International Mischief: The Ups and Downs of Globalization

I'm in Vietnam! My bag, on the other hand, is not. So while I've spent today - Monday - exploring Ho Chi Minh City, I'm doing so in the same trusty leggings and t-shirt that I was wearing Saturday morning when I got dressed to go to O'Hare. Oh well - such is life. As my sister lovingly pointed out over text today, one benefit to traveling alone is that there isn't anyone to tell you how bad you smell.

The Flights:

There's nothing like a 14-hour flight to make you lose faith in humanity's ability to pee accurately into a toilet. Aside from the stick floor situation on the flight thankfully I had everything else I needed to get through a long haul trip: an aisle seat, a decent movie selection, about a gallon of potable water, and my natural born ability to sleep in most circumstances.

I'm still unclear as to the rationale behind why you have to unplug your personally owned headphones from their entertainment system as part of preparation for landing, though the entertainment system is free to continue playing the movie for you. You can still hear the announcements because the movie pauses for those. Maybe they're worried you're going to trip over the headphones if you had to evacuate? Hm. Either way, the choice that China Eastern Airlines made to not deliver my baggage because "there was too much luggage for the flight" is the most frustrating part of the entire experience - everything else is about par for the course.

The Layover:

This was my first time flying through Shanghai, and I admit I had a moment of "uh oh was I supposed to get a transfer visa" panic when it appeared that the directions for transfers were the same as people heading through immigration (turns out I was fine).

Two of my items were pulled from my bag during the security scan - nail scissors from my makeup bag and my small Deloitte pocket USB charger. Apparently they won't let a lithium battery on the plane unless it is clearly market with its power capacity, and since this one was privately branded, it didn't make the cut. Ironically, the scissors did.

For those who are interested, you can purchase what appear to be recently deceased crabs from a glass case in the Shanghai airport. I'm still unclear on which countries have customs policies that would allow you to bring them with you, so maybe they're intended to be a mid-flight snack?

The Shopping:

I wasn't able to get to sleep until ~5 am, so I slept in as much as possible, then signed up for an afternoon tour. I had just enough time before the pick-up to grab a coffee and then walk to the nearest lingerie store to buy some fresh underwear. I google "lingerie store," see that one is 0.2 miles away and walk there. The building is a skyscraper with a few chain restaurants in the first level, so I look at the directory for a minute or so, probably looking confused about where to go. The security guard approaches me and asks if I need help, so I show her the name of the store I'm looking for on my phone. This confuses her a bit, so she brings over another security guard. Trying to be helpful, I say "shopping" and point to the name of the store again. This helps it "click" for them, so they then bring me to the security desk and ask me to sign in and get a visitor's badge, all the while giggling. I'm assuming that maybe lingerie is taboo, or perhaps the store I've selected carries a more risque type of product, but I remain hopeful I can find something that will suit my needs, since I don't have time to go to another store.

Fast forward to me being buzzed up to the 21st floor, where I exit and find myself in what appears to be the headquarters of a lingerie company, apologizing to the receptionist for wasting her time. Keep in mind I haven't seen a hairbrush or a fresh change of clothes in about 36 hours. Oh Google Maps, you rarely fail me, but when you do, at least it's entertaining.

A later shopping excursion in the afternoon to finally get a change of underwear reinforced my support of globalization, as I was able to find the same brands I buy back home. The Vietnamese people at the mall oddly didn't seem to be buying anything, but instead had a fascination with taking selfies in front of the Christmas decorations. It's been a while since I've been to a mall in the US, so perhaps this isn't just a local phenomenon?

The Food:

Vietnamese food in the US is usually represented by some combination of pho (for all of you wondering - it's pronounced "fuh") and bahn mi. As my first day here has confirmed, and my travels to other regions of the world have similarly illustrated, the American version of foreign foods are usually a watered down, selective perspective on the real thing. It's like we play culinary horseshoes where the stake in the ground is whatever appeals to the broadest possible American palette.

We're not alone in this transgression - my instructor at my Vietnamese cooking class today told me that in her previous job at a local restaurant branded as a Canadian steakhouse (that's a thing?!), they would prepare the steaks in a marinade comprised of Vietnamese spices rather than traditional North American ingredients (presumably butter and cheese).

Anyway, the food here is wonderful! Between a giant hybrid Eastern/Western hotel buffet breakfast, lunch served as a family style smorgasbord shared with my tour-mates, and a private Vietnamese cooking class - I haven't had the same dish twice, and all of them have been amazing. What's more - none of them have been pho or banh mi.

Breakfast seemed to be catered to more Chinese tastes than Vietnamese, though they did have a custom noodle station (similar to an omlette station), along with dim sum, fried glass noodles, wontons, and more. I couldn't name the dishes I had during lunch, but they were some sort of fried fish, stir fried vegetables, a peanut chicken dish, some chicken wrapped around vegetables and served on top of a sweet sesame rice cake, and veggie spring rolls.

Dinner was a lot of fun - my instructor learned everything she knows about Vietnamese cooking from her mother, and was quick to keep me in line when I didn't follow her instructions to the tee. I learned that southern Vietnam (where I am now) tends to use more sugar in their cooking, the center of the country tends toward spicier, chili-based dishes, and the northern part of the country cooks things with more salty flavors. Tonight I learned how to cook three different dishes - a morning glory salad, crab/chicken/pork/sweet potato/mushroom spring rolls, and a caramelized pork in a clay pot. Everything was absolutely delicious, and I'm now trying to figure out which ingredients I need to bring home with me to recreate it accurately. Any suggestions on where I can buy morning glory (a vegetable) in Chicago would be much appreciated.