Ho Chi Minh City

Aaron was whisked from the plane to an awaiting chauffeured car like he was some kind of VIP. Thoroughly jet-lagged, this only made his head swirl even more. He had never ever had anybody drive him around before, except his mom and that was to school and back or to friend’s houses and back. And that was when he was in high school. He was now a junior at UC Santa Barbara, and driving himself everywhere was more than routine.

But this more than routine.

This was Aaron’s first time abroad. His closest friends, Dexter and Finn, had been to Europe and their stories made him want to go somewhere. Anywhere. He couldn’t wait to discover what it was like to experience another culture, another language and another lifestyle. To know how different all these things were and to celebrate them with them would be his prime objective. He also saw himself as an ambassador for America’s less-ugly side. Aaron would make sure he accommodated them instead of making them accommodate him. He’d adopt their rituals and customs as quickly as he could assimilate them. Aaron’s Cultural Anthropology classes made him more than ready for this.

To ensure he got a taste of something truly exotic and to have different stories than his friends, Aaron had decided to go to Southeast Asia. He had no prior interest in the region, but this merely lowered his expectations, and thus, added to the freshness of the experience. His only trouble was the funding. Dexter and Finn’s parents were on the rich side, so they helped them with most of the cash they needed. Aaron had no such luck. His mother had already helped him with tuition and was in no position to give him any more money. His father had died several years back and the rest of the family wasn’t what anyone would call “well-to-do”. So, in the end, Aaron took a job as an ESL teacher in Ho Chi Minh City since it was the only position that didn’t require prior experience or a degree or training. The only prerequisite was that the applicant be a native speaker of English. It also included free room and board, which would save him tons. Plus, he thought a job that had communication at its core would be ideal for fully immersing himself in their culture and it would perfectly position Aaron to be that cross cultural ambassador he had envisioned.

As the city magically lit up the night sky, he was wide-eyed. His face was practically attached to the window as he took in the mixtures of old and new. Squat ancient pagodas and temples decorated with dragon statues and thick curved roofs alongside tall modern, glass-fronted office buildings and hotels. It was like the city was unashamed of its history. Southern California was nothing like this. Getting something preserved demanded a small handful of concerned individuals petition for thousands of signatures that they may or may not get versus the default position of America being one of saving what is the old for future generations to enjoy and admire. Aaron imagined it would be more widespread if there were a clear profit motive.

The car stopped outside a row of businesses. None of which was his hotel. The chauffeur opened the door curbside. Smiling, he gestured for Aaron to get out, saying in English, “Please come.” Still blurry from the traveling, he did as he was told.

Aaron followed the chauffeur up a flight of stairs and into a room full of twenty or so adult Vietnamese students. All of the students had their eyes fixed on him and were smiling broadly. They seemed quite eager for him to say or do something. Aaron could only think enough to smile back.

Before it seemed like it couldn’t any more awkward, a small, elderly man with a greying Amish beard and obvious hair plugs appeared in front of Aaron, his hand extended.

“Good evening, Mr. Aaron. Welcome to Tôn Hải Dũng School #21. I am the school director, Dr. Dũng. Please say hello to everyone.”

Though this gave Aaron some relief, the words were fired so sharply at him that he nearly lost his footing as he pivoted around to face the class.

He was still conscious enough to say, “Hello everyone.”

“Excellent. Mr. Aaron. Excellent” – Dr. Dũng then addressed the class – ” Do any of you have any questions for Mr. Aaron?”

Surprisingly, there were many hands. The director selected the students by name. Aaron, still cloudy, tried to field their questions as best he could and remain polite. That’s what ambassadors do, right?

“Where are you from?” “Goleta.”
No recognition. “California.”

This brought many ahhs and ohhs.

“Have you been to Disneyland?

“Yes. I have been there many times.”

This made the students laugh.

“Do you like Vietnam?”

“Yes.”

Cheers.

“What is your favorite Vietnamese food?”

“Phở.”

He was starting to get into the swing of this.

But then.

“Are you married?”

Aaron blushed. He wasn’t ready for that one. It also didn’t help that the prettiest girl in the class asked the question. Everyone was waiting.

Finally, “No. I’m not married.”

This was met with more ohhs and ahhs and other girls looking over at the one that had asked the question. She was sitting there being smug.

Aaron tried not to blush again. He was far from what you’d call a lady’s man back in the States. He had one girlfriend in high school, but it only lasted six months. He had another at UCSB, but that lasted an even shorter time. Dating, for him, was a joke. It wasn’t because Aaron was mean

or anything. It was more the opposite. He always felt rather shy and uncertain around them. He could never really relax. He often felt that next word he would say or the next thing he would do would be the wrong thing to say or do, and that would drive them away. In the end, he ended up being way too nice to them, door-mat-ish, and this drove them away anyway.

Thankfully, that was the last question. Aaron was anxious to sleep off some of this jet-leg.

But the chauffeur didn’t go his hotel. Aaron soon found himself set in front of another set of students at another Tôn Hải Dũng school just a few miles away. #19. Virtually the same thing happened there, except this time he was greeted and introduced by the assistant director, Dr. Thưởng. At least Aaron was slightly more prepared for the students’ questions this time.

Another school followed. #11. This time there was another teacher to greet him; this one was Vietnamese, a Ms. Pham. Though the atmosphere was much more relaxed due to the absence of a school administer, Aaron was finding it very hard to relax. Not only was tired body demanding immediate rest, but questions were beginning to break through; most wondering why no one had told him they were going to do this and why they weren’t taking his long day of traveling into consideration and most importantly, what was the reason for all these quick-little school visits. Maybe if Aaron weren’t so jet-lagged, he might be enjoying this: being treated like some kind of reality show celebrity. And it was very possible that they weren’t aware of how exhausted he actually was. He reasoned that this was his first lesson in Vietnamese culture. This must be the way the Vietnamese showed how much they valued their new employees. They wasted no time giving them a tour of their workplace and introducing them to others. Aaron inwardly praised their efficiency and care, which brought a smile back to his face and he proceeded to make more of an effort to answer their questions.

The fifth school visit was the last one, and everything went perfectly smoothly since Aaron let down his guard and went with the flow. He even managed to muster up a few simple puns that the students laughed at.

Aaron barely took in the hotel as he took elevator to the lobby, registered, and found his way to his room. All that registered was that it was definitely on the ritzy side, which meant that it catered to foreign visitors and wealthier locals. The only thing that truly caught his eye was the bed, which he crawled into as soon as he undressed.

Aaron felt a billion times better when he woke up in the morning. The first thing he noticed was that his luggage was gone. Though still somewhat hazy, he remembered them being in the center of the room the moment his head hit the pillow. His panic was quickly averted when found all everything was either hung up in the closet or neatly put away in drawers. Must’ve been the bellhop, but he had no memory of a bellhop. Regardless of who it was, it was stellar service and he felt bad about not leaving them a tip.

Downstairs was a breakfast buffet, and Aaron was struck by the vast array of eastern and western items. On one side of the room there were eggs and bacon, a chef preparing omelets and anther making waffles, yogurt and fresh fruit; while on the other side of the room there was a phở station, rice vermicelli dishes, rice porridge and pig’s liver pate and vegetable sandwiches. There was even a broad selection of Chinese and Japanese foods, like steamed buns, deep-fried dough sticks, miso soup, grilled fish, and natto.

Aaron had read that it was common for Asians to have soup for breakfast, so he wasn’t surprised to see the phở station and he made a beeline for it. A broad-smiling server put a bowl full of brown broth and rice noodles on a tray and asked him to choose his meat, which ranged from chicken innards to brisket to well done steak and even boiled beef blood. In America he had avoided the rare beef option, but his reading had also told him that the South Vietnamese tradition was to use rare beef, so he went for that. The server then placed small plate full of mung bean sprouts, Thai basil, and a wedge of lime and green chili peppers. Everything looked fresh and of a good quality. Aaron was then told that he’d find hot chili sauce and black bean sauce on the table. A long pause followed. The server must’ve said something else since he looked eager for a reply, but Aaron was so primed to dive into the phở that he didn’t hear it. Without losing his smile, he simply repeated what he had said. Turns out all he wanted was to know Aaron’s room number, so he could put it on the bill and that he should have a good day.

As expected, the phở was mind-blowing, and he resolved to have it for breakfast every day.

Aaron emerged into the sticky sunlight to find the chauffeur parked at the curb just in front of the hotel. As they drove, he noticed each store, restaurant or office was crammed against its neighbor with two or three flights of apartments on top of each of them. Weaved across every street in every possible direction were masses of electrical cables and telephone wires. These thick cords would eventually wind their way to the many metal poles that dotted the sidewalks; each heaving with multiple transformers, fuses and isolators. Aaron thought they looked like the untidy innards of primitive robots. And then there were the scooters and mopeds. Aaron had not seen so many in his entire life. The streets were so jam-packed with them, and with each moving in whatever direction suited them at a variety of different speeds, he was surprised that anyone could get anywhere at all. He was more surprised them that there wasn’t an accident every 12 seconds. Tôn Hải Dũng School #1 was a multi-story building hidden off the street by a gated entryway. The space leading to the main door was used to store student and staff bikes, mopeds, and scooters. It had little room for anything else. Immediately inside was the administrative office and it was a hub of activity. Staff, which Aaron observed were primarily women, was answering phones, typing at computers, talking to students, fetching textbooks, and sorting paperwork. No one seemed to notice him, so he walked up to the first available employee.

“Hello, good morning. My name is Aaron Gernsback. I’m a new teacher here.”

The female staff member looked up at him, smiled, looked back her computer, typed something and then smiled again at Aaron as she waited for something.

Aaron thought about repeating his greeting, but instead smiled back.
“Ah yes…ah…Mistall Ah’on. Welcome to Tôn Hải Dũng School. Plis follow me.”

She stood and directed Aaron through the back door of the office and up some stairs. They passed a set of doors that lead to a long corridor that fed into a hub of doorways. The woman chose the closest door on her left and invited Aaron to step inside.

He was greeted with twenty smiling eager faces with their eyes fixed on him. The young lady said something like goo lug Mistall Ah’on and disappeared. Aaron wanted to follow her out, but it was much too late for that so he turned toward the class and grinned as genuinely as he could. His eyes searched the room for any clues as to the level and/or the subject matter of the class he was now supposed to teach. The walls were bare. The whiteboard was clean. Books? No student had their book out. They were probably waiting for him to tell them to get them out. There was only one thing he could think of doing. Start talking.

“Hello…”
“Hello” – the entire class said almost in unison.
Aaron kept smiling, trying hard to look sincere and trying harder not to look into their eyes. “Ah…yes. Good morning. My name is Aaron Gernsback. I am your teacher.”
“Goo mornin. Mistell Ah’on” – again in near unison.
Now what?

Aaron took another quick look round and spotted a set of felt-tip pens and an eraser at the far end of shelf under the whiteboard. He lunged at them, trying to make it look natural, and quickly scrawled his name on the board. He then pronounced it for them. The students tried to imitate his pronunciation, with most saying the exact same way they had said before. He tried again with the same results. Aaron tried not to panic. He focused in on the r of mister and pointed at certain

students to pronounce it after he did. No one could do it. He switched gears and had them focus on the pronunciation of the double-a of Aaron. Again no one could manage it.

