Happy New Year...

... to all of you from all of us!

Winter break count down

We are almost half-way through, and so far so good... the three week looong break, with school closed and mummy desperate to set up as many playdates as possible. Yesterday we went to have a look at our "new" Swedish friends place in the Swedish compound and tomorrow we will go and have lunch at some Japanese friend's place. Today has been one of those grey stay-at-home days, but now it is definitely time to leave the house. We are going to Daluva for a capuccino and some lemon juice. Now!

Of course there has been lots of drawing and painting and reading as well...

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By the Red River

On the other side of the dyke road that separates the Tay Ho area from the Red River, is the countryside; it is full of small fields with vegetables and flowers and houses with only one storey. Today we went to have lunch at Tre Place, a couple of kilometers north from our house along the river.

At least a couple of flowers on an otherwise quite grey day.

Initially we planned for a nice stroll along the fields and the river, but almost immediately Kai got terribly tired and just couldn't walk, had to be carried. When he felt two little raindrops on his cheeks there was nothing more to do about it but take a taxi. Miraculously, his strenghts returned almost straight away, when he saw the swing at Tre Place's playground. Oh, the wonders of kids...

Christmas

On Christmas eve we waited paitiently all morning, for Santa to come. Then, just when we were playing in the new sandpit he passed quickly and left loads of presents he had picked up in Sweden and Japan under our beautiful tree in the garden, decorated with garlands, balls and multi-coloured blinking lights. We managed to save the rest of our Indian take-away lunch before the anarchic riot of opening, "helping" others to open, and trying to grab whichever present in sight started...

Afterwards, all kids seemed happy and in the evening we went to good friend Soma and Davide's place for a wonderful, mostly Italian inspired Christmas dinner - and lots of wine. Yesterday evening we went to some other friend's house, and had some more wine. Today, all family passed out for a three hour Christmas siesta...

No skinka, köttbullar, prinskorv, grönkål, sill, snaps, knäck, risalamalta or glögg, but still a great Christmas.

Garden beach

Finally we found someone who had some sand left over and now we've got our very own sandpit with white Nha Trang beach sand in our backyard!

Lately, the weather switches from day to day, from wonderful beach-like fresh and sunny days, to grey and damp more boring days. If we are lucky January will continue bringing us some sunshine as well.

Refusal

For Hana. Almost done.

Done.
And, what happened?
She screamed even before I tried to put it on, while I put it on, and afterwards, too. Just went no-noo-nooooo! Nothing to do but to take it off again.
Must be like this it feels when you send your finished script to an editorial, and get it back. So much work and nothing but a ... thanks but, nooooo thanks (in this case, not even with the thanks part).

Tomorrow I will try again!

Hot dog

Yes. People do eat them here. On special moon calendar days. Grilled and glaced. I don't.

Sepia day

Earlier today I went into town to get one last Christmas present; a pair of cool silver football shoes with the Italian flag for Kai. Yesterday I got Hana a pair of bright pink ones. Other than that, just about everything else seemed rather grey today. Even so, winter does make Hanoi feel more exotic again.

Winter

A couple of days ago Hanoi turned grey. Going on the motorbike is freezing and inside we have turned on the heating again. Just about all that's missing now is for everything to turn damp and moist...

Last Sunday we sat in the sun, seriously considering moving to the shadow. Summer, please come back!

Even dogs are cold.
And, is that blue sign next to my head a hint or just pure coincidence...?

Hana

Most of the time, she walks around at home with Kai's old doll under one arm, her ladybird bag hanging from the other, talking on either mine or Keisuke's mobile phone that she always manages to get hold on. When she is not eating.

And she loves to do everything Kai does. Here, reading Bamse in his bed. Very cool.

