Broke down crying today. phew...felt pretty good. I needed it. Over the price of a bowl of rice...well, over a misunderstanding about the price of a bowl of rice, really. I was emotionally ok while arguing with the server/manager about the difference between what I was expecting to pay and what she was expecting me to pay, but we were not getting very far. Then a kindly, 40-something man in a suit walked over and asked if I needed help translating. I started tearing up at his kindness. He told me the lady was saying I should pay 8000 Dong (about 50 cents US) for two bowls of white rice (which I already understood perfectly without words), but I was too choked up to explain my side of the story and just stood there with 5000 Dong in my hand, as I was expecting to pay 4000 dong...He thought the problem was that I did not have enough money. He took out his wallet and paid the 3000 Dong price difference. The lady threw up her hands, handed him his money back, and we all disbursed, but I did not feel heard and I think she felt cheated. I tried to maintain most of my composure until I got to a nearby park (good American tourist ambassadors don't walk the streets of foreign cities in tears). I sat on a curb by the pond, laid my heavy head on my folded arms and just sobbed for about 5-15 minutes. 3 people came over to comfort me, but I didn't want comforting--I wanted the tears! I'm fine now. Hanoi is intense. I got lost about 6 times yesterday. One of my first tasks this morning was to buy a map. That helped a ton. As did daylight.
Tonight, me and 2 brits and a finnish guy are going to have a traditional Vietnamese dinner at a local woman's house. We met her on the 24 hour bus ride from Vientiane, Laos, to Hanoi, Vietnam. She was very kind and helped us order food on the way here and paid for our local bus ride from the bus station to our hotel...we'll pay her back, but the gesture was huge. Arriving in this city in the dark and alone, one could easily get badly ripped off. Just when I thought I had travel in SE Asia pegged, I arrived in Vietnam. We'll see how my time here works out. My heart is insistantly calling me back to Thailand, but I booked my visas for Vietnam and Cambodia and don't want to waste them. This is really a silly reason to ignore my heart...and I continue to do it anyway. hmmmm.
I also spent some time in a gothic-style French cathedral today (French colonial rule from back in the day means there's a fair population of catholics here). For St. Joseph, the patron saint of my catholic elementary school. That was pretty cool. Also went into a Vietnamese temple I can only describe as a fusion...the alter held several statues of buddha, as well as several figures that looked like chinese emperors/warriors/old sages. Offerings at the alter included the usual fruit, candles, and inscense, but also pepsi, cookies, and even beer! Apparently these gods live in the modern world...
Some sort of service had just gotten out and a mob of women poured out of the temple, crossed the courtyard, and gathered around two buffet tables to eat. As I was wandering around looking in awe of the place, they invited me over to eat with them. I don't know what it was: some gelatinous rice-based goo about the consistency of thick pudding, topped with finely chopped unrecognizables (greens and mushrooms and egg I think? not meat, I hope), then mint and green onion and a tablespoonful of liquid on top that was supposed to turn it into soup. Strange. My belly is not sure what to think of it, but the welcome warmed my heart and I made many of the women smile, so it was beautiful to be there and partake.
