First Christmas
After many countless photos trying to get our child just right I decided to let her just do what she does best and wait………….. Photo didn’t turn out half bad. Her eyes were gleaming as she stood staring at the Christmas tree. You’ll have to just believe me on that since by the time I got to take a photo of her face, Elmo started singing on the TV and she crawled away……
Vietnam Wedding – part 2
After the ceremony at the Bride’s home, there was a procession back to the vans that were parked down the path. When we left for the Bride’s home earlier, I couldn’t figure out why they didn’t pack those van to full capacity to take everyone but on the way home I figured it out. The ride back home, we added a few of the Bride’s family to the vans bringing them to the Groom’s home.
Click on a thumbnail to enlarge
The ceremony that took place at the Groom’s home (my brother-in-law) was more of a wedding reception. They had a small ceremony / wedding rituals they performed in front of all the guests. They lit candles, cut wedding cake, drank wine together, etc. They also had 2 MC”s doing announcements and even performing throughout the night.
The meal that followed was very good, I wish I could remember what we ate but I don’t. I do know there was seafood, which I did pass on some of the offerings and had to explain myself countless times to why I don’t drink beer.
After the meal, there was entertainment. Mainly it was karaoke time. Again, I passed on participating and watched along with taking photos and video.
This was the second wedding I’ve attended in Vietnam and I really still don’t understand the ceremony.
Vietnam Wedding – part 1
The wedding took place in July / August 2011 in Hue. This is my wife’s brother. I really like the colors in this photo – the reds and golds along with the gray of Minh’s suit.
This part of the ceremony took place at the brides home and Mai didn’t attend this part with me. I was the only one taking photos besides the wedding photographer and I even stepped out of the tent into the 100° sun to get some photos.
I had sweat pouring down my face, was outside and the old man (behind the bride) took a moment during the ceremony to “talk” about me. Not a clue to what he said but he gestured towards me, talked, smiled and everyone there slightly laughed as they glanced at me. I nodded back with a smile and continued to get my shot.
Taking Photographs with Your Eyes
Last Saturday my wife and I had to clean an office. We do this every other weekend.
We were about done, I thought she had to do a few more things but I was done sweeping so I went into the office where my coat was and stood there at the window (very few times we clean there when the sun is still out) looking out into the tree line that surrounds a train track that isn’t used much. I stood there for 5 minutes just looking out. Didn’t know she was standing behind me the whole time. Didn’t even hear her giggle. Finally I thought I’d go see if she was done and turned and there she was. Nearly jumped out of my skin. She was laughing. Said she followed me into the room. “Did you see something interesting? hahahahahaha”.
She came to the window. I replied, “see the sun hitting the trees making the one side golden. See the leafless bush there with the funny looking tops on the branches. See the snow on the sides of the tree sparkle.”
Sometimes it’s just nice to stop and admire your surroundings by taking photographs with your eyes. Leave the camera at home next time.
Games in Hue
It’s always fun to watch the kids in Vietnam.
The three boys laying on the bed in Hue, were not making a long distance phone call to America. They were engrossed on playing a video game on the cell phone. Bin, the one playing, if he sees a phone he’ll want it just to look for games on it to play. And you’ll not see your phone again till the battery dies and he needs your charger so he can charge it. Not that he’s sorry that he killed the battery but to charge it so he can play some more… The other two boys, are waiting patiently for their turn and to help him out if he moves the wrong way on his game.
The three girls and Huan are playing the Horse Race Game. Similar to the game I grew up playing with my parents, Sorry! The players have to get their horses out of the box by rolling a certain number and go all around the board (paper). They can knock each other off and be sent back to the starting box. Yeah… the game of Sorry!
Mimi took rubber bands and tied them together and wrapped them around a house pillar and a plastic chair. I thought it was interesting watching her jump moves that I knew if I would try, I’d probably fall of the porch and break a bone or 2.
Dried Fish
Dried fish for sale at the Market in Vietnam. The smell wasn’t as bad as you might think, because it was masked by all the other smells at the market, it was a potpourri of smells.
You’ll see just about everything imaginable for sale in the market. We were walking buy a stand selling fish and the owner of the stall was cutting the head and tail of the tiny live fish – not a common site for us to see as we shop at our local Wal-Mart’s and Kroger stores.
These photos were taken in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam in 2005
A Galaxie filled with smiles
I drove my 1966 Ford Galaxie 500 to a local downtown cruise-in and parked it. I was off walking around and taking photos of different cars and was slowly returning to mine. As I got closer I over heard a conversation between a Father and a Daughter.
“Do you like this car?”
The girl was standing at the drivers side window smiling as she shook her head yes and peaked inside the car.
I was close enough to say, “well, if you like it that much you need to do more than just look in the window.” I opened the door so she could sit. As she sat in the car, I chatted with her father (a school friend of mine) and snapped a few shots to post on facebook for them to see.
A Galaxie filled with Smiles
“Thanks guys! As soon as Bailey got back to the moose she was telling me all about this” pretty black car” that ‘some guy’ actually let her sit in. She thought she was queen for the day.” – Alishia
Thank you for the smiles
Getting to Vietnam
The tripped was planned many months ago and was cancelled a few times, but we felt it was important to go since it was my wife’s brother’s wedding. We had missed the oldest brother’s wedding. Plus there was a family get-together in memory of a passing relative so there would be a lot of family around that hasn’t been seen for many years. My wife has been in the States since 2001. We’ve made 4 trips there; however this has been my 6th trip. The first 2 trips were meeting her after a year of letters and bringing her to the States.
