, and one of the greatest loves of my life, Hap. I loved being on stage and performing and when we went to Boston and New York on tour, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Ensemble was cool.
GLEE may be off to a slow start for my friends here, but as I watched it today, I was overcome with emotions and memories of a very fond time in my life. I can’t wait to follow the storyline and see what other memories come to light. For today, I’m content to go through my day humming some of the songs we sang back then. I still remember them all.
Pointed Toes! – That’s me my senior year at Valhalla High School with my then-boyfriend and Ensemble partner, Hap.
He’s a prince! – This was the play “Cinderella” and that was the prince, Pat Merrill. I was in 8th grade and he was a senior in high school. And I had the hugest crush on him! Leave it to me to fall in love with the prince!
The Trouble with Angles – Forget the costume I’m wearing! How about that gold color palette in our house! Yikes!
American Idol lovers
So what do you do when you have a group of friends who are a mix of American Idol fans, some singers and musicians and good friends who just like to have good time? You through an American Idol party!
AI airs just one day after the US and a few of us follow it just as religiously. We are excited to see if there is the same level of talent as in Season 8.
The channel Star World brings “the best” of American television to the region. I’m not so sure why they schedule programs like “America’s Greatest Dog” or “I’m a Celebrity Get Me Outta Here” but I am sure thrilled that they show American Idol!
I gathered the girls at my place, ordered a bunch of pizzas, the gals brought wine, and we sat and watched and chatted and laughed. We had a great time. I’m sure I’ll host a few more parties as the season progresses. Especially when the contestants get to L.A. or into the finals. It’s good to have good girlfriends to be silly with and who are just as excited for a light-hearted, entertaining program. Thanks girls
A very Sapa Christmas
Well, I’m afraid to say that Christmas is officially over. I returned to Hanoi in the wee hours of this morning on the overnight train from Sapa. The ride back to Hanoi was much smoother than the ride up to Sapa. Coming home, I had both Pete and Duc in a private cabin, and one which was pretty luxurious compared to others. In 2008, when I traveled back to Hanoi from Sapa, I suffered a horrendous amount of bed bug bites, some of which, after getting severely infected, still scar my legs. Because of this, I’m not a big fan of overnight trains (go figure!).
On the way up to Sapa last Wednesday, though, I had new friend Duc with me, and two strangers in the cabin. At some point in the evening, I was in dream mode, but had a frightening nightmare which entailed some creepy man trying to move me over to share my bed. It was all too realistic and relevant to my situation, and so the crazy dream led me to scream in my sleep, startling my fellow cabin mates. I was a bit embarrassed, but the face and hand gestures of the man on the bed across from me, left me to giggle softly after I had recovered from the nightmare. See….travel is FUN!!!
Once in Sapa, I was met with blue skies and unusually warm weather. Normally it’s about 5 degrees Celcius, but we enjoyed about 25 degree weather in the day. After arriving in the early morning and getting settled, we headed out to the valley for a very easy walk through the village. The Hmong and/or Red Dao ladies love to walk along with you, in hoped that you’ll buy something from them. They make hand-embroidered purses, sell silver bracelets and other trinkets. But they also get a chance to practice their English, which is pretty good.
I had a nice chat with Thang (?) who told me she was 26 years old and mother to two children. That was it for her. Unlike her mother who had ten. Whoah! She has one boy and one girl and feels blessed. She could understand difficult English such as, “Are you the oldest or youngest among your brothers and sisters?” I always enjoy speaking to the locals and learning about their life, I just don’t enjoy the hard sales pitch at the end of the walk! But it was fun and we all enjoyed the great weather! Mountain air is soooo refreshing!
Christmas Eve, Duc, Pete and I enjoyed a lovely hot pot for dinner and thought of creative names for Pete’s new company. When you are trying to find a twist on meanings, it helps to have an internet connection. We laughed our butts off with some of the phrases we came up with and also some of the new words we learned; synonyms to words we were pondering.
Christmas Day was a lazy one and we took a drive through the mountains and stared over the beautiful valleys. It was my first time to see the peak of Mt. Fansipan. I’ve been challenged to climb it, but am told it is more difficult than Mt. Fuji. Hmm….we’ll have to see how I feel in July or August!
Christmas Day night was the big dinner at the restaurant. The local minority children arrived just before 6pm and then filed into the restaurant to grab a seat. This was the part of Christmas I couldn’t wait for. Pete and Sapa Rooms Boutique Hotel are very involved in the local communities. In addition to his partnership with Ma Cha school, he also does a Sunday Soup program for the local children and feeds about 80 kids each week on average. He distributes lots of donated clothing to some of the most rural areas; these are places where most of the kids run naked for lack of anything.
