Tết in Hà Nội

Tết (Lunar New Year) is a very important holiday in Vietnam. It's almost like Christmas, New Year, and Independence Day all rolled into one. People clean their houses and paint them, buy new clothes and other things, give money to children, and have a lot of traditions in general.

For this holiday, our school gave us teachers two weeks off (most schools were closed for two weeks). During the first week, some friends and I went north, to Vietnam's capital, Hanoi.

Some friends of ours run a bakery/cafe in Hanoi (called Joma), which serves Western food. Because most of the Vietnamese staff was going to be off on vacation, we were asked to help out during our time in Hanoi. It was a lot of work, but it a neat experience. We made drinks, bussed tables, and even washed dishes!

As for me, doing dishes was my main job. I guess I was doing a good job, because after a while, that was all I did (I bussed some tables and cleaned stuff on the first day as well). I suppose my mom taught me well, or something. Anyway, it wasn't easy. Because most businesses were closed, it meant that we had a lot more customers than what the store usually sees. It was great for business, but a lot of customers meant a lot of dishes.

The kitchen was very busy most of the time, but during down time, I was able to make friends with some of the Joma staff. The first "lucky money" (aka "lì xì", which is another Lunar New Year tradition) I received in Vietnam came from one of the girls I met while working in the kitchen. Here are some pictures:



A shot of Joma




With the girls in the kitchen


Other than working at Joma, we were able to hang out quite a bit. We didn't do a lot of touristy things, but I suppose we can do those later. We had a good time together, eating local food and just hanging out. We also had the opportunity to go to Hanoi International Fellowship. It was a real blessing to go to another place where local believer (yet, they come from all over the world!) gather to serve our Father. Here are more pictures:



HIF choir


Anna cutting her birthday cake


Waiting for the fireworks to start. They lasted about 15 minutes.


Having a Tet meal at Ruthie's




We went riding on some swan boats at the lake. It was fun, but it was a workout!


My ride for most of the time while we were in Hanoi: Thelma. She's Anna's motorbike. She's old-school, but still awesome.


Also, if you haven't, please check out my YouTube channel. I uploaded quite a few videos from our trip to Hanoi: link