He was sinking fast.

He searched his mind for the example activities he had read in the textbooks they had suggested he review before arriving in Ho Chi Minh City. There were so many; it had been a bit overwhelming. He figured that when he arrived there would be some sort of orientation or at least a quick briefing of what would be expected of him and he could do a more serious review of the textbooks then. The last thing Aaron expected was to be thrown in at the deep end without a paddle. This was crazy. But then he had to remind himself that was in a different culture and this must be the way they do things there. He had no right to be critical. Plus, they had given Aaron the books to review beforehand and it is he who decided to leave them to a later time. They can’t be held to blame for that.

As he swallowed hard, an idea popped into his head. He wrote on the whiteboard:

Hello, my name is _______________. Hello, my name is Aaron.
I am a ________ at Tôn Hải Dũng School. I am a teacher at Tôn Hải Dũng School. I like ________________. I like traveling.

Aaron had no idea if this was too basic for them, but he figured it was probably a safe place to start. He pointed at the completed sentences and said them aloud and then pointed to himself. He did this twice. After making sure he clearly identified himself as a teacher and them as students, he asked the farthest student from the door to say the three sentences about himself. This was clearly easy for him, and he rattled it off with only minor pronunciation problems. He was especially proud of how much he liked playing football. The next student, behind him, had similar pronunciation issues but also struggled with coming up with a word after like. She sounded like she initially was going to just copy the first student’s answer, but then swiftly changed it to food. Aaron proceeded to go from student to student who produced varying results,

but had no serious difficulties. He offered some minor corrections and answered the handful of questions that were asked. Seconds after everyone had finished, a buzz sounded throughout the building.

It clearly marked the end of class because the students immediately began putting their things away and chatter filled the room. Aaron hoped that they weren’t saying disparaging things about him, but they all continued to smile at him as they left it seemed unlikely.

The female staff member that had brought him to this class appeared in the doorway and said, “Nex’ cla here. You stay pliz.”

She turned to go, but Aaron caught her with, “Wait. What is this next class and what level is it?”

The woman looked puzzled, smiled and without a word, disappeared.

“No, wait…” – Aaron tried.

Now what was he supposed to do. He imagined he could wing it again. Maybe even do the exact same thing as he had just done in that class. But there was no way he could keep this up forever.

Two minutes later the woman returned, but this time with a printout in her hand. She pointed to the current time slot and said, “You tich grammall cla’ now Mistall Ah’on. Studen’ beginnall. Goo lug.”

Thankfully, she left the printout with him and he could now see his entire schedule. He was initially surprised by the number of classes he had been allotted. It was much more than they had said. He was down to teach five 1-hour classes a day six days a week. He was given a wide range of subjects to cover with students at a variety of different levels. But the thing that caught his eye most of all was that his first class that morning had started at 8:45am and he knew he hadn’t left his hotel until after 9:00. Why hadn’t they called the hotel or come inside to get him if they knew he were clearly running late? Why hadn’t anyone mentioned it to him when he arrived? No wonder things were so strange when he got there. It now made sense. His only hope was that he wasn’t in trouble. The students were filing in. He didn’t have time to think about that now.

Armed with this new knowledge, Aaron managed to get through the rest of his day with only a few more minor embarrassments. Well, that and taking every break between classes and his entire lunch hour to create a semblance of a plan for next each class. He was about to leave for the day when that female staff member stopped him again.

“Mistall Ah’on. Pliz follow me.”

This time she took him down the hall immediately behind the administrative office and up two flights of stairs to the only door on the landing. She knocked on it lightly.

A voice inside said, “Please come in.”
The woman opened the door and gestured for Aaron to step inside.

He froze. Across a desk full of medications was Dr. Dũng and what he could only guess was the director’s nurse. The director was looking down at something, giving Aaron a clearer view of Dr. Dũng’s hair plugs. It was either a shoddy job or he was getting it done in stages, because there were obvious gaps between each tuft of hair, exposing the length and root of each. Aaron tried not to look like he was staring as the school director lifted his head. In between his thumb and index finger was a small gray pill. The nurse took it from him and placed in one of the medicine bottles.

“Hello again, Mr. Aaron. Please have a seat” – Dr. Dũng’s English was near-native.

With those momentary distractions gone, Aaron’s feeling of dread returned. He had never been in a really trouble before. He certainly had never been called to the principal’s office nor had he ever come close to being arrested. He could easily imagine what did happen behind those doors. His parents had spelled it out for him time and time again. They told him about stern voices, pointed fingers, and severe punishments. They gave him no sense of hope and no sense of justice. They said that he would be solely at their mercy. Hector, a friend Aaron had briefly, confirmed this when he was kicked out school for only one minor outburst in class. In the end, Aaron’s parents, probably attempting to alleviate their own deep-rooted fears, got what they wanted: a very well-behaved kid. The damage would probably be lifelong.

Aaron shook as he took a seat. He hoped it wasn’t too noticeable.

“You probably know why I’ve asked you to come and see me?”

Aaron shook even more. He knew it was noticeable now. He couldn’t help it. It was his first day there and they were already unhappy with him and he was going to be sent hone. And then he’d have to explain to his friends and his family what happened. He hadn’t set his alarm and overslept and, what’s worse, was totally unprepared for his first day of classes. It was all his

fault. No question. If only he had remembered. He could blame the jet-lag, but he should’ve known better. What a first impression he must’ve made. Now he was going to miss out on everything he came there for. He won’t be able to learn any more about Vietnam, he won’t get to know some of their people, eat more of their food, listen to some of their music, visit any of their sites. Aaron imagined the bellhop repacking all his clothes and leaving his luggage in disarray on the curb outside the hotel. He was sure he’d have to find his own way to the airport. He had certainly lost his chauffeur privileges.

“I wanted to welcome you to Tôn Hải Dũng School, officially. We didn’t have time to chat last night and I was extremely busy this morning. How are you finding things?”

Aaron was speechless. This wasn’t a punishment. In fact, it sounded as though, the director didn’t know he had been late that morning. He needed a moment to collect his thoughts and calm his body.

“I hope everyone is treating you well. Please do let me know if you need anything.”
“Yes, Dr. Dũng” – he finally got out –“Everyone has been very good to me. Thank you.”
“Good. Good” – brightly smiling – “I’m so glad to hear that. Now is there…”
“Đã đến lúc dùng thuốc 4 giờ chiều” – the nurse interjects.
“Excuse me, Mr. Aaron. It’s now 4pm, so I must take my medication. Please give me a moment.”

As Dr. Dũng turns toward his nurse, Aaron notices for the first time that the school director is not wearing any pants. The whole time he was talking to him the man had only had on his boxer shorts and socks below his nicely pressed dress shirt. Again he tried not to be caught staring as Dr. Dũng turned back toward him.

“Mr. Aaron. Please let me know if you have any questions of concerns.”

Thoughts of his schedule distracted him again, but he hesitated saying anything. He didn’t want to sound like he was complaining; especially as he now knew he was not in any trouble. He also didn’t want to sound unappreciative on his first day. He decided to play it a different way.

“No, but it would be handy if I could have more books and materials for my classes.” “Certainly” – his face was beaming – “I’ll have Ahn take care of that for you.”

He had gestured toward the door. She must’ve the office staff member that had been helping me all morning.

“Now, you’re probably wondering about how and when you get paid.”

“Well, yeah. They hadn’t really…I mean, I was kind of wondering…but I’m not…”

Dr. Dũng gave him his broadest smile – “Of course you were. Of course you were. Now this is the way it works. Your position here is for five weeks, right? Yes. So we pay you when you’ve completed those five weeks. I just wanted to make that clear to you.”

“Oh, that-that’s clear…but…”
“But what if you need pocket money before then? “Yes, I might ne…”

“Of course you will. Of course you will. All you need to do is come to me and I will give whatever you need. In fact” – here, he lifted a finger and turned to the huge metal safe sitting beside him on the floor. After swiftly twisting out the combination, he reached in and pulled out a stack of bills about one inches thick. Aaron could see the safe was full of many other larger stacks of bills – “Here. Take this to start. 932,000 dong. That’s should at least get you through the week. But, naturally, if need more, please come and ask. Oh, and Mr. Aaron, this and any other pocket money you require will not be deducted from your salary.”

Aaron thanked Dr. Dũng, and after the school director wished him good luck, Aaron exited his office. Aaron looked at the huge wad of bills and imagined what he would do with it while fighting back the image of his boss’ bare thighs. That was going to be a hard one to forget. Before leaving the landing, Aaron put the money in his wallet, which he then put in the money belt he had hidden around his shin.

Back at the hotel, he decided to pour through the materials that Ahn had given while he had dinner. Aaron certainly wasn’t going to be caught off guard the next day, and with any luck, he’d be able to even get a jump on the rest of the week.

For dinner and some variety, Aaron avoided the buffet on the first floor. He thought of trying the Chinese restaurant on the fifth floor, but opted for the greater extravagance of the high-class Vietnamese restaurant at the top of the hotel. The maître d’ brought Aaron to his table, which was at the far end of an empty room. As it was after 7pm and the Vietnamese tend to eat much earlier, so Aaron wasn’t put off. He was only wondered why there weren’t other tourists in there enjoying a meal. He hoped this wasn’t a reflection on the food or the service. But then again, it was a Monday night, not the most popular evening for going out and if they did go out, there were probably many other good places to chose from. The maître d’ handed him a leather-bound menu while and very politely, in excellent English, let him know that his food server would be with him shortly.

In the meanwhile, Aaron checked out the food choices. They were mostly seafood: sautéed prawns, caramelized lingcod fillets, steamed sea bass. As far as the landfood went, there were braised pork, chicken skewers, and cubed rib-eye steak. The sauces were primarily sweet tamarind, ginger and lime, black bean or fish. There was also a tasty assortment of noodle and rice dishes, and for later, a reasonable selection of desserts. Aaron’s stomach gurgled as he scanned the description of each item as its way of reminding him that it hadn’t been a good idea to skip lunch, especially with his body still partially in another time zone.

“Goo’ evning. My nam is Linh an’ I am your wetress. Wool you lie to star’ with dring?”

Linh, like many Vietnamese women, had the face and body type of a woman half her age. A quick guess would put her at 13 or 14, but he was sure had to be at least 18 since that was the country’s legal drinking age. She also had one of those cartoony girl voices that instantly put Aaron’s mind in a spin.

“Sorry, could you repeat that?

“No ploblen” – she seemed used to this question – “Wool you lie dring befo’ dinnal? Beer or wine, maybe?”

Aaron didn’t drink. Not that he thought it was bad or anything, or it was because of some religious reason. He just didn’t hang out with friends that did, and his parents never drank. It just wasn’t one of those things that came up in conversation. Those tended to be about latest X-men comic or most recent movie released out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And it wasn’t like there was some family tragedy associated with alcohol that put Aaron against it. It was more like it was in another universe for him.

“No, it’s okay. I’ll just have a glass of coconut water.”

“No ploblen. You tich English, righ’?” “Ah…yes, I do. But how do you know that?”

“E-Z” – her expression was very playful – “Your testbook’ are on duh the tapul. I won go to school bu’ have no time. I nee’ bed’er English for jop. Maybe you hep me?”

