First Day Out

Today I ventured out on my own for the first time. I had written down a few phrases in my notebook to take with me just in case.

First, I stopped at the coffee shop across the street from the English school where I work. They love their sugar here in Vietnam, & the coffee usually comes with a healthy portion of it. At the coffee shop, I tried to say, "Coffee without sugar, please," but my pronunciation is atrocious, so they just gave me a blank stare. Then I showed the woman what I had written down & the light of understanding came across her face. Minutes later I was served my own little coffee pot atop a miniature glass with a side of ice to pour the coffee over when it was finished brewing. The coffee turned out to be more like sludge. No wonder they use so much sugar! I finally diluted it with the iced tea that is served wherever you go no matter what you order, like water is in the US. It was at last a tasty cup of caffeine. 7000 Dong = $0.55

Next, I checked out a street market, where lots of pointing & gesturing got me some freshly made tofu, a tomato & four bananas for 6000 Dong (= $0.35). Of course I got an individual bag for each item. Forget about saving the planet here! Later, another street vendor wanted to charge me 15,000 Dong for an avocado. I waved him away because it sounded so expensive. 83 cents for an avocado? You must think I'm a fool!

I ate my lunch as I walked around exploring the neighborhood. Many people yelled "Hello" to me as I passed by. One little boy tried out his superior language skills by asking me, "What's your name?", & then said, "Nice to meet you." Very cute.

As I was walking down one street close to the hotel, I passed by a man leaning casually on his bike. He said, "Excuse me, do you speak Vietnamese?" No, sorry. I continued walking & about 100 yards later, the same man was there again, leaning casually on his bike. "Hello," he said. I started getting the creepies. I turned a corner & saw him ride past me & park ahead of me again. That's when I decided it was time to turn around & head back to the hotel.