wish list: chocolate

Going home in August, I was excited, knowing that my sister had brought me some chocolate in April. I opened the box that my mom had carefully put away, and it was a big-name brand (which equals barely average quality). Sis said she was in a rush and had to pick some up at the airport. No wonder! I could only digest a couple of pieces. That's the thing about chocolate for me. I'm addicted, but to quality, not to quantity. I'd rather not eat any for years than eat something less than gourmet (so spoiled i know).

As soon as i knew my sis was going home again in December, i asked her to buy some decent treats, not the airport kind. And yet I was again sorely disappointed. But i couldn't fault her. She moved to Zurich just a few days before flying out so she didn't know many places (plus, it's Zurich, not a French city). And then she spent a week in Bali, so the chocolate wasn't in, uhm, the best storage condition. Knowing that in no ways alleviated my sense of deprivation though. The last time I had some good one was all the way back in June when Col picked up some for me from Alegio's in Berkeley. It wasn't the best in the world (as advertised to him) but was up there.

I tried to suppress all thoughts about chocolate, but the wound was ripped open again when my friend Ysa posted on fb photos of the chocolate that she received (and got to eat). They looked divine, rubbing salt on my open sore. And I'm back on the crave. But this is Vietnam, it's like the antonym of good chocolate. In an act of desperation, I googled "best chocolate in Vietnam" and surprisingly came across a couple of interesting leads.

First is the Chocolate Buffet at the Hanoi's Metropole. Metropole is one of the top fine dining establishments in Hanoi. (I got to eat there once at a reception and every single thing was so damn delicious). All the reviews say the buffet is top-notch, mouth-watering, spectacular, sumptuous and scrumptious, blah blah blah. They even have chocolate spring rolls! What kind of sorcery is that! Not surprisingly it comes with a hefty price tag: $25. Sounds reasonable in dollars, but too sinful in Vietnam dong. But then, maybe i can eat myself out of ever wanting good chocolate again. Please let me indulge in some wishful thinking.

The other promising option is a chocolatier called Marou. They source cocoa beans in small farms in central and south Vietnam, and make the chocolate in Saigon. It's all local and small business. Sounds my type. And to top that off, behind it stand 2 French guys. French. Certainly helps, in my opinion. I'll be in Saigon in a couple of days and can't wait to taste their dark chocolate bar.

an honest moment

My failings come more easily to mind than my good qualities, things what wish i had more than things i'm proud of already having. Yet, i'm quite content about myself. I think of myself as a good person overall, just that i don't have any extraordinary qualities. Or am i deliberately trying to be modest, seeing already how others talking about their own good characters can turn me off?

Anyways,

• what i like about myself: being open-minded (doesn't mean non judgmental), polite, not picky/choosy.
• what i'm proud of: adapting easily, and secretly, having lived in a few places abroad (but this is more like something i'm grateful to have had a chance to do so), and being a decent being.
  
• what i'm afraid of: never find a partner (brutally honest)
• happiest moment of my life: getting a scholarship to wesleyan. i wish i had something more romantic to say. but studying abroad in the U.S. was once my big dream. and my parents were also happy for me and proud of me. Of course there are moments when i felt great about life, usually when i see something beautiful, but that's more like a feeling of serenity or humbleness.
• what i wish i had: more aptitude. i have always wished i played a sport or had some artistic talent.
  

to-do wish list

work for a chocolatier
travel in Latin America
have a cafe, either a book cafe or a performing art one, or both
open a school with progressive teaching and learning ("pedagogy of the oppressed") for disadvantaged youth
work for a TV channel, something like Discovery, focused on travel, lifestyle, and culture (although there are a lot i'm not sure about, like the gap between the object exposed, the target audience, and of course the power of the language medium)
learn how to play a musical instrument
know well a style of dance
go parachuting/free-fall and bungee jumping
learn to swim well and go diving, surfing, wind surfing, water skiing
keep my English, improve my French, relearn Japanese, learn Spanish and Arabic
spend some time in Israel/Palestine

peregrinating

I first learned this word thanks to Sara Hoffman; it's her username on couchsurfing. Sounds beautiful.

It's been hard to come to term with my unrealized dream, a.k.a. Israel/Palestine for this summer. But, there's no way other than dealing with it. So i canceled my flight to Tel-Aviv, decided to go home, got my ticket, wrote to my parents and friends, contacted people for volunteer opportunities and dancing classes, etc. all within a span of 36 hours.

And i fancy some peregrination, first on the way home, crossing overland from Bangkok, through Laos, to Ha Noi. I had to cancel it though, after learning that one of my best friends from elementary school would be leaving for the whole summer to visit her family in Ukraine. I decided to fly instead so that I'd be able to spend a couple of days with her.

But in August, when i go to India, it would look like this: from Sai Gon (Ho Chi Minh city), take a boat or ferry to Phnom Penh, continue up to Siem Reap, and then down again to Battambang (i heard it's magnificent). I'm not sure if it'd work from Sai Gon to Phnom Penh, but in any case, i can always take the bus. From Battambang to Bangkok, not sure if there's a train or only a bus, doesn't matter any way. Fly from Bangkok to Calcutta, and then board the train from Calcutta to Ahmedabad, which takes about 35 hours to literally cross India from East to West.

At the end of my stay in Ahmedabad, which will be in mid-December, I'll still have a month before the spring semester starts at Wesleyan. And here's THE ambition:
From Delhi, take the train to Amritsa, cross the border to Lahore, board the train all the way down to Karachi, up again to Quetta to take another one to Zahedan. (Rumors has it that this line has been canceled). Once in Zahedan, take the bus to Bam, train again up to Tehran, and finally another one to Damacus via Turkey.

The biggest concern is, not so surprisingly, getting visa for Pakistan, Iran, and Syria (maybe even Turkey?) when i'm in India. It's always more complicated in a third country. And even if that happens, what would the U.S. consulate say to my face when they see all those visas?