“Well, I don’t know…”

“It fery e-z. You stay here at hotel, righ’?”

“Yeah.”

“You com’here for dinnal evy nigh’?”

“Well, I not sure if…”

“It okay. You tich me here. You com’up for dinnal at dis time evy nigh’. Fery quie’ avduh 7pm. No ploblen. We have class. Okay?”

“Listen. I’d like to help you, but…”
“Okay. Goo’. We star’ tonigh’. Fir’ I get you dring an’ foot. Wha’ wool you lie to eat?”

Aaron placed his order. Salt and chili prawn skewers with a side of mashed cassava. Though Linh had been strong in her approach, she had done with such a sweet tone of voice and gentle mannerism he probably would’ve agreed to lesson on his own anyway. Plus, when he thought more about it, there was no reason why he should refuse her. There’d be no money exchanged, and he more than likely would be going there every night for dinner. So what harm would it do? He’d get to help someone who clearly needed to improve their English and it would probably help me to plan his classes for the next day.

When Linh returned, she was carrying a large glass of coconut water in one hand and two plates on the other arm.

“I also brin’ desser’ fo’ you. No ploblen. I tell you tich me. You lie it.”

She set everything in front of him. The dessert, from what Aaron could tell, was sticky black rice covered by a layer of burnt cream with a strong smell of ginger. Very nice choice.

Aaron thought Linh was going to sit down beside him, but she just hovered. The extraordinary taste of the food made him a little less self-conscious of his actions as he ate. She cleared his empty dishes almost the second he was finished with them and brought a fresh glass of coconut water back to the table.

This time she sat down beside Aaron, her face glowing with excitement. Her closeness unsettled him a bit, so he hurriedly grabbed the menu and flipped to the first list of items.

“Okay. How about we start with the appetizers?”

“Okay.”

“I’m sure you know what they are, so I will help you with pronunciation” – more like thinking aloud than actually saying it to her – “Ah, but first, the menu should say appetizers not appetizer, because they are more than one. You might want to tell your boss about that” – still thinking aloud – “Anyway, the first one is ‘grilled shrimp spring rolls’. I’ll say it again and you repeat it, okay” – she nodded enthusiastically – “Grilled shrimp spring rolls.”

“Grill shrip sprin’roll.”

Aaron went through each word, one at a time, but no matter how much Linh tried her pronunciations all sounded the same. Aaron smiled nervously. Linh in no way looked discouraged. He had to take a different tact. Aaron asked Linh if she could get him another glass of coconut water. While she was away, he rapidly rifled through the papers Ahn gave him hoping to find something on Vietnamese pronunciation issues. What he did find were hand drawn images of the inside of a person’s mouth; they showed the tongue and teeth placement for enunciating the most common English letters.

Aaron spent the next hour demonstrating these to Linh, which made a little dent. It was clear step in the right direction, but it showed him how long it was going to take to get her to where she wanted to be.

He said good night to her, she thanked him profusely and he told her he would see her again tomorrow night. She thanked him profusely again. With that, Aaron had every reason in the world to help Linh with whatever she wanted.

Returning to his room, he realized he still hadn’t prepared for the next day. So he spent the next several hours throwing together what he could and, of course, he remembered to set his alarm before going to bed.

The first week went by very quickly, though individually they felt like they were going to take eternity as Aaron mechanically moved from the hotel to school, class to class, school to hotel, and then to dinner, his lesson with Linh and then to bed. He didn’t have time to take a breath. If Aaron wasn’t in the classroom, he was preparing for a class, or correcting homework. And if he wasn’t doing anything of those things, he was either eating or sleeping, and that still excluded lunch. It was getting quite insane. Aaron had hoped that he would’ve gotten on top of things after a few days, but instead, he’s only had to push himself harder and harder so the constant tsunami of work wouldn’t overtake him. He’d fill up on Vietnamese ice coffees to get him through each class and try not to collapse in between them.

Aaron also had no time to meet the other teachers. He’d see them in the office or in the halls, but he’d be rushing to class or too focused not forgetting the lesson plan he had concocted only minutes before to say anything. Other times he’d see them chatting after work, when he’d either be too exhausted or too much in a hurry to get to the things he need to do at the hotel. Aaron had tried waving goodbye to some colleagues one time as he leaving so they wouldn’t think he was rude, but he didn’t really wait for them to reply and just kept walking. Aaron was sure they thought he wasn’t friendly, but there didn’t seem like there was anything he could do about it.

When Saturday afternoon classes ended, Aaron was relieved to know he had a whole day off before it all started back up again. This must’ve caused him to walk out of school at his less than hectic pace, and slow enough for one of his colleagues to catch him.

“Hey Aaron, you free tonight?” He asked casually.
“Huh?”
“A bunch of us are going to District 1. You wanna come along?” “I’d like to, but I’ve got so much to do.”

“Oh, come on. There’s no work tomorrow.”
“I really don’t want to fall behind even more. I’m already swamped as it is.” “Alright, but you know what they say about all work and no play.”
“Yeah I know, but…maybe next time.”
“Okay. Suit yourself.”

As he walked away, Aaron felt like someone had splashed a cold glass of water in his face. His entire experience of Ho Chi Minh City was anything that could be seen in the 7-mile radius from his hotel to the school. There was so much he was missing out on. He could’ve stayed and taught English in Santa Barbara if he hadn’t planned to do more than this. There was a whole city out there with so many exotic things to explore and he hadn’t seen any of them. He went there to break away from fixed routines, not to fall into a new one. This lit a fire under him. He was now more determined than ever to get on top of everything, so he spent the evening and the majority of the next day planning not just the lessons for the coming week, but also for the next two weeks after that.

The words of that teacher echoed through Aaron’s head, so he decided to play a bit by taking a walk into the city center. He could’ve taken a taxi, but it wasn’t actually that far and the night air felt cool and comforting. The street outside the hotel was full of pedestrians and a good assortment of mopeds. One Vietnamese lady across from the hotel was yelling something repeatedly in his direction. Aaron avoided eye contact and made his way quickly to the main road, Trần Phú. He figured every city had its share of crazies, why should Ho Chi Minh City be an exception? A little later, out of the corner of his eye, Aaron caught a young lady on a moped coming right for him. He tried to walk faster, but she only sped up. He tried to speed up more, but she kept pace with him. When Aaron decided he didn’t have the energy to keep this up, she nearly slammed into him as she drove her moped across the sidewalk in front of him. All Aaron could make out was her rounded face, which was nearly bleached white with make-up except for a hint of blush on her cheeks and a ruby redness to her lips. He would’ve called her attractive but her looks were tainted by illness. Hep C was his best guess. She used only body language to make her offer crystal clear. In a way Aaron felt sorry for her and he tried to politely refuse, but she only made her offer again and this time he mixed his politeness with a little insistence. She still tried again. Aaron swallowed hard, firmly said the word “no” and then put his head down and continued walking, not looking back in case that actually encouraged her to follow him.

So much for a pleasant walk into town.

Minutes later another moped pulled up in front of him. Two women rode this one: one older, one much younger. In her best English, Aaron could make out that the older one was clearly offering him the younger one. Aaron looked back and forth at both of them while his mind tried to wrap around what was happening. The younger one was clearly trying to muster a smile as the older one made promises and threw out prices, which he now knew were the same as the rantings he had heard outside the hotel. As repulsed as he was, Aaron again couldn’t help feeling sad that poverty drove people to such lengths. He considered just offering them money since that’s all they really wanted, but thought twice since it made him feel like he would just be aiding and abetting. The older woman, which Aaron hoped wasn’t the younger one’s mother, rolled the moped closer to him to give him a better look. He tried again to make it clear that he wasn’t interested, but like the other woman, that did not deter her. In fact, she rolled even closer to him, completely blocking his path. Aaron’s sympathy quickly turned to fear, and he ran into the street to flag down an approaching taxi.

Aaron now felt angry and he let the frustration build. He finally goes out, he finally tries to enjoy himself, and what does he get? Three miles and he has to retreat back to his hotel. After he had worked so hard too. Something must be against him. It made him think that he wasn’t supposed to have fun, that he was just there to work and work and work. That was his lot, his punishment. He thought of never going out again. He thought of just finishing his five weeks there, pocketing the money and going home. Forget exploring. Forget the culture exchange. Forget everything. What was the point if this is all you get?

After Aaron had all but cursed the universe for his fate, he calmed down. He hoped the people in the neighboring hotel room had heard him raving like that. With his mind clearer, he instantly realized there was a reasonable solution to his problem. He didn’t need to resolve himself to a life of drudgery and toil. He would simply never go out alone again. Had someone been there with him he probably wouldn’t have handled it better or, more likely, those ladies never would’ve approached him. Aaron was also pretty sure that someone else would’ve told him not to walk after dark or to avoid certain roads if he did. He could breath easier now and tried not to feel too stupid for getting so upset.

The next day as soon as Aaron spotted the teacher that had invited him out before, he asked him when they might be going out again. He told him that that they always go out on Saturday nights and that his name was Stanley. Aaron told Stanley to definitely count him in next time.

After getting permission from Linh for a night off, Aaron went out to meet the others using the hotel courtesy van, which, to his great delight, was provided to take hotel guests to and from District 1 several times per day. Stanley met Aaron at the van’s second drop-off point, near Tao Dan Park. There were no other teachers with him; there was only a girl, who, from the age difference, appeared to be Stanley’s daughter. From the passionate kiss he gave her that clearly was not the case.

“Sorry it’s just me. I couldn’t separate Phil and Gerard from their dates. But, as you can see, my little girl doesn’t mind. Hai say “hi’ to Aaron. He’s our newest recruit.”

Stanley’s “little girl” waved at Aaron and on cue said, “Hi.” Aaron said “hi” back and added – “Nice to meet you.”
Hai giggled at this.
“Her English isn’t that great, but I’m helping her with that.” “Yeah, he hep me lot.”

“Now Hai say goodbye to Aaron, okay? We come home late.”

“Goo’bye.”

“Goodbye, Hai.”

Again she giggled. Stanley kissed her again and she walked away with an enthusiastic wave.

Stanley watched her leave and quickly turned back to Aaron – “Great girl…. Now, have you eaten?”

“Ah no, I assumed we were…”
“Great. I know the perfect place. You like Indian food?”

First it stuck him strange that anyone would want anything other than Vietnamese food in Vietnam, but then again, he often didn’t he eat American food in America. Second, he had never had Indian food before, so it would still fulfill his need for new experiences.

Aaron told Stanley he’d love to try it and Stanley directed him to a restaurant called Natraj. The building was small and very bright with white walls and minimal décor, but nearly every seat was occupied and mostly by Indians. This was a good sign.

The maître d’ rushed up to them – “Ahhhh, Mistall Stan’ee. You tapul rea’dy 5 minute.”

The little man then rushed over to a table near the glass front of the restaurant and immediately began clearing it. Following a thorough wipe-down and a silverware resetting, they were invited to sit down.

Without even the menus dished out, Stanley orders, “Two Pasteur Street Jasamines, Duc.”

“No ploblen. Righ’ away” – and he disappears.

To Aaron – “You’ll like Pasteur’s Jasmine IPA. It’s probably the best IPA in Vietnam. You can really taste the jasmine and it has just the right amount of bitterness. I’d probably live on it if I didn’t have to stand up in front of people and teach” – he ended this with a chuckle.

