It’s weird: school started again just a few weeks ago. We said goodbye to the eight semester students barely a month ago, and I parted ways with my family in early January. And, just back from a weeklong Têt holiday, we have another trip in less than two weeks. I’m now better equipped for Hanoi winter; instead of walking around covered in my blanket with a towel on my head for warmth, I now have a multitude of sweaters and even a pair of gloves to help me brave the cold. I also started out with a stash of chocolate that was supposed to last me through at least February, but which I managed to eat in a matter of days. I recently got a bike, so whenever we go to visit family I bike alongside my host parents and sisters on their motorcycle (all four of them somehow manage to fit onto a single one). My Lunar New Year’s resolution is to explore more of the city, which I can do more easily with a bike.
Of course, most of January has been spent preparing for Têt. Starting at the beginning of the month, the streets seemed to turn a bright shade of red and gold as people began selling elaborate decorations—ornaments, calendars, lanterns, and paper sculptures to burn as gifts for the ancestors and kitchen gods. For one week, all of Hanoi seemed to shut down as people deserted their jobs to pay their respects to loved ones, dead and living. I normally woke up at 8, helped my host mom with food preparation, and then went with my family to visit the grandparents’ house. We usually stayed all day, coming home at around 10 at night. They did this every day from Sunday through Saturday—I came along most days, but tried to split up my time equally between host family obligations and friends.
Strangely enough, as short as Têt was, it began to feel like a bit of a routine. (Though I’ll admit, it seems unlikely that anything could feel like a routine in Vietnam.) For this one week the city seems to work in sync, an abrupt change from the discord that seems to lie at the heart of Hanoi. And, living with Vietnamese families, we’re fortunate enough to be able to experience and become a part of this unexpected stability.
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