I had the most interesting day, the kind of day that you never expect and could only experience on a trip like this. After a six-hour trip into Vietnam, I checked into my floating hotel at Chau Doc on the Mekong River and wandered into town to explore. Unlike everywhere else I have been so far, Chau Doc is not a typical stop on the tourist trail and there were no foreigners anywhere to be found. So it was just me, wandering around, soaking in the local flavor.
I found a store that sold English-language books and wandered in to take a look. After speaking with the owner a bit, I found a Vietnamese phrasebook for about $2. Of course it is a photocopied copyright violation but beggars can't be choosers so I bought it. As I will be in Vietnam for 19 days, I figured it might come in handy. The owner of this bookstore also teaches an English class and he invited me to go and guest-teach! It was such an interesting experience meeting his students (12-18) - they had never even met an American before. I conversed with them (fitfully but in good fun) for about an hour and a half and then the teacher helped me get back to my hotel. I think it's one of those experiences I'll never forget, and hopefully equally memorable for the students.
[Some of you may be wondering why I blog so much (shouldn't I be out doing things?) but rest assured I am out and about having a good time - it's just that Internet is so ubiquitous (even on my floating hotel in the Mekong Delta) that it's easy to have updates. Tomorrow I have a full day of tour activities starting at 7 AM so I'm off for now. ]
What a great experience! It's amazing that it is the travel highlights that you don't plan that are often the most memorable!
ReplyDeleteYou should take advantage of the English language bookstore. Maybe they are more frequent in South East Asia than South America, but we often had a tough time finding much to read in English other than a dictionary, so take advantage if you want something to read.
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