The heatwave, my birthday and Trang's last supper that really was lunch

This past weekend saw a heatwave of epic proportions roll into Hanoi, just in time for my birthday. Legs were bared and sweaters were taken off, sighs of relief were breathed and eyes were shielded against the sun. It was nothing but glorious, and even if by now temperatures have dropped by 10 degrees, it was awesome to have a birthday party without wearing our jackets indoors, to walk over to meet my friend Sophie for birthday brunch in flip flops and to eat eggs benedict and not have them be cold halway through because the restaurant does not have central heating. On a bit of a sad note, my fellow intern Trang is leaving Hanoi to return to Germany. For a last farewell meal, we all headed to this fancy restaurant where you can get an all-vegetarian set menu including "snail" (read: tofu) soup and desserts like sweet alcoholic rice and passion fruit créme. I wish I could go and eat there every week. Face-stuffing good times :)

Unexpected

Perks of being an intern at Goethe: going to exhibitions during office hours.

On being temporary

watch the video to this image here: http://vimeo.com/22439234

Last year, I lost what had come to embody a sense of home and belonging to me. When everything hurt and nothing made sense, I instantaneously decided to I set myself adrift, cut myself lose from it all and disappear. I needed to be in a place where I didn't know anyone, where there would be no questions, no explanations, no knowing looks, and to make decisions for myself and myself alone. I enjoyed not knowing where I would go next. I loved the liberty that came with it. I loved being temporary.

8 months later, I have arrived in a place where I am starting to reassess values such as family and friendship. I have had plenty of time to think about how much of both I need, how my own actions are reflected in these relationships, and what shape or form I would like them to take. And while again and again I have come to realize that to me, home is not necessarily a place, but manifests itself in the people I surround myself with, I am ready to find a place to call home again. When I left I knew that I would get there one day, and it feels good to have arrived at this point. To have swept clean the floor, put the dustbin out on the street, wiped your dirty hands off on the dirty bottom of your pants and to say "right, so what's next?".

Why do you travel?

Because I want to enjoy my story.

Positive

image source

Now I have spent a good deal bitching about the things in Hanoi that I'm not so keen on - but really, there are a lot of reasons to like and even love this city. In a lot of ways, Hanoi is an amplifier ike London - bad days are bad, but good days are awesome. Good days include climbing - my local gym here does in no way compare to The Arch, but getting to move my body after long hours at the office feels so good, plus the peeps you meet over there are lovely. Good days also include walking around with your eyes open to discover things like hidden temples and ornate buildings amongst the ever-present face of urban decay. Good days obviously include good food - I can never get over how amazing yet affordable the street food is in Southeast Asia, and nothing beats a steaming hot bowl of Pho to warm you up on a cold winter day. Finally, good days include good people. I spent today's afternoon in the company of my friend Sophie, and after a week in the office where conversations often revolve around work, it is so nice to be able to just kick back for a coulple of hours, get some coffee and talk life. Up next is our housemates dinner - every sunday my house tries to get together to catch up over some good food. Last week we went to one of my favourite vegetarian restaurants, tonight we're all feeling lazy so Indian take away is ticking our boxes. So while the sun refuses to shine and warm our cold feet, we still have some chili and good company to nourish the soul.

Boomerang

Ugghhh I knew this would happen. Six weeks into the Hanoian adventure, 'pollution-induced asthma' is making a comeback. Hanoi is the dirtiest city I have ever lived in so really, it's no surprise. Cough, cough.

On the subject of Hanoian winters

If anyone tells you that winters in Hanoi are warm, they are lying. Granted, 15° hardly compare to the ice and snow the northern hemisphere experiences towards the end of the year, but in Hanoi, 15° outdoors means 15° indoors. There is no warmth ever, anywhere. Houses have poor insulation, heaters are non-existent. Going to your favourite café to warm up over a cup of coffee? Forget it, that coffee may be hot but the rooms are chilly. People take to wearing their coats 24 hours. The entire city is fitted out with gloves and earmuffs. Laundry takes days to dry. My boss advised me to wear socks to bed, and I certainly do. I keep a blanket wrapped around me at all times. I own house slippers that look like they could belong to Al Bundy. Along with the cold comes a distinct lack of sun - in the four weeks that I have been living here, we have not had a single day of sunshine. The sky remains grey from sunrise till sundown. I wonder what the symptoms of Vitamin D deficiency are...