The Christmas program provided all the kids a meal and a present, which was either clothing or school supplies, or a combination of the two. You can see some photos of the dinner and more HERE.
The day after Christmas, we took the remaining presents into TaPhin village where the Red Dao tribe lives. The presents went quickly, as it was the mothers and grandmothers who were there to accept…the kids were all having lunch at home when we arrived. We also spent some time hiking around and then to the medicinal baths. Being the only chick, I was alone in my little room in a wooden tub, but it was so relaxing and rejuvenating…I really enjoyed the hot herbal water. Awesome.
The train ride back to Hanoi came all too quickly. As I’ve written and as you know, Pete is one of my most favorite people ever and I am so delighted I could spend this special holiday with him at his hotel in Sapa and spend a wee bit of time with the local people. It was a great Christmas and one of my fondest memories of Vietnam to date. Hope you all had a great holiday! I’ll look forward to seeing your updates on Facebook!
Now – let’s get ready to ring in the New Year! Hello 2010!!!
A little Red Dao boy. – There are about 7 ethnic minorities in the Sapa area. It is such an interesting part of Vietnam! I’m glad I got to take a peek for a weekend and for a very special Christmas!
A fashionable event
I went to a party last weekend and just found tis photo on Facebook. I actually kind of love this photo – gives you a good idea of the party scene in Hanoi.
Thanks to my friend, Mette, she suggested it and got us tickets to this champagne/fashion party – Taittinger Purple Nocturne Party. We dressed up in our nice dresses (yes, that’s me in a dress!), had dinner at the Metropole and then on to the party. Most of the girls got dressed up, but as you can see, the boys didn’t care to much about the fashion aspect of the event (other than staring with mouths open at the fashion models.
Oh well! It was a fun party and I enjoyed the chance to have a proper night on the town with good friends and a fun crowd. Plus, I love my Chula dress and was happy to find an occasion to wear it!
One of my favorite people – EVER!
You never know who may walk into your life and what role they will play. I’ve met tons of people while traveling and some merely remain an acquaintance or a facebook friend who I chat with once in awhile. Others have become more significant in my life, like Annette, who I took the Thai cooking classes with and who will visit Hanoi this year. Darrin already made a visit to Hanoi and is someone I will most likely see again in some part of Asia.
Of course since I’ve been here in Hanoi, I’ve met a good handful of new friends. Sarah and Shane, Anton and all the handsome French boys. I always enjoy meeting new people and enriching my life with more friends. Kurt and Anna, Dean and MJ are simply a regular part of my life. They are like family to me, I have grown so comfortable in their presence. I cannot imagine Hanoi or vietnam without them.
And then there is Pete. Pete and I met last year when I was traveling in Vietnam. I made the journey on an overnight train to Sapa. I didn’t make a room reservation, as I figured I could just book one when I got there. I had e-mailed Pete to see about room rates and what not, but never confirmed.
I arrived in Sapa during an absolute downpour. Getting a bus to town was a task in itself. I paid twice for the ride because I unnecessarily bought a ticket, boarded a bus and was told I had to pay the driver. Once I got off the bus, I had a swarm of people around trying to take me to their hotel. It was Calgon moment for sure. Without a cell phone, and with no map of Sapa on hand (I was just planning on walking around at leisure and discovering the place), I was at a loss as to where to go and what to do. So I sat in a cafe and ordered a coffee and soup.
I felt that buying a meal entitled me to ask to make a phone call. I did, at least, bring the Sapa Rooms hotel number and convinced the staff that I must make the call. About 20 minutes later, a cute little gal came to pick me up. It was still pouring rain outside and even with an umbrella, we were both drenched by the time we made it up the hill and to the front door of Sapa Rooms.
Pete opened the door and said, “Welcome! You look like you need a cup of coffee and some fresh towels. Want to have a seat?” And with that, Pete graciously stepped into my life and became a person who will be with me until we are old and wrinkled.
He still lives in Sapa. I am due for a visit. But he often comes to Hanoi and we have enjoyed some very fun nights out. We usually start with dinner, a few drinks somewhere and then depending on the weekend and such, at an after-hours bar which lends its own separate blog post. It is quite the scene.
I am nearly convinced that Pete and I are twins separated at birth. We are kindred spirits. And we cannot stop talking! He is one of those friends that after a night together, my cheeks and sides hurt form laughing so much.
I’m also incredibly proud to call him my friend, as he is an amazing soul. He does A TON of community and charity work up in Sapa, making a better world for so many villagers up there. He teaches, provides clothes, food, and even works to get showers installed at schools in some of the most remote areas. He does so much for others. He is so full of love and generosity. I just adore and admire him with the most genuine affection.
My life is good in Vietnam, but Pete makes my life way, way brighter. It’s good to have such friends.
On the Bright Side,
Shanna
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