Wandering around the city tonight, I passed a Viet security guard sat in a tiny chair. Those who sit for hours watching bikes. I was in a very local part of the city, where it's rare to find people who look like me.

He gave me a smile and fist bumped me. So I said “Anh có khỏe không?” (How are you?).

He then got very excited, “khỏe!” (I'm good!) he said, and then invited me to sit and drink with him.

Language learning really reveals the world to you in a different way.

7 months ago · 👍 freezr, johano, bookscorpion, director, gritty, not4uffinonmobile, bavarianbarbarian, virtueisdead

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7 Replies

this is awesome · 7 months ago

@martin true, my coworker was about 60 years and performed better than most of the others. grabbed the big Hilti, toolbox, cables and stuff and 'ran' up to level 8 of the building, asking 'wei ju ah so slowlie?' · 7 months ago

@bavarianbarbarian Haha yeah! You see guys here, 60-70 years old and ripped like they were 30. Insane. · 7 months ago

i had a co worker from vietnam, a really nice guy. we shared our meals and stuff to get in touch. but when this tiny, little guy got angry.. well then you know why the usa left vietnam &) · 7 months ago

@director Haha awesome, love that. I hope you had fun riding around Hội An... it's such a pretty place to explore by bike! And I hope in the end, you indeed had "no problem" :) · 7 months ago

Vietnam is one of the friendliest places I've ever visited, and I love reading your stories!

On a trip to Hội An, my wife finally convinced me to rent a scooter with her, claiming she used to ride them all the time as a teenager (not true, but I needed the push). As we struggled to get it started, she let out an exasperated "Come on!" and the man at the rental replied, "Không sao!" · 7 months ago

If any of you lot have similar stories, let's share them here :) · 7 months ago