But besides too much Abba, the Lunar New Year celebrations have been pretty good. Today is the last day of the Year of the Tiger and tomorrow will be the first day of the Year of the Cat. In Vietnam, this time is called Tết. During Tết, many people return to their hometowns. Therefore, Hanoi has become a lot less crowded this past week. This past Saturday, the publishing company where I work threw a party.
Holiday break started on Sunday. I've been mainly lounging around the house, helping my family clean the house in preparation for the New Year, and occasionally visiting friends.
Although there are many great things about Vietnam, one of the greatest things is nem rán or fried spring rolls. It's probably safe to say that it is my new favorite food. Any day I get to eat nem is a good day. Luckily, Tết is one of those days. I occasionally help my family with the nem rolling. I've actually gotten alright at nem rolling (my first tries were terrible though).
Nem ingredients include eggs, pork, noodles, onions, carrots, a fungus type thing that I don't recognize, and pepper. This is all rolled up in rice paper and then fried.
Above is one of my host brothers cutting up noodles for nem and below is me rolling nem.
Another aspect of Tết is ancestor worship. On the day of Tết, families invite their dead ancestors to come join in a meal with them. The night before, the offer plates of food and drink as well as sacrifice a rooster.
Sorry dude.
Well that's my Lunar New Years Eve so far. It is currently 6:30pm. This party doesn't end until 5:00am tomorrow so I'll be following this with another post. Until then,
