Ignorance is bliss

Sunday, July 10, 2011

7:11 PM (Vietnam Time)

Friday and Saturday were pretty routine. We woke up, went to the hospital, interviewed 3 stroke patients, had lunch, went to a coffee shop in the afternoon, and watched a movie at night. Though it was routine, it wasn’t without its eventfulness. I woke up Friday to the largest rash I have ever had—red and bumpy all over my arms, thighs, legs, lower back, stomach, and neck. I seriously looked diseased, and I was in a state! We did not really know what it was until we talked to our parents and discovered that it was due to allergies, probably from eating all the awesome seafood. For me, Friday and Saturday were spent worrying about my rash and my swollen face interspersed with motorbike rides throughout the city and drinking lots of smoothies. Scott may have had a different perspective on the weekend, but I think he was worried about me too.

Today we went to Ngan’s house in the countryside to meet her family. We left in the rain, and it was about a 30 minute taxi ride from Rach Gia. The countryside isn’t exactly how one would imagine it. It’s not acres and acres of land and fields. The streets were actually pretty dense, and houses were lined up right next to each other with each house owning a small plot of land. We arrived at Ngan’s house and her mom was waiting for us outside. She was extremely sweet and welcoming. The houses in the countryside are very different and are slightly difficult to describe if you have never seen one. The whole house was raised on poles above a lake. The first room we walked through was a large space with the walls and roof made of the folded metal sheets I have seen throughout the countryside. The floor was made of wooden planks bolted together, and you could see the water from the lake under the house through the spaces between them. You walk through the house vertically, so the next room was the kitchen, which consisted of two mobile stove tops, two glass cabinets with dishes inside, and a portable counter. There was no sink and no table. We then walked into the next room which was the living room, but it had its own foundation. The walls seemed to be made of cement and the roof of the metal sheet. The room after that was Ngan’s bedroom, and then you had to walk outside to get to the bathroom, which was an outhouse. It was interesting and eye-opening to see how different people live in the world, and not only that, but be welcomed into it. Ngan and her family showed off their house and farm with all the pride that it deserved, and we could not have asked for better hosts. Her mom had prepared us a beautiful breakfast. We were first given fresh corn and then homemade khanh chua (sour soup) with shrimp simmered in fish sauce. The food was tasty and had that homemade feel you get when you go home to visit your parents after not seeing them for awhile. We sat outside on the ground and shared the meal together. After the tour and breakfast, we sat down and played cards for awhile, until it was time to go fishing.

Amazing home-cooked meal

Breakfast at Ngan's house

Ngan’s family owns a small farm, which is one house down from theirs. We walked through their garden lined with all sorts of tropical fruit trees: jackfruit, soursop, banana, and many others. There were dozens of little yellow ducklings waddling around and jumping into the lake accompanied by baby chics that were clucking here and there. The pathway was lined with cages housing roosters. During our tour of the garden, we enjoyed jackfruit from the garden. I found out that it takes three years for the fruit to grow to its edible size. Its skin is green and spiny, and once the fruit has been opened, you find rows of yellow pods, which you pull out and eat. The flesh is crunchy, sweet and fragrant, and the sap is extremely sticky. Ngan’s family also has a pig sty, where I could see large, fat pigs oinking about and rolling around in mud. I now know where the saying, “dirty as a pig sty,” comes from. 

Audrey, Ngan, and her aunt holding a giant jackfruit

Baby ducks (Audrey's picture)

Ngan's cousin

Oink oink

Anxious for dinner

After our tour, we went fishing in the small lake next to their farm. For me, this was the first time. Scott had fished with his grandpa before, but at the rate he was going, it might as welll have been his first time. The fishing rods were made of bamboo with a string tied around the front end, and the bait were little shrimp. Ngan’s uncles were laughing at Scott so hard because he lost so many fish that were nibbling on his bait. He either yanked the string out too soon or too late. He pulled up empty fish hook after empty fish hook, and they were teasing him in Vietnamese. I understood everything and was laughing with them. Scott understood nothing and was still laughing with them. Ignorance is bliss.

Scott finally caught a little small guy, and I wanted in on the game too. I threw my line in the water, got a nibble, yanked, caught a fish and then dropped it in mid-air. It was disappointing and anti-climatic at the same time. One of Ngan’s uncles had moved to the opposite side of the pond where the big guys (catfish) were feeding. We saw him yank a large one up and almost slip into the pond. The other uncle came running to his rescue, stripping off his pants, and jumping into the water, but to no avail. The wily creature had taken the bait and left the hook out to dry.

Rookie with the bamboo fishing pole

Water lily

Tien and Ngan fishing

The master fisherman

She's a natural!

After awhile, we weren’t getting any nibbles, so we decided to move to a different area. I learned that when you fish, you have to move to different areas because the fish know and won’t bite the bait. I moved to this tiny little area, got a nibble, and yanked that sucker out! It was exhilirating even though the fish was tiny and probably weighed less than ¼ pound. I now see why some people love fishing. Pulling the writhing fish out of the water may be worth all the waiting for some people. I ended up catching three more within in a span of twenty minutes. Scott was climbing and moving all over the place, pulling up empty lines. He caught two more, but never got the big fish he was after. 

Scott's fish

He caught one!

