I got to say, I LOVE Vietnamese food: https://www.yahoo.com/news/obama-drop-pork-soup-stuns-vietnam-street-shop-045136726.html I think I am going to pick up a couple of banh mi's for lunch. Yummy in my tummy!
One of my friends is Vietnamese, he and his family came to the US after the fall of Saigon, so while his English is excellent, his native tongue is Vietnamese. One night several years ago, a bunch of us were out in Boston, and after a few (well, several) adult beverages, he talked us into going to this little hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese restaurant. He ordered everything in Vietnamese, and I asked him what he ordered. He said "Don't worry, just try it". Some of it was positively delicious, others I wasn't so fond of. To this day, I don't know what I ate that night, and probably don't want to know.
Yes, I had friend named Trinh who came in to this country around that time. Trinh's father asked me if I could please help tutor Trinh after school. So, after school, I would hop the chain link fence that was right next to my elementary school, in to the backyard of the apartment they were renting at that time. I would help Trinh with his homework, and his family would feed me great food. The father used to crack up when they offered me dishes I had never seen before. I guess I must have had a funny look on my face or something. Then one day, something really exciting happened. The Vietnamese church was having some kind of festival, and Trinh told me there would be an exhibition of Kung Fu that was native to Vietnam. Of course, all I heard was "Kung Fu". It was all I could talk about at home. My poor parents. I went to the festival with the family, and it was great! At one time, I had other Vietnamese friends at work. They taught me a little Vietnamese, much to the delight of the native speakers. It's kind of funny. Some of my Asian American friends tell me that in some ways, I am more Asian than them. :smile:
The tourism industry in Vietnam is slamming. Mostly Europeans, Australians and of course Chinese (and all the garbage they leave behind). The amount of hotel and resort construction up and down the coast is staggering. Those Commies love money and capitalism dollars, we may have lost a battle or two but certainly not the war. Yeah capitalism! /AustinPowers
