Greetings From the South East

So I decided I should begin this blog because the humidity has nearly disintegrated my journal book and then everyone gets to travel right along with me.

Currently I am in DaNang at my grandfather’s house. It began to rain last night around 3am and hasn’t stopped but once and that was around 12:30pm and now it’s started again. The rain literally falls out of the sky in continuous waves that after while sound like a really loud air conditioner. There isn’t any lightening or thunder or 10 minute thunderstorms like Texas, just non. stop. RAIN. but its been nice to relax for a day and finally start this blog. So now I’ll back up to the beginning of my trip to get you up to speed.

Day 1, Friday night

After a 14 hour flight from Dallas to Korea and then a four hour flight from Korea to Ho Chi Minh along side my father whom I just only reconnected with less than a year ago. There I sat for a total of about 24 hours next to a man I barely knew and his bag of odd gifts for his family (which included dark chocolate, fish oil pills, ALOT of digital cameras and the smelliest pork sausages I’ve ever encountered). Then after finally adjusting to that scenario we arrived in Vietnam around 10:45pm. Needless to say the trip wasn’t half bad, but I was definitely relieved to get away from close proximity of the sausages..

After circus wrangling our 4 large bags from baggage we were greeted by a small boy waiting for us on the outside of the airport who I later learned was my second cousin named HoiAng (I think, at least that’s what it sounds like, along with the 25 other names I’ve heard so far, your guess is as good as mine at this point). I then met 2 girl cousins of mine, one of them being Ang’s mother and their mom (my aunt by marriage). It was an interesting moment for us all. I think we had both heard so much about each other and the anticipation had built up for so long (much longer on their end than mine) but then there was the language barrier so we couldn’t really express ourselves as much as we wanted, but we all smiled a lot and they patted me on the back and took a lot of the same pictures over and over of us standing by our luggage.. So there we were, 6 people, 4 large suitcases, 2 smaller carry-ons, 2 bags and a Honda civic. I can’t really explain how, but we made it work. My left leg will never be the same but that’s ok.

My cousins live in a high rise-like apartment complex where there’s a restaurant on the first and second floor and the only thing separating the floors is a winding staircase that their neighbors travel to and fro. The staircase leads into each floor’s living area so basically you can be sitting in the living room eating a bowl of noodles and Mr. & Mrs. Dang will drift on through and give a little nod.

Day 2, Saturday

All the girls that work on the first floor wear pink polos and as they cut up raw meat on the tables when I walk through they say ‘Hi how are you?’ or ‘Hello! what is your name?”, pretty much every time. The first full day we had pho for breakfast, visited the Vietnamese version of HEB where you can get liquor, shampoo and sea snails all in one trip. That night we all went downtown to the main market where every other man or woman that walked up to our party my dad would say “this is my brother or this is your cousin”. We grew to about 15 people in size. So we sat and had our first family meal together which also marked the beginning of my bizarre foods escapades. You think that bald guy knows strange foods? NO. I have officially become the correspondent for strange and weird items you put in your mouth. The night before I had eaten a hard boiled quail egg and I thought I was being pretty daring. Little did I know that my father was about to force me to TRY every damn thing they sat on the table. This included various weird gelatinous creations I won’t even begin to try to understand, sea snails and this large fried fish resembling a Parana that was presented to us on a huge stand in the middle of the table. In the end of the spring rolls were the best and the freshest I’ve ever tasted.

Later we went to a Vietnamese disco tech and this is something else that should be noted throughout this story, everyone is talking but I have no idea what they’re saying so basically I’m at their mercy. When I think we’re going to eat we’re going to the market, when I think we’re doing laundry, I’m supposed to be taking a shower and when I think we’re going home, I’m really being taken to club where they blast (and I never knew the meaning of the word until this night), BLAST techno beats until your brain wants to spill out of your ears and then they tell me ‘Dance! dance!’

Day 3, Sunday

We go back to the same market from the night before during the day and walk through a sea of fake Fendis, durian and more shoes than you ever thought existed. All the while the thick aroma of fish, fish sauce, dried fish, fishy fish is constantly finding its way up your nostrils..bleagh.

