Last Day in Saigon

Today I had lunch with the representative of a company with whom we do business in Viet Nam. It's easier if she has a name, so for ease of reference I will call her Thanh (which means "Green" in Vietnamese). We had been shopping in the morning at the Ben Tai (sp?) Market. Even though our work was finished yesterday, she very generously spent several hours with me. First sent a car to the hotel to collect me, then did all of the negotiating at the market, figured out what I decided to get myself as a souvenier (sp? -- again) and then purchased it for me as a gift, and once shopping was completed, took me to lunch. A member of her team had mentioned to me that her bargaining skills are so sharp that she often helps her co-workers with their shopping. So, first a bit about the bargaining process.

Keep in mind that everything is happening in Vietnamese so, I don't have any of the language context from the process. So, if / when something caught my eye, Thanh would then ask me what I liked about it, let's use chopstick sets for example, which color, stone, shell, wood inlay, which box style, would I buy one or more than one. I would pick a couple that I liked and she would then inspect them. Thanh explained that the first set that I picked was made of an inferior quality wood and if I really wanted that one she would try to get a very cheap price, but the second one was quite nice. I explained that I like the other box better and that the chopstick holders in another set reminded me of surf boards. And that this would be an item for me as we currently keep our chopsticks on the windowsill in our kitchen. And now the Vietnamese begins. Thanh begins inspecting each chopstick like it is going to be presented to an emperor, examining the color, the pattern, the smoothness of the wood, they way the inlay hits, the wood, every detail, every chopstick -- as if time is standing still. She was talking to the merchant the entire time and clearly there were chopsticks not up to snuff because the merchant produces a big bag of chopsticks grouped together by wood, inlay pattern, style, etc. and now several chopsticks are being reject and the conversation continues in Vietnamese. One of the young women working at the stall brings a stool over for me to sit on and I think that this is a sign this isn't going to be negotiated quickly. The chopsticks of matching style begin the examination process until there is a complete set and now the inspection of the box begins. I have no idea how long we were at this one stall inspecting and negotiating for chopsticks. It seemed like a very long time, but the stuffy heat and humidity definitely influenced that feeling. The final price ended up being about one third of what was shown as the price on the set. At each stall, the process was similiar, first identify what will be purchased, then begin examining the quality and rejecting those that aren't the quality desired, and finally once all pieces are selected and determined to be of suitable quality a price is reached. Thanh would turn to me tell me how much it would be in US and ask me if that's OK, because that's the best she can do in the negotiation. At one stall, the price was approximately US$5.00, which I was more than happy to pay, but sure enough, I handed the merchant a Fiver and she gives me my purchase AND 10,000VND (about 55 cents).

So, after all this shopping I wanted to buy lunch for Thanh, but she would not have it. We went to a Vietnamese restaurant and had a very delicious meal of grouper, 100 mile flower, banana, star fruit, noodles, and the typical veggie accompanying items -- all to be rolled up in rice paper and dip in sauce. The group was incredible! First the brought the fish out in a bucket to see if it was acceptable and then took it back and steamed it in a, savory sauce with lots of ginger and green onion and other spices that I couldn't identify. Thanh explained that she doesn't eat much meat, that she group up in the middle of vietnam where there are many streams and lakes and she is used to eating fresh water fish. I wish I had taken pictures, but at this point the pictures are few and far between.

Over lunch Thanh explained that her sister has been living in Vancouver for quit some time. She is an accountant of some sort for the Canadian Govt and she believes that Thanh is being selfish by not moving to Canada. Thanh's twin daughters are nine years old and her sister believes it is her duty to her children to move them so that they will have a good future. And then she explained that life in Viet Nam is difficult for women because husbands do not accept their wives as part of their family -- the children are their family, but wives are the daughters of the father. She is 10 years younger than I am. She went on to explain that wives are not only expected to work full time, take care of all of the children's needs and errands, do all of the shopping, laundry, cooking, and cleaning in their own home, but they are expected to go to their husbands family home and shop, cook, and clean for them. And if the wife complains or doesn't do these things cheerfully, the husband can tell the wife to get out or he can leave her and have no responsibility for the future of the children. Even if one can accept this life for oneself, it is very difficult to think of this life for ones daughter.