Tet!

Tet, for those of you who don't know, is the Vietnamese new year celebration. For those of you who have yet to experience one, it is a night of dragon dances, music, lucky money, food, and community. I was invited to the Tet celebration held by the Manchester Vietnamese community. It was held in the St. Anne Parish center, which used to house an Irish Catholic school. The gym was full of Vietnamese, but also a few familiar faces from the police department and St. Augustin Church. The next day the festivities continued at the local Buddhist temple on Auburn St. I experienced my first Tet.

Little did I know that a week later, I would be watching a Vietnamese drag queen sing "What is Love" in front of a massive audience at a Tet in New Orleans. I came down to visit a friend, and take a break from the documentary work. Knowing that I have an interest in other cultures, he suggested we go to the Tet. It didn't occur to me that other cities had these refugee populations, despite being told (and telling people) that refugees are resettled in ever state. The New Orleans Tet was, predictably, much larger. There were booths with food, a big stage, things for sale, and tons of people of all backgrounds. I was struck by the togetherness, the desire to share in each other's culture. We could all use more of that.

We could also use more Vietnamese drag queens.

Filming

Filming is fun. I have about 8 hours of recorded material, everything from interviews to an ecumenical prayer council on immigration reform. I'm learning that most people are receptive to someone showing up with a camera and filming what they are doing. So far simple explanations have sufficed. It's daunting to think of all of the events, programs, and everyday scenes I will have to film, not to mention the interviews. Then comes editing it.

It's been a relatively easy few months. Now this thing has taken off. I still don't know where I'll show it, but the time to think about that is coming up. There does seem to be interest though, which is encouraging.