Schmoozing in HCM

Yesterday afternoon, I went to Mr. Thang's house which is in the suburbs of HCM. I have been there many times with Thanh as it is his brother in law. They recently remodeled their house so I was eager to see it. Because my room at the hotel doesn't face the outside street I didn't know that things ha changed dramatically. Now it was raining "cats and dogs" literally. So we tried to wait it out but after 2 hours, even though it let up considerably we decided to go. Now, all locals here have a raincoat/poncho stored under the seat of their moto which is good for the driver but now I needed one too so Thanh I vested in one for me. Now we looked like two aliens in on space suits but it would help ward off some of the wetness.

Because it is not a cold rain and now not as heavy, it seemed like I wouldn't get too wet but there were other factors I hadn't considered. One was the standing water in the streets now. Soon we were vitally riding through a small river hoping not to stall the moto. One strategy is to ride as close to the crest of the road as possible but approaching cars and trucks will honk at you if they can't pass, so often we had to move into deeper murky waters. Also, all drivers have their own strategy for forging through these conditions. One is to just over power it, revving the motor, and cutting into like they are Noah parting the seas. Well, as they pass you, the wake created hit you as if you were in the first row at Sea World! And your lower body is pretty well soaked after that. After about 45 minutes of this, I arrived looking pretty much like I had never worn the poncho. Haha! Forgot to mention that there was lots of thunder and lightening during this deluge too.

Mr. Thang, his wife and 5 yr old son gladly welcomed us into their newly remodeled home.. It was very different now, modern and with furniture.


Before, we ate on the floor but now there was a dining room table, new bathroom, tiled floors, even some granite counters. Impressive! Dinner was very traditional and tasty even though there was one food unknown to me. I was told it was ox meat which was coated with some sort of spice and then dipped in a spicy sauce. My theory is spice cures or kills most anything and I am not sick today. Another food was hot pot which is cooked at the table. Lots of raw fish and vegetables are thrown in, plus beef. The liquid is a spicy tomato laden juice. It was wonderful. Of course they have plenty of noodles that they want me to eat as well, plus bia-beer!

The rain had now ceased, so Thanh took me to Mrs. Linh's house. Her husband died last March from cancer and I was there during that sad time.


Her two children who excel in school like to speak English so for these two reasons and because I was delivering some medicine from the family in Portland, we went to her house. Only Duc and his mother were home, but soon the daughter came too. In Vietnam, most serious students are tutored outside of regular school hours. For example, this young lady, goes three nights a week for tutoring in three different subjects. Not only does this take time, it is an extra cost too. And most students don't seem to complain. This seems so contrary to the American way and attitude. Now the rain had stopped and we headed back to our $16 guest house.

This morning Thanh and I walked to the main post office. The mornings are sunny and not terribly hot, but still quite humid. The post office is a tourist attraction and open for business on Sundays. I had to go there because I had a package to ship for a friend. The PO is a good place to notice that forming a line is a foreign concept. I have experienced this in many other places over the years in VN so this just refreshed the idea today. So, if you don't push forward you can stand there forever. The PO is right across the street from another major landmark, Notre Dame Cathredral- A beautiful architecturally constructed building. Church is always packed here and today was no exception. Thank god I was sitting near a fan. The Mass was in English for tourists but lots of locals too. They had huge screens to display the scripture readings if you couldn't see or hear. Outside the church, there were at least 5 brides being photographed in their wedding dress-the grooms looked bored. Haha!

Mr. Tim met me after church and we went to coffee at Highland coffee, a


local coffee cafe similar to Starbucks, very upscale. I met Tim in Portland several years go when he needed help getting started in school at WSU in Vancouver. He now works at a major international bank in HCM; he seems to be doing very well. Then he took us to lunch at a great restaurant. I had Bun Bo Hue, which is like the famous beef noodle soup(pho). In HCM, you can order and eat at one restaurant and order drinks from another and the waiter will actually go and get it for you.. it was great visiting with Tim, who will be in CA in a few days.

There are other people here that I could only call and talk to, but that worked out good too because of the weather..

Soon, my correspondence will noticeably decrease, as it will be more difficult to find wifi connections in central Vietnam.



Didn't proofreader. Up to you to decode if necessary. Enjoy your day!
Lost power for 8 plus hrs, so miserable sleeping.



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