Correct Change

As a follow up to my story about our disappearing shoes, I wanted to note that while there are some Vietnamese who would run off with your possessions before you can blink, there are also countless more who are unfailingly honest and trusting.

Steven, who never quite got his Vietnamese numbers down last year, used to hold out a handful of money to the woman who ran a little market around the corner from our apartment and she would take whatever he owed and leave him the rest - always a steal, whatever he bought. I once had a boy at a mechanic stop me and run next door for change when I paid him 1,000 VND (one 18th of a dollar) too much. Just the other day, I had copies made at our local copy shop and I didn't have correct change, only a 100,000 VND note (about $6), so I pantomimed to the copy guy that I woud go and come back with correct change. He smiled, gave me my copies and waved me away. I bought lunch with the 100,000 note and returned 30 minutes later to pay for my copies. And those are just  a few instances of the honesty and trust we've found to be more common in our transactions here, than the less common instances of dishonesty.