Vietnam Inside Out

Yesterday I went to have coffee with a Vietnamese women I have helped preparing for a Vietnamese "cultural course", supposed to be starting in January. We had set up intersting topics like socialism & capitalism, the role of the woman in Vietnam, collectivism vs. indiviualism, and other things really relevant for new foreigners to know more about, and to make it even more authentic she was supposed to hold the Vietnam Inside Out sessions in her home.
Yesterday, we first talked about other things and then she explained she has to cancel it all. You know, she said, I have been thinking, and I cant have several foreigners coming to my home in the evening, for several weeks in a row. 'Someone' will tell 'somebody' and 'they' will start investigating. They will come and ask what I am doing and what we are talking about, and it could be really bad for me.
Then, suddenly she looked even more uncomfortable and said really fast and low that we-have-to-stop-talking-about-this-topic-at-all-now-becuase-you-see-the-four-men-sitting-next-to-us-one-of-them-has-stopped-talking-and-is-only-listening-to-us-now.
The cultural police is everywhere - on the outlook for "social evil", and we even have a friend who used to be that, until he changed sides and am now a well known painter and artist, himself constantly being watched. Last month he organized a huge exhibition and got a serious visit afterwards, by a group of serious men, explaining that the art work were kind of ok, but the speach some ambassador made, about art as a bearer of innovative thoughts and freedom of expression and so, definitely wasn't.
Of course, newspapers can be critical only to a degree that suits the Party, but also news channels like CNN and BBC are run with half an hour's delay and sometimes someone pushes the red button and they go black for a while. Facebook has been closed by sensitive and understanding internet providers (too much social networking, especially since it was translated to Vietnamese and especially with too many innovative attitudes coming in from Viet-kieu, the Vietnamese living in exile).
Oficially, there is no censorship in Vietnam. Only self-sensorship. I guess that is what happended to Ms. Xxx's cultural course.

Christmas curry

Yesterday we invited our friends to come over for some nice and warm Japanese curry. We invented it was called "christmas curry" and counted to 30 adults and 15 kids and had so much fun we forgot to take pictures.

Morning snack time. Hana and Kai trying the rented tables and stools in the back yard.

International Day

This Saturday they celebrated "International Day" at Kai's and Hana's school. Every class except the smallest one performed on the stage, in front of about 200 parents and as many cameras. Kai is in Blossoms class and they sang Slippery Fish.

Getting ready...

Watching the other classes perform with best friends Hosea and Isha.

Everything Kai does...

Afterwards there was food and drinks from all over the world brought in by all parents to a huge buffet a la "knytkalas". Hana just had chocolate cake.

Xuân Diệu

Our street is called Xuan Dieu, and I just learned it is named after a Vietnamese poet. Seems like all he did was writing love poems.

December in Tay Ho

It seems like everyone is taking Christmas as a good excuse to invite friends for lunch or snack or wine, and in the kids' school they are busy celebrating "international week" when all parents are supposed to come and talk about traditions from your country. A Norweigan mother brought me as her assistant, and we went to make ginger cookies with Kai's class, Hana has had Jewish Hanukkah celebrations and special music day. In the afternoons we are busy with friends visiting and the weekend schedule is already full...

The superman baker.

And it all turned out really professional.

Sticky rice and mango for snack time in Hana's Ducklings class.

And, the best of all, "summer" is temporarily back!

The owners wife

Our landlords live just around the corner, and are really nice. Sometimes when we ask them to come fix something in the house they actually do so, and every now and then the landlady comes with fresh fruit or - on every special Vietnamese holiday - with some traditional food. We have hade little round sticky rice-balls, to be dipped in some sweet syrup, moon cake of course and last week she came with sticky rice cakes, filled with egg and spicy meat and wrapped in banana leafs. It is a little bit unclear for what, but I am sure it had something to do with the moon calendar and a special pagoda visit day.

Tay Ho absurdities?

There I was again, sitting in a room with about hundred Japanese kids and about the same amount of mothers, getting ready for the monthly story telling session. With the only difference that yesterday the theme was Christmas. And somehow it feels just a little strange with all these Japanese kids, in Vietnam, waiting for Santa, as neither Japan or Vietnam actually celebrate this. Part of Tay Ho life absurdities, I guess...

Artificial snow sneeze attack!

Then, in the evening, Keisuke and I escaped Tay Ho, went to "noche hispana" at one of the city's fancier hotels, and were suddenly transfered to some kind of hysterical upper class Latin American social event. Good food, lots of drinks and lots of laughter though, and, thinking about it, quite fun to be able to jump in and out of all these different cultural contexts.

Next Friday: Annual Lucia celebrations at the Swedish Embassy...

Village colours

The people in Mai Chau belong to the White Thai minority, and are traditionally skilled weavers. Under every stilt house there is a loom and when not cooking or cleaning or taking care of kids or working on the fields or being occupied with anything else, the women are weaving.
The natural colors of the houses, the ground and the harvested rice fields, together with the bright colors of the textiles, makes the place almost magic.

Kids on the rice fields

For the kids it was two days of ejoying total freedom, running around the village, taking long walks (mainly running, climbing or balancing), playing with whatever they found on the ground (mainly sticks).
Hana did her best to try to catch up with big brothers Kai and Hosea.

"Boys, what are you pointing at?"
"We're shooting bad guys!"
"..."

So much running and playing with sticks, had to end with at least a couple of incidents. Kai fell on a sharp stone and Hosea fell into a muddy rice paddie. Sticks were eventually prohibited.