Page two thoughts...
2/15/2019
Today’s topic: Tet: It’s a real challenge to imagine that a metropolitan city estimated to contain 15% (~7 million) of a county’s ~97 million people (https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-biggest-cities-in-vietnam.html ; http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/vietnam-population/ ) can become a ghost town overnight…and then remain that way for a week! Challenging that is, until you actually experience it firsthand! This amazing phenomenon occurred during the recent Tet holiday season. From February 2 through February 10, the city streets of Hà Nội magically emptied. Now…I’m not going to say completely, 100% emptied, but I will say, emphatically, “darn near, almost, just about, roughly 97.3514% empty”!! Yes folks, it is true. I do not exaggerate! For the first time since my arrival in this intriguing city, I walked down sidewalks without continually dodging motorbike after motorbike (yes, driving on the sidewalk) and simultaneously navigating through an endless press of people! Furthermore, for days I mindlessly crossed major streets without looking left, right, and behind me the entire way! But best of all, for 9 glorious days I inhaled the warm early spring air deep into my lungs without my trusty Airphin “Life is in the air, 95+ Barcelona Design Premium Filtering PM2.5, V-shape, antifogging, Co2 valve equipped, Optimum Filtering up to 50 hours of use, washable, U.S. OSHA protocol 29CFR1910.134 quantitative fit-tested, 95% filtration efficient in real performance, ergonomically designed to protect [me] from serious and lasting effects of air pollution” face mask (https://www.airphin.com/) stuck to the front of my mug like that face-hugging creature in the 1979, Ridley Scott-directed, sci-fi horror classic “Alien” (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/ )!! But all was not well in Hà Nội during Tet. Alas, my favorite neighborhood coffee shop was closed.
Bonus round: Somebody recently asked me how my Vietnamese was coming along after five months of lessons. Perhaps this quote attributed to the late Robert J. McCloskey, a former U. S. State Dept. Spokesman, says it all: “I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant”.
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