Vâng, Dà, Ù. Vietnam Here We Come

by Alison

Usually when I go to a nail salon I keep my eyes hooded and say as little as possible. I know if I make eye contact I’ll get pressured to get the Deluxe Mani/Pedi when all I really want is the Classic Pedi. But yesterday I bounced into the salon and announced to no one in particular, “I’m going to Vietnam tomorrow!”

Tina, my usual tech, rolled her eyes and Yana, who is unused to me having vocal capabilities, questioned, “You?”

Me: Vâng!

Yana: What?

Me: Vâng? That’s ‘yes’ in Vietnamese?

Tina: In the North they say vâng in the South they say Dà and in the Center they say Ù. 

Me: OH FOR [inaudible] SAKE.

It continued like this as they sensed my thirst for knowledge. Before I knew it I had blown past the Deluxe Mani/Pedi and said vâng to something called The Full Spa Experience.

Earlier this week I told everyone who will be on this trip with us that I would write about them and allowed them a chance to pick their “blog name” (to keep them somewhat anonymous). 

Never underestimate the seductiveness of an alter-ego. Tom wants me to call him Tank. David L looks like a tank yet wants to be called Dirk (though he asked this sardonically so I’m not giving him Dirk until he lets me in on the joke). There are 16 of us in total. I’m not sure I can keep it all straight.

We are traveling today with Tom (Tank) and his wife, Addie. We hadn’t coordinated our flights nor our shoes but here we are—Addie and I both in Row 8 in matching shoes. She wants to be called Happy Girl. We’ll see if that tracks for her after our 24-hour travel day. 

Photos from our Pick Your Blog Name party. 

Would be Dirk
Cap
Happy Girl? We shall see
Downtown and Sadie May
Playing a game of Ransom Notes
The query was “Tell the ship’s maid service that your toilet is clogged”, the response was “expect dangerous feces problem, pump with critical force”

Pray for me, folks. I’m traveling with weirdos.

Categories: VietnamTags: , , , , , , , , , ,

18 Comments

    1. Well, hi, there! I am so happy to “see” you. We are sitting at the Tokyo airport getting ready for the last leg of the trip. I’m excited to see the beauty. Hope you are well.

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  6. Hey, Alison! I didn’t know if you would remember me. I’m doing okay. I’m trying to be a published writer with limited success. Self-publishing has been the answer so far. I’m excited for you and your trip! My cousin’s wife is Vietnamese. They wanted their teenage sons to experience her culture, so they spent several weeks there and just returned. It was an amazing, rewarding experience for each of them. It was a difficult trip for Diem for her to return to the country she fled as a child during the war. I can’t imagine the conflicting feelings she had. Bittersweet for her. Eye-opening for their three sons. From their photos, I know you’re going to see some beautiful sights. I look forward to following your journey!

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    1. Of course I remember you! You were one of my very first blogger friends when I started my site 12 years ago. Did you ever get that civil war book finished?

      One of our friends who’s traveling with us served and was injured during the war. I am very interested in hearing his perspective.

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  7. Alison, I haven’t finished my novel, but I have self-published the local history newspaper columns I wrote for six years in two books, Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Books 1 and 2. Last year, I published a devotional book that grew out of my having seasonal affective disorder and fibromyalgia: I Need The Light: 26 Weekly Devotionals to Help You Through Winter. Last fall, I published Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories. I’m excited that I finally got to publish some fiction! I wrote the 90,000-word manuscript of that novel I was working on, set in the 1770s. Then, I realized the main character’s backstory deserved a book. So the first book was put on the back burner and will be the second book in the series. I’m 56,000 words into the draft of Sarah’s backstory, which starts in Virginia in 1766 and takes her down the Great Wagon Road through North Carolina. At 73 years old, writing keeps me busy and out of trouble most of the time. Have a grand trip! I’ll be watching for your blog posts. I hope it will be a positive experience for your travel mate who served over there in the war. That could go either way.

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