-^-for posterity-^-

the first day of the new year.

and everything stopped.

i walked outside and the road was absolutely deserted. a road that is normally teaming with motorcycles and bicycles stood silent and barren. the sides of the road were lined with vietnamese flags. there were hundreds of flags all barely floating in the wind.

the first day of the new year, as i am experiencing it, is a solitary time for families. most families end up at home watching television and spending time talking to one another. there is no important meal and lunch and dinner are both large.

yesterday night and afternoon i was invited over to a friend’s house to experience lunar new year’s eve. the afternoon meal was large and was enjoyed only by men. we sat outside in a narrow alley around a foldable table. that particular meal ended up lasting most of the afternoon. we ate until about four, took a brief nap on rock hard beds and then began preparing for the evening meal. we ate the evening meal (this time with the women) and were finished by about 7. from 7 until midnight, i went exploring long xuyen with my friend.

the meals were, to say the least, a gastronomical experience not easily forgotten. the food was wonderful but the amount that was forced on me was staggering. you were presented with a problem. you didn’t want to be rude so you ate all the food that was in front of you. when the host presented you with more food because he didn’t want to be rude, you ended up having to eat that too. when you said you were full, the host didn’t quite know if he believed you. he was afraid you were just being polite. so, with a gorged stomach already, you are offered a gigantic piece of bloody beef. yes, you eat it slowly and loosen your belt.

the town was very excited to welcome the year of the monkey. the streets were packed with motorcycles and the town square was decorated with flags, banners and other patriotic things. at one point, there was a fireworks show. for some reason, the show was held at about 9:30 instead of midnight. it lasted for about 20 minutes and, wherever you were driving your motorcycle, you were forced to stop. whether you wanted to see the show or not, traffic was a chaotic log jam. we sat in the middle of a bridge on my friend’s motorcycle watching the sputtering and smoking of the low flying fireworks.

we also saw a traditional dragon dance outside of the chinese association. about 10 young men all wear the same uniform and hold a large stick which supports a part of the dragon. the head is held by a very experienced dragon dancer. they run around and follow set patterns of movement all to the beat of a gigantic drum and what looks like an old pot painted white.

after the show, we went to my friend’s neighbor’s home. he trades gold and spent most of the night talking about how much he bought and sold of this or that and what the going rate was for such and such. he was very well off. we sat on small plastic stools on the side of the road for about an hour. at five minutes until midnight, we went inside to wish the family a happy new year.

we sat in front of the television and watched the crowds in ha noi and ho chi minh city. we counted down with everyone and yelled when it was the new year. this entire country stayed up until 12:00 midnight to welcome january 22nd.

because i was an honorary member of the family, i was given lucky money. this was a huge honor bestowed upon me and i was quite grateful. i was the second person to receive lucky money because i am the second oldest child. after receiving the lucky money and wishing my ‘parents’ a happy new year and luck, prosperity and old age and what not, we went into the alter room of the house.

i was given incense and asked to pray.

they had a number of alters throughout the room, some dedicated to ancestral veneration, others dedicated to some gods but the alter i prayed at was on the balcony. it was a small alter at the top of the balcony’s railing. on it were two oranges, a can of pepsi and a place to put the incense after you prayed. to my left, just about at eye level and half an arms length away, there was a vietnamese flag fluttering in the wind. i looked out on the naked streets and felt the cool air mix with the musty smoke from the incense. i thanked god for life. i thanked him for everything he did for me. i thanked her for making it so beautiful and so horrible.

next, as my eyes were failing me and i was looking to go to bed, my new family went to the pagoda to pray for the new year.

the pagoda was very, very crowded. the smoke from the incense was so thick that it was hard to keep your eyes open at parts. the smoke literally billowed out of the front door. people believe that the smoke is the vehicle which carries your prayers up to heaven and, in that pagoda, there was a traffic jam of prayers just looking for a way out. i went home and my shirt smelled like prayers.

we prayed a couple of times and watched people mill around. my friend wanted to take my picture and is took next to a giant alter dedicated to uncle ho and had a picture snapped. it should be a good one. i went home and fell into a deep sleep.

this morning, i was woken up, oh, maybe 15 times by the phone. it started at 6. then, ever twenty minutes or so, i received a phone call from another person wishing me a happy new year.

since i am a member of my friend’s family, i went over to their house and was invited for lunch. because i am a member, i didn’t have to worry about being the first person to walk through their door and either bring them good or bad luck. i went inside and listened to the father explain why he thought our meeting was fate.

he told me about buddhist principles and about how one person had many different lives. he talked about how strange it was that i would end up in long xuyen and how strange it was that i would end up at his house. he said it was fate that brought me there and that, in a previous life, i was either a member of their family, or a very good friend of the family. i listened to his perspective and found it fascinating. he thoroughly believed it and i was tempted to do so too. he said that, since i was a member of the family, i should have a vietnamese name. i told him i had a vietnamese name given to me by a waiter on the way to ho chi minh city, nguyen quoc minh, or someone who’s proud of my country. it’s tongue in cheek. he said i needed a new name that would be in line with the family. i was given the name ho minh tri, or intelligent one. i will go back to their house for supper tonight and find their hospitality to be overwhelming.

tet is turning out to be christmas times 10.