profoundfluxpudding

Just in case I haven’t had enough outlets for  writing lately, I wrote reflective pieces for the Dartmouth  09 Newsletter and for my NGO:

• Here is an article I wrote for the Dartmouth 09 Newsletter. The key to success with anything dealing with Dartmouth: mention Greek life, outdoor adventures, and economics classes.
• This makes me sound like I’ve been busy at IUCN. Notice the title….

It is good for me to read these reflections about this past year because I am in a strange place right now. After getting sunburnt in Ko Samet, Thailand, I was thankful for the rain and gray skies in Hanoi. But now I crave the public transportation, food, shopping, and smiles of Thailand. I am planning my next year and  wondering if Hanoi has lost some of its magic for me.

My parents are coming this weekend and I hope that showing them my adopted city will respark the fire. So glad they are on their way…I get big hugs in T-2 days!!!

(photo from the flower market in the Chinatown of Bangkok)

glasses, vest, and scarf

Originally uploaded by profoundfluxpudding

Earlier this week, I came across Advanced Style, a blog that is based off of the famous Sartorialist. While The Sartorialist mainly pictures young, beautiful people, Advanced Style captures the style of older women and men.

As much as I bemoan the lack of shopping in Hanoi, there is no denying that there is some great style, especially among the elders. I particularly love the scarves and vests. Earlier this year, I even bought one of these handmade vests.

I love that old people are everywhere in Hanoi. I did not have to search long and hard for these shots. I just stopped for a minute on my way to work and approached some women to ask if I could photograph them. They all laughed at the idea, but were flattered when I showed them the picture and said that they were beautiful.

In the US, young people and old people live in separate worlds, but here I interact with sweet old ladies on a daily basis. One time, when I was being timid while crossing the street, an old woman grabbed my hand to help me across. Elders are important in this society and their clothing choices seem to have a distinguished irreverence.

I hope I can go about my daily life with such grace when I am old! I plan to be a hat lady and I want to have an outrageous collection of hats that I wear on every occasion…I just really hope I am not a crazy cat lady!

Click here to see more snapshots of Distinguished Style in Hanoi

At exactly this time last year, I had fled finals at Dartmouth to join my mom for a weekend yoga retreat at Kripalu, a famous yoga retreat center in western Massachusetts. On the first night of the retreat, I received an email on my Blackberry that I was being considered for a position in Hanoi, Vietnam through Princeton in Asia. For the next few days, as I tried to concentrate on my breathing and yoga practice, my mind kept wandering as I envisioned what my life might be like in Vietnam.

Well, now I am in Vietnam and in some ways, life has been completely different to anything I knew before, but some things never change. I am still attending yoga retreats.  I just returned from a fantastic weekend in Mai Chau. The yoga studio I go to here (in NYC I made a hobby out  of exploring new studios, in Hanoi there is only one to choose from) organized the whole weekend so all I had to do was show up for the bus. There was no big name rockstar yogi, but it was just as rejuvenating and came at a fraction of the price of Kripalu.

The retreat was held at Mai Chau lodge, a beautiful hotel about four hours outside of Hanoi. Since my friend Betty and I signed up late, we had to stay inside the lodge instead of in one of the traditional-looking cottages.  The room was much more luxurious than the cell my mom and I stayed in at Kripalu.

We practiced yoga both in an outdoor space over the water and in a massive cave. The cave was used by the Vietnamese to hold ammunitions during the war. We also did some meditation, including a meditative walk around the lake. Some of the yoga was really serious, but some of it was totally silly. I cracked up during laughter yoga, which I guess is the point….

This retreat was less rigid than the one at Kripalu. The cafeteria at Kripalu is vegan and has no refined sugar, etc. At Mai Chau, we ate delicious meals at the lodge. I tried to to stay in yoga retreat mode and did not eat any meat or desserts, but plenty of people were downing bacon, pastries, and ice cream. I did enjoy some delicious banana flower salad, spring rolls, tofu kebabs, and fresh mango juice. mmm mmm.

In addition to yoga, we went on a mountain bike ride, relaxed by the pool, explored the huge cave, and had a chance to go to a local market to buy some ethnic handicrafts. At Kripalu, extracurricular activities included a walk through a meditation garden.

During the nights at Mai Chau, there was some traditional singing and dancing. Everyone was encouraged to join the stick dancing and hold hands and walk in circles. This reminded me of the Krishna Das concert at Kripalu where people were so moved by the devotional chanting that they stood up and danced in a holy trance.

It is great to finally be part of a yoga community in Hanoi and a treat to be able to attend a luxurious retreat in Mai Chau. I did not get much of a feel for Mai Chau so I might want to go back there some day to spend more time trekking and biking and interacting with locals.

