The first place we were trying to find was the School itself. We decided to walk, following the photocopy of a map and the directions of one of our favorite friends (she goes by the name of Google Maps). Of course, as anyone who has visited the city knows, and as every single tourist guide repeatedly mentions, walking around Saigon means being surrounded by motorcycles, the symbol of this city. Simply impressive. Coming out of everywhere, going everywhere, running so close to each other and to the cars that one wonders if they are actually different moving entities… We successfully passed the “crossing the street” test for the first time, and over and over again. Even made a video of that. Indeed, informal institutions do work, or at least they have kept us safe and sound for today.
We got lost of course. And circled around the school’s neighborhood for a while enjoying… well, while experiencing the kind of tropical heat and humidity that one would never get in cold Cambridge. Perfect time for pictures and for mango-juice stops…
Once in the school everything went just fine. They gave us our desks (right next to each other), set up our computer user accounts, introduced us to the faculty and the staff of the School, and showed us around the place. The usual business. I must admit though, that Vietnamese names give me an even harder time than non-Vietnamese names, both when it comes to pronouncing them, and (even more so) when it comes to remembering them. The exception is the Financial Officer, a lady named Trieu, whose name I will never forget and will always pronounce accurately and, who knows, even graciously, since she took the time to explain the pronunciation to us. The took a piece of paper , wrote “Don’t you”, and asked us to read it loud. Then, she covered the letters “Don”, and asked us to pronounce just the second part…. “Trieu, Trieu… that is how you pronounce my name!”. Trieu also had a couple of cell phones ready for us, which was yet another reason not to forget her.
After a very nice lunch with our host, Jonathan Pincus, we had a short afternoon of semi-work, had our first 4 pm Vietnamese coffee that I intend to turn into a tradition for the next 2 months (strong, really strong) (really really strong) (but good, very good), and decided to venture to our second Ho Chi Minh city walk. This time, the goal was to rent a pair of bicycles for our time here (yes, we decided against the motorbikes option) (yes, we know we may regret it) (we will get over it, though). Soon enough we realized that our second walk didn’t necessarily need to be a walk, and that cabs are, after all, not that expensive around here. And we got on one of those, and it took us to a place that the people from the School had referred to us. As it turns out, people don’t rent bicycles, only motorbikes. Buying a bicycle is cheap enough, making the rental service not that profitable. And there were no bicycles for sale in the neighborhood.
Once in the school everything went just fine. They gave us our desks (right next to each other), set up our computer user accounts, introduced us to the faculty and the staff of the School, and showed us around the place. The usual business. I must admit though, that Vietnamese names give me an even harder time than non-Vietnamese names, both when it comes to pronouncing them, and (even more so) when it comes to remembering them. The exception is the Financial Officer, a lady named Trieu, whose name I will never forget and will always pronounce accurately and, who knows, even graciously, since she took the time to explain the pronunciation to us. The took a piece of paper , wrote “Don’t you”, and asked us to read it loud. Then, she covered the letters “Don”, and asked us to pronounce just the second part…. “Trieu, Trieu… that is how you pronounce my name!”. Trieu also had a couple of cell phones ready for us, which was yet another reason not to forget her.After a very nice lunch with our host, Jonathan Pincus, we had a short afternoon of semi-work, had our first 4 pm Vietnamese coffee that I intend to turn into a tradition for the next 2 months (strong, really strong) (really really strong) (but good, very good), and decided to venture to our second Ho Chi Minh city walk. This time, the goal was to rent a pair of bicycles for our time here (yes, we decided against the motorbikes option) (yes, we know we may regret it) (we will get over it, though). Soon enough we realized that our second walk didn’t necessarily need to be a walk, and that cabs are, after all, not that expensive around here. And we got on one of those, and it took us to a place that the people from the School had referred to us. As it turns out, people don’t rent bicycles, only motorbikes. Buying a bicycle is cheap enough, making the rental service not that profitable. And there were no bicycles for sale in the neighborhood.
So we got on a second cab, just as rush hour was starting. As we were explaining to the driver that we wanted him to take us to a place where we could buy a bicycle, it became clear to us that the guy really didn’t speak English. Not a word. Not even “yes”. From time to time we would ask if we were still far away from the place he was taking us to, and we would respond in Vietnamese and moving his hands… I interpreted: “Yes, we are almost there. Have patience. There are many bicycles to choose from where I am taking you…”, though I reckon he might just as well could have been saying “I don’t understand anything of what you are saying, I just got that you wanted a bicycle because you drew it to me. I’ll try to take you there, but it is not that close, and there is a lot to traffic. Besides, I am hungry and I miss my mom”… or pretty much anything else… After a while I decided to stop speaking to him in English and started speaking to him in Spanish. It was fantastic. Now he really looked as if he finally understood what we were asking! But then again, who knows: he kept answering in Vietnamese and moving his hands, same same as before.
The fact is that we eventually got a very nice pair of bikes. We paid for them half of what the first store we visited asked for, and since it was already dark, we put the bikes in the same taxi and drove back home. And we went on with our conversation with the driver, but this time it was not about bicycles anymore. Well, at least not on our side…
I really like the Vietnamese people. I have found it very easy to connect with them straight away: they look you in the eye, they smile a lot, they seem to be just very laid back, not too sophisticated but noticeably smart and friendly people.
The Lonely Planet guide to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and the Greater Mekong, starts its Vietnam section with the phrase: “Welcome to another world, a world where the colours are more vivid, where the landscapes are bolder, the coastline more dramatic, where the culture is richer, the history more compelling, where the tastes are more divine, where the life is lived faster. This is the world of Vietnam, the latest Asian dragon to awake from its slumber”. That spirit has definitely come through after my first couple of days in Conchinchina.
Meanwhile in the world, BBC reports, an Airfrance plane going from Rio de Janeiro to Paris is missing, and Chrysler and General Motors filed for bankruptcy, the largest bankruptcy in the history of the US. Unsettling. A reminder of how insignificant the previous account is in the context of this planet’s last 24-hours turn. But aren’t most experiences that are big in your personal history mostly insignificant for the rest of humanity? And still, they remain meaningful as long as you perceive them as such.
I really like the Vietnamese people. I have found it very easy to connect with them straight away: they look you in the eye, they smile a lot, they seem to be just very laid back, not too sophisticated but noticeably smart and friendly people.
The Lonely Planet guide to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and the Greater Mekong, starts its Vietnam section with the phrase: “Welcome to another world, a world where the colours are more vivid, where the landscapes are bolder, the coastline more dramatic, where the culture is richer, the history more compelling, where the tastes are more divine, where the life is lived faster. This is the world of Vietnam, the latest Asian dragon to awake from its slumber”. That spirit has definitely come through after my first couple of days in Conchinchina.
Meanwhile in the world, BBC reports, an Airfrance plane going from Rio de Janeiro to Paris is missing, and Chrysler and General Motors filed for bankruptcy, the largest bankruptcy in the history of the US. Unsettling. A reminder of how insignificant the previous account is in the context of this planet’s last 24-hours turn. But aren’t most experiences that are big in your personal history mostly insignificant for the rest of humanity? And still, they remain meaningful as long as you perceive them as such.
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