Aaron couldn’t help but be confused.

But as soon as the glasses were set in front of them, his confusion instantly melted. Stanley immediately scooped up his pint and took down a healthy swallow. Aaron reached out to his slowly and held it for several seconds, figuring out his next move. Aaron didn’t want to start the evening by insulting Stanley or coming across as some kind of weird fundamentalist. That might just end things right there and then and he’d have no one to hang out with as word got around. Plus, he had welcomed the food as a new thing, so why not the beer? It couldn’t hurt him to try it. What’s the worse that could happen?

Aaron took a tiny sip, and he coughed loudly as it nearly ripped his throat off. “Guess I should’ve ordered you the pale. You alright, Aaron?”
Aaron tried to smile as he coughed again.
“Hey. I’ll drink it if you want to order something else.”

“No, it-it’s okay. I’ll-I’ll drink it” – he wasn’t exactly sure what made him say that. “Good for you. Cheers”

Stanley lifted his glass towards him and Aaron lifted his, trying his best to hide his true feelings, and let their glasses clang. As he knew what to expect this time, it was much easier to swallow and he could actually taste a strong hint of jasmine.

Over a tasty blend of sag paneer, garlic naan and lamb rogan they got know to one another. The first talked of where they were from in the United States. Stanley had actually been to Goleta while on a road trip up the California coast. He mentioned a couple of good bars and restaurants Aaron had heard but had never been to. Stanley came from Missoula, MT. A place Stanley hadn’t seen for over 20 years. Aaron told him that he had always wanted to visit Glacier National Park: his only reference to Montana. Stanley let him know that he used to go there regularly as a kid and how one time he was nearly run down by a moose. He added that it was just as spectacular as everybody said, but he’d never go back there now because it was just too cold. They both touched on family enough to learn that Stanley had an older brother that died in his teens and this had basically traumatized his parents and that Aaron was an only child who wished he had had a sibling while he was growing up. The seriousness of this caused them to segue into a long session on movies. Aaron dominated most of it and he focused mostly on the Avengers series. At one point Aaron almost thought he lost Stanley when he went full-on into dissecting gender politics related to latest Avengers release. Stanley had no idea who Black Widow was and that it seemed like a lot to talk about nothing, but he smiled and laughed to show his appreciation for Aaron’s passion for the cause.

Stanley was about to order more beer (a third for him, a second for Aaron) when he suggested they go to his favorite bar, Indika Saigon. Aaron was enjoying himself so much that he had no problem going along with it.

The taxi dropped them just outside an alleyway, which they followed down and around to an old colonial-era building that gave you a clear picture of how much the French had dominated of the area. Aaron’s image of colonial brutality was withdrawn as soon as he took in the happy- laughing conversations at each table and the steady beat of a live reggae band from the inside. Stanley scanned the crowd, of nearly all ex-pats, but found no one he knew. He then directed Aaron passed a thick wooden arch and over to an empty outside table between a thick, stringy- looking tree and a white flowerpot that sat atop a white half-mannequin, splattered with splashes of blue. Above them electrical cables were strung with lights inside bamboo shades and sculpted plant life covered the walls.

Stanley ordered an East West Brewing Triple IPA for him and their Belgian Blonde for Aaron since, as he told Aaron, it would be definitely wouldn’t be bitey but it would still have some

really juicy flavor. Despite that, Aaron took the smallest sip when it arrived and wide smile grew on his face. The taste was exactly as he described, so he took a much larger swallow.

“Hold on there, mister. That’s 7.6% alcohol. You, especially, might want to take it slow.” Aaron did as he said.

“So what’s cultural anthropology anyway? “It’s basically studies how we as human beings have developed different cultures throughout the history of the planet. We look at languages, social interactions, ethnic differences, things like that” – he took another sip – “That’s kind of what I was hoping to do here. My own little analysis of Vietnamese culture.”

“Really? Discovered anything interesting?”
“The biggest thing I’ve discovered so far is how incredibly different our cultures are.”

“You’re telling me” – followed by a hearty chuckle – “Here’s a case in point” – and gestured toward a little Vietnamese boy and girl walking up to each table, displaying items for sale – “See those two. They’ve probably been sold to a cartel by their parents who can’t afford to feed them. Sad, eh? But these are the lucky ones. At least they’re not trying to sell up their bodies. I mean, I’m open to some pretty wild shit, but even I’d draw a line there” – and he snorted a laugh.

Aaron couldn’t laugh. He just sat there, eyes fixed on the children as they edged closer to their table. Unconsciously, he dug out some money from his money belt to ready for them. They flashed Aaron and Stanley crooked smiles, which Aaron found utterly endearing. Their faces were dirty and clothes ripped. The boy opened his box and showed them his wares while attempting but failing to name what they were in English.

Aaron chose two packets of chewing gum and gave the boy 125,000 Dong, which he had hoped would be more than enough.

The boy beamed and the children went off to the next table. “You probably just saved them from a beating.”
“Huh?”

“The cartel has to get their cut. If they don’t come home with enough, the children are given an incentive to never let it happen again.”

Aaron shuddered – “That’s horrible.”

“Being poor makes people do strange things.”

“Why but how…?”

“Don’t ask me? I don’t make the rules here.”

“Doesn’t anyone want to do anything about it?”

“Doesn’t seem like it. I guess the cartels are too powerful.”

Aaron stood stock-still trying to take it all in.

Before Aaron got too sucked in, Stanley enthusiastically threw out – “Tell you what. How ‘bout I invite one of my friends to join us?”

Aaron almost didn’t hear him, but even he knew a change was needed – “Sure. Okay.”

Stanley tapped out a number on his cellphone and soon had someone on the line. He told them where they were and promised to pay the taxi fare if they got down there right away. He even had Aaron say “hello” but he had no idea if anyone was still on the line since the voices around them had suddenly gotten louder and his thoughts were still a bit scrambled by what had just happened.

Both quietly sipped their drinks while they waited for Stanley’s friend to arrive.

Almost on cue with the last drop of beer a very young, very skinny, very dark-skinned girl walked straight up to Stanley, gave him a kiss on the cheek and sat down between them.

“Kiri, this is my friend, Aaron.”

“Ni’ to me’ you, Ah’ron” – her teeth shined brightly.

“Hi” – Aaron wanted to say more or at least ask her a few questions, but he was a little flighty from the buzz of the alcohol and couldn’t focus.

“Kiri’s from Cambodia.”
That helped Aaron understand her different look, but he still couldn’t say anything. Stanley filled the gap with – “So lady and gent, what do you want to do now?”
“I wan go Lush” – Kiri chimed in quickly.
“Lush?” Aaron needed to ask.
“It’s a night club” – Stanley provided the answer.
Another new experience for Aaron – “Why not? Let’s go.”

No further discussion was needed. Stanley hailed a taxi and they arrived at their destination in seven minutes. The line outside was rather long, but moved quickly. The place was pumping with excitement. You could feel every reverberation of the music as they got closer to the entrance, making the building sparkle and shine. Aaron could only imagine what was going in there based on the look and energy of the people in line and he was getting hyped up. He wasn’t much of a dancer, but he had a good sense of rhythm and timing from years playing video games so he figured he’d pick it up somehow. The blurry quality of the world around him and the swirling of his mind also made everything seem bigger, brighter and more beautiful than anything he had seen before.

When they reached the door, Stanley told Aaron he’d take of it. With one hand he handed over the entrance fee and with the other he gave Aaron a gentle shove that pushed Aaron and Kiri into the club, all the while muttered something like – “Take care of her.”

Inside, the volume was deafening. A quick look around told Aaron that Stanley had taken off and left him alone with Kiri. As it dawned on him what was happening, he instantly sobered up and

shook internally. She was a prostitute. His new friend had left him with a Cambodian prostitute. How could Stanley do that without asking him? Or at least telling him? He looked nervously over at Kiri, who checking out the scene of the lower level of the club. Aaron’s hope was that she was looking for people she knew; people he could leave her with. And just when he thought he had found a friend himself. Aaron felt betrayed. How could Stanley? He looked again at Kiri. This time her eyes were on him, smiling. But her smile disappeared suddenly. She could see something wasn’t right. Before Aaron could escape out the entrance, Kiri took him by the hand a directed him through the crowd and downstairs.

They finally stopped in a bar, where the blasting music was quieter.

Aaron was the first to speak and he got it out fast – “I’m sorry, but nothing is going to happen with you and me tonight.”

“It okay.”

“You don’t understand. Stanley didn’t tell me and I… well…”

“It okay, Ah’ron. Really.”

“Huh? What? Now you’re very pretty and you seem like a really nice girl and I’m sure that you’re used to…but I just don’t…You understand?”

“Yeah. I und’stan’. It okay. I have friend here. No poblen.”

She seemed to waiting for something. Aaron turned and reached into his money belt and gave her 250,000 dong. More out of guilt than generosity. Stanley had told him to take care of her. She took it without a qualm.

“For your taxi home.”
“Okay. T’ank you.”
“Well, have a nice night” – as soon as he said it he felt like an idiot. “You too. Goo’ bye Ah’ron.”

Kiri walked away and disappeared into the nightclub. Aaron took the quickest path to the exit, hailed a taxi and went back to his hotel. He was stone cold sober by the time he got there. Once in bed, he had trouble sleeping as his thoughts and emotions wrestled one another through the night.

The following Monday Aaron avoided Stanley. He wasn’t sure what to say to him and easily imagined Stanley’s replies just pissing him off. That whole thing needed a couple of days to settle.

Aaron did need to replenish his cash supply, so he made his way up to Dr. Dũng’s office. Before knocking, he hesitated, bracing himself. He was pleasantly surprised to see the director was fully clothed this time and his head seemed to have gained a few new plugs.

He beamed and raised his arms high – “Ah Mr. Aaron, what can I do for you?”
Aaron felt like he was ten year’s old and going to his father for his allowance.
“I was” – he cleared his throat – “I was just wondering if…I could get some money.”
“Of course. Of course. Now how much did you need? I except you have a big date this week.” This was his dad. He laughed.

“Date? Ah no” – but that inspired an idea – “But yes, maybe you could help me with something? I have been here over 2 weeks and I haven’t had any time to explore the city, so I was wondering if you might be able to arrange for someone to show me around this Sunday, on my day off?”

This broad the widest smile Aaron had ever seen – “Of course, Mr. Aaron. I know many very nice girls that would love to show a nice young gentleman like yourself around. I can just…”

“Sorry Dr. Dũng, but no girls” – he envisioned another prostitute. “Oh okay, so you prefer boys. I totally under…”

“No” – holding both hands up to stop him – “I didn’t mean that. It-it’s that I’m-I’m not that relaxed around women. It could ruin the whole experience.”

Dr. Dũng snorted a laugh – “No problem, Mr. Aaron. I meant no harm. Now let me see…Ah yes!” – he got very animated – “I have a friend, good friend, he will be happy to show you around. He can pick you up at your hotel. What time?”

“Oh. Is 10am too early?”

“Of course not. He will be there. Thank you for coming to see me about this. His name is Mr. Khiêm. He will pay for you. He will show you Saigon. Now how much money do you want?”

Aaron asked for the same amount as he got last time and thanked Dr. Dũng for it and for setting him up with his friend.

