Double-edged Sword

Little-known Guangzhou 

I wish you are here with me, trying desperately to catch up on some zzzz in Guangzhou: my 8hr layover. I'm bleary-eyed and bedraggled, and yet I discover a hidden covey, ball up my sweater and lay down to rest. My respite is secretive; it's down a thin corridor where the only option for passersby is a maintenance door and a ladder. No passenger or pilot would find the need to walk down towards me.

Jolted awake by loud speech, I am startled by three flight attendants, inconsiderately conversing and heading my way. I panic, get up to move further down my corridor, only to realise another passenger is fast asleep down the end. I'm trapped. Even when I make to exit past the flight attendants, they continue chatting as if nothing has happened, and I'm left to trip over their suitcases.

My first culture shock. Being American, I'm extremely used to the "I'm sorry" mentality, where all persons automatically assume they're in someone else's way. I felt that, in my latent position making no noise at all, I was in the way of these flight attendants and their conversation. But I was here first! Befuddled and half-awake, I desperately make my way back to the main terminal.

When I arrived earlier that day, there were few passengers here and there, loitering near the power outlets. Now, the terminal is bustling with commotion, overcrowded gates spewing onto the main drag. The end to my solace.

Hand Me Over to Hanoi

Arriving in Vietnam late in the night, I am accosted by heat and bright lights. Although few flights are arriving as it's midnight, there's still a good number of attendants who are checking visas, unloading luggage. I'm greeted by cheers and a large bouquet: "Welcome to Vietnam!" the bouquet exclaims. The whole bridal party is in tow, and we're on a party bus to Ha Long Bay.

Linh and I share an exceptional friendship full of laughs; I can say she's one of my bubbliest friends, always making a good situation better with a joke and a smile. Her personality is contagious; it makes me giddy. Today she carries her son, Carter, who I am meeting for the first time. She's tired from a long day of travel; needless to say, we're in the same boat.

The party bus boasts a flat screen TV, brightly exuding a Vietnamese singer. She has about five costume changes (replete with wigs and theatrical entrances), but no extension to the top of her voice. "I could be a superstar in Vietnam", I think, as I sit next to Linh who nods off to sleep. The men on the bus insist to stop at a restaurant (at 1 in the morning, I might add) to pick up some beers. They quickly return to the bus as a fight is forming in the restaurant. We stop again at a different place. The journey seems that much longer with the stops; I accept a beer.

Birthday Bathing 

Our first full day in Ha Long Bay, and it's my birthday. I don my cozzie and head to the outdoor pool. We have a lavish getup off the coast of Ha Long Bay; the Vin Pearl Hotel is located on a private island, and I can choose between beach, outdoor pool, indoor pool and gym. What's the loveliest thing? No one knows it's my birthday (except Linh). There's no fuss, no song, no cake. In the evening, we have plans to pick out our traditional Vietnamese dresses, to dine with Linh's uncle. So for now, I'm lounging in the pool, I swim up to the bar for a margarita, and enjoy the morning in hot, hot serenity.

Culture Shock #2

Turns out, the Vietnamese LOVE to drink. They have a custom where they go from table to table, making toasts with their home-made "wines", stinging like hard liquor on the way down. Some are made of fermented roots, others from tiger's bone (I kid you not), and I have no stomach for it. They watch you as you throw down your shot, and I get away with sipping at my glass, hoping there's an end to the madness. Every single meal is replete with a new "wine" variety, and I cannot imagine how they do it! Such endurance both in eating heaps and drinking heaps. 

Marital Bliss

Spending this extended time with Linh and Clark's families is fun indeed. As the outsider, I watch their cultures intermingle, Mama Guess making many efforts to learn Vietnamese phrases, Mama and Papa Nguyen busy organising meetings and details for the wedding. We suffer from jet lag and begin to get sniffles, fevers, stomach aches, but the excitement leading up to the wedding continuously grows.