Anyhow, we booked our flights through United and we’re all set. We arrived at the small Fort Wayne International airport on an early Saturday morning only to find out (after our ride there returned home) that our flight to Chicago O’hare was cancelled because of a bad storm. It had been dry for so long and the day it decides to rain is the day we were leaving. So, with the 1 and only 1 clerk helping customers he found us a flight with Delta the next day even earlier. Now the journey begins….
We flew from Fort Wayne to Atlanta to Seoul to Saigon. The flight from Atlanta to Seoul was a so long. With United we had picked out our seats in Coach. Being stuck on a flight through Delta we were stuck wherever they put us. It wasn’t too bad, but I wanted the last 2 seats on the plane like I had with United.
Sitting in Atlanta for a few hours with no free wifi.
Our plane… I was able to check our status through United, Delta and Korean Air.
“So, where did I put that luggage cart?”
Sorry about the quality. This photo was taken an iPod camera. I believe it’s 1mp ??
We arrived in Saigon on July 24th or 25th at 10pm. At the airport waiting for us were 2 cousins. We took a taxi to my wife’s Uncle’s house in District 4 and spent the night only to get up the next day and take another plane to Hue. And like all the different airlines we used to get to Vietnam, we went to Hue, Vietnam using Vietnam Airlines but used a Cambodian Airplane.
Welcome to Hue, Vietnam (to be continued…..)
Why did the Chicken Cross the Road?
The riddle first appeared in 1847 in a New York monthly magazine known as The Knickerbocker.
…There are ‘quips and quillets’ which seem actual conundrums, but yet are none. Of such is this: ‘Why does a chicken cross the street?['] Are you ‘out of town?’ Do you ‘give it up?’ Well, then: ‘Because it wants to get on the other side!’
But if I were a chicken in Viet Nam; I’d run away from the road. If you have never experienced crossing the road in Viet Nam; then you have missed out on a death defying thrilling experience. Sai Gon has a population of over 5 million with tens of thousands if not even more scooters, bicycles and vehicles on the roads through most of the daylight hours.
The scooters flow from point A to point B flawlessly (most of the time). They cross in front, in back and some seem to go right through each other to get to their destination. When making a left turn or even a U-turn; the driver will cross in front of traffic like it’s cutting a piece of bread – with ease.
Then to add to the craziness of the traffic, add a local crossing the road and you’ll be dumbfounded as to why the person 1)wants to cross the road 2) is in the middle of the road 3) made it across the road alive. Yes, crossing the roads in Viet Nam can be dangerous, but somehow the drivers just flow around you as you walk through the traffic. That is IF you pay attention to the drivers and never take a step backwards.
To live deliberately … ~ Henry David Thoreau
So that its subjects will view it with admiration, as a chicken which has the daring and courage to boldly cross the road, but also with fear… ~Machiavelli
The first photo was taken in July 2010 on one of our many road trip in Viet Nam. It was taken in or near Sai Gon.
The second photo was taken by my wife as my brother, myself, Raam Dev and my nephew cross a “quiet” street in Saigon.
Nhi
I first met Nhi in 2005 while visiting Mai’s family in Binh Duong, Viet Nam. Nhi is a daughter of one of Mai’s cousins. When we first met Nhi she was a shy little girl of 3 or so. She had a lazy eye and my brother had a similar problem when he was a child. He and his wife were with us when we met Nhi and they discussed with us about looking into getting her eye corrected.
In 2008, Mai and I again visited Viet Nam to attend a wedding. We stayed at Nhi’s Grandfathers house in the country. Nhi was still a bit shy but she was very playful. She and her cousin would run from my camera. Nhi also spent many times sitting next to me chatting up a storm then had a good laugh. She good easily brighten anyone’s day with her smile.
The photo above was taken in 2008 at an amusement park in Viet Nam. Nhi wanted her photo taken in that spot and ran to it. A photographer for the park pushed her out of the way so he could take a photo of someone as I was walking over to her. After the guy took a photo, I walked in front of him and walked backwards to push him away and motioned for Nhi to stand in a spot to take her photo.
Nhi visited a Doctor while we were there and after we had left she had surgery to correct her eye.
When we were left Viet Nam in 2008, she told her family that she knew English. They questioned her on what she knew. Nhi replied, In English they say David, in Viet we say Davit.
Below is a video of her taken the night before we left Vietnam. She is playing cards with another cousin in HCMC.
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After visiting once again in 2010, we learned that Nhi had an incurable brain tumor. With countless surgeries and stays in hospitals she passed away October 21, 2010. She stayed in hospital wards with 30 – 45 other children with only 15 beds available. After a few days in ICU she was taken to a balcony for recovery. Later she was transfered from the well known hospital Cho Ray (HCMC) to a country hospital 512 in Binh Duong because the doctors thought there was little hope. However they told the family that the country hospital could provide her with everything they could but that was not the case.
Even towards the end, Nhi brought smiles to the family. She wasn’t able to talk for the longest time. She was always asked what she wanted to eat, though she never said a word, on October 12th she said, “noodles”.
Looking at her photos, she still brings smiles and tears to our eyes. We know that she is in a better place without any pain and making lots of new friends with just a smile in Heaven. As I think of all the people that I want to see when I enter Heaven, I hope Nhi is one of the firsts.
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More photos of Nhi can be found on my website at DaJaTu Photo and I created a blog for her that is still up for a few months: Nhi-Nguyen.com
