It’s January, and once again the masses have begun devising plans to reinvent better versions of themselves. I’m no different with my determination to forever lose those extra 20 pounds – for the purpose of these brunch blogs, I’m praying that Sunday calories don’t count! In church today, I heard a nugget of wisdom that will hopefully help me, and perhaps you, when we’re ready to quit our New Year resolutions in mid-March – “Passion is what you want most, while Impulse is what you want now.”
There is no greater example of this focus displayed than in those who leave everything they know behind in their motherlands in the hopes of making a better life for themselves and their families in a new country. Often the reward of their toils are only realized by their children decades later. As a second generation Indian American, I am so honored by the obstacles my parents faced so that I could have the opportunities I enjoy today. Too often immigrants find themselves taking on menial jobs that do not reflect the skills they earned in the countries of their childhood, but they push forward because they are here to survive, and keep taking one day at a time with a focus on their “tomorrow” dreams. For a slight reprieve from their daily humdrum, first generation immigrants often take comfort in creating glimpses of the familiar in their new home.
For those from Vietnam, this phenomenon can be experienced to its fullest at the Eden Center in Arlington, VA – the largest Vietnamese center on the east coast. And so there I headed to have Sunday “brunch” at the famed Rice Paper. I used parentheses here because nothing served at Rice Paper on Sunday afternoon is different from their regular lunch menu…but is definitely still a great place to visit on Sunday afternoon.
