We began learning some Vietnamese on our third day in HCMC, Monday. After a week of 4 hours of Vietnamese a day, we can now introduce ourselves, say where we're from, and say "I like," "I want," "I want to buy," "give me," and ask for directions. Understanding the directions is a bit trickier, as we learned when we took to the streets to practice on unsuspecting strangers. We were trying to get to a market about 3 blocks directly down the street from us, yet everyone we asked told us different things, drew us maps, and spoke Vietnamese so quickly. We eventually got there, though. When we got there, we bargained (not bartered, as I like to say) for lower prices on things. We know numbers and how to say "too expensive," "lower the price," and "no." That's really all you need. Kathy was the master from our class at actually trying to speak. We started trying to haggle for some bracelets at one shop, and she developed a crowd of people who tried to advise her on pronunciation and vocabulary. Of course, they were doing it all in Vietnamese, but it kind of worked. Unfortunately that was in a fixed price store, so we walked away with nothing. Kathy tried again at another store, where she didn't really want to buy anything, but she asked how much a dress was, and then offered half the price. She didn't expect the shopkeeper to say yes, but eventually she did, so Kathy is now the proud owner of a dress made for a very tiny Vietnamese woman. Fortunately Kathy is Vietnamese-sized, so it works out.
Nights in HCMC, we kept hanging out and trying new fruits. They have a lot of jack fruits, which taste "like a banana, and a starburst, but not a banana starburst." Kathy and I put that one together. It is so true. I dare you to taste one, and you will understand completely.
Katie plays guitar really well and sings, so we did some in-house karaoke. We also exchanged quality YouTube videos like, "How to rock a mohawk without chopping off your hair." We talked about our families, and about mutual friends. Kathy made the bold statement, "I always wanted a friend." I think we can hook her up while we're here. We also almost convinced Joey, who plays in the marching band, to reveal the student/students who act as the Blue Devil mascot during basketball, football, soccer, etc. games, but he stopped short.
SO jealous, love you Allison! You should definitely try to speak French avec les anciens vietnamiens! Je sais que le grand-pere de mon amie vietnamiene parle francais avec beaucoup de fierté et il adore parler avec l'autre francophiles. :) Bonne chance mon trésor!
ReplyDeleteJe parle seulement un peu de francais, so I'll write this in English. Fab blog, Ally! I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for the next "episode." Stay safe.
ReplyDeleteI read your blog and I was reminded of a story in Tim O'Brien's short story collection, /The Things They Carried/. It's called "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong", and it's about an American soldier stationed at a remote field hospital, who smuggles his pretty, blonde, all-American girlfriend into Vietnam in 1966. She makes herself useful by helping when wounded patients are helicoptered in, and she comes to actually like being in the war.
ReplyDeleteEventually, she starts hanging out with these Green Berets who are stationed near the camp, and one night she disappears. She comes back in the morning holding a rifle and tells her boyfriend that she went with the Green Berets on night patrol. He loses it and promises to stop, but a few weeks later she starts going out again and hanging out with the Green Berets full time. Finally, her boyfriend decides it's time to send her home, so he barges into a Green Beret tent and finds her smoking opium and wearing a necklace of human tongues. She tells him that Vietnam has become a part of her, and she won't leave. Eventually, she disappears into the jungle, though American soldiers claim to catch glimpses of her for years to come.
So I guess what I'm saying is don't hang out with any Green Berets.