Sol&Silk

 The story begins before dawn, when Hanoi still drools in its sleep and the air smells faintly of wet grass from rain. On a quiet street, a woman lights her charcoal stove. The flame lights up like Rapunzel's hair when she sings, she places a pot of bones on the charcoal and it begins to simmer, the sound is soft and rhythmic. The rising steam, the clinking bowls, the whispers of hungry people, is where Pho is born every morning. But the true story of Pho begins long before that pot of soup, it begins with loss, it was a food born out of nothing, a meal for the poor, crafted by hands that had nothing but hope and a desire to feed their children. In the late 1800's, Vietnam wasn't on its own. The French had come, with railways, soldiers and their love for beef. Back then, Vietnamese people didn't eat cows, cows worked on the rice fields, they were too precious and valuable to eat, so it was very strange that the French ate them. The French however wanted their stews, t...

There are celebrations… and then there is Tết . A festival so important, so deeply woven into the heart of Vietnam , that the entire nation seems to breathe in unison when it arrives. Streets burst into red and gold. Entire families travel across mountains and rivers just to return home. Drums echo through villages. And everywhere you turn, there’s a sense of renewal, like the whole country is collectively turning a new page. I’ve always believed that culture is a doorway into understanding people, what they value, what they hope for, what they survive on. And studying Tết this week felt like an invitation into the Vietnamese soul. And surprisingly? It reminded me of the same thing God teaches me over and over again: every new season is an opportunity to begin again. Welcome to Sol & Silk , where we weave culture with curiosity, faith with history, and beauty with understanding. Today, we explore The Spirit of Tết,  Vietnam’s Lunar New Year . Tết, short for Tết Nguyên Đán...

 There's something powerful about stories, especially stories that have lived for centuries and yet they are still alive, they still breath. They don't just tell us what happened, they whisper about who we are, where we have come from and the strength that runs quietly through humanity like a broken thread. This particular story is one that echoes so much strength and courage that I can't help but see God's reflection in women that never feared no one, not a person, not a system, not an army. Trung Trac and Trung Nhi , the legendary sisters of Vietnam . Over two thousand years ago, in a land filled with rivers and rice fields, the Vietnamese people lived under the heavy rule of the Han dynasty of China . The Han Empire's reach was vast, and with its rule came unbearable taxes, forced assimilation and a quiet suffocation of identity (I will forever be of the opinion that power hungry people are not humans, they are animals in human form). In the midst of it all live...

I travelled to Japan this week and I haven't kept quiet ever since, everyone is tired of me but will I stop?? NO😎 “『沈黙は金』— Chinmoku wa kin. Silence is golden.” In Japan, this isn’t just a proverb, it’s a practice. It’s woven into the way people live, greet, and even show gratitude. You can walk into a Japanese temple, a train station, or a busy Tokyo street and still feel something deeply calm in the air. It’s as if silence has its own heartbeat. It's honestly very therapeutic 🥺 And somehow, it reminded me of faith. Because when I think of silence, I think of reverence, the kind that shows up when you stand before God, speechless, because words are too small to express awe. The type that just keeps you on you knees because your mind cannot seem to comprehend how awesome God is. So today, let’s talk about Japan, a nation where silence speaks and bowing still means something. Let’s step into the story of ojigi, the art of bowing and what it quietly teaches us about ...

 It's mythical Friday, my darlings, a day where you sit back, headset on with 'Would Have Been You' by Sombr playing in the background while we run into the beautiful and soothing fields of Asian myths. I really love reading about their myths and stories because they're always so fun and interesting. I do something dramatic whenever I research these stories: I search and search and search for the perfect song that makes me feel like I am on a train running away from my estranged husband to find love on a faraway island. The excitement, the tension, the fear—I feel it all because of how imaginative I can be, and I bring all those emotions in when I write. So, my darlings, let us go way back to the late 9th and early 10th century, change the song to 'Constellations' by Jade LeMac, we are about to float. The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is the oldest fictional narrative containing elements of Japanese folklore. The author is unknown, though he probably wrote it for fu...

