Main Dish

Patrick Pope: Person of the Year

January 9, 2012

Former Hardy Middle School principal Patrick Pope last week was named "Person of the Year" by Washington Examiner columnist Jonetta Rose Barras.

"He was booted [by former chancellor Michelle Rhee] out of Hardy Middle School, which he had built into a high-performing institution. Then, he was forced to sit for months in a central-office cubicle before being shipped to what some described as Siberia: a struggling school east of the Anacostia River that had ripped through several administrative leaders," Barras wrote.

Patrick Pope was expected to quit. Instead, he has turned the tiny elementary from a troubled under-achiever to an award-winning success that was recently given a $500,000 federal grant to develop an arts program like the one Pope built at Hardy.

D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans tried to fix the DCPS blunder that amounts to a huge loss for Hardy and Georgetown. He bravely introduced legislation to reinstate Pope, but current schools chancellor Kaya Henderson adamantly refused. Barras' poignant column is the latest evidence that Evans did the right thing. As more Georgetown children graduate from respected Hyde-Addison and look for middle school options, perhaps Georgetown parents will follow the lead of longtime community leaders like ANCs Bill Starrels and Ed Solomon and push harder for Pope's return...

Saigon: Simply Sensational

December 12, 2011

Color, light, fragrance, sound – this is Saigon, the center of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – where futuristic malls offering Gucci, Burberry and Bulgari are surrounded by swarms of young people on scooters and sidewalks filled with traditional food stalls. It’s a feast for the senses. Saigon, simply, is sensational.

(Photo by: The Georgetown Dish) The famous watering hole on the roofdeck of the Rex Hotel

The Rex Hotel alone is worth the trip. Beautifully appointed rooms offering every luxury with an Asian flair are an oasis of tranquility in this sizzling city. The hallways and linens smell like delicate flowers with an oriental spice. Everything is beautiful – including traditional robes the staff wear. The delicate waterfall of pearl drops behind the reception desk is a work of living, breathing art. Before long you are drunk on the visual and sensual pleasures woven into every detail of this beautiful five-star property. (At $135 per night, it’s a bargain, too.)

(Photo by: The Georgetown Dish) Paris in Saigon

The Rex has a history. Built by the French in the 1920s, it became a headquarters where U.S. military officials would deliver weekly press briefings, including dubious “body counts” of Vietnamese casualties, which became known as the “Five o’clock Follies.” Often frustrated by the way things were going, journalists and GIs alike retreated to the gracious rooftop bar, which became a famous watering hole where a dose of comfort, and who knows, true stories, could be found. As flares and mortars flashed across the sky during periods of the war, the Rex was safe. It was dignified. It was comfortable. It still is all of those things.

(Photo by: The Georgetown Dish) A journalist from Saigon Times speaks with The Georgetown Dish

Today, the expansive wooden roof deck includes a raised marble bar and a stage lit up in colors where mariachi, jazz, American rock ‘n roll covers, and even country music are played. “Take me home, country road” sounds pretty good on this grand teak terrace in Saigon’s balmy air framed by a few sparkling skyscrapers.

While Hanoi is the seat of government, a serious town, Saigon steams with sensuous sights and sounds. Per capita income is double that of Hanoi’s. Young people fill the cafés, restaurants and bars. Zooming around town on motorbikes, they’re buying expensive products from all over the globe in sparkling new shopping malls that seem to be going in everywhere. Longchamp, Prada, Hermès, Chanel? They’re here, and hopping.

(Photo by: The Georgetown Dish) BoConcept in Saigon

A new development called Crescent Mall looks like a futuristic version of Miami. Outdoor cafés line the broad streets, shiny towers in the area offer housing at fairly reasonable rates (two-bedroom apartments start at $600), and a newly-built international school offers excellent facilities and strong academics.

Saigon’s new malls, spacious and light as if built by the hands of I.M. Pei, make you feel like the future can be seen right now.

(Photo by: The Georgetown Dish) Lunchtime near the main market

Vietnam does have challenges. Inflation is at a staggering 18-20 percent. The hot real estate market in Saigon became a speculators’ bubble, which then burst. This very young society of 88 million people (60 percent are under 35) has not built the social institutions typically found in the West – a safety net including medical care and social security for the aging, affordable housing, a strong educational system, adequate banking regulations.

But Vietnam’s challenges offer a great opportunity for American companies, which can provide health care and educational services, and safe and enjoyable dining options to meet Vietnam’s voracious appetite for U.S. brands.

(Photo by: The Georgetown Dish) A band plays Sweet Home Alabama

At the Hard Rock Café Sunday night, a young Vietnamese band played the latest covers from The Script and Michael Bublé. Then they brought the audience to its feet with a rocking rendition of Sweet Home Alabama.