On Wednesday Stanley caught Aaron from behind, so Aaron had no time to duck. “Sooooo. How did it go on Saturday night? Kiri’s a real wild child, isn’t she?”

Aaron wanted to run, but froze in place. He took a very long breath, turned slowly around and said as calmly as he could – “How could you Stanley?”

“Whatcha mean?”

“Just leaving me there with…with a prostitute” – he whispered the last three words.

Stanley snickered – “You told me you were here for cultural experiences, right?”

“But not that kind…” – whispered, but a bit aggressive.

“Hey. Just kidding, Aaron. I just kind of figured you needed a little pick-me-up. You seemed a little tense.”

“Tense? Pick-me…what? You could’ve at least said something.”

“Said something. What’re you talking about? We’re all here for a happy ending, so I figured I’d ease the process.”

“Ease the process!”

“Wait, did you want a boy?” – Aaron rolled his eye, here we go again – “Shit, Aaron, I didn’t think…I should’ve…I mean, you didn’t put the moves on me, so I just thought…Anyway, shit, sorry.”

“I’m not gay, Stanley.”
“Oh” – confused – “Then what?”
Aaron mumbled his answer.
“What?”
Aaron raised his voice slightly – “I’ve never been with a girl.” “You’re shitting me.”
Still quietly – “No. Girls make me…nervous.”

“Then you really should’ve hooked up with Kiri. She would’ve put you totally at ease, not to mention shown you the ropes. She’s got expertise you wouldn’t believe. My buddy Sean wished his wife could take lessons from her. She’s a monster.”

Aaron didn’t know how to reply. This kind of talk came from a galaxy he had never visited.

In the end he didn’t have to – “Listen Aaron. How ’bout this Saturday night we hit the B3? I’ll get Sean and the others to come along and I promise nothing will happen without you knowing about it first.”

Aaron wavered, partly because he wasn’t sure if he could fully trust Stanley and partly because he had a big day planned for Sunday and didn’t want to get tired out.

“I swear no prostitutes this time.”
With that, Aaron felt he couldn’t say no, but first he quickly asked – “What’s the B3?” “Probably the best damn steakhouse in town.”

Week 3 finished easier than it began. The students, in general, were improving so Aaron was finding his classes simpler to teach. He still tripped over the occasional discipline issue with a student or two that just wouldn’t do their homework and others that wouldn’t speak in class. He’d try but he couldn’t force them to do what they didn’t want to do, even if it would benefit their entire future and probably their entire family’s future. Aaron didn’t get their lack of effort when the incentive was right there. His only hope was that the drive of the other students would rub off on them.

Aaron took the van into the third stop, just outside the opera house. B3 was practically right next to it. Stanley was already sitting at a table with two other guys; one, he assumed was Sean, who reminded him of Finn’s dad and the other one he didn’t know but looked to be closer to Aaron’s age. Stanley waved him over.

“Aaron, this Sean” – “Hello” – “and this is Jeff – “How’s it going?” – “And now since you’re such a beer snob, what would you like to drink?”

He looked around uneasily.
“Just kidding. I ordered you a A Rooster Pilsner.”
The food server was there seconds later, placing it in front of Aaron.
“Now Sean was in the middle of telling us about a problem he was having.” “Well, it’s not problem, per se. It’s just more of a minor glitch.”
“Right. I forgot to tell you, Aaron, that Sean here is a highly skilled lady’s man.”

“Though, of course, my wife would immediately disagree with that” – continuing in the direction of Aaron – “And that is why she lives in the States and I live here. A very convenient arrangement wouldn’t you say?”

Aaron couldn’t say anything, but tried to look like he approved.
Stanley was next – “And it appears, for once, that his skills are lacking.”

“She just hasn’t said yes yet” – he rebutted –“But never you fear, I’m working on a new tactic as we speak.”

Jeff chimed in and then turned towards Aaron – “The last one brought me face to face with her husband. Wasn’t she embarrassed? Luckily I was just about to put my shoes on.”

“Jeff, I never promised you a clean getaway, just a clean way in.”

Jeff again directed this to Aaron – “And then there was this time with one of those tour guides” – he used finger quotes for the last two words – “Sean didn’t tell me how exhausted they get after scootering you around all day. She was too pooped to put out. And, shit, to think I paid for her time and all her food, and not even a fuckin’ happy ending.”

Sean reeled it back with – “I’m not telling anybody anything until I secured her.” “We’ll want proof.”

“Oh, you’ll have that and more” – adding a laugh. He then asked – “So, Aaron, who have you set your sights on?”

“Huh? I…well…”
Stanley jumped in – “Aaron’s a newbie. Let’s give him a break tonight.” He appreciated that save.

“No worries. Just thought we help guide him.”
“Who knows? He might give you a run for your money, Sean” – Jeff threw out. Sean opened his mouth to protest, but then thought better of it.

Before anyone could say anything else, the food server appeared to take their orders, which included 1 ribeye, 2 tenderloins, and 1 filet mignon, all the larger 300g cut, with separate sides of wedged potatoes, mac and cheese, classic fries and mixed stir-fried vegetables. Everyone chose the béarnaise sauce and ordered their meat medium rare except Aaron, who ordered his tenderloin with mushroom sauce and for it to be cooked well done since he didn’t like the taste of blood in his meat.

Aaron hoped the conversation would take a new turn after this interruption, but they picked it right back up and took it deeper.

Stanley started – “Speaking of tactics, Hai’s skills are definitely improving. She doesn’t ride me as fast as she used to. I told her I’m an old man. I can’t move as quickly as you. Seems to have done the trick.”

“Nice” – Sean gave him two thumbs up too.

“Yeah” – this was Jeff – “It must suck getting old. Last night I got together with Ahn, you know the one that works in the office, and that girl didn’t know the meaning of the word slow down, let alone stop. Shit, she must’ve gone down on me seven times that night. I felt like I was going to fucking explode.”

Sean and Stanley laughed. Aaron joined in the laughter just to hide his discomfort.

After they’d ordered another round of beers, Sean started in on his latest exploit. Aaron tried to distract himself by looking around the place. He tried imagining stories of the lives of the people at other tables. Stories that were about anything other than sex. But no matter how hard he tried, his mind raced to images of them naked and striking various erotic poses. Aaron tried to refocus his thoughts by targeting the memory of when he met David Tennant at the Emerald City Comic Com in Seattle. He had always been a huge fan of Dr. Who and he particularly thought Tennant was best of the latest crop of timelords. He had waited in line for 45 minutes to get a few seconds of conversation and an autographed picture. Sadly, because of Tennant’s thick Scottish accent and Aaron’s own excitement, Aaron couldn’t understand what the former doctor said so he

creatively invented Tennant’s responses for himself and others. He tried again to replay those responses in his mind, but it was brutally interrupted by Jeff.

“I only wished Binh would shave her fuckin’ vagina more often. Christ, I’d go in there and do it myself if she wasn’t so touchy about it.”

This brought more laughter. Aaron again pretended to join in, but much more hesitantly. The arrival of food brought another break in conversation.
As he ate, Aaron planned his escape.

They didn’t believe him when he told them he had a tortuous week and was feeling really tired and needed to go back to the hotel. They tried to encourage him to stay by promising to pay for the next round. He thanked them but repeated how exhausted he was and that he’d just fall asleep on them. It only when Sean pointed out how that would explain how quiet he had been at dinner that all three were willing to let him leave.

Aaron tried not to rush out the door to keep up the charade. It probably didn’t matter. He was sure they already thought he was some kind of weirdo: most likely a closet homosexual or an anal prude hetero. He didn’t real care. He felt like he just spent the last hour and half neck-deep in toxic filth. The closest he and his friends ever got to that kind of talk involved Wonder Woman, Black Widow or Emma Frost. They’d weave themselves into the comic, making themselves the equivalent of Thor, Wolverine, or Gambit so they could completely shed their shyness and awkwardness. It was all in fun and totally nerdy. It may have been all fantasy, but it was never graphic. They had too much respect for their comic superheroes. The entire van ride back to the hotel wasn’t enough time to detoxify. He spent the whole night feeling like it was stuck on him and, consequently, didn’t sleep much.

Mr. Khiêm was right on time. He was small, well-tanned man who spoke what few words he knew in English at a rapid pace.

“You cun. Cun. I take. We go now. Plea’ cun. Sit. I show you Saigon.’ He opened the car door and I got inside.

Crammed between two modern office buildings was a dark-weathering temple, fronted by pine green iron fencing and a bright-red gateway. Nothing about it was too inviting so Aaron hesitated.

He must’ve shown it on his face because Khiêm instantly injected – “It’s okay. We go. You li’. Very ni’. Very old. Cun. We go.”

Aaron’s apprehension was clearly unwarranted. He was instantly struck by an explosion of reds, yellows and greens, and its elaborately sculpted dragons that covered the dark wood pillars that dotted the pathway to a golden Buddha in a priestly outfit who was framed by an intricately detailed metal display box. But what hit him the most was above him, on the facade of the inner roof, were sculptures of hundreds of people from every walk of life, each depicting a different function within society, and above and below them were more dragons and other random beasts. Then there were the huge pots of burning incense filling the whole temple with smoke. Khiêm grabbed a handful of incense and went between the wood pillars and bowed for a few long seconds. He then put the incense back in the pot. Aaron had no idea what any of it meant, and some it reminded him of Catholic icons he had seen in art books, but it didn’t matter. He was mesmerizes by the intricacies and how much craft must have gone into each of them.

“Okay. We go. Plea’ con. I show you goo’ pla’. I know you li’. Cun.”

Aaron couldn’t help smiling at the little man. His mannerism and ways of expressing himself were so lively he reminded Aaron of Pikachu, and it was hard to shake that image off of him, especially when he was speaking.

The Independence Palace and War Remnants Museum both showed Aaron showcased the military history of Vietnam. The first one preserved rooms where important decisions were made during their 30+ year’s campaign against the French and the Americans; the second one had actually artifacts, like planes and tanks, as well as photographs and documents of that era, many of which showed atrocities committed by the American forces during the war. Aaron wasn’t surprised by what the US did, but the photos of the effects of Agent Orange were especially disturbing.

To lighten the mood, Khiêm next took Aaron to the Binh Tay Market. He didn’t really want to shop and the place was packed, but he made the most of it. Though the market was the biggest indoor market Aaron had ever seen, they moved through the its vast assortment of handicrafts, lacquerware, and textiles pretty quickly, stopping only for Khiêm to buy a couple spring rolls. He handed one to Aaron and motioned at his mouth. Aaron popped it in his mouth, appreciating his primitive attempt to communicate and for sharing.

“Now. We go. I know you li’. Cun.”

Aaron wanted to laugh. It was like Khiêm had swallowed a digital recorder and it was looping the same sentences over and over.

They were soon outside a tremendous yellow building with several covered pathways that led to a tall arching doorway that had a temple-like roof. It looked nothing like the previous temples, so Aaron assumed it must be a more modern structure. The sign revealed to Aaron that it was the Museum of Vietnamese History. Inside he found what he expected to find in a country’s history museum: ancient pottery and coins, statues and paintings, weapons and tools, jewelry and clothing and reproduction of significant events in Vietnam’s past. There was a lot to see so they moved fast through the displays. Aaron only lingered longer to examine the fully preserved toes of a mummy of a woman that had been found not far from where his hotel was. Aaron also saw that they had a traditional water puppet show there, as he was starting to feel a little light-headed from all the walking and the humidity, he shook his head no to that one.