If you are reading this, you are one of the 20 people in the world that I love with my brain. I am writing this sitting by my extension, using my leg to gauge my charger because it's shaking and I need my phone to charge, don't judge me!!! If I tell you guys that my international passport has so many stamps, you will think I am walking by faith and not by sight, but I am really just a low-key person that loves traveling. I have been to so many countries that I have lost count. If you are still doubting, you are the problem, and you need to work on yourself. I have so many beautiful artifacts that I have stored from all the countries I have visited. If you are still acting like Thomas, send me a message after reading this for the pictures. If you trust me never to lie to you, read on, baby. 😚🧡. Let me give you guys a backstory of how I started traveling from country to country. It started as an uninterested and indifferent relationship. There was this group of people that I ne...

  It's been centuries since I last updated a blog post, and I am on my bed asking for forgiveness, I can't get on my knees, they are hurting, just take the apology because you are a nice and forgiving person😌 let's keep it moving.        I stumbled upon the culture of the Maori people sometime last year, I mean I had watched Moana and seen Jason Momoa, the actor that played Aquaman alongside Dwayne Johnson do the Haka dance, but I was just not interested as much. I came across a video of the Maori people when they protested against the government trying to strip the citizens of their rights to their lands. They protested the 'Toitu Te Tiriti', this phrase which means 'Honour the Treaty' is a popular catch cry for activists protesting the government's policies affecting Maori. I followed up on the issue and that was how the love story began. Little TMI: I cried watching countless videos about the protest, whatever you want to do with that information, th...

 Well, Well, Well, the last post stirred up some argument regarding the Japanese mythology and as the nice and solution giving princess that i am, i'm here to bring clarity😎. Sooooooooooooooooooooooooo, let's get itttttttt. Japanese creation mythology is diverse, with various stories and beliefs. One prominent myth involves Amaterasu, the sun goddess, and her role in shaping the world. Another myth is the Kojiki which describes the creation of Japan and it's gods. It begins with the cosmic couple, Izanagi and Izanami, who create the Islands and various deities. Izanagi and Izanami will be our creation story for today. In Japanese mythology, Izanagi and Izanami were a divine couple, brother and sister (it's giving incest but let's move), who had a principle role in creating the Islands of Japan and from whom many important gods had their birth. Before the formation of the world, when the land was formless like a jellyfish, the first deities came into being at Takama...

 In the beginning.........., if you cannot complete that sentence, send me a message, we need to talk, Homo sapiens to Homo sapiens. Every one has a creation story they believe in, every culture and every religion has a creation story they believe in, and no one can force what they believe to be what another person believes. Each culture is rooted in myths that describe their origins in different ways, i'm sounding so serious in this particular post, i feel so proud of myself. This is to show you that i can be serious, i have seriousness in me, i'm not a clown. Chinese culture is also rooted in myths that describe their origins, known as Pangu and its creation myth. In Chinese mythology, the story of the creation of man can be dated back thousands of years. According to the myth, at that time everywhere was in chaos, the first being named Pangu had been sleeping for eighteen thousand years (even me that i'm an ambassador for sleep, this one pass my level, all my "i can...

     It's another episode of Asian countries you never knew existed and no, i didn't disappear, i was just trying to fight a dragon lord called examination, and i succeeded. He is not dead yet, just unconscious till further notice, but i'm alive, that's the most important thing. I have an interesting country for you today, a country that sounds unreal and mystical. Weirdly, the only image coming to my head while writing this is an image of Mikey from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles eating pizza💭. If you just played with sand and mud and didn't watch cartoons, sorry, i don't expect you to know who that is, so let's just move on.    Bhutan, Bhutan, is the name of the country i'm introducing to you today. You don't know it, don't lie. Bhutan, officially the kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked Southern Asian country which is located in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the North and India in the South. It is known locally as Druk Yul or the Land o...

 Welcome beautiful men and handsome women to episode 2 of this series. For some of us that don't like school, we use this platform to remind ourselves that we know book small, as bad as e bad, e no too bad. If i decided to take a poll to find out the number of Asian countries we know, it cannot be more than 6 and if you now want to do like omni-knowest, it cannot be more than 10. We learn every day and the beautiful thing about knowledge is that it cannot be lost, except you fall down from a high place, break your head and lose your memory😐.  Macau, Macau or Macao, officially the Macao special administrative region of the people's republic of China (MSAR), is another Asian country that i just found out about some hours ago. It is a special administrative region of China in the Western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea, with a population of about 680,000. It is the most densely populated region in the world and was formerly a Portuguese colony. Initially named A Ma Gao ...