We travel from Ha Long Bay to Cam Pha, where both of Linh's Grandmas reside. Family and friends are all in this little town, with this wedding being the largest of the year. There's grand entrances with fireworks, three wedding dresses for Linh, and all of the bridal party have both Vietnamese and Western outfits. Throughout the overwhelm of it all, I decide to escort Linh's Grandma around the dining tables as she greets the guests and introduces me. The attendees are here for her, the matriarch of the family, and she's fresh with excitement from the ceremony and the gathering of her friends. It's lovely to see and be a part of this (even though Grandma and I share about five vocabulary words).

This is about the time when we all get ridiculously sick, but it comes with the territory. The festivities are over, the cake is cut, the heads rest on the pillows. Many of these heads are replete with fever, many with stuffy noses or sinus headaches, and yet we are enormously overwhelmed with happiness for Linh and Clark, bringing two unlikely families together in Cam Pha, Vietnam.

Not Happy About These Fake Lashes

Plucked 'em Right Off for the Reception! Ha!

Aftermath

In my head, it is finally time to relax; in the natives' heads, however, the party has just begun. Our outings for lunches and dinners never cease; we visit a private island dotted with ornate temples, we visit the market and surround ourselves with bloodied fish heads and longan and dragonfruit. We bump into a family friend and get invited to tea. The party lives on!

The Cute Fruit Lady (#1 out of 28 in the Cam Pha Market)

 Truth: I stopped being Veggie for the Delicious Fish SLASH There's No Way Being Veggie is Sustainable Here

Right Before Linh Vommed on the Street from Dehydration/Fever.  Quite the Lady!

Hanoi and Home at Last

On my final two days, we leave Cam Pha to head back to Hanoi, where we spend two nights. Here, there are fewer stares, as tourists are a normalcy. We see flocks of scooters heading down the highways, with traffic never stopping, just slowing and speeding, flowing seemlessly in and out like a great, multi-directional accordion. I'm astounded by it all. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude that the AC actually works, that drinks are served cold. What luxuries these seem! It also opens my eyes to how ill-adjusted I am to Vietnamese culture, similar to my own as a filipino. I've spoken to many filipinos who wouldn't move back because of the heat, but I never quite understood it until now. 

I hear of my dad's mini heart attack, and I head straight from airport to hospital to visit Pops before his bypass surgery. He's more resilient than ever, not only admitting himself to the hospital when he felt an unusual shortness of breath, but also sitting patiently and calmly despite the tubes and gadgets around him. I'm delirious from flying 24hrs, my ears still popping as I sit through the nurse's explanations of Pop's recovery process. The journey to Vietnam is as surreal as the return.

New News

Dad's recovery is going smoothly. He shot his first arrow the other day (even though he's not meant to be weight-bearing for 6-weeks, the sly dog), and he discovered and caught a snake in our basement last week. So, things with Pops are as usual. 

Ma may actually be forced to retire due to Dad's condition. She's served 28 years at the IMF, and exclaims that she's quite fond of being a caretaker and organiser at home. She's currently working from home and going into the city when absolutely necessary. They're interviewing to replace her shortly. What a crazy end to a long, loving chapter for her.

My life has found an uneven rhythm, going from 5/4 to 6/8 to cut time, with accelerandos of course. I'm organising my schedule of private students and doggies with my time at the ballet studio, and now I understand why executives have secretaries. Organising is an effortful and demanding task on its own. Perhaps my mother is looking for a new position...

I was lucky to be chosen to participate in ATMTC's Tinker Bell in the Page-to-Stage Festival at the Kennedy Center. I've also got The Nutcracker coming up at the good ol' studio, plus a Christmas Cabaret show in the works. I have a feeling I'm taking to the DC theatre scene quite well, but it's never time to become complacent. My plan for the rest of 2017: study, prepare, work, achieve, and repeat.

I'm the Dorky One who likes to match her top to her sweater, like who does that???