ΠΕΡΙΟΔΙΚΟ ΜΕ ΨΥΧΗ, BLOG ΧΩΡΙΣ ΣΩΨΥΧΑ. ΟΣΑ ΑΦΟΡΟΥΝ ΤΟ ΜΟΝΑΔΙΚΟ ΑΝΕΞΑΡΤΗΤΟ ΠΕΡΙΟΔΙΚΟ ΤΗΣ ΠΟΛΗΣ. ΕΔΩ ΣΤΕΛΝΕΙΣ ΓΝΩΜΕΣ/ΙΣΤΟΡΙΕΣ ΠΟΥ ΑΦΟΡΟΥΝ ΤΟ SOUL. INTERACTION ΔΕΝ ΗΘΕΛΕΣ;
Traveling alone as a woman poses its own unique challenges, as Joanne Ryan found out on a recent trip to Vietnam…
It’s not easy to find tampons in Vietnam. I found that out pretty early on. Little did I know, as I staggered around like John Wayne with an incontinence pad strapped to my knickers, that this would soon be the very least of my womanly worries.
I was to spend three weeks traveling solo from Hanoi to HCMC, before meeting up with friends in Phnom Penh. Though excited and eager for adventure, it was also with a little apprehension that I flew into Hanoi. A young, innocent, my mother might say pretty, Irish girl; alone, and at the mercy of cruel rapists, bandits and frauds. Was I to be bludgeoned to death, and my mangled corpse tossed as food to the mythical tortoise in Hoan Kiem Lake?
Despite some initial disorientation and strange inability to read a simple map, I quickly settled into my small, family run hotel in the Old Quarter. I was delighted to find they had provided a complimentary used toothbrush for my convenience in the en suite, and happily passed my first days learning basic Vietnamese at Golden Key Language School. Phuong, my patient teacher, drilled into me those words and phrases that she felt, in her wisdom, I needed to know.
Among other things, there are no less than eighteen words for the pronoun ‘you’ in Vietnamese, depending on the age and gender of who you are addressing (I wondered that I would address eighteen people on the entire trip, let alone men, women and children of every age group). She taught me several idioms, including my favorite ‘An mannoi ngay, con hon an chay noi doi’ which can be translated as ‘Better to be an honest meat eater than a dishonest vegetarian’ (I happen to be a vegetarian). Also being born in 1980 (the year of the monkey) she was able to explain why I was so stubborn, difficult and at the old, withered age of 26, sadly childless and unmarried.
Finally, the day came to study the language for that great activity my gender is genetically predisposed to, shopping. I rushed directly from the class to the market and returned to my snug hotel room weighed down with an exotic array of new beauty products. The strain of being a SWF was now taking its toll on my complexion, so among my finds was a tube of fluorescent orange ‘Acne Offensive Gel’.
pet insurance Animals are often very predictable and constant in their reaction to their owner. Keep your pet well groomed to avoid skin irritation, which can also lead to bacterial or parasite infection. Treatments are pretty fantastic ways of helping your dog.
3 Comments:
Woman’s Vietnam 1
A Pregnant Heifer Surfing a Pyramid
Traveling alone as a woman poses its own unique challenges, as
Joanne Ryan found out on a recent trip to Vietnam…
It’s not easy to find tampons in Vietnam. I found that out pretty early on. Little did I know, as I staggered around like John Wayne with an incontinence pad strapped to my knickers, that this would soon be the very least of my womanly worries.
I was to spend three weeks traveling solo from Hanoi to HCMC, before meeting up with friends in Phnom Penh. Though excited and eager for adventure, it was also with a little apprehension that I flew into Hanoi. A young, innocent, my mother might say pretty, Irish girl; alone, and at the mercy of cruel rapists, bandits and frauds. Was I to be bludgeoned to death, and my mangled corpse tossed as food to the mythical tortoise in Hoan Kiem Lake?
Despite some initial disorientation and strange inability to read a simple map, I quickly settled into my small, family run hotel in the Old Quarter. I was delighted to find they had provided a complimentary used toothbrush for my convenience in the en suite, and happily passed my first days learning basic Vietnamese at Golden Key Language School. Phuong, my patient teacher, drilled into me those words and phrases that she felt, in her wisdom, I needed to know.
Among other things, there are no less than eighteen words for the pronoun ‘you’ in Vietnamese, depending on the age and gender of who you are addressing (I wondered that I would address eighteen people on the entire trip, let alone men, women and children of every age group). She taught me several idioms, including my favorite ‘An mannoi ngay, con hon an chay noi doi’ which can be translated as ‘Better to be an honest meat eater than a dishonest vegetarian’ (I happen to be a vegetarian). Also being born in 1980 (the year of the monkey) she was able to explain why I was so stubborn, difficult and at the old, withered age of 26, sadly childless and unmarried.
Finally, the day came to study the language for that great activity my gender is genetically predisposed to, shopping. I rushed directly from the class to the market and returned to my snug hotel room weighed down with an exotic array of new beauty products. The strain of being a SWF was now taking its toll on my complexion, so among my finds was a tube of fluorescent orange ‘Acne Offensive Gel’.
J.R.
(to be continued)
10:19 AM
Support the good music and your friends, guys!
7:38 AM
pet insurance
Animals are often very predictable and constant in their reaction to their owner. Keep your pet well groomed to avoid skin irritation, which can also lead to bacterial or parasite infection. Treatments are pretty fantastic ways of helping your dog.
2:07 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home