Tan’s in Việt Nam!

The people of Hanoi are fond of pointing out that their city has four seasons, while Saigon has only two seasons. I think there is some sort of pride in that fact. For some reason Hanoi people don’t appear to be too fond of Saigon.

Off the top of my head, I have no idea what these four seasons are. I suspect one of them is “unbearably hot” in August. Another one might be “raining like you forgot to turn off the faucet.” (Oddly enough, the weather channel says that the entire country is raining, except Hanoi.) Yesterday, the seasons abruptly changed into “unbearably cold.” All over the city, people walk around in their thickest jackets and scarves. No one is crazy enough to walk out in shorts and/or a tshirt. Temperatures dip into the mid-50 degrees Fahrenheit, which is around 12-13 degrees Celsius. Hopefully I converted correctly. I used pencil, paper, and a foggy recollection of Physics class in high school to derive the formula.

In southern California, I believe the weather has already turned cold, though perhaps not as cold as Hanoi’s. It might also be raining. But more important than the winter season, California has already welcomed the Christmas season. People have started to set up Christmas lights, take out the Christmas trees, and think about things to buy as Christmas presents. Holiday sales show up with increasing intensity and the malls become more and more crowded. Soon, Santa’s will appear in the malls, TV shows will air Christmas-themed episodes, and students will celebrate the end of yet another quarter or semester.

In Vietnam, however, other than the wardrobe, life goes on without any other signs of change. Sure, parts of the Old Quarter near Ho Hoan Kiem (the Lake of the Returned Sword- a major tourist attraction) are now beginning to sell Christmas paraphernalia. Don and Thuy even bought some for the D8 dorms. There are now two Christmas trees on the 1st and 4th floor. But other than that, Christmas is limited to a few Western restaurants, some university offices, and the occasional shop. One notable exception is the New Century Club, which greets dancers and drinkers with a huge Christmas tree display. It is apparently owned by the son of a former prime minister. In a country where the vast majority of the people are nominally Buddhist or ancestor worship, a Western tradition like Christmas has marginal impact on the country.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the lack of Christmas fever has enabled me to concentrate on school. I have 4 classes, each with some sort of paper due. I shouldn’t really complain, as most of my friends back home are taking final examinations instead of writing final papers. I have no final examination in any class. Topics for my paper include:

1. The positive and negative effects of tourism on the populations of Vietnam.
2. The subtle syncretism between Catholicism and the cult of the Mother Goddess.
3. Oral History on the lives of retired factory workers.
4. My personal experience of Vietnam
5. A translation and performance of NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye.”

I have a little over one week left in Vietnam, but I have enough to keep me busy for a while. If not, I can always go outside and shop for some fake Louis Vuitton scarves for a little over $1 U.S. I wish I could say it was for Christmas presents, but no. They are for myself.