Hai everyone!
Well, just so you know, I am happily swinging in my sweet little Hanoi. Unlike any other school break, this time there's no such thing as a rest-and-go. I convinced myself into buy tickets home, 10 days only, with this huge list of what-to-do-for-my-project. And I'd better make every minute count.
During the past few days I am fortunate to meet those very kind and supportive people. my friends, strangers, Tò he vendors and artisans,... I've got a list of contact in just 3 days, I shared my food with the vendors, I follow them day by day, to the point that I bumped into anh A ( who I met at the children palace) today and he said "We meet again little girl! Haven't you got enough already!?!" and what's even more surprising is that, I meet anh Hau and anh Tien today, and both of them appeared in my photo ethnography! (a collection of photos I have to submit just for the sake of it since I couldn't shoot myself until now, I had to download and use images from the internet to support, so their images was in my folder and now I met them in person!!!)
Overall, I love being home, I love being a Vietnamese, I love Tò he and no matter how chaotic and crazy Hanoi is, there will always be people like those I've met, whose enthusiasm and courtesy amaze me. I love how "Con duong cai quan" was played on my phone when I was reading Giang Uyen's writings of Vietnamese food on the plane home. I love to switch on I love Vietnam when I walked out of the custom. I love Bi's lousy version of Bai ca song Hong when we rode across Chuong Duong bridge...
So many stories to tell, so much to see and learn.
This is just gonna be my quick writings for the sake of process journal, very raw and rough. If you're the kind who love well-thought, polished texts, please proceed to see the images only haha.
SECOND DAY
Today I went to the Hoi Quan fair at Bac Ninh province. It's about 20km away from Hanoi, and the weather is around 14Cdegree today.
Yesterday, when I called anh Tien to ask for his schedule, he was still at Ninh Hiep fair, at 9.30PM. His phone was on-off like crazy, but he turned to his brother's cellphone and tried to call me back a few times. He said he'd be at Bac Ninh today. So Bac Ninh it is.
How great, I convinced my two friends to join me! It would be so crazy going to a fair alone, is it? Even if it's for your research purpose, what prevents you from having some fun? Ok so we search for a route and Chi was freaked out when she read on some article, we had to ride along 1A road! Turned out it was a
stupid misleading piece of information - erhm you should never trust the internet 100%. Also I remember one time I was wandering around Bac Ninh with CA, there was no such thing as 1A road to Tu Son ( however back then I bet we were lost and turned to a no-turn road, peharps it was 1A?)
9AM. anh Tien called me. "Today's fair is very well-packed and happening! Lots of people and they're about to sing quan họ. Are you coming?" Arh, I set my alarm at 9.20AM. Sleepy beauty, wake up.
10.30AM. On my scooter again! It's amazing how we manage to navigate around the center of Hanoi, it's crazily crowded, noisy and there's no rule so to speak. But somehow I see it as a secret achievement - to ride around hanoi streets *almost* seamlessly.
I met Trang for the first time - she was involved in a Tò he revival project last year, but under the category of Tourism - the aim is similiar but approach is different. However, we talked things out, what she and her group had done, how "tu tuong lang que" they hold when it comes to promote Xuan La's identity, the current ups and downs... she was in A4 so apart from Tò he we have the whole Viet Duc category to open up, like Tram and her legendary tales haha
11.30AM. Gathering the crew at Bi's house. Had bún bò Huế to fuel us up for the trip <3 still awesome as ever.
1PM we started from Hang Voi to be exact. Nobody really knew the way around, but this is Vietnam so we gradually approaching there by the classy method of just-go-and-then-ask. After ~1hour, the colorful flags were waving at us, people were swarming like flies and quan họ was on.
Urghhh just now I realized I didn't go for the merry-go-round =(( The rest of the afternoon, I sat with anh Tien anh anh Hau. Gosh anh Hau was awesome, I feel like he is one of us. At the end of the fair, where there were not many people around, he just played around with bits of dough. He created a face of some Chinese-like character. When I asked him who this is, he said "I don't know,it just coming out from my hands." - Woaaaaa hi-five anh! This is exactly how I'd always say when people ask me who I just drew. Everything he made he decorate it with tiny bits, very detailed and dedicated. There's this lively quality to his figurines, out of the people I have met so far, he is the only one that makes us whooing with every piece he created for us. Of course I filmed, I shot, I asked, I record.
I realize I love talking to new people. Whatever things that could spark between two strangers are so beautiful and memorable. What's more special, after the get-to-know phrase, we'd no longer be strangers and we'd be able to share food and a plus, Tò he vendors always give me Tò he as a gift. Not like what I had expected, that they'd ask for a fee for the so-called interview and shoots, they even gave me a souvenir and share everything they could. Are they the best or what?
Pretty much everything was recorded. As for visuals, I'd love to share with you guys some photos I shot today! Mostly I filmed so not much photos for today... will make up with footage later!
