CAPTURING MOMENTS || JUNE 2016

HIGHLIGHTS

• Entering the Amazing Race Asia with Tim! Even if we don’t win, it was a great day of filming and goofing off with my guy.
• Getting a ton of invites to some awesome foodie events around Saigon that I’ll be posting about in the near future.
• I finally quit my weekend job. So excited to actually have weekends!!! #nomoreteaching #freedom

FEATURED SNAPSHOT

HELLO NEIGHBOR, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam @ 6:20 pm

GOOD READ

 LUNCH IN PARIS by Elizabeth Bard

It’s hard enough trying to build a new life in another culture without having to explain the process to everyone back home.

Sypnosis: On a weekend trip to Paris, Elizabeth Bard meets a handsome local — and decides to never leave. But was it really the dreamboat Gwendal that made her stick around or the way he whipped up an elegant Peach Charlotte studded with succulent pears and apricots the first night she stayed over? ‘Lunch in Paris’ is part memoir, part cookbook; a timeline of eight years living à la française by way of its cuisine. Bard marks her milestone moments with cherished recipes, from her first successful navigation of the bustling open-air markets hidden in her neighborhood to when she first ‘meet the parents’ in Gwendal’s native Provence, breaking the ice over French-sized portions (no wonder they’re so svelte she says).  She reminds us that sharing food is sometimes the best route to bridging the gap between cultures worlds apart. Her recipes show us that food is a memory keeper, a teacher, and a means of indulgence and comfort all at once.

I’m sorry to say this, but I for one think that Paris is one of those overwritten subjects. I mean, how many books can we write about on the ‘City of Lights’ before it becomes superfluous? When I picked up ‘Lunch in Paris,’ the primary draw was not about Paris but rather the unconventional romance she has with food. I loved that every recipe was associated to memory and of course, relates to France’s history. Even though its one of the most praised cuisines, I really still can’t define what French food is unless I refer to the cliches like crepes, escargot, and cheese. But here, she writes about summer ratatouille and molten lava cakes and even tagine (a nod to Morocco’s ties with France), dishes that are a bit off-the-radar. In the memoir, she also recounts her experiences of being in France as an American. There were so many instances where I could really related. I mean there’s a great chapter about the pressure of finding your next girlfriend as a woman expatriatte. But then there’s also this begrudging attitude in her text. She fumes about the inefficiency of the French in comparison to Americans and I was really turned off by all the complaints. Plus, it’s another story about how an American woman falls in love with a French guy blah blah blah. That plotline is pretty overdone too. Otherwise, the cookbook aspect is kind of a win in in that you’ll have all these incredible recipes to try out upon finishing. Bon Appétit

ON THE INTERNET

• If you want a rude awakening on the extinction of culture as we know it, browse through photographer Jimmy Nelson’s series of the last surviving tribes on earth.
• With all the negative press surrounding the 2016 Rio Olympics, this video celebrating South Sudan’s official debut in this year’s games reminds us that these games are all about opportunity.
• Season 7 of Game of Thrones ended with such a bang that had all of us fans (myself included) freaking out on how we’ll survive another year without it. If it’s in the budget, go visit the filming locations from the past season that are as epic as the saga itself.
• Enlightening photos of hijras, or India’s “third gender,” put the spotlight on a marginalized sector of contemporary society.
• Around the World with Type is a global alphabet designed by two Indian designers. My personal favorite: the letter “N” for New York.

 UP NEXT MONTH: My favorite month in the year!! Happy birthday to meeee hehe, xoxo Izzy

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