Vietnam is for lovers

yesterday, i went on a scrumptious and stunning adventure.in virgina. virgina is for lovers! saying the word virgina out loud makes me feel icky, kinda like the word crusty sounds. i can't help but sound more southern saying it than my quaint suburban accent reflects, yet in actuality, i live a tiny, 20 miles from the big v.my quaint liberal southern flare mixed with my bordering new england hoity-toityness allows me the geographical ambiguity to design my own regional perceptions, to myself and to others. when i went to college, people asked where i was from. like most people, you say you're from the nearest city to where you actually live, which in my case, is Washington, D.C. But really, I am a suburbia livin marylander,quite close to the d.c. border. Marylander by day, D.C.er by night.School in the suburbs, drinky drinky party party in the city. From diverse music venues, and extravagant social scenes, to the capital's stoic politicos that roam the streets determined, the culture that breeds my home plate is a diluted yet distinct byproduct of very close proximity to the city. but greatest of all, we have a shmorgasboard of diversity that effects our politics and perceptions, from our food to our fashion. oh joy! a mecca of marvelous influence!but then, eek there's virgina right there, hovering next to us, just being there. kinda like a strictly nice person.they're okay, you can't say anything bad about them, but then again you can't say anything excitingly good about them. they're just nice and nice doesn't cut it. i know that's mean. so my cousin jeffrey lives in sarah plain and tall virgina. BUT as i have grown older and wiiiser, i have realized that he lives in a rather enticing spot. arlington, virgina. nestled in between maryland and the district, its geography places itself a quick skip over to fancy georgetown as well as a thriving subculture of vietnamese immigrants in the other direction. and i just love anything vietnam. so, my cousin and i ventured over to falls church virgina where we passed several dominoes, mattress discounters, and the ubiquitous sterile,washed out centers of the amurican corporate clan. but THEN, all the sudden, every store and every restaurant was of some asian origin, opening my jaded plastic eyes to an authentic, flamboyant reality. we entered a plaza called the eden center where every shop, restaurant, hair dresser, nail salon, butcher, video store, jewelery shop and cafe was vietnamese. i got a pineapple bubble tea and sketchily took photos of vietnamese people doing their thing. i rummaged rabidly through delightfully scented hello kitty thingies, watched plastic cats move their hand up and down and bought fun goodies at the vietnamese supermarket.weird stuff there. every type of dried anything, including mushrooms, jellyfish ICK, and fishy smelling stuff of every variety. but i was in heaven. the snack isle twas divine. every type of rainbow colored cookie, virgin jello shots in plastic containers, and each silly snackaroo had a photo of a good looking model on the package,endorsing it's goodness. what's not to like?