“Okay. We it. Goo’ foo’. You li’. Cun.”

The restaurant looks more like the former home of a hugely rich French colonist. It was a three story all white building surrounded by tall thin palm trees with large ornate wooden windows and doors and several pillared terraces. The inside furthered the impression you were inside someone’s home with its handmade furniture, sofa-like window seats, and communal tables. Despite its appearance it must not cater strictly to tourist since there were many Vietnamese customers. We were lucky to find a table for two on the first terrace underneath the eaves.

“It okay. I get foo’. You li’. Goo’ foo’ here. No bap foo’.”

Aaron had no reason to doubt Khiêm. He hadn’t steered him so far and he was also really hungry.

The food came on several small plates. Khiêm asked the server something in Vietnamese and the young man turned towards Aaron – “The gen’lemam wan me to tell you abou’ the foo’” – he pointed to the first plate – “Dis is prawm ca’ with mustarp sauce” – he proceed clockwise – “Dis lemomgrass chic’en with chili an’ oniom an’ gree’ bea’, dis is bif with oniom an’ gree’ peppuh, dis is por’ rip in hoisim sauce, dis gilled skid and eggplan’, and dat is pineapple fried rice.”

Aaron thanked him and then Khiêm asked the server another question.

“The gen’lemam wan me to tell you abou’ how dis restauran’ work. We are a non-profi’. Dat min all duh money we ma’ go to aid childrem withou’ paren’ in Saigom. We also t’ain youn’ people to coo’ or to wor’ in a restauran’. Dey gab me dis jop. Restauran’ name is Bloom wish min ‘becauz love overcon one’z misfo’tume.”

This floored Aaron. He had never heard of such a cool idea, and he couldn’t think of a place that needed it more than Saigon. He wished Khiêm wasn’t paying. He wanted to reach into his pocket right there and contribute. He’d certainly ask about it before they left.

Then, to top that off, the food was amazing. Despite not being to have a conservation, this was the most enjoyable meal he had since arriving in Vietnam.

“Okay. Now we res’. Cun, You li’. Cun. We go Miu Miu.”

They drove back into the heart of District 1 and parked in a row of tight-knit long and narrow businesses. Khiêm directed Aaron to Miu Miu and Aaron froze. It was a spa and he knew what that meant. He had read stories online, though some were probably apocryphal, of the services performed by the girls in these places. All the stories had mentioned ‘happy endings’. But he reasoned that it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re all like that and Khiêm was a good guy, why would he steer him wrong? He even brought him to a non-profit restaurant. Plus, he really needed a massage. He could feel it. All the strain of the previous night, not to mention the weeks before them, had put his body out of wack. Not to mention the fact that Khiêm was paying for it.

They went in and Khiêm talked to the lady behind the counter. She smiled brightly and disappeared into the back of the room. Khiêm looked over Aaron and gave him a nodding grin. Aaron read a thousand things into that look, but tried to remain calm. Next thing he knew a row of young ladies were paraded out before him. His insides nearly crashed. They were all wearing red short shorts and matching revealing tops. He didn’t know what to do. The lady who had brought the ladies out tried to make it easier by telling Aaron he had to choose one of them.

Now he really wanted to run, but something or someone had bolted his feet to the floor. He wanted to tell Khiêm that he didn’t need a massage, that he felt great, that he appreciated his concern, but it was way too late. With the ladies waiting in front of him, he couldn’t turn back. Aaron was going to have to choose one. He didn’t even want to look at them. It made him feel a volcano of conflicting emotions, but he forced himself. They all looked too young, too willing, too sexy. He turned to Khiêm for help of some kind, but he just gave him that nodding grin again.

The girls were getting impatient. Aaron tried to focus. How did he know which one was the best masseuse? Aaron realized that wasn’t the idea. He was supposed to pick the one that he found

most appealing. The one he’d like to spend the next hour or so with. The one he’d want to be intimate with. Terror would only suggest what Aaron experienced over those next few minutes. The best he could do was offer them a fragile smile.

When even looked like Khiêm was giving up on him, a girl stepped forward. She took Aaron by the arm and smiled sweetly. This cooled his fear a bit, but as she directed him toward a door in the back of the room his thoughts went wild. She clung even tighter, perhaps to reassure him. She could probably feel him shaking. They followed a corridor to a door, which had two massage tables. Two? For the first time he noticed that Khiêm and another girl had followed them into the room, and he felt a great relief. He wouldn’t be alone with her after all. This gave him confidence. Nothing bad will happen.

The girls handed Khiêm and Aaron towels and asked them to take their clothes off. Not only had Aaron just met Khiêm for the first time that day, but he had only seconds before met the girls and now they wanted him to take his clothes off. He first thought this only meant down to his underwear, but as he saw out of the corner of eye Khiêm had taken those off too. He had delayed things enough and he was already committed this far. No choice. With the larger of the two towels over him, Aaron pulled off his clothes as quickly as he could, all the while wondering if the girls were looking at him strangely.

His masseuse invited him to get up on the table and then took the towel and folded it over his lower half. As he stared a donut-shaped face-rest, he could hear and feel the girl applying lotion to his back. When she made contact, Aaron was in heaven. It felt magical. It was in no way sexual. It just felt like she was smoothing out all of his stresses. As she moved up his back, to his arms, neck and head his entire body was diving deeper and deeper into the calmest calm he had ever known. He not only felt the stresses of the last few weeks fade away, but Aaron also felt the stresses of the years before melt into nothingness. It was what he imagined true bliss must feel like.

His peace was suddenly disrupted by the seismic snoring coming from the table next to him. It seemed that Khiêm had reached similar blissful heights as Aaron did but his had caused him to fall dead asleep. His masseuse sat next him, arms folded, scowling. After all that fear and confusion, and then bliss, Aaron found the whole situation totally hilarious. Aaron couldn’t hold back. He snorted out a series tiny laughs that lead to a full-on belly laugh. His masseuse also joined in the laughter, which eventually goaded Khiêm masseuse into joining the other two. What made it even funnier was that Khiêm’s snores were the typical seesaw undulation you usually get. No, his were sporadic and came at different lengths and intensities. Aaron and his masseuse would pause as they heard a new come on and then after it would be let loose, they’d laugh their heads off. Khiêm’s masseuse eventually got sick of it and left the road.

In his present state of mind, Aaron had no problem being ‘alone’ with his masseuse. Even when she told him to flip over, he was totally at ease. He got a little nervous when she went to work on

his thighs, but she never went below the towel at any point. He was pretty sure that if he wanted something extra, he would have to ask for it. At least with this girl, it seemed to work that way. She tried to ask him questions in her very limited English about where he was from and he was there. Aaron offered to help her with her English, but she just smiled. She then told Aaron how he was different. She shown him how most guys would’ve reached up her shirt by now and he hadn’t. Aaron smiled at this in way to tell her ‘that’s right’ and asked why she worked at Miu Miu. The mood changed. From what he could understand she had disgraced her family, got pregnant, and they kicked her out. She had no means of support, so she took a job there. The second she finished talking, a deafening snore erupted in the room, bringing smiles back to their faces and the room filled with laughter again.

Aaron’s masseuse suggested more spa treatments: “hair wash, nails: toes and fingers, and skin.” He thought, why not? With Khiêm sacked out like that, he had time to kill. Plus, he had never had most of those things before. They left the room quietly.

The girl was very gentle. Aaron appreciated her subtle movements: how she tenderly touched the tips of each of his fingers, how she glided the green-colored skin cleanser across his cheeks, how she cautious stopped a drip of conditioner from getting in his eye. During all of this their conversations were minimal and only touched on simpler, happier subjects. Aaron also learned her name, Mai. He especially wanted to know this so there would be no awkwardness when went to Miu Miu next time.

Outside, Khiêm apologized twenty-five times. Aaron tried to stop him but it was pointless. After a few long breaths, Khiêm’s recording loop kicked in – “Okay. Cun. You li’. We go ni’ pla’.”

Aaron smiled thoughtfully – “No, Mr. Khiêm, it’s okay. I’m tired now. Maybe next Sunday?” “Miu Miu no goo’? I sorry, very sorry. I sleep. No goo’. We go new pla’. Cun. You li’.” Aaron laughed – “No, Miu Miu was great, really great. I feel very good. I just…”
“Okay. We go Skyde’. I know you li’.”

Aaron was starting to lose the calm he had just gained – “Thank you, but I really think I should back to the hotel now.”

“It okay. I slip. I made bap for you, bu’ you li’ goo’. High, very high. See all Saigom.”

He took a deep breath – “Okay” – he could tell that Khiêm felt bad and needed to do this to make it up to him.

The Saigon Skydeck was located near the top of a modern glass and steel building that towered well over the entire city. It stood as a bizarre contradiction to the museums and temples that Aaron had visited. From the bottom it looked that you would be exposed to the elements, standing on a precipice that dangled well away from the main configuration of the building. But when the got up there, Aaron was relieved to see the Skydeck was completely enclosed by the same glass and steel used throughout structure. Under a dusky haze, Aaron saw the Saigon River worm its way through the city and disappear into the horizon. His heart sunk, seeing all the modern stone, glass and cement structures that stood on both sides of the river. He expected to see more pockets of ancient buildings and greenery for such an old city, but from that height it looked more like Los Angeles, or New York, or any other modern metropolis. But he couldn’t really fault Vietnam from wanting to appear progressive since lots of outsiders only have images of dirt roads, huts and palm trees. But then again it was puzzling that an eastern communist country would even want to imitate western affluence.

That night Aaron got the best night’s sleep since arriving in Ho Chi Minh City, which helped the workweek go by smoothly. Students made small but significant improvements. Linh was finally able to pronounce the complete lists of appetizers and main courses with much greater clarity. Aaron felt much more comfortable with everything. He was honestly enjoying himself. Midweek, he even ventured back to Miu Miu on his own, and after some awkwardness of having to remind Mai of who he was and this only by referring to his snoring companion, he got another relaxing full body massage. Before Aaron left, Mai made sure to give him her card so there would be no misunderstanding next time.

With week 5, his last week, rolling up so soon, Aaron felt the need to expand his horizons and venture beyond Ho Chi Minh, especially since he’d have a two-day weekend due to a national holiday. He researched his options online and chose Vũng Tàu; it was smaller than Saigon, and had a more relaxed vibe, good street food and beaches. In some ways it sounded like Santa Barbara. Dr. Dũng said it was an excellent choice and after giving him the needed funds, offered to send him with Khiêm. But Aaron wanted to go alone. He felt ready for something like that. He knew how to get there, high-speed ferry, and he had reserved out a nice hotel, Lan Rung, with an ocean view, and he made a list of the places he’d like to visit, The White Palace, Pineapple Beach, The Whale Museum, and food he wanted to try, stingray hot pot, khot cakes and hu tieu. He had also booked a taxi that would pick him up from work and take him straight to the ferry, so he could have two full days there.