He caught a massive catfish

We had brought about 30 pairs of glasses to give to Ngan’s family, and we shyly began handing them out after our fishing adventure. The first pair we gave out was to one of her animated and young-at-heart uncles, who I later discovered was missing a leg. Soon enough, her entire family was packed into the living room, and we were fitting all of them. They were so happy and grateful for the glasses. Ngan was beaming with pride and pure joy to be involved in this gift to her family. It was like we were in a crowded market, exchanging stronger prescription for weaker ones, while trying to have all the members read small font print. Word spread like wild fire, and the whole neighborhood was in Ngan’s living room getting reading glasses. There is no way to describe the magic in their eyes as they put on that first pair that allowed them to see up close again. One old lady, Ngan’s close neighor, could not stop smiling. She kept her glasses on and kept looking at the seams on everyone’s shirts. I imagine that it has been quite a few years since she has been able to see a needle and thread clearly. Many of these women need glasses mostly for doing their handiwork and daily activities—sewing, cooking, and dialing the telephone. Scott noticed the same old lady staring at the stucco wall in awe as she admired the texture that was blind to her before. We got a picture with everyone to commemorate this wonderful occasion.

Big, happy family

Scott the Giant

More happy faces

Not the smiling type, but very grateful

Ngan's uncle with his new glasses

Ngan's aunt and uncle

For lunch, Ngan’s mom cooked us banh xeo, Vietnamese pancakes filled with beansprouts, pork, and shrimp. She made us so many; we ate until our hearts were content. They then taught me how to make banh xeo, so I went into their kitchen and cooked away—spreading the batter out into a pan, filling it with the meat, and folding and flipping it like an omelet. Scott and I also tried a brand new fruit for the first time called binh bac. I have no idea what the English translation is, and I could not find it on the internet. This fruit is supposedly unique to the countryside, and one cannot get them in other cities. From the outside, the fruit looked like a mango, and it smelled beautiful, almost like oranges. Inside, it is full of seeds and much care and perseverance must be taken to enjoy its meat. Ngan’s mom made it into a drink for us by taking out the flesh and seeds, crushing it with ice, and adding a spoonful of sugar. The result was a delicious interactive drink that tasted of oranges and soursop and took almost an hour to finish. 

Audrey learns to cook banh xeo while others eat lunch

Her first banh xeo!

The Vietnamese believe in different foods being mat (cool) and nong (hot). The cooler it is, the better it is for your internal body. Hot foods make you break out and are generally not as healthy for you. Being raised with this belief, it somehow makes sense to me, and I am drawn to eating foods that are more mat, and I am a little afraid of eating foods that are too hot. Scott had a hard time understanding this traditional belief as it seems a bit arbitrary and does not make much sense. For instance, mango, lychee, chom chom, and longan are all fruits that are extremely hot for you, but you do not feel physically hot when you eat them. It’s more of an internal hotness that you just know. Eating foods such as cucumber and bitter melon are mat, and apparently, binh bac is extremely cooling for your body as well. Scott and I enjoyed the health benefits of the binh bac as we imagined it cooling our insides and working its magic in our bodies. 

Once we finished the drink, we took a little tour of Ngan’s neighborhood. We walked to field across from the brown river. There was a dog that was guarding one of the houses and barked frantically as we walked by. He bared his teeth and looked like he was on the attack. Scott decided to kick at the air in front of us, and it made everything so much worse. Another dog came out, and there was an uproar.

Tien kept yelling, “Don’t do that! Don't do that!" and everyone laughed at Scott. He kept saying he thought it would make the dog leave us alone.

We slipped by unharmed and before our very eyes, I saw the greenest green I have ever seen. You have never seen green unless you have seen a rice patty. A perfectly groomed lawn dims in comparison to the green leaves of rice as it grows. It is bright and almost fluorescent. We learned our lesson and on the way back, we ignored the dogs even though they continued to bark ferociously at us. 

Bridge on our hike

River toilet

Inspecting the flora

Super green rice patties

We stopped by Ngan’s neighbor’s hammock coffee shop. This is exactly what it sounds like. There are about 20 hammocks tied to the posts of the hut, and one can order drinks while relaxing in any one of them. We sat to chat with the neighborhood women, and just like Scott is a celebrity in the hospital, he was a heartthrob here. I think that they do not see Westerners often. The women were very curious about Scott’s life, his parents, and how much money they made. They kept whispering about how handsome he was, and he just smiled, not understanding a word unless I translated. As the old man in the hospital did before, the women urged Scott to marry a Vietnamese woman. This time, I just ignored it, but Ngan, as always, came to my defense, explaining that Scott and I were a couple. They apologized, and I laughed and said it was no problem at all. I was used to it. The women also wanted to know how much money we spent in a day, and I said $15 USD for the both of us. To us, that is extremely inexpensive because it includes living expenses, eating, and hobbies. They said they only spent $2 USD a day. Boy, did that put some things in perspective for us. Ngan’s family must have gone above and beyond to host us because they prepared so much delicious food for us. The food was so abundant, we could hardly finish it. 

Sometimes the locals also laugh at me because I sometimes sound like I can speak Vietnamese well, so they start speaking quickly with me. I always have to stop them and say, “I don’t understand.” At this point, they tease me for jumping in with all my bravado when I cannot understand. I have to explain that I understand a lot, but certain words that I have never heard before, I just don’t know. However, they always tease me in jest or in fun, and I, to them. I think Scott and I are just pure entertainment to the people here since our ways are just so Western.

After the coffee shop, we headed back to Ngan’s house minutes before a huge tropical downpour. Scott realized that he lost his phone, and we suspected it was under the hammock he tried out, and Ngan ran through the pouring rain to get it for him. She came back successful and explained that she was so scared he might have lost it. That just goes to show how sweet Ngan is. She cares for us, genuinely enjoys our company, and enjoys showing us around Rach Gia and her hometown. Ngan and Tien have really added to our experience here.

We headed home in the rain and said our goodbyes. Ngan’s mom invited us to come again during our free time. We felt like we had already been accepted into their family. That just goes to show how the community is here in Kien Giang Province.

-Audrey

See the rest of Scott's full-size photos here:http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbauer810/sets/72157627011360334/with/5855972348/