With its supersonic and steady economic growth, Vietnam is attracting an international set of businesses, people and ideas that promise to further accelerate its warp-speed development as a world capital. The city changes by the minute. Do see it while there is still time to say, “Good morning, Vietnam.”

(Photo by: The Georgetown Dish) A girl's dress shop in a downtown mall.

(Photo by: The Georgetown Dish) Pancakes, anyone?

(Photo by: The Georgetown Dish) Saigonese are crazy about Christmas

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From hinterland to Hilton: Hanoi

December 5, 2011

It was dusty, it was loud, it was probably dangerous. But it was Sunday morning on the streets of Hanoi, Vietnam – a good day for a bike ride. A bike ride? Why not. There's no better way to get a feel for a place quickly.

(Photo by: The Georgetown Dish) One of two bridges crossing the river in Hanoi. The other allows cars.

Except. There were no signs of “rental bikes.” English speakers are rare. The streets are crammed with honking motorbikes – the primary mode of transportation in this emerging, recently rural economy.

I steered clear of the concierge desk at the Hilton, fearing the earnest and business-like bunch would discourage this potentially risky and certainly off-beat trek. Then, I started to walk in search of a bike.

This quest was a bit of a repeat of 1983, when, during a summer of language study in Shanghai, China, a pal of mine and I commandeered a couple of heavy-duty three speeds, and, breaking the law restricting foreigners’ movement outside approved zones, hopped a train to Suzhou, about two hours from Shanghai, and biked the 10 hours through the countryside back to school.

(Photo by: The Georgetown Dish) Sitting down to a Pepsi with the store owner. No translation needed or available.

It was an unforgettable journey through rice paddies, amid water buffalo under a blazing sun, and farmers and villagers who had never seen white people before. As we stopped in towns to drink the available beverage – warm tea served with a ladle out of a big bowl (no ice, no refrigeration to be found) – we would attract instant crowds. Children touched our clothes and hair, as if examining visitors from Mars.

“Hello!” was the one word every Chinese knew and would repeat over and over. They were surprised but happy to see us.

As we took short breaks to down quarts of sun-warmed tea, local police officers would see the crowds forming and approach. This was our signal to jump on our saddles and hightail it out of town, not having traveling papers and all. We were 16-year-olds on a mission – and sort of on the run.

(Photo by: The Georgetown Dish) You don't see garbage trucks in Vietnam, but you might see the occasional garbage trolley

Twelve hours after our journey began, we limped into Shanghai, exhausted but happy. It was the adventure of a young lifetime, worth every bit of the sun poisoning and dysentery that followed.

Hanoi on the cusp of 2012 is somewhat reminiscent of Shanghai in 1983. While there is wealth in the city, a journey just a few miles outside exposes poverty and existence that looks hard. In fairness, much of the population beyond the cities has iPhones and motorcycles. They just don’t seem to have much else.

As I began my journey, eyeing a row of one-speed bikes on a side street downtown, I signaled to a fellow in coveralls that I would like to rent a bike. "That one." He shook his head, no. He pointed to a motorcycle. I smiled and pointed to a bike and a lock, speaking loudly like a dumb tourist in a language he couldn't understand. He brightened as I reached into my purse. I slipped him a $20. We had a deal. No paperwork about the rental, no worries. I was on my way.

(Photo by: The Georgetown Dish) A bike owner asked for no paperwork, no signature, no I.D. from a customer

Did he wonder if I would be back? The derailleur started to make a continuous screech about five minutes out of town. Hence, this escapade would not include a theft.

The Vietnamese government based here is still Communist, and very close to China. Yet, the U.S. has had a trade agreement in place since 2001 – supported strongly by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) – who has been a loyal if unexpected friend to this previous U.S. foe.

Near the end of my journey through scruffy, dusty towns and farmland divided into tiny plots, a young man was lying on the street in heavy traffic, stunned and looking at the sky for 20 minutes as I watched, disturbed and feeling helpless, in a crowd that formed. There was no 911 to call, no ambulance. A mob formed and roughed up the motorbiker who apparently struck the younger fellow. Blood dripped from both their mouths. Horns honked and traffic moved on. The younger man was carried to the side of the road as I left.

(Photo by: The Georgetown Dish) About an hour outside Hanoi.

While friendly conversations in sign language with the peaceful Vietnamese during my journey were numerous, there was no English spoken outside of Hanoi. This is worrisome for a country that needs foreign investment to advance.

In 2010, the average Vietnamese earned $1218. Yet Goldman Sachs says Vietnam will be the 17th largest economy in the world by 2025, quadrupeling individual income.

After indulging in a $4 foot massage and a $14 facial back in Hanoi, I started to enjoy this economy more. Afterward, the facialist hopped on her moped, like throngs of other young Vietnamese, and happily sped off into the night. Something about this country is definitely working.