Well, soon I will have to make more decisions about my future. To some extent, meditation has helped and I no longer fret. I know that whatever I am doing and wherever I am,  I will still be me – going to yoga retreats and falling over with laughter during laughing yoga.

* I will add some really cool pictures to my Flickr account soon!

“Is this going to be a quixotic quest?” I asked Sarah, my housemate who has accompanied me on many a misadventure. “No, I think we will find it,” she assured me.

Both of us had been yearning to try hot ginger che after reading about it in the January issue of The Word. However,  we had never really figured out where it was or how to order it before the weather got too hot.

This week has been cold  (I turned my space heater on and pulled out my wool coat again) so the craving to try the hot delicacy came back. We were at lunch and wishing we knew what street in the Old Quarter it was on and what is was called. Luckily, our friend Jonathan was at lunch with us. He showed us the street on a map and wrote down the name for us – banh troi nong.

I had been on a mission to find this elusive dessert since January and now my dream was finally coming true! Sarah and I found the spot  (76 Hang Dieu)and ordered  with no problem. Within seconds of sitting down, a lady brought us two small bowls of hot ginger soup with sesame seeds, peanuts, and rice dumplings, and coconut. It was everything I had hoped it would be.

When I first arrived in Vietnam, I tried che and immediately dismissed it as something I had no interest in. It was like a fruit tart for me – yummy, but not ice cream or chocolate so not worth it. Why would I want to eat beans, potatoes, corn, or lotus seeds if I was eating dessert?

However, I am starting to get more into che – the sweet dessert soups. It can be served warm when the weather is cold and with ice as a refreshing treat when its hot. There are so many different types, colors, and variations that finding the best concoction becomes an adventure.

Also, I love discovering new street food. I decided that going to only  upscale restaurants depresses me. I feel so removed from my surroundings. I am much happier when I am connecting with the city and the people on the street at pho shops or tea stalls. And now che stores.  Holy hot ginger!

New pho is almost as oxymoronic as old news. There are pho shops sprinkled all over Hanoi and to the untrained eye, they are pretty much identical. Some offer chicken or beef and other just one or the other. Most offer pho xao and ap chao as well. All should have a container for chopsticks, napkins, and spoons that sits a top a metal or plastic table. There is always a spicy red condiment jar, a clear garlicky condiment jar, limes, and slice of hot pepper.

Still, I was curious when I saw a sign for a grand opening of a pho shop near my office and had to check it out. It said it was pho Nam Dinh, the province that pho originated in. According to an article about pho in the Voice of Vietnam, villagers from Nam Dinh came to Hanoi to sell pho because there was more of a demand in the city. As the owner of Pho Lanh on Nui Truc says, “Although the dish originated in our village it was unable to fully develop there because the people had very low incomes; there wasn’t a high demand for this type of food, which was relatively expensive. Consequently, many of us have had to set up businesses outside of our homeland.”

While even the founder of Hanoi Cooking Centre Tracey Lister believes that pho originated in Nam Dinh, ambiguity remains over the origin of this quintessential Vietnamese dish. Some say its a combination of Chinese and French influences – the rice noodles coming from China and the beef coming from France. Others refuse to attribute any influence to these invading forces and claim that pho is purely Vietnamese.

Some of the original Nam Dinh pho shops remain popular in Hanoi and I am now on a mission to seek these out and see if I can tell a difference. I am not sure if the pho Nam Dinh that just opened at 12 Van Phuc is real or a copycat (welcome to Vietnam, the country of copycats). Also,  I like to order ap chao because it had more greens, tomato, and garlic, but ap chao is not as traditional. In fact, as I was eating a bowl of it last week, some awkward Vietnamese guy decided to join me and chat. He told me that if I liked ap chao, it meant I had very modern tastes (Hanoians seem to like their food boring and same same). At first I was entertained by his presence, but then he tried to get me to go to a cafe or bia hoi with him and asked for my number. I was not interested so I quickly slurped my noodles and ran off down the street.

In addition to the new pho place on my street, a Pho 24 just opened near my house. According to the “Pho” Nam Dinh article, this chain is a threat to the traditional pho shops. I think it is a sign of development and a country in flux (for better and worse). I like to eat pho on the street and dislike the fact that little shops are being threatened by mammoth chains with special deals and combo meals. The pho 24 even has WIFI. The idea of advertising for WIFI at a pho shop is a perfect example of how Hanoi is changing and trying to balance age-old tastes with new-age technology.

I try to keep my pho real. I don’t want faux Louis Vuitton and I don’t want faux pho.

Update: It seems that I am not the only one that can write endlessly about pho. Food writer Mimi Sheraton also found the simultaneously simple and complex soup to be noteworthy. Read her article in the Smithsonian Magazine (March 2010 issue).

