Snapshots of Life in Vietnam

Sometimes life here in Viet Nam gives me stories, but more often, it gives me snapshots. Since I don't always have my camera, I'll just list a few of them here.

Blind Man Crossing
The other day, I saw a blind man crossing the street, in a place where crossing the street with your eyes wide open can be hazardous. He had his cane held out in front of him, high above his head. As he walked he blew a whistle in rapid bursts, alerting oncoming vehicles of his presence.

Vietnamese Graffiti
I ride by a park every day where, presumably, a teenager has spray painted the word, "Garraffity" on the base of a statue.

BBQ Chicken
I pass by a new fried chicken restaurant on one of my regular bus rides and noticed that it had a picture of a big plate of fried chicken in the window, on which is written the name of the restaurant, "BBQ Chicken." The first time I saw it, I just shook my head at the Vietnamese, naming a fried chicken restaurant "BBQ Chicken." The second time, I looked closer and saw that, to them BBQ does not stand for barbecue, it stands for "Best Believable Quality." As opposed to, I assume, those unbelievable quality chicken places...

A Small Act of Kindness
I was riding in the back of my mini-bus to school the other day and noticed that the woman sitting in the seat adjacent to the driver was not your typical mini-bus passenger on her way to work. She looked to be in her eighties and wore well-worn clothes and a cloth kerchief over her head. As we stopped to pick up passengers, I turned and saw that an old man, probably about the same age as the women, climb aboard. He handed his 3000 VND fare up towards the driver only to have it returned a few minutes later. As I pondered the return of the fare, I watched as the driver's hand appeared through the window and handed a 5000 VND note (about 17 cents) to the old woman. The woman took the note and held it up in front of her face for about ten seconds before using the side of her kerchief to wipe the tears running down her face. As I watched and resisted the urge to empty my wallet into the woman's lap, I wondered about her story and how such a small kindness on the part of the bus driver could bring her to tears.