Family

I walk and I watch. I sit on my terrace and I watch. People fascinate me. Endlessly entertaining, I love the street theater of people out and about. In Vietnam, a great portion of the day is spent in plain view. Shops open onto the street, living spaces are open, and people congregate at impromptu sidewalk cafes and in front of workplaces. The community is in the open, observable most any time of day, morning through evening.

Here in Can Tho, with its riverside promenade, Vietnamese life is even more observable. Here is my particular observation of this evening. Vietnamese people seem to be very devoted parents. Children are doted on everywhere I go, by both women and men. One of the fastest ways to get the nod of approval from the Vietnamese matrons is to make go-go eyes and silly faces at whatever small child is about.

Below my terrace, the square is full of families. Little kids dash or toddle about with their parents in tow. I have yet to see a parent resort to harsh words or swatting the kids. I know that Vietnamese parents are not perfect, but based on continued observation they are, indeed, very devoted. The dads that I can see right now, and there are many, seem to vastly enjoy walking behind their offspring as they careen about the square under Uncle Ho's beneficent bronze smile.

I have my own little gag that I have been pulling with the local kids. When I am walk-about, kids will shout out "Hello!" to me. I quickly answer "Sing Chao," which is of course Hello in Vietnamese. They think this is pretty funny and so do their parents.

The small joys of being the Other. Be well and try to smile at a kid today. It will do you a world of good.