Neighborhood Adventure

Maddy Blais

Motorcycles whizzed by me as I sat in my taxi making slow progress down the street. I was on my way home from school looking out the window of what seemed like a cage, bored with my usual routine. My thoughts drifted to a letter that my brother had written me before I left, “Let me be the one to say that you need to take some little risks… Most of the great stuff I remember from abroad was the spontaneous unplanned disasters that turned into something meaningful to me.” I was suddenly struck with a sense of captivity and a need to escape and pursue some “spontaneous unplanned disasters.” Yelling stop to the taxi driver and shoving some bills into his hands, I hurriedly climbed out of the car. It was a breath of fresh air to be free—I mean this figuratively because at that moment I seemed to be barraged by the putrid smells of burning trash and cooking dog meat! Still, I was excited for my adventure and I carried on without any complaints. Winding down the street I stopped in stores trying on clothes and browsing for fresh fruit. I practiced my Vietnamese, poorly I might add, with some vendors and managed to buy a bouquet of flowers. When I finally reached my house, about an hour later, I found myself locked out! Often in the afternoons the maid in my house takes a walk with my brother, and today seemed to be one of those days. Leaving my flowers on the driveway, I walked back down the street in pursuit of a café. Finding only a small drink shop, I settled down and attempted to get some homework done. Unfortunately this is quite difficult to accomplish when you can feel 10 sets of eyes on you at all times! Apparently I had caused quite a stir by sitting down at this corner shop which is usually only inhabited by Vietnamese men. Finally one of the men approached me and asked me where I was from. I was surprised he spoke English, but I must say that I was really glad to have someone to talk to. We talked for a while and eventually when the conversation died out I began doing homework again. I struggled for a while with the difficult Vietnamese assignment until I realized I have the perfect resource at my hands! A native Vietnamese speaker! The man helped me to finish my homework until finally I heard my name called from down the street. I wondered vaguely how my maid had managed to find me but eventually gave up the peculiar thought when I could find no reason. Later I found out that Co Thuy (my maid) had seen the flowers I had left in the driveway and had gone searching for me. She hadn’t walked far when she heard two men talking about an American girl they had seen walking down the street. Moving along she heard two flower vendors laughing about the silly blonde girl who had paid twice the going price for a bouquet of flowers. Finally she heard two little girls giggling about a white girl who was sitting around the corner at a drink shop! Who knew that just walking down the street could leave such an impression! That day proved to me that one of the most important things I can do in Vietnam and in life is to be spontaneous.