Relations and Pre-Monastery

Maternal aunt older than mother, paternal aunt older than father, maternal uncle younger than mother, paternal uncle younger than father, paternal aunt-in-law older than father, maternal uncle-in-law younger than mother, paternal father's older cousin, maternal mother's aunt, paternal father's aunt's younger female child, and on, and on and on....

In Vietnamese, there are different words for each of the persons above, each form of address denotes how you are in relation to them, and how they are in relation to you.  Everyone is indeed, family.  My first two days in Viet Nam have been a furry of visiting relatives and trying to remember these forms of address.  I have had to address new born babies the american equivalent as "aunt" and older men of my grandfather's generation as "cousin."  There have been mishaps, which were met with a stern eye from my grandfather and a gentle excuse from my grandmother saying the phrase, "you must forgive this grandson, he is from America (followed by nervous chuckles from both sides and me sitting there with an akward smile sipping tea from what would be considered shot glass).  For some reason, the Viet Nam in my mind does not consist of these memories.  The nostalgia of smells and sound over take memories of these akward moments. I did smell Pho lingering in the air this morning, the baugette boys did wake me up with their cries, and I did, more than once, fear for my life as my 85 year old grandfather whizzed through town on the back of the motor-bike with me in tow.

Tomorrow, I leave all of this behind as I enter into a Buddhist monastery for 6 days.  I do not know what to expect from this experience.  Maybe it wil serve as a chance to "escape" everything, or a time to reflect, slow down and concentrate on the present; maybe it will serve as an opprotunity to think, or have the absence of thought, without distractions, or maybe it will be a time for me to try and remember how to correctly address all of my relatives.  All I know is that I am only allowed to carry in two change of under garments, a journal, and my passport to register with the local authorities--everything else will be provided for.  (below is a picture of Thien Vien Truc Lam monastery, where I will be staying)

Also, I would like to take this opprotunity to thank Shawn, Kevin and Drew for your help in the design and coding of this blog.  Also, I am giving credit to my former co-worker Michelle for her quote, "You cannot have a beginning without an end."