Number 2 in the SPOTLIGHT series

Gillian Sturtevant is an energetic social bumblebee who moved to Hanoi with her best friend after graduating from college. She aimed to spend a year teaching and relaxing, but her intrinsic talent got the best of her and she is now working very hard at the Bui Gallery and starting her career.

She is always meeting new people, so she has these common questions nailed down:

How long have you been in Hanoi? Our six month anniversary is March 10.

Where do you live? Luong Su C, a quiet (!!!) dead end of an alleyway

Where are you from? New York, New York

Where do you normally hang out? bed, balcony, bar, Bui Gallery

Do you drive a motorbike? The White Stallion

How is your Vietnamese? 500 words and counting!

Have you traveled around the area a lot? Still haven’t made it to Ha Long or Sa Pa, don’t really know why it’s taking so long…

What is your favorite street food? Bun Cha with melt-in-your-mouth meatballs, not with awkwardly fat bacon

How long do you plan to stay? Until I decide to move to Buenos Aires, Tel Aviv, San Francisco, or New Orleans

Notice how we want to live in all of the same places…how convenient!

Whenever I decide to cook in Hanoi, I almost always make Mexican-inspired food. I have hosted countless quesadilla/rice&beans nights.

Part of the reason is that Mexican food is simply my favorite (tortilla soup might as well be my religion) and it is hard to find any decent Mexican food here…. the pho you can find in Fresno is way better than the tacos you can find in Hanoi. There is one place called Cafe 129 that actually has some decent Mexican inspirations (either that or my sense of Mexican food has gone as awry as my sense of fashion since living here). At Cafe 129, there are three Mexican items on the menu: fajitas, taco, and burrito. The funny thing is that the fajitas come wrapped up like a taco!

Another reason why I love to cook Mexican food in Hanoi is that most of the key ingredients are readily available. I have to go to a speciality grocery store for cheese and tortillas, but I can find almost everything else in the small market in my alley: cilantro, lime, spicy peppers, pepper, garlic, rice,tomato, onion, and avocado. One time I ate guacamole with shrimp crackers and had an epiphany for creating a Vietnamese-Mexican fusion Restaurant. I typically like things that are genuine and fusions always seem awkwardly forced, but I think this could be a lot of fun:

• guacamole spring rolls
• tortilla soup pho
• spring rolls taquitos
• rice paper burrito
• bun dau with salsa
• bun cha with cheese
• rice and beans with fish sauce

Ok so maybe I still need to do some experimenting, but I think this would be a perfect restaurant to open in California! As soon as its avocado season, I am going to get to work on this plan. Oh, and perhaps I should take a few more Vietnamese cooking classes in the mean time…

And the name of my restaurant would be Profound Vexed Pudding (Vexed  = confused Vietnamese Mexican).

This week I invented quinoa burritos. It did not have any Vietnamese flavors, but it was a delicious gluten free vegan meal.

Recipe (with no measurements because I don’t have any measuring tools in my kitchen)

1. cook about 3/4 c quinoa in a rice cooker
2. saute onion, then add red pepper until cooked. Add in canned corn, canned kidney beans, cilantro, and cooked quinoa. Flavor with turmeric, salt, pepper, and hot sauce.
3. wrap quinoa mix in a corn tortilla with lettuce.
4. Add more hot sauce. Enjoy!

I had some intense blog posts in the works, but I received a suggestion that I should be more careful about what I say about governments, etc on this blog. So for now I will stick to what is safe: Writing about ME.

In Hanoi, you are always meeting new people. It is a city of transient souls and there are certain established questions that go along with every initial interaction. Here are some of my answers.

I am thinking about profiling some of my friends too and asking these same questions:

How long have you been in Hanoi?

I have been here since August. I had been saying “five months” for a long time, but now it is about seven months. Wow, how time flies!

Where do you live?

I live off of Doi Can, a crazy traffic-infested street with lots of accessory shops and some street food. To get to my house, you have to make about twenty turns in an alley. There is a morning market with breakfast stalls and fruit and vegetable sellers that always smile at me. I have my favorite ladies that I buy from.

Actually, we have been quite unlucky with people stealing things from our house. It is so strange what goes missing – slippers, money, a plastic buddha, a necklace, a ring, an MP3 player, sunglasses… I am getting really frustrated and looking to move. I think a fresh location would give me a new perspective and be quite nice.

What is your job?

I have a fellowship through Princeton in Asia to work at an environmental NGO. I also teach one english class a week because I really enjoy being with kids and I learn a lot about the culture by teaching. My favorite thing that I have been doing is freelancing for The Word, a magazine about life in Hanoi. I have been able to do some really cool things – like take cooking courses and attend a boot camp – because I was writing articles.

Where are you from?

I’m from the United States…. Oh really, you don’t think I look American? Well we aren’t all huge and obnoxious, I promise. I just graduated from a college that you have never heard of and majored in history, which seems worthless to you.

