This past weekend Thoa invited me to go with
her to visit her parents that live about 3 hours away, close to the beach. When
we got to the bus, I thought we got there just in time to get the last two
seats. But little did I know, how many people can fit on a bus! We kept picking
people up along the road and just kept squeezing them in. In the end, they
could not open & close the door anymore, so they just left it open. For
three hours, we were unable to move, not even an inch. At least, I was lucky
enough to have a seat with a back on it. But poor Thoa, who was sitting next to
me, had no room at all and needed to lean on me for support.
Her parents have a very nice home surrounded
by a garden and fruit trees. They were very nice and fed me well. Saturday
night, we went to a Catholic mass. The singing was very beautiful. And I didn’t
even notice until communion time that the women were sitting on one side of the
church and the men on the other side.
During the call and response times of the mass, I found myself trying to
respond along with everyone else but then realizing I didn’t know what to say. There were quite a few older people
there and as I went to communion I was really overcome with emotion thinking
about the family and friends that they probably lost in the war and all the
suffering they endured. It didn’t help that they were singing an emotional
song. Also I have been reading a book written by a Vietnamese woman about her
journey from war to peace. I didn’t realize before I came the effect it would
have on me. In the evenings, we
went to visit her uncle and aunt. One night we sang karaoke. I thought I was
going to luck out and not be forced to sing since it would be in Vietnamese,
but lucky me they had songs in English also. The Vietnamese take karaoke very
serious. It seems like a karaoke machine is a household item and there are karaoke
bars all over the place. The next
night they taught me how to play a Vietnamese card game.
Sunday, we jumped on the motorbike and
headed for the beach (South China Sea) to meet up with Thoa’s friends. I am now
becoming an expert passenger, carrying bags full of fruit in one hand and
holding on with the other. No I guess I can’t say expert because I still feel
the need to hold on with at least one hand. As we arrived, the fishermen were
coming in with their catch. The shrimp were huge! We stood and watched as they
pulled the shrimp and squid out of their nets. It was a nice day. Not to warm and not to cool – just
right. The waves were pretty big
and we were worn out after being in the water for about 45 minutes. Then we sat
around, relaxed, and grilled our lunch straight from the ocean. They bought
bags of fresh squid and shrimp and also some freshly boiled crabs. At first, I wondered how I was going to
eat some of it. But once it was cooked, I was ok. I believe that was the
freshest seafood I have ever eaten!
It was a really nice weekend. And it was so
nice to be out of the busy city in a quiet little town where there are no
tourists. I feel really lucky to have the opportunity to experience part of
Vietnam thru a local’s way of life rather than just on the tourist track.