Later in the day we went to the Vietnamese version of Disney land. I took plenty of pictures so you’ll get that idea later, but trust me if there ever was one, it WAS the Vietnamese version of Disney land, ripped off Mickey’s and Donald’s everywhere..AMAZING. actually, to be honest, it was quite eerie at times, everything was run down and squeaky and for some reason I started to feel the darker presence of the past more here than anywhere yet. Every once in a while the loud speaker would blurt out something that sounded more like a command to the troops than something happy like ‘welcome to Vietnamese Disney land!’.. kind of creepy.

That night we went to this little crevice of a place and we all sat around two small handmade wooden tables and plastic stools. Then my dad said, “you wanna see snake?” so we walk over to these two young boys pulling two bags out of a hole somewhere I didn’t see filled with squirming, slimy SNAKES. There’s a video. I’ll let you check it out for yourself. in the end my dad was still pulling that ‘you try you try or you never know!” crap so you get the idea..

Day 4, Monday

We fly to DaNang. Its funny b/c you know that whole language barrier thing and me not knowing what’s going on? Well my cousin, Van rode with us the whole way to the airport and I still didn’t get that she was going with us until she got out and pulled a suitcase out that I never noticed they put in the back of the taxi. I just thought we were dropping her off at work along the way. I swear I asked if she was coming and they said no, so whatev.

So we get to DaNang and we’re greeted by even more people on the outside. Two of which are my aunts who I suppose are in their 60’s, who brought me flowers. They treated me like a celebrity or royalty, either one, it felt very undeserving, it was more humbling than anything. When we got to their home I was greeted by at least 10 more people with huge smiles on their faces reaching to carry my bags. It was an odd experience to show up to these very humble surroundings with all our large bags and having everyone else carry them. I felt uncomfortable for the first time. And then, and then! they took me into their home and brought me into a room where everyone gathered around this small feeble man in a wheel chair. My grandpa. Who by the way isn’t 92, he’s 94. Now that was an intense experience. One for being in front of about 20 people smiling, wanting me to respond and me not really knowing what to do and him crinkling up his face with tears and them telling him not to cry and me trying to understand what was going on. It was beautiful, frightening and moving to say the least.

That night we all sat around and ate as a family. I mean I really felt like I was apart of this family. as much as I don’t understand and as much as they talk, point and laugh I still somehow felt like one of them.

Later we went for a drive where I thought we were going for coffee but instead stopped by a corner vender and were all handed a steaming hot hard-boiled looking egg and a little spoon. Yeah, it turned out to be one of those half baby duck half embryo delights. and yes, my dad made me eat it. “It make you strong!”.

Day 5, Tuesday

So its been raining all day and we’ve been inside. Its been the first day I haven’t been thrown into hair-raising traffic or made to eat some foreign object, but of course the family members keep coming. Today, for the first time I started to get really frustrated. I can’t talk to anyone and my dad pretty much threw me to the wolves with this one. like I said, I think they’re saying one thing and its totally not what I think and a lot of the time they just laugh at me and I know its supposed to be an endearing gesture but try having a bunch of people laugh including your father all the time and see how you feel. Please don’t get me wrong, I am so thankful to be here and I’m learning so much about myself and where I come from but shit man, this has its tough parts and none of you are hear to talk to. I wish someone was here with me to share in all the good and bad moments. Speaking of, at the moment, a bad one, my second cousin, Ri, who’s 5, is wrestling me for the computer and keeps hitting me and saying things in Vietnamese over and over again and then stomping off only to return with something else to shove in my face (last time being a stale rice cracker). ugh, he’s adorable but you know how I feel about the children and now ones that I can’t even speak to? Help!

And so now you kind of get a picture of what’s going here. I’ve still managed to leave things out but I’m sure they’ll come to me as I remember them once I’m back. You’ll probably be hearing about this for months to come.

I hope to keep this updated if I can. Its amazing in these meager surroundings how they’ve still managed to get a pretty good internet connection. Hoping I can pry Van away for a few moments from video chatting with someone named Tieu Thai that doesn’t wear a shirt, I’ll be in touch.

I love you guys.