The trip down river was surprisingly smooth. Aaron was the only non-native on board, and this doubly confirmed that Vũng Tàu was the right choice. The Vietnamese traveler seemed to be from all stripes: tall/short, thin/fat, old/young, and from their smiley faces and lively talk he

could tell they were also looking forward to a couple days off. Aaron just sat back, taking it all in. Resting his eyes, Aaron let the rise and fall of the voices around him flow into his ears. They soon took on a melody of their own.

Set on a hillside, amongst groves of palm trees, the Lan Rung did not disappoint. It had everything a 4-star resort should have: an outdoor pool and dining areas, a gym and game room, a spa and sauna, and pillared porches and arched walkways. Best of all, he only needed to exit the back door and he’d be right on the beach. Aaron’s room made the one he had in Ho Chi Minh look paltry. First off, the bathroom alone was the same size as that room. The furnishings were a tasteful blend of modern and classical. The bed had an ornate head and footboard that had been exquisitely aged and detailed to match the Baroque period. There was also a huge wardrobe that was decorated with a similar design and detail. Where the ceiling met the wall was an elaborate cornice and in the center of the ceiling a three-tiered chandelier. On the nightstand was a single purple orchid in a thin, white vase, and through the window was an endless view of the South China Sea.

Aaron unpacked quickly and went down to the beach to catch the sunset. A blend of reds, oranges, and yellows filled the sky, offset only a sliver of land dotted with palms and a handful of tiny islands in the distance. He had seen numerous beach sunsets in California, but there was something unique about the one. It felt truly different. It was probably because Aaron felt different. It was like he was seeing something for the first time, or in a way he’d never had before. It felt real, like he was simultaneously connected to it all, while at the same time being genuinely free of everything.

Following Dr. Dũng’s advice, Aaron took a taxi to Nhà Hàng New Quắn for dinner. His boss had told him about the excellent traditional food, so he wasn’t expecting the place to have an entrance decorated like a Salvador Dali underwater dreamscape. The façade had the look of heavy stone, all painted aqua. At the base and going up the sides of the building were full of life- size dolphins riding waves, seals gliding up and down rocky crags, and seagulls standing proudly at attention. On top was a gigantic splattered wine bottom topped with a yellow ball in corner and a massive bowl with a globe on a pedestal in it, between these was a colossal clam shell opened wide and beaming with light. Also, near the roof but facing the outside of the building were two gold larger than life-size mermaids. Thankfully, the food wasn’t as extreme. The shrimp in the khot cakes were not overcooked and the batter wasn’t overfried, and his bowl of hu tieu was chockfull of tasty rice noodles, pork, shrimp with the right amount of spices and lemon. Aaron felt confident enough to order a beer, so he topped off his meal off with a low-alcohol Rooster pilsner.

The first place he visited the next day was the White Palace, which reminded him of the Independence Palace, with all of its well-preserved rooms of decorative thick wood furniture, colorful floor tiles and ancient pottery. One striking difference was that it was located on a hill, so Aaron got a nice view of the ships coming in and out of the harbor below.

He was hoping to get a bit more out his second destination, but the Whale Museum turned out to be a bit of a dud. It was actually a full-on red, yellow and blue Buddhist temple with a whale display in the center of it. The central part of the display was a glass case full of real whalebones. Aaron knew there must’ve been some cultural significance of all of it, most likely related to the worship of whales, but no explanation was given and everyone around him seemed either oblivious to the facts or incapable of explaining them to him in English. He also couldn’t ask them why the Whale Temple was full of what looked like oversize roosters and herons standing on tortoises.

Aaron was planning on spending the rest of the daylight hours on Pineapple Beach, soaking in the sun, but the calm undulations of the waters made him feel a bit drowsy and he went back to the hotel. Though he wasn’t that hungry, he went out to their patio restaurant and got some fried calamari to snack on and some lemon water to wash it down. As he sat, he could feel his mood slipping. He was starting to feel a little annoyed about the choices he had made. Before it could take root, he called the food server back and asked him to where else he could go.

“It depen’ wha’ you wan. You wan’ bar? Clup? Girl?”

Aaron thought he had left that behind in Ho Chi Minh City, but it clearly was everywhere.

“No, I want to learn more about Vietnam, your culture, your history.”

“Ohhhh. I see. You lik’ war? Dere is Rober’ Taylor Mooseum. It have gum and uniforn. Many counshry. Many history.”

Aaron considered this.

“Or you lik’ Sao Mai. It have many bik gum an’ old house an’ old wall. Outside. We figh’ Frensh dere. Ni’ day for outside. T’morrow maybe no. You go Sao Mai.”

Aaron then thanked him and asked for directions.

The mid-afternoon sun was hot on his back as he climbed the infinite number of stairs up to the fortifications his server had neglected to mention. Needless to say, Aaron was more than tired and sweaty when he reached the top. He then had to walk another quarter mile up a slight hill to the actual buildings. Thankfully, this path was shaded by trees. The fortifications were impressive piece of history, but limited. Aaron appreciated the sturdy, octagonal stones that

formed the walls that lined the outside of Sao Mai and being able to walk down authentic underground torpedo tunnels and into a handful of disused armories. But that was really it, and again there were no signs to tell Aaron the detail of what he was looking at it.

He clearly should’ve booked a guide for this trip. He was missing out on so much and it was beginning to feel isolating. He had thought about taking a guided tour, but threw it out since, in Aaron’s newfound independence, he didn’t want to be locked into someone else’s choices and someone else’s timetable. Had the information he had read online mentioned the lack of guidebooks or basic signage he certainly would’ve joined a tour.

Aaron hesitated taking another recommendation but he thought it might be safer asking where he could get some authentic Vung Tau street food for dinner. He also got this info from the receptionist at the hotel to avoid any awkwardness with that food server.

The taxi dropped him at the top of Truong Cong Dinh and Aaron walked through crowds of Vietnamese people milling around businesses that nearly spilled into the street until he found what he was looking for. Lau Ca Duoi, a place known for its stingray hot pot. Aaron was even told how to pronounce some basics so he got the right thing. He heard a gooey, slimy sound as the street vendor picked a stingray from the pile. The vendor passed it to the chef who took a massive cleaver and chopped that stingray into small chunks and then threw them into a pot full of spices to boil. Aaron was told to sit while it cooked and they placed plates of rice noodles, morning glory, mint and bean sprouts in front of him.

“You add to sup. You li’ drin’? Beer? Coca-cola?”

Aaron ordered a beer and they brought back a mug of Saigon Green with a straw. He smiled at the straw. For a second, it made him feel like a little kid.

The meal came brimming in a huge metal pot with a burning flame under it. Aaron struggled with the chopsticks so they brought over plastic utensils. When he had nearly overflowed the soup onto the table, the vendor stopped laughing and came over to help him. She delicately lifted to remove the largest bit of stingray and placed it in a bowl. Then scooped up a healthy amount of broth to pour over it.

“Veg’able coo’. Then you it all. Okay?”
He again felt like a little children, but said – “Okay.”

“Pliz. It stingray now” – with the widest of smiles, she pointed at the bowl and then lifted her hand toward her mouth to demonstrate what he should do.

Aaron tried not to be self-conscious as she watched him pull off a bit of the meat with a spork and place it and some broth in his mouth. He almost died. It was surprisingly soft and chewy with a nice kick of spice and in no way fishy.

Seeing his smile, the vendor said – “You lik’. Goo’” – and left to help another customer.

Aaron was glad he was hungry, but this was way too much food. He noticed that other tables had Vietnamese families and large groups of friends adding and dipping to their hotpots. He was party of one. Aaron instantly felt like a glutton. He almost didn’t want to eat it now, but he couldn’t let all that good food go to waste. Plus, he was sure it would insult his hosts.

Aaron tried his best to eat as much as he could, but he was slipping into loneliness as the beautiful bright colors of the sunset blanketed the skies and laughter and spirited voices filled in the street. He wished he could beam Dexter and Finn up. He was sure they would love it there. He was almost tempted to call them, but he was sure they’d hear the sadness in his voice and think he was pathetic. It’d be the same with his mom, except she’d tack on worry, which would make him feel guilty. He could cut his trip short, go back to Saigon that night.

As Aaron felt his anger growing, he fought it. He was having experiences that he had never had before in his life. Experiences that other people only dream about. Okay, many have been tainted by an alien set of morals, but isn’t that why he wanted to go there? Aaron wanted to dive into a different culture to see how people in a completely different part of the world think, live and breathe. Well, he got it, big time. And despite the craziness, he’s thrived. Aaron had not only emerged from each experience a bit stronger, but he had also reached a place where was finally living free, independent of the demands of others. He was feeling good in himself for the first time in a long time. He knew what was important to him, what he valued, and what was needed. He’d be a serious fool to just trash that.

Back in the Lan Rung, he walked through the lobby towards the back bar, and a passing sign caught his eye: spa. He stopped, but before he could go in, the food server from earlier, blocked his way.

“So wha’ you t’ink of Sao Mai? You li’?”
Aaron had almost forgotten the place; it seemed so long ago.

“Sao Mai real histry.”
“Yes, it was great” – Aaron lied.
“Goo’. Goo’. My gran’faduh. He solder dere. I visi’ meny time az boy. I glad you li’.” Aaron felt a twinge of guilt, but still managed to say – “I’m sure you are very proud of him.” “P’oud. Yes. I’m very p’oud. Okay. Have a goo’ nigh’” – and walked away.

Aaron tried to say thank you, you too, but he was gone to quick. He was sure if he had had that bit of personal info, he wouldn’t have felt so indifferent about Sao Mai. Rolling these thoughts around in head, he stared blankly at the spa door.

It’s then he said aloud – “Mai.”

He reached into wallet and pulled out her business card and rapidly tapped her number into his phone before he could change his mind. She answered on the second ring.

After identifying himself, he swallowed big and said – “How are you, Mai? Good I hope. Yes. I, well, I have a question for you.”

“You wan message?”
He swallowed even bigger – “No. Well. No, I want you to come to Vung Tau. Tomorrow.” “Vung Tau? Oh, I don’ know, Ah’ron. I work.”
“But it’s Hung King’s Festival tomorrow. No work.”
“We open. Tourist cun.”

He had to take short breaths to think and then asked – “So, do you have appointments now for tomorrow?”

“No.”

He could feel his entire shuddering – “Great. Okay…Okay…. Mai, tell me, how much money you make in one day?”

“I don’ know. Sonetime maybe one milliom dong.”

Aaron’s insides tightened – “Then I will pay you two million dong to come here. I pay ferry, food, everything.”

“You very ni’ Ah’ron bu’ you cam ge’ other girl for trib. She ma’ you feel ni’.”

He was about to collapse – “Please Mai. I don’t want another girl. I just need a friend. No sex. I promise. Just a friend.”

Aaron heard silence and his body sunk even more. Then, very quietly – “Okay. I cun. Friend is goo’.”

Aaron needed a few moments for this to soak in, and then he told her to meet him at his hotel at 10am and that he’d leave a ticket for her at the ferry office under his name. He added that he would wait in the lobby, not his room, just so it was clear.

Unsurprisingly, Aaron found it hard to sleep.

