Sai Gon. March 8, 2001. Phu Nu Day. Mom tells me that weÂ’ve discovered five letters awaiting at the house apparently collected from the post office, and the people working for my aunt have finally communicated the news to the post man to deliver my letters to the house. There is one missing, however, from Kaly, so I will ask him to double check for your letter, K (and Albert, did you send one from Nathaniel?).

I've learned a number of words in the last week, but especially funny is an idiom my friend Lan (in my office) taught me: "Co chi thi nen." It means "To have 'chi' is 'nen.'" Which in turn, I asked her, "why is having 'chi' 'nen'?" and she asked me, "well, do you know what 'chi' means?"

Sure, I do. It means lice. Laughter ensued and Lan finally understood my confusion. Chi is a homonym for 'will.' What she said was "where there's a will, there's a way" or, conversely, "If one has a will, one's life will work out successfully." What I had translated was "If one has lice, one's life will work out successfully."

Vietnamese is so difficult beyond the nuances in accents, tones, and even consonants because it is filled with subtleties in meaning or alternate vocabulary that is used precisely for the sense you are conveying.

The word "to wear" for example, has many versions. If you wear a hat, you say "doi." If you wear a shirt you say "mac." You also use "mac" if you say "to wear black" or other adjective. If you wear glasses or jewelry you use "deo." If you wear shoes or socks you say "mang."

The other reason Vietnamese is so difficult to learn is that the language itself is enriched with pronouns and words to use depending on your position, age, and/or status with others. This is why there are four words for uncle, four for aunt, and countless others for I, you, he, she, and we. Having this copious amount of pronouns also ensures that all people involved in a conversation can understand the relationship between the two people talking. My father's older brothers are called Bac, his older sisters Bac gai. His younger brother's are Chu, his younger sisters are Co. My mother's brothers are Cau and my mother's sisters are Di. To add to this, my father's sisters-in-law are called Tiem, his brothers-in-law are called Duong. My mother's sisters-in-law are called Mo, and her brothers-in-law are called Cau.

Then there's a list of pronouns that represent relationships for the generation above and the generation below. Add to that the pronouns you must use for friends and strangers -- there are several that all depend on how close you are to the person you're speaking with. On top of all this, one must remember certain words that are used with youth cannot be used for elders. For example, if I give my aunt something, I "bieu" it to her. If I give something to my friend or younger cousin, I just "cho" it to her. In this way, the language and its usage has created and withheld an amazing level of respect for elders -- it is ingrained in our language and hence, in our way of life. Back to the many ways of saying things, if I'm gifting something to someone, I "tang" it to them. If I am gifting something to someone's friend or other third-party, I "goi" it to them. Instead of messing about with the pronoun circus, I just speak in the third person (hey, it's acceptable here as proper speech)! Enough of Vietnamese 101 for an afternoon.

Today is Phu Nu Day – Women’s Day in Vietnam. It’s either a relatively huge holiday or the locals are great about celebration in general. Xuan Anh, one of the two who works for me (and one of only 4 males in our office) gave all the women roses today which only encouraged the young singles to swoon a bit more than they already do. The entire office is under 30. There are only 3 people older than me. The print shop works all night tonight and tomorrow morning we check films… Crossing my fingers that all has gone well.
Keep your letters coming! H.