Second Morning
Hello, Hanoi (Part 5 of Many) I am sitting on the bed– on “my” bed for the next few months, I suppose. It is a little over a foot off the floor, made from dark mahogany-looking wood, with a woven grass...
View ArticleLove in the Chocolateria
Hello, Hanoi (Part 6 of Many) Still remembering my first days here… * * * The rest of my day was full of pot holes and mud. Everything I wrote smelled like eggs, and I got lost 7 times over....
View Article2-14
This Saturday is February 14th. For most people it is a day of romance (Hallmark or otherwise); but it is also my brother’s birthday. I’m taking the weekend alone in Sapa to write, think, and honor my...
View ArticleHold the ‘H’
Hello, Hanoi (Part 8 of Many) More stories from my first couple of weeks… * * * It is Têt, and Bắc has invited me to spend this special new year’s week — a week so fantastic it is like New Year’s...
View ArticleVegetarian in Vietnam
And now, a brief word from the Ministry of Health. * * * Being a vegetarian in Northern California is almost clichéd; however, being a vegetarian in Vietnam is no small feat. The Vietnamese...
View ArticleBearing Witness
Hello, Hanoi (Part 9 of Many) I have not posted for a few days because sometimes this world cuts me like a stone, and I have to wander around half-dead until breathable air arrives. How much pain must...
View ArticleTieng Viet
Hello, Hanoi (Part 10 of Many) I’ve started Vietnamese language classes at University of Hanoi, and moved to Dong Da district, closer to the campus. I rented a room in a house, where the water is...
View ArticleKindness of Familiars
Hello, Hanoi (Part 11 of Many) Across the street a man is loading into a hand-drawn cart dozens of red bricks. Each brick has 4 cylindrical holes, and one by one, he lays them on top of their comrades,...
View ArticleR&R
Today I skipped school, did 5 hours of yoga, got an hour massage, made myself a PB&J, and ate an entire pineapple while watching 4 back-to-back episodes of Weeds on DVD. Sometimes, it just takes a...
View ArticleReturn to the West
Due to popular request, and the pokings of my own instinct, I’ve come back to California. I had just secured a job teaching English for $20/hr (which is nothing to scoff at these days), had rented an...
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