Local people

The spirit of the local people we have met so far is best exemplified by a woman I met on the streets of Ha Noi. She was selling tee shirts with beautifully woven flowers and other decorations. (Woven may not be the correct word, needle point?) I expressed disinterest, not in the market, and kept walking. A little later, she asked again if I would buy one, or a cap. I kept on. Again, she approached me and asked what I was looking for. "A copying business." She pointed further down the way. Several blocks later I had not found it. She offered to show me the way. "Okay." When we arrived where she thought the business was located, she found upon inquiry that it had relocated. After we sat on a step to a storefront, she used my map to point out the way. Then, we began talking. She knew English and started a conversation about how years are calculated locally. Nine months in the womb is the first year, followed by the next nine months, the second year, etc. In contrast, conventional annual calculations begin with birth. Turns out she is has two daughters and is the same age as my daughter. At some point, she returned to requesting that I purchase something and we looked over her beautiful tee shirts. She said that she knew I will buy one because of the way I greeted her at the first encounter. She was right. I bought one which caught my eye for my daughter. After showing on my map where the copy business was, she offered to show me. I said that I could find it. However, she stayed with me and we found the establishment and I had my copies. We talked enroute. I asked what her husband does for work. "He is a farmer." I said, "That's wonderful!" She looked at me like I was crazy. I said he grows food and we need food to eat. She replied that it is very hard work and does not pay enough to take care of the family. "That's not right.'' This woman, named Ba, rides her bicycle 16 miles into Ha Noi everyday to sell beautiful tee shirts, hand decorated, to make ends meet. She had not had a sale in four days before she met me and knew I would buy one. She parted with a request to make other purchases from her.

Our articulate interpreter described the farmer women who are everywhere in Ha Noi, carrying food and things to sell with a pole having baskets suspended at each end. They all travel from rural villages into Ha Noi to sell. What strikes me is the warmth and dignity of these women. Ba is a talented and self-determined woman who could do well in middle class America. I hope she continues to do well in Vietnam.