So as some of you may know, I am half-Vietnamese.
Most of my mom's extended family now lives in the United States but I also have several Vietnamese relatives in Vietnam, naturally. My granduncle Dich, my grandfather's younger brother, lives in Son Tay near Hanoi. His sons and their grandchildren also live in the greater Hanoi area.
I had seen Ong Dich the first time I went to Vietnam, in 2001. I remember that he stayed on a small farm, and that there was a shrine to my Great-grandfather there.
I had put off visiting my relatives in Hanoi for the first two weeks that I had been in Hanoi for a couple of reasons. The first was simply that I was busy adjusting to the daily realities of life in Vietnam, from simply crossing the street to arranging my schedule at Ben Tre.
The second reason was my fear that my relatives would not speak any English. My Vietnamese is basically non-existent, and I was worried that I would be stuck without any ability to communicate with my relatives. I have been with relatives who did not speak English, and normally I am totally reliant on my mom or other relatives acting as translators. Even that is awkward enough, so the thought of doing the same feat without an interpreter was frankly terrifying.
However, they are still my family. And even if I couldn't really communicate, I owed it to them to make the attempt. Last week, before going to Mai Chau I called my first cousin once-removed Thuat, and managed to set up a date to see him on Monday when I got back from Mai Chau.
On Sunday, I got back from Mai Chau and was greeted by my first cousin once-removed Thuat and his daughter Thao. We got a coffee and chatted briefly, Thao's English is all right so we were able to communicate.
I was so grateful that my mom had the foresight to put together two picture flipbooks that had pictures of both my family now and pictures of my first trip to Vietnam. Even though I wasn't really able to communicate, I was able to show Thuat the pictures he was in and I think he enjoyed that. On Monday I was picked up at 5:30 and taken to my Ong Dich's house in Son Tay.
Ong Dich had moved to a much larger house, but he was almost exactly as I remember him. Very nice, very charming and startling like my grandfather.
Most of my mom's extended family now lives in the United States but I also have several Vietnamese relatives in Vietnam, naturally. My granduncle Dich, my grandfather's younger brother, lives in Son Tay near Hanoi. His sons and their grandchildren also live in the greater Hanoi area.
I had seen Ong Dich the first time I went to Vietnam, in 2001. I remember that he stayed on a small farm, and that there was a shrine to my Great-grandfather there.
I had put off visiting my relatives in Hanoi for the first two weeks that I had been in Hanoi for a couple of reasons. The first was simply that I was busy adjusting to the daily realities of life in Vietnam, from simply crossing the street to arranging my schedule at Ben Tre.
The second reason was my fear that my relatives would not speak any English. My Vietnamese is basically non-existent, and I was worried that I would be stuck without any ability to communicate with my relatives. I have been with relatives who did not speak English, and normally I am totally reliant on my mom or other relatives acting as translators. Even that is awkward enough, so the thought of doing the same feat without an interpreter was frankly terrifying.
However, they are still my family. And even if I couldn't really communicate, I owed it to them to make the attempt. Last week, before going to Mai Chau I called my first cousin once-removed Thuat, and managed to set up a date to see him on Monday when I got back from Mai Chau.
On Sunday, I got back from Mai Chau and was greeted by my first cousin once-removed Thuat and his daughter Thao. We got a coffee and chatted briefly, Thao's English is all right so we were able to communicate.
I was so grateful that my mom had the foresight to put together two picture flipbooks that had pictures of both my family now and pictures of my first trip to Vietnam. Even though I wasn't really able to communicate, I was able to show Thuat the pictures he was in and I think he enjoyed that. On Monday I was picked up at 5:30 and taken to my Ong Dich's house in Son Tay.
Ong Dich had moved to a much larger house, but he was almost exactly as I remember him. Very nice, very charming and startling like my grandfather.
Dinner was fantastic, with far too much food that was all way too delicious. I had chicken, pork, beef, stewed vegetables, bamboo shoots, noodles and rice. Conversation was a bit limited due to my lack of Vietnamese, but two of the family members spoke passable English, so we made do.
A toast with all the Tran men
Seriously, way too much food
Although Ong Dich moved, the family altar to my great-grandparents is still there, and it is as powerful as I can remember it.
Almost all families in Vietnam, whether Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Christian or followers of another religion, keep an altar to their ancestors. My family is no different.
At the risk of sounding corny, I really do hope my ancestors are watching. I'll probably need their help at some point.
After dinner, more picture taking!
A wonderful night at Ong Dich's house in Son Tay
After dinner I swung by Chu Thuat's house, where I met his older brother Chu Minh
It was a fantastic night with wonderful hospitality shown. Then, today I was taken to Chu Thuat's house for dinner. Chu Thuat had invited his next door neighbor, who spoke very good English, so conversation was a lot easier. My camera is not cooperating, so I can't upload photos, but it was a wonderful night.
So, I saw the family and had two very interesting and rewarding nights. Not your usual tourist fare, but I guess part of living here is stepping outside that comfort zone.
Thanks for reading again, see y'all on Friday!
-Jefferson
No comments:
Post a Comment