Colorado for Grandma

Three weeks ago when Seth and I were in New York visiting his family, I heard that Grandma passed away. She was healthy and we were expecting a few more good years with her, so it came as a surprise to the family.  Seth and I returned to Waltham and I flew out to Denver for her funeral.  Of course, despite the circumstances, it was a good trip, and it was very meaningful to see my family--my parents, 19 aunts and uncles, and 13 cousins.  

Grandma's funeral was the same structure as Grandpa's, which was (as far as I could tell) a traditional Buddhist ceremony, all in Vietnamese.  This involved wearing a white headband, doing lots of sitting on the floor, kneeling, bowing, lighting incense, and listening to the monk chant.  I really wish I understood what was going on, and after going through it two times, I really feel motivated to learn more about the significance of the ceremony. 

The altar

Dad thought it would be amusing for me to take a picture with all my uncles (two are Mom's cousins)

The kiddie table at the adventurous Seafood Superstar (actually Chinese cuisine)

Jellyfish salad and seaweed, yum!  (I didn't touch the freaky headcheese in the foreground, though... the Vietnamese say it is 'scalp'... ugh).

The fish had eggs.  I couldn't get myself to eat this, either, but it didn't go to waste; Phuong and Que were fighting over it (they say it is lucky).

Delicate fish innards (the name translates to 'tripe')

The ambitious spread.  The younger cousins were pretty grossed out, but those of us old enough to appreciate expensive seafood were in heaven.

The temple that Grandma attended

It was great to spend an afternoon with Danielle (and Kyle) in downtown Littleton.  

Getting ready for another big family dinner

While the ladies are in the kitchen...

The fellas are demonstrating proper soccer form

As if all that food wasn't enough, Aunt Amy also grilled hot dogs and hamburgers!

The little cousins

Roll it up!

Guests' shoes

Dividing up some of Grandma's fun accessories

Daniel is a genuine yo-yo champ!

Haven't had xoi like this since Vietnam! Oh my goodness!

Banh mi by the temple

After the service at the temple there was a big vegan potluck.  This makes me want to be a monk.

Phuong, Lynn, and Mary

There is no meat allowed! :o)

Driving down the Mexican part of town, we see pony rides in a parking lot

Mekong Delta style clay pot and hot pot

Little grandma with her (adopted) parents

Ông nội và bà ngoại

Lady Slippers on the hill

I just wanted to share some pictures of the very lovely lady slipper orchids that have been blooming like crazy on Prospect Hill the past couple weeks.  I don't know how easy it is to find them in eastern MA, but here in the park they are bursting through the seams.  They remind me of the mushroom explosion we had this past Fall, and if I recall from two years ago when we last saw them, these little orchids also won't last too long. 

The Pink Lady Slipper Orchids of Prospect Hill

An uncommon 'alba' variety (this is the only one we have seen in the entire park).  I wonder of the white squirrels know about this special flower?

 

The trail already overgrown with poison ivy, and it is only May!  I think soon it will be time to wear long socks when we go out.

The Big Apple excursion

Like I mentioned earlier, the morning after I returned from MN I repacked my bags and headed for NYC with Seth.  The first evening was spent getting oriented in a new part of town.  We stayed in Columbia University, and our little apartment/flat/hotel on 121st Street was the farthest north we had been before.  This borders Harlem, so we got to split our time between two very different cultures.

That night we met with my cousin, Christina, and Seth's friend, Ting-Chun, over some world-famous soul food dished up at Sylvia's.     

Christina and Ting-Chun join us at Sylvia's

 I had the chicken n'dumplings and Seth got the chicken livers

I could have taken a better picture of the exterior of the restaurant but I felt rushed by a crazy guy shouting something next to me

The next afternoon Seth had meetings at Columbia and I spent some time walking around the neighborhood checking out the local coffee scene.  Turns out that in this part of town the best places to relax and have something to drink were Starbucks... ergh... Actually there was one really cool place nearby, Max Caffe, but the people working there were not so nice :o(  

When Seth returned in the afternoon we did a bit more strolling and made a big night out of cheap bananas and a halal chicken kabab on the steps of the library at Columbia.  This reminded me very much of the last kabab we had:  on some steps outside the Arena in Verona, listening to the dress rehearsal of The Barber of Seville.

A view of 125th Street, Harlem's party zone

 

The next afternoon, after Seth's shortened meeting, we took off for the East Village, probably one of the coolest, funkiest, spots in New York.  

For some reason Seven Eleven convenience stores were having a free slurpee promotion, so we got to be reunited with some flavours from our childhood, haha.   

 I thought it was pretty awesome that Seven Eleven has macrobiotic Japanese Bento boxes in stock.  Is this sort of thing easy to find in convenience stores?  I will have to check in Waltham.

 One of the many very creative, hippie eateries in the East Village

Cute designer Japanese hot dogs!  If Seth weren't still nursing his slurpee I would have liked to eat here.

We got sushi instead and ate it in the nearby park.  Not a bad deal.

In the evening we headed back up north to 125th Street to catch a show at the Apollo Theater. 

It was Amateur Night!  Thirteen contestants competed for 3 spots to go off to perform in London.

All in all it was a great four days in the big city.  In the mornings we went running in Central Park and Riverside Park, dodging misty raindrops.  The afternoons were generally clear, but on the last day we got caught in a thunderstorm on our way to the Boston-bound Chinatown bus.

The university housing where we were put up was really comfortable, especially compared to the hostel where we stayed last time.  Unfortunately I don't think we will be able to stay there in the future unless Seth can find some business to attend to at Columbia... 

After all the excitement from these past couple weeks, it is nice to be back and settling into some sort of post-school routine.  Online classes start soon, and hard-core volunteering at the hospital shall resume tomorrow!  Have a nice Memorial Day!

Photos from Andrew's graduation

 Here are some of Dad's typical family-portrait-style photos from the weekend in Rochester.  Soak up their perfect balance and symmetry ;o) 

 

 

Graduation

Last Thursday I was very happy to take a spontaneous trip out to Rochester, Minnesota for my brother's graduation from medical school.  I didn't think I would be able to go but I booked a flight about four days before departure--Mom had the idea that I would surprise my brother.  I don't know if he was surprised or not, but at least he said he was :o)  It was a great few days relaxing with my parents, Andrew's family, and Aunt Dee and Uncle Dennis.  I wish we could have more weekends like that.

On Friday afternoon (after a quick sandwich stop) I had an outing with Aunt Dee and Uncle Dennis to the Spam Museum.  Who said there is nothing to do in Rochester?

I was actually pleasantly surprised by the quality of the museum.  However, since we were pretty much the only ones there (I think I only saw TWO other people in the entire museum), they didn't have samples, which I found slightly (and unexpectedly) disappointing. 

 Yes, this is an entire wall of spam. 

Sawyer is a good eater.  I think he gets that from me.
 That evening we had a reception at a fancy old doctor's house. 

 Here I am with the graduate

 The commencement ceremony on Saturday at the Rochester Civic Center

 Mayo medical school graduates

Since Andrew worked his butt off for two degrees, he got awarded two hoods. Here is the first...

 ...and here is the second.  The guy sitting behind me called it 'double dipping', hehe.

 It wasn't a particularly short ceremony.  Nearly two hours into it, I think Carter expressed quite well what I was also feeling. 

 

Congrats, Andrew, for a job well done!   I will have some more photos posted later from the weekend. 

For now, I am spending three nights in NYC (Seth and I came down here yesterday, the morning after I returned from MN).  Seth is meeting with some people at Columbia about a project they are working on, so I get to tag along for this second mini vacation.  Woohoo!