Day 1

sunday, July 16

we arrived in Vietnam in the afternoon. Upon arrival and luggage pick-up we were hassled by customs. Slipped them a 20 and went on our way.

10 years ago was the last time i was here. Not much has changed. Everyone and everything look all the same. Surprisingly, it's not as hot as i thought. Still humid though.

Atempting to stay low key i decide to get a hair cut. My cousin takes me litterally two houses down, less than 20 feet west of us to this stylist. I tell him to make everything around my head an inch long and instead, they wash my hair and give me a kick-ass facial. Then the dude cuts my hair. He styles the shit out of it, using four different types of scissors. Turns out good as fuck and it only cost 30,000 dong (less than 3 bucks).

Next, i visit some relatives and friends of my moms. They all remember me. Wish i could say the same. 14 people live in one of the houses i visited. Its a four story house. However, each floor is not much more than 15 ft x 15 ft. My non-immediate cousin is one member in that household. Shes a stay at home mom at that house. Shes younger than me. Her husband brings home 200 dollars US a month.

My aunt, uncle and cousins live in a 3 story structure. The first story is a third general goods store which they sell soda, cigarettes, crackers, etc. and the other two thirds consists of the kitchen and eating table. The second floor is where we'll be sleeping. The third floor is where they sleep. The whole house totals less than 800 square feet. They barely make shit from the goods they sell. Fortunately, one of my cousins, Mai has got them covered. She just graduated college and She works at the airport. She makes 300 dollars a month. She provides for all of them. Big ups. My other cousin left to take her exit exam so she can attend college. The other helps around the house. Theres also a baby cat. Shes there to catch mice.


I could go on and on about these first 5 hours. Ive already seen and heard so much and its so fulfilling. I realize that i am more jaded and fucked that i thought normally...
However, i do intend to fix this....along with the way i structure my writing.