Celebrating Tet!

On the Lunar New Year's eve, I decided to have a bunch of people over for a little Tet party, given that my roof balcony has an amazing view of Hoan Kiem Lake, and therefore offering a great view of the fireworks. The past 2 Lunar New Year celebrations I've been in Hanoi, I spent them in the thick of the crowds alongside the lake, getting squished and pushed around in an effort to catch a glimpse of the fireworks through the trees. I figured hosting a party on my roof would be a vast improvement from the claustrophobic experience by the lake, so I set up some speakers, got the music pumpin', and had some good friends over to enjoy the holiday together. The party ended up being a huge success (even though the fireworks were somewhat lame), and I was glad that I got to welcome the New Year with some of my closest friends in Hanoi.

On the first day of the New Year, every store and shop was closed, and the streets were mostly abandoned. I had it in mind that I would spend the day/evening alone, since all my Vietnamese friends do the "family thing". Given that Tet is a holiday that celebrates the coming together of family and friends, Son's family invited me to their house, as they didn't want me to spend it alone... a very sweet gesture if I do say so myself. So off we went to his grandparents house around 7pm. It was really cute to drive along the streets at this time, as you could see so many families sitting together in their "living rooms" (which are usually open to the street), and enjoying the holiday together.

When I got to Son's grandmother's house (who happens to be one of the cutest, oldest women I have ever seen) I was greeted by a whole slew of Nguyen's. Obviously I was the only white person, and only a few of them spoke English. We all sat around eating pistachio nuts and sunflower seeds before dinner was ready; I was attempting to communicate with my limited Vietnamese, and everyone else was doing the same thing with English. We sat down to a traditional Tet dinner, with Son next to me functioning as translator. I tried a little bit of everything, including the coagulated meat shaped into a thick pancake, that was made from pig's tongue and ears (I had a very small bite of this, and did my best not to spit it out). I also enjoyed some papaya salad with peanuts, spring rolls, chicken, pickled spring onions, dried bamboo soup (my favorite), and some other vegetable dishes. I felt really thankful to have been given the opportunity to experience Tet as part of a Vietnamese family. Apparently, most of the dinner conversation centered around Son's uncle's excess of fish; he owns a big lake and recently caught a whole bunch of big fish, and they were trying to decide what to make with it, fish noodles, fish hotpot, fish sauce, etc. I was also given instructions on how to make some of the dishes I enjoyed the most, but unfortunately they use vegetables that are specific to Southeast Asia so I don't think I'll be able to make them for anyone at home. :(

Today, everything is still closed, but the sun is shining brightly... which is a very welcome change. The sun completely disappears during Hanoi winter, so it's always so great to see it out again. I think I will take to this opportunity to go read a book on my roof, or find some friends to go out around the lakes, or walk in the park. Either way, I'm getting outside! So, happy lunar new year to everyone and "Mung Xuan", or cheers to spring!