It has been a bit since I posted and what a change! Those 65+ yr olds that gave me glares were actually shy. I have been the the same neighborhood for about 2wks now and what a wonderful difference. I kept smiling and waiving. Today almost ever single one of them smile and wave back. They say hello
I realize saying Hi is actually Vietnamese is the number 2. It’s like me walking by someone and saying two. They see me every day and they are warm.
Before I came here I negotiated to go off Airbnb and pay the same price (350,000 dong or $18.42CAD) so he doesn’t need to pay fees. I also asked if I could bring some western spices and cook for his family. He agreed to both. Allseason spice and Old Bay.
He agreed I can buy the protein and he get vegetables. There are many markets here and highly popular but he took me to a locals only market. It is off a major street then down catacombs of alleys. Once we got there it was unbelievable! Everything was alive or alive that morning and on ice. Shrimp 6-7 size per pound was 350,000 dong or $18.42CAD per kilogram. They looked like langosteins. Oysters were the same size I get at Ocean’s grocery store in Brampton for $3/ea.
Vietnamese eat seafood like we eat beef, pork or chicken. It is the preferred protein. He goes there all the time and so I asked him to negotiate.
We got…..prices are set but volume is negotiable.
2kg oysters- They were FAT oysters
I watched the scale go well past 2kg then she put 3 more in the bag. They were alive. Whe we got back there were over two dozen!
1kg 16-20 size shrimp. Again the scale went well past 1kg then she put over a half dozen more in. I cleaned them all. All friggin 56 of them. Took me at least 20mins. Never frozen shrimp are WAY more difficult to clean.
3 chicken quarters- these were 90% of the largest I have ever seen in my life. Here no antibiotics or anything. They are raised often individually in hemisphere chicken wire cages that are moved every few hours. About 2.5ft diameter. Didn’t see the weight but I think it was barely under 1kg.
All the above. Sit down guys- 500,000 dong or $26.32CAD. This is with a local negotiating at a locals only market for me. Oysters were 50,000 per kilogram, shrimp were 200,000 per kilogram and chicken 200,000 per kilogram. Divide by 19,000 to get CAD.
We went home and I was allowed to cook the chicken and shrimp making broth from the shrimp shells with Old Bay. The shrimp dried and tossed with Old Bay. Men DO NOT cook in the family unless it is to grill. His wife had a difficult time letting me
but she did.
Here family lives together. It is a home stay so 6 rentals out of 10 apartments. They all live together- Parents, my landlord (Thien), his wife and 3 children and his two brothers. All separate apartments 2 on one floor and 2 on the next floor above.
They also cooked octopus and wacks of vegetables. Typing it out will take too long. A four hour story short- We laughed, talked, ate and laughed some more. Drank about 14 beer between 4 of us. Used google translator a lot but they did have great broken English. I was told before I leave they want to invite the rest of the family (sisters and their family) over for a party in my honour. WTF it’s been a decade since someone did that and it was my friend in Alabama. I was and still am flabbergasted and feel welcome like a brother to him and family.
This morning I went to the same coffee shop three doors down from the homestead. Yesterday the late 60’s couple that said hello to me was there again just like the day before but this time them, another couple in their mid 70’s, two old guys, the owner and his wife (early 60’s) all beamed smiling from ear to ear yelling “Hello!” Just like cheers when Norm would come in!
Vietnamese are shy to non natives but once they trust you a bit flip flop! Under 25 no but that is a different post. I feel not just welcome I feel part of here in my own way. They sometimes refuse tips or at least beam from them. They don’t treat me like a walking bag of money. Genuine is the best work I can use
at 9:45pm. There is a SHIT LOAD more to come but had to post this…. 8 that is 8 full plates of live seafood (no lobster) I just ate off a BBQ for 430,000 dong ($22.63CAD). Clams, snails, oysters, river shrimp, more clams (wish it was some hot Vietnamese clams I see here, fuck are they ever slim and hot) mantis shrimp, I will post pics when I can get programs installed on this phone.
it’s just like that Britney Spears song….