Sai Gon, July 21, 2001
I had a dream two days ago where I was giving instructions to someone else over the phone IN VIETNAMESE. When I woke up, I was really quite amused with myself, as much as I would be I suppose, if I ever find myself thinking in Vietnamese (this has happened with French before, but never Vietnamese). I suppose dreaming in another language is a sign that it’s nearly time to go home.

Today is the middle of the month of the lunar calendar (am lich). It’s called Ram, and it’s of course, a vegetarian day for the Vietnamese, as is the first day of the lunar month. The 2nd and 16th of the month, however, are the days the vietnamese commemorate and pray for, well, everything. The verb is to “cun” and you cun your car, your house, your business, and anything else that needs protection or prosperity. Tomorrow we’ll have fruit (usually mangoes, lychees, longans, and dragon fruit) to snack on at work, since the process includes offering fruit to the Gods and burning incense at miniature shrines, which will be found in nearly every commercial and retail outlet, hotels, restaurants, and any other place you can imagine. The one at work I’ve never seen, though I’ve sensed traces of incense on my way out for lunch before.

Miniature shrines are most often produced of wood that is then most often painted red, and most often highlighted with gold stamping, and is generally rather tacky. Sometimes they include flashing holiday lights, fake candles with fake flame shaped bulbs and long electrical wires (who ever thought this was an improvement on the original?), a plastic Buddha with a lightbulb inside his tummy, or – so 80’s – flashing fiber optic threads in multiple colors. You have to buy a miniature tea set with your shrine (how else are you going to offer tea to your Buddhas?), and usually a small cup or bowl to hold the uncooked rice in which you’ll stick the incense sticks. If you’re going to cun your car, then all you have to do is place a plate of fruit on the hood, and stick a few incense sticks in whatever cracks you can find in the front grill, and then make a few offerings to the Gods and let the incense burn down. This will prevent you from having a car accident. Even boat homes, which line the Sai Gon River (and most other rivers of Vietnam) have miniature shrines. Boat homes are a whole other image I can write about some other time.

Vietnamese houses also have shrines that range from miniature to entire rooms and some can really be quite elegant. All homes have proper shrines for commemorating your late parents and other ancestors – this is no matter your religion, it is a vietnamese rather than a Buddhist custom. The Vietnamese believe that your parents are constantly watching over you, even in their death. We constantly offer my grandfather fruit, but sometimes we offer him some soup and tea in case he tires of the fruit. Now that I’m recalling this, I had mien ga tonight for dinner – chicken noodle soup – which was one of my grandfather’s favorites and I (for shame) forgot to offer some to him. No matter, my grandad had plenty of extra weight on him, and as perhaps the most self-actualized person I’ve ever known, he wouldn’t mind that I forgot, always being ever so forgiving.

Only 16 days until I leave SaiGon. I arrive in DC on July 9, tired and fattened (I've gained at least 3 kg which makes me over 90lbs), and will shortly thereafter be going up to NY for a weekend. Hoping to see much while home though I will be spending about a week and a half in California if I can get my ticket confirmed and bought soon. Imagine, I’ll be taking a ten day vacation to California from my five week vacation to the U.S. from my two year vacation from New York. I like this life. And after this vacation, I think I'll go vacation in Italy or Greece, though I've never been to either. There is much to look forward to, beginning with steak in the western world (forgive me, Buddha).