Where Dragons Dance in Salt Lake City
Three years ago last week, when Claire and I were living in Saigon, we flew north to Hue, Vietnam's imperial capital, and spent about five days there with my colleague Jim and his family -- wife Thuy, son Cullen and daughter Vivian.
I remember it being cold and rainy in the same way my native Seattle is around this time of year. I also remember how fun it was to be in Hue that week, mainly because it was Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year.
The streets and markets were crowded with shoppers of all ages on the prowl for things like flowers and cakes and decorations and gifts. Despite the gray skies, there was color -- reds and golds and yellows and greens, everywhere you looked.
We roamed places like the Citadel and Thu Duc's Thomb. We drank cafe sua during the day, and in true locals style, warm beer at night. We munched on Hue specialties, in the homes of Thuy's relatives. We cruised around the wet city on a rented motorbike. We played pool in the lobby of La Residence Hotel. We woke every morning in the Sullivans' spare bedroom to the sound of a dog barking next door.
Yesterday, those memories came flooding back when at Northwest Middle School in Salt Lake City. As in Utah. As in half a world away from Hue. May sound strange, but not when you consider this: Northwest MS is where Utah's Vietnamese community decided to celebrate the Year of the Cat. We got there just past 11 a.m., right before teenagers of Vietnamese heritage slipped into costume and performed a ritualistic dragon dance to the sound of drums and firecrackers.
Inside, we ordered goi cuon (fresh spring rolls) and watched the same kids perform another number, on the auditorium stage this time, as toddlers in the audience took turns handing the dragons little red envelopes -- packets of "lucky money."
As we were leaving, Claire said, "All that's missing is the smell of fish sauce." (Hue produces some pretty strong fish sauce.) And I thought, "And gray skies." Outside, the sky was blue and something in the air made it feel like spring.
I remember it being cold and rainy in the same way my native Seattle is around this time of year. I also remember how fun it was to be in Hue that week, mainly because it was Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year.
The streets and markets were crowded with shoppers of all ages on the prowl for things like flowers and cakes and decorations and gifts. Despite the gray skies, there was color -- reds and golds and yellows and greens, everywhere you looked.
We roamed places like the Citadel and Thu Duc's Thomb. We drank cafe sua during the day, and in true locals style, warm beer at night. We munched on Hue specialties, in the homes of Thuy's relatives. We cruised around the wet city on a rented motorbike. We played pool in the lobby of La Residence Hotel. We woke every morning in the Sullivans' spare bedroom to the sound of a dog barking next door.
Yesterday, those memories came flooding back when at Northwest Middle School in Salt Lake City. As in Utah. As in half a world away from Hue. May sound strange, but not when you consider this: Northwest MS is where Utah's Vietnamese community decided to celebrate the Year of the Cat. We got there just past 11 a.m., right before teenagers of Vietnamese heritage slipped into costume and performed a ritualistic dragon dance to the sound of drums and firecrackers.
Inside, we ordered goi cuon (fresh spring rolls) and watched the same kids perform another number, on the auditorium stage this time, as toddlers in the audience took turns handing the dragons little red envelopes -- packets of "lucky money."
As we were leaving, Claire said, "All that's missing is the smell of fish sauce." (Hue produces some pretty strong fish sauce.) And I thought, "And gray skies." Outside, the sky was blue and something in the air made it feel like spring.
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