Well, just so you know, I am happily swinging in my sweet little Hanoi. Unlike any other school break, this time there's no such thing as a rest-and-go. I convinced myself into buy tickets home, 10 days only, with this huge list of what-to-do-for-my-project. And I'd better make every minute count.
During the past few days I am fortunate to meet those very kind and supportive people. my friends, strangers, Tò he vendors and artisans,... I've got a list of contact in just 3 days, I shared my food with the vendors, I follow them day by day, to the point that I bumped into anh A ( who I met at the children palace) today and he said "We meet again little girl! Haven't you got enough already!?!" and what's even more surprising is that, I meet anh Hau and anh Tien today, and both of them appeared in my photo ethnography! (a collection of photos I have to submit just for the sake of it since I couldn't shoot myself until now, I had to download and use images from the internet to support, so their images was in my folder and now I met them in person!!!)
Overall, I love being home, I love being a Vietnamese, I love Tò he and no matter how chaotic and crazy Hanoi is, there will always be people like those I've met, whose enthusiasm and courtesy amaze me. I love how "Con duong cai quan" was played on my phone when I was reading Giang Uyen's writings of Vietnamese food on the plane home. I love to switch on I love Vietnam when I walked out of the custom. I love Bi's lousy version of Bai ca song Hong when we rode across Chuong Duong bridge...
So many stories to tell, so much to see and learn.
This is just gonna be my quick writings for the sake of process journal, very raw and rough. If you're the kind who love well-thought, polished texts, please proceed to see the images only haha.
SECOND DAY
Today I went to the Hoi Quan fair at Bac Ninh province. It's about 20km away from Hanoi, and the weather is around 14Cdegree today.
Yesterday, when I called anh Tien to ask for his schedule, he was still at Ninh Hiep fair, at 9.30PM. His phone was on-off like crazy, but he turned to his brother's cellphone and tried to call me back a few times. He said he'd be at Bac Ninh today. So Bac Ninh it is.
How great, I convinced my two friends to join me! It would be so crazy going to a fair alone, is it? Even if it's for your research purpose, what prevents you from having some fun? Ok so we search for a route and Chi was freaked out when she read on some article, we had to ride along 1A road! Turned out it was a
stupid misleading piece of information - erhm you should never trust the internet 100%. Also I remember one time I was wandering around Bac Ninh with CA, there was no such thing as 1A road to Tu Son ( however back then I bet we were lost and turned to a no-turn road, peharps it was 1A?)
9AM. anh Tien called me. "Today's fair is very well-packed and happening! Lots of people and they're about to sing quan họ. Are you coming?" Arh, I set my alarm at 9.20AM. Sleepy beauty, wake up.
10.30AM. On my scooter again! It's amazing how we manage to navigate around the center of Hanoi, it's crazily crowded, noisy and there's no rule so to speak. But somehow I see it as a secret achievement - to ride around hanoi streets *almost* seamlessly.
I met Trang for the first time - she was involved in a Tò he revival project last year, but under the category of Tourism - the aim is similiar but approach is different. However, we talked things out, what she and her group had done, how "tu tuong lang que" they hold when it comes to promote Xuan La's identity, the current ups and downs... she was in A4 so apart from Tò he we have the whole Viet Duc category to open up, like Tram and her legendary tales haha
11.30AM. Gathering the crew at Bi's house. Had bún bò Huế to fuel us up for the trip <3 still awesome as ever.
1PM we started from Hang Voi to be exact. Nobody really knew the way around, but this is Vietnam so we gradually approaching there by the classy method of just-go-and-then-ask. After ~1hour, the colorful flags were waving at us, people were swarming like flies and quan họ was on.
Urghhh just now I realized I didn't go for the merry-go-round =(( The rest of the afternoon, I sat with anh Tien anh anh Hau. Gosh anh Hau was awesome, I feel like he is one of us. At the end of the fair, where there were not many people around, he just played around with bits of dough. He created a face of some Chinese-like character. When I asked him who this is, he said "I don't know,it just coming out from my hands." - Woaaaaa hi-five anh! This is exactly how I'd always say when people ask me who I just drew. Everything he made he decorate it with tiny bits, very detailed and dedicated. There's this lively quality to his figurines, out of the people I have met so far, he is the only one that makes us whooing with every piece he created for us. Of course I filmed, I shot, I asked, I record.
I realize I love talking to new people. Whatever things that could spark between two strangers are so beautiful and memorable. What's more special, after the get-to-know phrase, we'd no longer be strangers and we'd be able to share food and a plus, Tò he vendors always give me Tò he as a gift. Not like what I had expected, that they'd ask for a fee for the so-called interview and shoots, they even gave me a souvenir and share everything they could. Are they the best or what?
Pretty much everything was recorded. As for visuals, I'd love to share with you guys some photos I shot today! Mostly I filmed so not much photos for today... will make up with footage later!
