Pre-Tet shopping in San Jose
The lunar new year comes a bit late this time. The first day of Tet coincides with Valentine’s Day on a Sunday. Can you imagine how big it is for the Asian expats? The other years Tet happened during the week, people have to work, kids have classes, maybe even tests. Who knows what a pop quiz on that first day can do to a child that whole year? Tet in Vietnam is in the spring, but for the expats in the western hemisphere, if Tet comes a bit too early, like in January, then it’d still be coat-and-cold-nose time. So yeah, it’s big this year.
In the past few days it’s been snowing in Texas and everything, but the weather here has gotten fairly springlike. The hills are all fuzzily green, purplish pink flowers blooming on the side streets (I know nothing about botany, but my guess is they are related to cherry blossoms somehow), spring showers come every now and then just to wet your eyebrows. The employment rate may still be low in Cali, but there was no sign of a recession in San Jose last weekend. The parking lots at Lion and the Grand Century mall were packed. It was like Black Friday sale. Cars were moving bumper to bumper trying to get in and out and maybe a spot. We went through maybe 8 songs on the CD while waiting to make a right turn to the other side of the mall. Of course it was also the big Super Bowl day, but we could tell that Vietnamese men and women really paid attention to football.
…Maybe if football looked like bầu cua… Lots of these tables were set along the sidewalk at Grand Century mall, some are games I’ve never seen before. My family used to play bầu cua during Tet, just a small game of dice to pass time. I liked it because of the pictures: a shrimp, a crab (“cua”), a wine gourd (“bầu”, hence the name of the game), a rooster, a fish, and a deer, which are also the six sides of the dice. Ah, sweet memories of the candies I won…
But not everyone was out for playing games, most of the women seemed to come here for the same reason I had: the food. Tet is not Tet without fridgefuls, counterfuls, pantryfuls, freezerfuls, and extrabellifuls of food. Banh chung banh tet are essential, but not the only thing. Lion supermarket had an entire aisle dedicated for pickles and mắm (cured fish, which can be eaten fresh out of the jar with white rice, cooked in a hot pot, or steamed with egg and pork to make a kind of meat loaf). It’s not nước mắm (fish sauce, that goes with banh cuon and bun thit nuong), not mắm nêm or mắm tôm (other kinds of dipping sauces), it’s visible cuts and strips of fish in jars of seasonings. As for pickles, the most popular choice for Tet must be củ kiệu (the bulb of Allium chinense). Its pungency is between scallion and garlic, a fresh change of taste from the overindulgent fatty pork stews, eggs and sticky rice of Tet. See your favorite pickle anywhere?
Enough salt? Want something sweet? The bakeries in Grand Century were ready to get you. Usually people were there for the green waffle, now they were there for even more green waffles plus boxes of Tet toothsies. They are not candies, they are not jam (if you’re British) or jelly (if you’re American), they are not simple dried fruits, they are not glacé. They are mứt, fruits whole and sliced, quickly stir-fried in sugar syrup, just sweet enough to last a month or two, but the fruit flavor should still be there. The lady told me not to take pictures, but I did anyway.
On the other hand, the flower stands didn’t mind me taking pictures at all. In fact, there were more people taking pictures with these flamboyants than people buying them. It may be too timid a miniature of Nguyen Hue flower market, but its spirit is high, that of both the visitors hungry for a look of Tet and of the buds and petals blooming despite the foreign cold.
The northern đào (peach flower) can make it here. The southern mai doesn’t, but Tet needs a yellow flower, so people in San Jose pick a vine with bright yellow blossoms and call it the “vine mai”. I have no idea what the vine actually is, but it’d make beautiful canopies.
Then firecrackers popped their sporadic crunchy strings of sound. The pavement turned red. Old and middle-aged men in dark jackets gathered in large groups, hunching over little sets of Chinese chess (yes, chess, not Chinese checker!). They don’t make loud acclaims, many just watched the chess pieces and sank in thought. Their greying hair felt another spring breeze, clinging onto the memories of how a festive tradition should be celebrated. Thirty years from now, will the next generation be in their place?
