Pineapple peddler in Hanoi
She is the memorable pineapple peddler in Hanoi. She stood out from most of the other fruit street vendors that we encountered because of her smile. Unlike many of the other mobile street vendors who were often older, rugged and worn from the toil of their meager lives, she was young, clear skinned, vibrant and always smiling. Her perfect set of teeth (which is often a rarity in ViệtNam’s poor population), warm smile, petite frame balancing two heavy baskets of pineapples and ease in navigating the congested streets had us mesmerized. “Quả dưá cuả chị bao nhiêu vẩy?” (Miss, how much are your pineapples?), I shouted above the clamor of city noise. She burst out, “3,000 dong!”, and she scurried across the intersection to greet us. To see her excitement at possibly making a sale, her precious load and her effortless ability to snake through the dense pool of scooters, we knew we had committed to buying something. Besides, at only about 20 cents for a pineapple, the deal was sealed.
Her goods were small, sightly crunchy and super sweet pineapples,
and her hands were equally small, delicate and adept.
Continue reading…
After a few downward swipes of her old, fiercely sharp knife,
the pineapple was peeled just perfectly, without fruit waste.
Then we were fixated on her crouched position, her slender fingers ,
her bruised thumb, and her quick, precise knife skills.
Within seconds, she carefully sliced out the eyes of the pineapple,
all in a perfect line, giving the fruit a completely new personality.
Before we could shoot any extra frames, her work was complete,
edible, delicious and worthy well beyond the scant 20 cents that she asks for.
She is someone who, no matter how challenging her life may be, see’s beauty,
joy and integrity in everything that comes her way.
This is an example of an inspiring person.
The “Pineapple” word: Vietnam’s 3 major regions (North, Central and South) usually have different words to define “pineapple”: North (Quả dưá), Central (traí khốm), South (traí thơm). My family, scattered in all 3 regions, argue within each other what to call it. I don’t like to argue over silly, regional differences. I cherish each regions cultural uniqueness. Call it what you like, it’s all the same fruit. There is no “right” nor “wrong”. – Diane
Previous Viet-Nam posts you might enjoy reading and viewing:
What a tiny little pineapple! I’ve never seen such a thing that small and ripe.
You guys have an eye for seeing the beauty in everyday life.
wonderful to see you blogging again, beautiful people. your vietnam series is enchanting. i feel a bit like how todd describes he felt – a outsider being welcomed warmly and graciously into your world. thank you.
I totally miss eating fruit in Vietnam. I never ate so much pineapple in a 7 month span and it was always delicions and cheap!
This post is proof that beauty lies in simple things and places. All we have to do is recognize it.
Wonderful pictures Diane. Those pineapples look so petite! But I bet they had lots of flavor.
thank you for your beautiful stories..and amazing photographs…i truly enjoy your blog.
just wanted to let you know that i was so impressed with your fig/balsamic reduction i included it in my blog story this week on canning, preserving and “putting up”. of course, i credited you guys and added some link love..
my best,
diane
Sounds like a nice experience (and great photos). I had a similar one but with a coconut in India…just a nice thing to smile about in the middle of the day
If you ever came to Mumbai … you’d find the exact same thing ! i mean it , i could pass these off as pics frm Mumbai , ofcourse we’d have to loose the lady with the tiny eyes 🙂 lol ..
great story. look at that knife! that is just awesome.
And I thought I knew how to peel & core a pineapple!
She really is a fruit artist.
She is lovely, and you captured her so beautifully in that top photo. It looks like it came out of Life Magazine!
She is charming. I love the timeless look of your photo of her.
I’m looking forward to exploring your site, especially the posts and photography of Vietnam.
And thanks for visiting my blog. Your kind comment meant a lot to me.
Lori Lynn
Just gorgeous! I could do with some pineapple right now – sooooo hot in Sydney!
I fully agee she has a warm and wonderful smile.
Yeah tru it is the same fruit so why one should arguee about it.
Beautiful! It’s wonderful to see such artistry where you don’t expect it.