Semi-Tây Day

Ms. Ginger Davis, a history professor at Hanoi University, warned us about this: the need for a "Tây Day," otherwise known as a "Western Day." She described the day consisting of the need to indulge in common Western (or American) comforts, since as buying peanut butter, staying in and watching American films, and not feeling up to speaking Vietnamese throughout the day. I haven't necessarily hit this point, but since this was my first free day in Ha Noi (I haven't been able to sleep in once since I've been here), I caught up on sleep and visited a cafe that offered your typical Western beverages (Frappuccino-like drinks) and sandwiches. I can't tell you how excited I was about ordering a blended mocha and a smoked-salmon sandwich.

Back: Caramel iced latte, Mocha Freeze
Front: Bagel with lox. Yum!

However, that was as "Tây" as it got. I actually went to work on Vietnamese homework with Vanlam, so no avoidance of speaking Vietnamese today. Apparently, over half of us Fulbrighters had visited the cafe at some point of the day -- looks like we all needed a taste of home on our day off.

After that, Claire, Vanlam and I went to Hoan Kiem Lake to meet with a young man who told me about a English-speaking club that meets once a week to talk to practice English by starting conversations with foreigners. Again, this is something I wouldn't imagine happening in America, given how pressed for time a lot of people are in American society. We couldn't find him, but we found a group of Vietnamese students crowded around a Westerner, so we approached them about the club and started English conversations with them. Actually, our conversations were a mix of Vietnamese and English since we were so eager to practice our Vietnamese as well. It's so interesting how much university students really value English here. Of course, I'm speaking about the students I've encountered thus far. The young womyn I was speaking told me that English is "on demand," and that she wanted to do her best to learn. I'm sure that with the dedication and commitment these students have to leave their comfort zones and start English conversations with Vietnam visitors, they'll be able to speak English comfortably.

I consider today a semi-Tây Day mostly for the morning events and for my need to take a step back, reflect, and blog here. I often find myself getting caught up in all the events that are happening around Ha Noi / Viet Nam in general, and I think I need to take time for myself  reflect on how I hope to take these experiences back to the States when my term here is over. One takeaway so far is the need to enjoy life, no matter where I am. Since I've been here, I've been open to many different experiences and have had a positive outlook on a lot of things. This may be attributed to the effects of being in a new environment and having a prolonged positive mood swing, but at the same time, I feel it's important to remember how much a positive attitude really affects the way one moves about life. For example, I used to think that people honking while I would walk down the street was loud and obnoxious. "Why would they honk at me for no reason?" However, in the special case of Viet Nam, people usually honk as a, "Hey, be careful, I'm right behind you. Don't move in this direction!" Since I have started thinking that way (cultural knowledge courtesy of Edwina), I've been able to walk down the street with ease and without annoyance. If we believe the best in the people or situations we encounter, that's what we should receive.