April 21, 2005

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?