i am staying at this rental studio apartment, the inn. the inn keeper is in his 50s. he studied in the soviet union: first year as his language integration, sometime in the early 70s, in Kiev and then in Moscow at MGIMO (Moscow National University of International Relations, by the way, that's super prestigious, then and now, just think Harvard Law). he speaks fluent russian, which is better than his english. he misses kiev and russia, and goes there sometimes, although he hasnt been back to kiev since 2006. he misses russian winters, mostly snow and change of seasons, and hates Saigon weather (that makes two of us), preferring the weather in Hanoi, which is where he is originally from. although the weather in Hanoi is also not ideal: cold wind from china, but no snow.
after graduating from the university with an international finance degree, he worked in various embassies--russia, cuba, peru--before retiring. the inn is decorated with reproductions of famous russian paintings and originals from cuba and latin america: colorful cuban landscapes, beautiful peruvian vistas. sometimes we chat, usually over vietnamese coffee downstairs in the 'lobby'. we talk about the politics in russia, we talk about the economy in vietnam. things have gotten really corrupt, no one wants to work, everyone just wants to sit outside and drink tea.
every time i go out, i get concerns and practical advise. do not walk alone, better to take a cab (that since like overkill). do not take your (giant) purse with you--there are many pickpockets. there is nothing in my bag so very little to pick-pocket, yes, but they dont know that. be careful of bikers, bikers are crazy, do not get on any bikes, even i dont ride them. that's a very good point. he asks me how i like saigon. when i tell him i like the combination of different architectural styles in historical epochs next to each other, traditional asian with colonial french, he responds with 'so such an ugly picture!"
he, his wife, and their child live in the studio on the first floor. the wife is his second wife, and is lovely, although she speaks no english and communicates with me with gestures and google translate. she is my age and leaves fresh flowers in my room--woman's attention to detail. their daughter is adorable, is 19 months old, and definitely has a name...which i cannot reproduce. the girl, when she is not in daycare, watches "Masha and the bear' glued to the screen, sometimes right in front of the screen, sometimes upside down on teh couch. 'masha and the bear' is a russian cartoon about masha, an annoyingly precocious toddler, who makes life of the bear unbearable, but who out of his sheer love for masha tolerates it nonetheless. the cartoon has adult undertones, not creepy ones, but social and political commentary on life, which makes it very enjoyable for adults. in fact, my very adult brother and i watch it together when i visit dallas. when not glued to the screen, the daughter and i are buds: she waves hello and goodbye, shares her morning bread roll, and stirs my coffee, although i'm pretty sure the coffee stirring is simply her way of getting her hands onto things.
the inn keeper has two children who are in irvine, and he travels to the US frequently to visit and hang out. he also has many friends, most of them former college buddies, who have all spent time in the soviet union and speak some proficiency of russian. the tour guide was one of his friends, the other, 'fedya' is another tour guide whose russian is spotless and who talked non-stop for our entire introduction, about the past, their college life, current business, tourism, and whatever else.
somehow the world seems to be a very small place, where one can find familiarity even in southern vietnam. oh, and if you're ever in saigon, stay at the lucky studio apartments.
No comments:
Post a Comment