Things I Remember Living in Hanoi, 1996

1. Dirt road to and from the airport.
2. Large numbers of policeman with AK47s.
3. Not going to Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum.
4. Bun Cha Nem.
5. Hoa Sua and chocolate croissants.
6. Drinking cafe sua non on the balcony of a hostel in Sapa before the fog rolled out of the valley.
7. Hiking to Fansipan with an Excalibur-like moment that included a horse riding off into the fog.
8. 306-no home.
9. Cyclos that were actually necessary transportation.
10. Amoebas.
11. Being the wrong color.
12. The squealing of a pig on a motorbike.
13. The squeak of tennis shoes on a makeshift badminton court.
14. Civilians lining up for military exercises at 5:30 AM in the field across from where I lived.
15. The woman selling her food at 5:00 AM in a sing-song voice.
16. The day a dog got stolen from the neighbor.
17. The day a dog got run over by a motorbike.
18. Learning nothing.
19. Learning everything.

Photo: Sapa, 1996