Mat doi mat

Dang ngoi viet notes trong Saigon Center, thi someone appears in front of me, asking if I am Hoang-Anh. Co nhin trong thay quen quen, nen moi tra loi va, te ra co la Co Nguyet (gia dinh o Denver, CO, nhom chung HT cung voi Di Hoang, Cau Tanh), with whom we da di skiing two winters ago.

Ca gia dinh cua co Nguyet di ve Vietnam choi vao nhung ngay thang he. Giu dinh se o 6 tuan, va dang chuan bi di nhung tuyen du lich.

Khi sap sua ve VN, Di Hoang co nhan rang H.Anh o VN, thuong di nhom tai Hoi Thanh Saigon tren duong Tran Hung Dao. Mong rang se gap nhau tai nha tho. Nhung, ngo nhien, khi di shopping tai Saigon Center thi lai thay H.Anh dang ngoi viet bai.

Trong ca thanh pho Saigon, rat hiem khi gap duoc nguoi quen o ngoai duong. Nhung lai gap duoc mot nguoi Viet Kieu moi qua Vietnam, ma lai la nguoi H.anh khong gap hon 2 nam nay roi!

Vung Tau: Nu cuoi cua mat troi

Hom t7, di ra Vung Tau choi hai ngay. Lan dau tien di tau cao toc. That ra kho so. Nhung, di tau chi ton 1 tieng dong ho de ra toi Vung Tau. Con di se moto thi phai ton 2 tieng va fai kho nhoc hon nhieu.

Thanh pho VT rat em diu, dep, va mat me. Di ra toi Vung Tau, di bo doc bo bien, va hong gio thoi hiu hiu, khien cho minh khong muon tro ve Saigon gi ca. So voi Saigon, VT dep hon gap may lan. Toi thi khoi khoi nguoi di ra ngoi doc bo bien, tro chuyen va an hot dua, hot bi, dau phung. Ngoi hong gio, thay thoai mai, va thich thu lam. Uoc gi co the tro lai Vung Tau mot vai ngay nua.

Fulbright staffers

I just called the Fulbright U.S. Student Programs office to inquire about my departure from Vietnam and arrival in the U.S. I am not a person easily displeased, but her behavior was utterly unacceptable, and I am compelled to write about it in order to vent my frustration.

The secretary in Jonathan Akeley's office (JA being the Program Manager for the Southeast Asia programs) has made an enemy out of me...and she should wish that she had not.

Calling long distance--from another country by the way--is not easy b/c the connection is bound to be rather poor. I can understand the frustration of being on the other end of the line that is crackling and hissing; however, it is not appropriate for her to be curt, abrupt, and disrespectful. I am making an expensive phone call to inquire about an important matter. I am not begging for money. I am not a telemarketer. I am not a pizza delivery person looking for the correct address. Miss Secretary should know that anyone who calls this particular office has some legitimate business or inquiries and should be treated with respect and polite courtesy.

There should be no superiority-complex and no ego in this business, especially in an office working to promote culture and education and mutual understand and exchange.

I scoff at this type of irrational and unreasonable behavior. I scoff at such rudeness, particularly rudeness exemplified in one who is assisting others in their search for culture and value through the Fulbright program. I scoff, scoff, scoff...

Kiss of Saigon

A week after I returned to Saigon, I got burned by the exhaust pipe of a recently parked motorbike. I've been sitting on motorbikes for several months now, and have had no real problems. I've been on the back of motorbikes that have been magically manuevered through the crowded streets, and have survive without a single scratch or nick. I walk past a parked motorbike and I get burned.

The burn mark is about twice the size of a quarter, just as round, and was really red and puffy. But now, it is only black and healing nicely. I think I will have a scar to remember Vietnam by.

Hanoi's separate vocabulary

I returned to Saigon from Hanoi on June 1st. The few weeks I spent up North was filled with interesting stories populated by peculiar characters--some nice, some not so nice, but all with very elaborate vocabularies. I learned a few new words that I never paid attention to before. "Ngo" is corn up north, "lac" is peanuts, and "ling" is zero. Not only did I have to learn a new vocabulary, I also had to learn different rules about how to function in northern society.

Eavesdropping in cafe

I'm sitting at Internet Cafe 39 typing on the laptop, drinking my lemonade and a group of 6 or 7 Vietnamese twenty-somethings walk in. They arrange chairs and sit at the table next to me. Since their arrival, everyone in the cafe has had to unwittingly listen to their entire conversation which is projected at a rather loud volume. I try not to pay attention and focus on my work as they order drinks. But my ears perk up at their mention of the girl sitting next to them (me?) who has her feet propped up on the chair (me!). One young lady with extremely high-pitched vocal cords comments that it's outrageous that people would sit with their legs up on the chair. (I try to continue typing w/o faltering, and stubbornly settle myself more comfortably into the chair, now with both feet up.) Another guy, with a deeper and softer voice says under his breath (not quite successfully), "She's Vietnamese." But they're not quite sure so they drop it. Then High-Pitched Girl cracks a comment about
my hair (recently dyed and highlighted in outrageous colors of bronze, red, and yellow). It's so bright, so yellow, so very loud, etc. The conversation starts and spins out of control; they start conjecturing how much it costs to do a head like mine, what colors were intended, etc. Another girl says she likes my hair. I like her immediately. I want to turn around and see what they look like, to talk with them, but I can't. I finish my lemonade and wave at the waiter to ask for the check. I speak loud enough and sweetly enough so that they can hear my Vietnamese. I leave w/o looking at them.

Heading to Phan Thiet

Tomorrow, I'll be heading to Phan Thiet, which has a lovely coastline popular with tourists wanting to enjoy the warm waters of Cam Ranh Bay. The city is located in Binh Thuan province, approximately 200km from Saigon. Is this the place where Han Mac Tu waited for Mong Cam?