The Goodbye Party

Though I was invited, I was not (and did not want to be) the guest of honor at an afternoon party.  That title rightfully belonged to Trang.  Her very closest relatives and friends (I thought over a hundred, but Trang said fewer) came to her parent’s home north of Hue to wish her well.  Her’s is a traditional countryside home in a small village about a kilometer away from Route 1. As we rode into the courtyard, I saw people and food everywhere, including under a canopy erected for the occasion.  This was gonna be some kind of party.

And so it was.  Their oldest child was going off to America, and Trang’s family wanted to send her off in proper fashion.  An important part of sending her off was informing the spirits of the ancestors that Trang was leaving.  Trang’s father, her grandfather, and her grandfather’s brother all donned their formal ao dai (say ow yie).  It made me wish I had brought mine, but I was very flattered to be included in the photo of these three family elders.  That’s Loi, Trang’s father, next to me, and his father behind him.  After the photo op, the three men performed various ceremonies to the ancestors, both in front of the family altar and a table of food.  Some of the food was placed behind the altar for the ancestors.

And food – there was so much of it.  Tables were laden with food:  shrimp, grilled pork, chicken, mushrooms, squid, tomatoes, bread, sticky rice – and more.  I don’t know the names of all the dishes – I just know everything was delicious.  The nuoc mam (fish sauce) was nice and spicy, but I’m not man enough to eat the small red peppers.  This is just one of the many tables packed with food, with lots more that hadn’t been put on the tables yet.  This was a feast!

And it was all for Trang.  I was impressed by the people who came to wish her well.  When Trang was still working on her undergraduate degree at Dai Hoc Su Pham Hue (Hue College of Education), she did her teaching internship at Quoc Hoc (say quock hopp) High School, one of the most prestigious schools in the country.  Four of her former students traveled to see Trang and wish her well.  I was truly impressed they would do that for an intern teacher they’d had over two years ago.

We made a round of the tables so there would be a photographic record of the party.  There was many a “mot, hai, ba – yo!”  (one two three, yo!) as the beer glasses were hoisted.  To Trang’s left is her mother, Huong.

The young lady was sent off in style, though I left with the proceedings still in high gear.  I was a bit leery about being on busy Highway 1 with truck traffic after dark, so I opted to leave at 5:30.

This will my last post from Viet Nam on this short trip.  I’ll see you back Stateside soon.

Comments

[Tuan]

One thing about the vietnamese people is when it comes to party, there will be enough food for everyone and sometimes people even come home with left over food.

Have a safe travel Doug and Trang!

[MGB]

Wish I could have been there, sigh. xoxo

[Tom]

Wouldn't it be great if this was just the beginning of the students you can help.

Tom

[Russ]

Pronounce one, two, three ho for me so I can use it at work, Ha Ha.

[Jason]

I imagine the beer-hoisting chant was một hai ba vô! Vô, pronounced like yo, is southern dialect for enter or go in (an instruction to the beer)