Jackie has studied Vietnamese for some time. So far, only her, the Vietnamese people who talked to her, and God know her command of the language.

Some friends visited her one day. This was her chance to show them around Ho Chi Minh City, practice her Vietnamese, and “brag” a little about it.

Let’s see how things went.

I spent today showing a few new expats around the city and getting them situated into their new surroundings. It gave me a chance to a) practice my Vietnamese (and maybe brag a little) and b) realize how far I've come.

It's easy to forget the days you walked up to a street stall and relied heavily on your fingers; I'm so glad those days are over.

But there are still moments when I question just what language I'm speaking. The Vietnamese people seem to have two basic reactions to my attempts at their mother tongue: they don't quite understand me and they are too concerned about saving face to admit it; normally this is made very obvious by incredibly minute nods.

They make it clear that I exist and they can indeed hear me, but what they think of what I'm saying, who knows? Getting any solid indicators of understanding (or lack thereof) is like pulling teeth. And waiting for what they come up with is so suspenseful!

You never know what you're going to get. Or I start speaking Vietnamese and they do understand me and their faces light up and they start speaking a million miles a minute.

'Xin anh noi cham', is a phrase much uttered in my vocabulary. Luckily, most people are very willing to talk as slowly as you need them to and find ways around the words you don't understand. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Today allowed me to practice my Vietnamese in domains that I don't normally. Having a bike keeps me from needing taxis or xe oms and knowing how much things are (generally) reduces need for haggling.

I've gotten good at the Vietnamese I regularly practice, but the rest needs work. I can order a sinh to khong sua no problem, I can tell a taxi to queo phai o day, but change your blackberry service? Foreign territory.

You should hire a translator if you were thinking about having me get you acquainted with Vietnam!

Jackie

This material is provided by the Vietnamese Language Studies Saigon (VLS).