I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz respond as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like to find out where u got this from. appreciate it
1I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post…
2Loving the info on this internet site, you have done great job on the posts.
3excellent points altogether, you just gained a new reader. What would you recommend about your post that you made a few days ago? Any positive?
4Thanks for every other magnificent post. Where else may just anybody get that type of info in such a perfect approach of writing? I’ve a presentation next week, and I am on the search for such info.
5Wow that was odd. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t appear. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Regardless, just wanted to say superb blog!
6Some really excellent content on this web site, thanks for contribution. “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” by Cicero.
7Horse Gelatin Trick
8Horse Gelatin Trick
9Horse Gelatin Trick
10I like the valuable information you provide in your articles. I will bookmark your weblog and check again here frequently. I am quite certain I will learn plenty of new stuff right here! Best of luck for the next!
11great post, very informative. I wonder why the opposite experts of this sector do not understand this. You should proceed your writing. I’m sure, you have a huge readers’ base already!
12You really make it seem really easy with your presentation however I in finding this matter to be actually one thing that I feel I would by no means understand. It seems too complicated and extremely huge for me. I am taking a look forward on your subsequent publish, I’ll try to get the hold of it!
13But wanna remark on few general things, The website pattern is perfect, the subject material is real great : D.
14I like this post, enjoyed this one thankyou for putting up.
15Very interesting subject, thanks for posting. “Men who never get carried away should be.” by Malcolm Forbes.
16hello there and thank you for your information – I’ve certainly picked up anything new from right here. I did however expertise a few technical points using this website, since I experienced to reload the web site a lot of times previous to I could get it to load correctly. I had been wondering if your web hosting is OK? Not that I’m complaining, but slow loading instances times will very frequently affect your placement in google and can damage your high quality score if advertising and marketing with Adwords. Anyway I am adding this RSS to my e-mail and could look out for a lot more of your respective intriguing content. Ensure that you update this again soon..
17Thanks for sharing superb informations. Your web-site is very cool. I am impressed by the details that you’ve on this site. It reveals how nicely you perceive this subject. Bookmarked this website page, will come back for extra articles. You, my friend, ROCK! I found simply the info I already searched everywhere and simply could not come across. What a perfect web site.
18Absolutely written subject matter, Really enjoyed reading.
19I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own blog and was curious what all is needed to get set up? I’m assuming having a blog like yours would cost a pretty penny? I’m not very web smart so I’m not 100 certain. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. Kudos
20Heya i’m for the first time here. I came across this board and I find It really useful & it helped me out much. I hope to give something back and aid others like you helped me.
21very nice put up, i definitely love this website, carry on it
22Good day! I just want to give a huge thumbs up for the good data you will have right here on this post. I will likely be coming again to your blog for more soon.
23I loved as much as you’ll receive carried out right here. The sketch is tasteful, your authored material stylish. nonetheless, you command get got an impatience over that you wish be delivering the following. unwell unquestionably come more formerly again since exactly the same nearly a lot often inside case you shield this increase.
24CleanEye
25Its superb as your other content : D, regards for putting up.
26Honey Boost Review
27Honey Boost
28Honey Boost Review
29Admiring the time and energy you put into your website and detailed information you offer. It’s great to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same outdated rehashed material. Fantastic read! I’ve bookmarked your site and I’m including your RSS feeds to my Google account.
30제주에서 가라오케를 알아볼 때는 위치와 이용 구성을 함께 확인하면 좋습니다. 제주가라오케 안내에 방문 전에 확인할 항목들이 정리돼 있습니다.
31This website online is really a stroll-by way of for all of the information you wished about this and didn’t know who to ask. Glimpse here, and also you’ll undoubtedly uncover it.
32Very interesting topic, regards for putting up. “Stranger in a strange country.” by Sophocles.
33