Aaron was bouncing with energy as he saw Mai roll up in a taxi. It was 11am, but he honestly didn’t care. He rushed out the door and down the front steps to greet her, trying and failing to look relaxed. She was dressed much more modestly, in a bright yellow sundress that seemed to radiate. Aaron wasn’t sure what to do. A hug was impossible. A kiss even more ridiculous. And a handshake sounded stupid. He opted for a smile and a wave. Mai smiled and waved back, so he was happy to see he was starting on the right foot. Aaron then asked the driver to hang as they planned their next move. She had eaten breakfast, so Aaron asked if there was anyplace she’d like to visit. Mai told him Núi Nhỏ so that’s what he told the driver.

On the way Aaron learned Mai had come to Vung Tau as a small child and remembered climbing Núi Nhỏ with her family and how happy they were. Though the story was underscored with sadness, Aaron was more than overjoyed that he could bring some happiness back to her life.

Núi Nhỏ was called The Small Mountain in English and to get to the top, there was another one of those endless stairways. This time Aaron didn’t mind them. With Mai at his side, the ascent took on the qualities of ease and weightlessness. His mind was in such a faraway place that he almost didn’t noticed the detailed faces of the twelve bearded men carved into the stonework, or statues of chubby white alabaster angels dancing aside the stairway. What drew him back to the setting was what stood at the top of the stairs, especially as it was at least one hundred feet high. It was a white stone carving of Jesus, arms outspread with a halo encircling his humongous head. It rose above the city like a distant cousin to the statue in Rio de Janeiro. Immediately below his feet was a rounded pedestal that sat atop a rectangular base, what contained an embossed gold representation of the Last Supper. Sitting in front of Jesus was another white statue resembling Michelangelo’s Pieta. As they made their way up farther, Aaron spied more statues, each depicting a biblical character or a story from the Bible.

Aaron thought it curious that a Buddhist country would have such blatant Christian symbols. Mai said it was from the French and their Church. He wondered what would make them keep it, since those colonists are long gone, but she couldn’t answer that.

To his utter joy, Aaron discovered that you could climb up Jesus’ body, like the Statue of Liberty, and get a bird’s eye view from his shoulder. After complying with the no shoes rule, Aaron and Mai followed the others up the spiraling stairs, skillfully maneuvering around those coming back down so their toes wouldn’t get smashed. Mai and Aaron could only laugh at the many failed attempts they made to get out of people’s way. At the top, they stood on opposite sides of Jesus’ head. After smiling across at one another, Aaron turned to look out at the greenery that covered the west of Vung Tau and Mai looked at the cityscapes in the east.

On their way back down the stair, Aaron pointed out the many beautiful flowers and Mai told them what they were. Aaron didn’t care that he had no idea what they were called in English; he was just enjoying the conversation.

Since neither had a preference of what to do next, Mai asked a passerby where there was a fun place to go. The young man, who was a visitor to Vung Tau, recommended Nhà Úp Ngược, which Mai translated as “Upside Down House.”

This place was a complete trip. All the furniture was on the ceiling, including the bathroom fixtures, so standing or sitting or lying on the floor made you look like you were on the ceiling yourself. Mai struck various poses as Aaron took photos with his phone. They spent most of the

time trying to breathe from laughing so much. The funniest one was when she jumped up in the bedroom so it looked like she was floating in mid-air above the bed.

Next was lunch. Aaron asked what Mai wanted and she said hamburger. Her choice caught him off guard a little bit, but after last night even he had had enough native food for now.

They went to the Pineapple Beach Bar, a place suggested by their taxi driver. They only did burgers and fries, so it was an obvious choice. After being sat at a patio table with a direct view of ocean, Aaron boldly ordered drinks, A Winking Seal blonde for him, and for Mai, their dragon fruit pale ale. Mai seemed a little surprised.

Aaron tried to pick up the pieces – “Do you like beer, Mai? Sorry, I forgot to ask.”

Mai smiled and said – “No. I li’ smoot’ie. Soursop smoot’ie.”

Aaron shot out of his seat to change the order and Mai laughed.

The drinks came and burger orders were made. Both got what the menu called ‘import’ cheeseburgers, but Aaron got his with a side of bacon.

During their meal, Aaron was amazed to find himself freely chatting away. At no point did he feel shy or nervous or uncomfortable. Mai made it even easier for him. She responded to him with the same gentleness that she exercised in her fingertips when giving a massage. Aaron felt totally uninhibited. He could talk about virtually any subject and not freeze up or feel the need to fill long pauses. In fact, he was enjoying the long pauses, because they gave him to time to think of a new subject. He mainly talked to Mai about his life: his childhood in Goleta, his parents and their quirks, how he became friends with Dexter and Finn, his favorite TV shows and movies, and his obsession with comics. Aaron tried to keep everything simple, just like he had done in his classes, though he knew Mai still didn’t understand everything. Occasionally she’d ask questions about the idioms, comic book jargon or cultural references he’d use and Aaron would do his best to explain them to her. From what he could tell, Mai seemed to be interested in everything he said: like she was captivated by every word, her eyes fixed on his face and hands as he spoke. Aaron was glad he could share his world with her. He was pleased to give her a small sampling of his culture. It was whole other world from one they were currently experiencing, and an entirely different universe from her own.

After lunch, they went down to the beach and took a walk along the shore. As they weave around sunbathers under umbrellas, they silently looked out across the ocean. The horizon spoke to them lands far away; one, which Aaron would return and the other, Mai would only dream of visiting

someday. Aaron hated the idea that she would have to return to that life at Miu Miu, but what could he do? He could send her money, but how much would she need to leave that place? He wasn’t that well off. It would better if he could take her home with him; then he could guarantee her freedom. But what was he going to do? Marry her? This made him laugh. Maybe that’s why they met? Maybe that’s why they are together right now? It wasn’t that crazy. There certainly was a close connection between them. Why else would Aaron be able to talk to Mai like no other girl in his entire life? And he was certainly having a great time, probably the greatest days in his life, and he was sure she was, too. Beyond that, Mai made him feel special, more than anyone ever had. Why shouldn’t he take Mai away from her sucky life? She definitely deserved better than that. She was thoughtful and kind and warm. He could get her over to the States on a green card and then figure it out. Why not? Other people do it. Aaron looked over at Mai, glowing with excitement.

“Wha’ iz it, Ah’ron? You t’ink new pla’?”

He snorted a laugh – “Well, yes, actually I-I-I was wondering…if, well, if you’d like to come back to the United States with me?”

Mai’s face went neutral – “To U.S.?”

“Yes, we-we could get married and…”

“You wan marry me?”

“Well, only if you want, I just want to take you away from…well, from Miu Miu and give you something better.”

“Ta’ me from Vietnam? No.”
“But why? You told me how you had no choice and had to become a masseuse.” “I have son.”
“A son?”
“Yes, I suppor’ son. Need money for son. Jop not bad for son.”

“But I thought you hated Miu Miu.”

“It okay. Some man bad. Bu’ it okay.”

Aaron’s thoughts and emotions swirled like they were caught in a tornado.

“But you…I…what?”

“It okay. I also have o’her boyfriend. Charl’. He from New Yor’. He very ni’ li’ you. He help suppor’ son.”

The tornado was spinning out of control now.
“I li’ you, Ah’ron. You goo’ to me. Bu’ I need suppor’ son, so I cun here. You money help son.” Aaron stared dead-faced as his world crashed around him.
“Pliz. No sad, Ah’ron. I have fun. It okay.”

He wanted to scream back, what do you mean it’s OKAY! He wanted to argue about how better her life would be in America…with him, but he couldn’t. His vocal chords were tired in knots. So he just spiraled down, beating himself up at each twist. He felt stupid. He felt tricked. He felt used.

Aaron needed time to cool off, so he walked away without a word and Mai just watched him go.

Aaron went through his last week in an empty, robotic mode. He did the things that were needed and not much of anything else. He had no drive to put in any additional effort, as he had done the previous weeks. His students’ passed their final tests, except for the ones that were destined never to pass the classes in the first place. He had helped Minh to master up to the main courses, leaving the desserts and drinks for the next teacher that comes her way. Luckily, there weren’t any end of term parties Aaron had to endure; it was already hard enough to tolerate their compliments and thank-yous. Aaron made sure he stayed way clear of Stanley, Sean and Jeff. He

knew they would want to know about his encounter with Mai. They’d expect juicy details, and he thought of making something up, but again why should he waste what little energy he had placating a bunch of degenerates.

Saturday finally rolled around and Aaron was looking forward to getting paid and going home.

A fully-clothed Dr. Dũng greeted him warmly – “Good afternoon Mr. Aaron. I suspect you are here for your money.”

He only wanted to take it and go, but managed to get out – “Yes, I am.” “Good. Good. I trust you had a good time here.”
Aaron tried not to hesitate too much and kept it simple – “Yes. I did.”

Ignoring the obvious lack of enthusiasm in Aaron’s reply, Dr. Dũng continued with – “Excellent. I am so glad. I’d like to ask you if you’d be interested in teaching in the autumn term. We just had someone drop out and I thought you’d be an ideal candidate.”

Aaron told the director a half-truth – “Thank you. I’d love to come back, but I will need to resume my studies. It’s my final year at UC Santa Barbara and I’d rather not delay it.”

“Oh I see. I see. Of course. I, for one, understand the importance of an education. But if anything should change, please do not hesitate to contact me. The students were most pleased with your teaching and I can tell from our conversations and my conversation with them that you are a man of dedication and a strong work ethic.”

This helped Aaron form a smile. At least that went over well. “I will definitely let you know, Dr. Dũng. Thank you.”

“You are most welcome, most welcome. It’s rare man that comes here with work as his top priority, if you know what I mean. Even as a native of this country, I am not blind to what are most popular commodity is. It is I who should be thanking you.”

Thought that buoyed Aaron up even more, he wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to Dr. Dũng, so he nodded his head, agreeably.

“Now to your money” – the director clicked opened the safe and pulled out several wads of $20s, $10s, and $5s. – “Please hand me that counter over there” – he pointed at the shelf behind Aaron.

Dr. Dũng fed the machine until he got the right amount and then placed the large piles of money on his desk in front of Aaron. Aaron’s eyes got big and he tried not to laugh as he pictured how he’d get back to California with a 16-inch stack of bills. Would they take it out of his carry-on? If he left it in his check-in luggage, would the baggage claim people steal it? Would they think that he was a mule for a drug trafficker and this was his pay-off? But then again, Aaron assumed Tôn Hải Dũng School must pay their staff this way all the time, so it had to be safe.

Just in case, Aaron got a box and packing tape, and sealed the money in tight. He decided to put it in his check-in luggage and then wrap all his suitcases with the stretch wrap available at the airport. And hope to God that they no one ripped that particular suitcase open and found the box of money. After all he went through that would probably push him to the edge of suicide.

Flying home, he relaxed by playing Tetris on the screen built into the seat in front of him. It always had a significant calming effect on his mind. All the while he couldn’t help feeling like an astronaut coming back from a distant planet with his exploratory mission completed and how he’d have to prepare for the debriefing upon re-entry. He thought of what he would tell his friends about that alien world, what details he’d leave in and what details he’d leave out. He’d definitely tell them how different the alien creatures were from the ones in their world. Aaron thought of ignoring the whole thing with Mai, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to overlook that planet’s most mystifying creature. All Aaron did know for sure was, like all astronauts who have ventured into the far-flung reaches of space, he was returning home a radically different person than the one he was when he left.