Where do you normally hang out?

This may sound lame, but I actually think I hang out at The Cinematheque, although not in that creepy middle school sort of way. There are always really interesting films and it is a gathering spot for many of my friends. I love being able to bring a glass of white wine or a lemongrass martini into the theater. There is also a nice outdoor space that is used for classy social events.

Do you drive a motorbike?

No, I have been riding a bicycle for seven months. For the most part, I really enjoy my biking and my commute to work is short so it works. However, bicyclists get no respect in this city and I am always getting run off the road. Also, it gets frustrating that I cannot wear skirts or dresses to work when I ride my bicycle. My bike is a piece of junk with no gears, but it does have a lovely basket and a new bell.

Sometimes I get tired and don’t want to cycle so I end up taking a xe om. I am so sick of dealing with xe om drivers, especially the drunk toothless ones. Luckily, I have a reliable xe om mien phi (free xe om = boyfriend), but I am about to take the plunge and get my own set of wheels. I have a crush on the electric scooters because they are little, automatic, and don’t add to the pollution in this town!

How is your Vietnamese?

Oh…not so good. I had been taking lessons, but my tutor/great friend went to Australia for 2.5 months and it has all be downhill. I can get around and go shopping, and I  am good at understanding hand gestures. My boyfriend always makes fun of me for the way I talk in Vietnamese…it reminds me of how my sister makes fun of me for the way I speak Spanish. Yes, I am a gringa. And, I should really get back to studying Vietnamese. Duoc, khong?

Have you traveled around the area a lot?

Yes, I refuse to be one of those expats who get stuck in this Hanoi vortex scene and forget to explore the country. I have been to Ha Giang, Sapa, Hoi An, Ha Long Bay, Tam Dao, and Saigon. I still want to go to a lot of places like Phu Quoc, Mai Chau, Ba Vi, and all those other names that people rattle off but will mean nothing to me until I go there!

And there are so many places I want to go outside of Vietnam. So far, I have been to Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, and Singapore. My list of places I want to go is endless, but Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia are on the top of my list!

What is your favorite street food?

I could eat pho quon on Truc Bach any day of the week. I’ve lately lost my taste for pho. My typical lunch is rice line or bun dau. I want to get more into che so that I can tell the difference between those refreshing  globs.

How long do you plan to stay?

My contract is until August. I would consider breaking it if something amazing came up…. I might stick around Hanoi or move somewhere else in Asia. I also have a strong desire to move to Tel Aviv, to New Orleans, or to San Francisco. But, I am not going to plan or worry too much about the future. When an opportunity arises, I will try my best to seize it!

If you would like to be profiled in my blog, let me know. I think this could be a great series!

WORDpress:As you may have noticed, my blog is looking a little different these days. I made the big switch to Wordpress from blogspot. It was actually quite a feat and I could not have done it without some guy in India…. Anyways, it does not look that special yet because I am still learning to use Wordpress (like most things, I just jumped into this and thought I would figure it out. Turns out it is way more complicated and requires some tech-savvy). But, be patient because I have big plans for this blog!!

the PRESS: My friend works for Viet Nam News, Vietnam’s English-language newspaper. He wrote a column about the craziness at Tet and I am quoted, “little grocery stores are filled to the brim with boxes of candies and nuts, but are out of some necessities, like tampons. I asked when they would get more tampons, but the women shrugged and said, ‘I don’t know because its Tet!”‘

So yes, I intentionally am quoted in this newspaper talking about tampons.

A traditional Tet activity: calligraphy outside the Temple of Literature

Last Saturday was 23rd day of the twelfth month of the Vietnamese lunar year. On this day, the Kitchen God sets off towards the sky. To get there, it travels on fish. So, on this day, Vietnamese people release goldfish into lakes and ponds.

I too took part in this rite to set the Kitchen God off. On the other side of the Red River, people were selling goldfish in plastic bags hung to the back of their bicycles. We bought a fish and went to set it free in the Red River. We were told that people drop fish off over the bridge so we pulled to the side of the busy bridge to observe. Sure enough, people on motorbikes would pull to the side of the bridge and dump their fish off into the river. This was done quickly and bizarrely unceremoniously, as if it were another errand to check off the list on a Saturday. Some people did not even open the plastic bag before chucking their fish. I said a little prayer for my fish before we chucked it off into the polluted river….

Afterwards, I decided to see what it was like to be launched into the water. At the zoo, there are plastic bubbles that you get in and then are rolled out into the river. At first I laughed because I was in a bubble by myself in the middle of the river. The laugh echoed all around me and made me laugh more. I tried to run and do flips in my bubble. But soon, I got bored and sweaty. I decided I did not want to be like a fish in a bag, but was glad that I had the opportunity to walk, err flop, like a fish in a plastic bag being released for Tet.