Why Vietnamese Women Wear Pants

For the first week of school, I wore pants. On Monday, I decided to wear a skirt. Only when I got downstairs and out on the sidewalk did I realize why most Vietnamese women wear pants.

Riding traditional style on a motorbike in a skirt is, if not impossible, very risqué, depending on how high you have to hike it up to get one leg on either side of the bike. In my case, traditional style wasn't an option because my skirt was of the wrap around, pencil straight variety and spreading my legs in any fashion was not an option. So I did what I had seen (very few) Vietnamese women do and got on side saddle with my feet to one side, feet resting on the same foot rest, and held on to the back of the seat for dear life.

Our initial take off was a little shaky and I kept imagining my skirt getting caught in the spokes of the wheel and me getting thrown off the bike, head first, on to the pavement just in time to be run over by the next mass of motorbikes. After a few minutes though, I gained a little confidence, tucked my skirt between my calves and loosened my death grip on the bar.

I found that riding that way can be both more interesting and more disconcerting. For one, since you are facing to the side, you have a full motion picture view of one side of the street and all the goings on. But conversely, you also have a full view of your feet which are pointing precariously out into the space which every other motorist wants to be in, giving you lots more material for your "thrown onto the pavement face first" macabre fantasies as you ride along.

I made it to school fine and didn't think about the life threatening characteristics of my wardrobe again until it was time to go home.

After school, I decided to stop by a new grocery store to see what exciting things they had on their shelves. I walked home with some other teachers and they pointed me to the CityMart near their home. After spending 45 minutes or so marveling at all the interesting products on the shelves (and being horrified as I watched a roach literally climb out of a potato I was about to select), I decided it was time to head home.

With an arm load of papers to grade and two grocery bags, filled with vegetables, juice, cheese, crackers, eggs and banana chips, I headed out for the long walk home.

Walking in the rain, burdened as I was with an armload of papers and food, still thinking that it might not be time to test out my just-now-feeling-better foot, I decided to take a xe om driver up on his offer to take me home.

He put one bag of groceries on earth handle bar, handed me a helmet and waiting as I secured it, jumped on side saddle and tucked my skirt. As he took off in the rain, grocery bags dangling, across a lane of oncoming traffic, I watched a bus ride within inches of my bare toes and thought, "if only my Mother could see me now."