Our memorable vacation started on June 26^th, 2012, when Greta Lee and Quang Nguyễn joined Đaị Học Khoa Học Saigon group in Paris. This was our first trip with Lệ Chi and we were very excited, eager and enthusiastic to join the tour because Paris is on everyone’s bucket list. I would never forget my first day getting on the bus, it was like my first day going to school, as a kid. Everyone was speaking Vietnamese, and I was clueless. My mother’s tongue is Cantonese, Aka, and Toisan dialects, but I am a total banana, as Western Culture will describe people like me, yellow outside but white inside. Generally speaking, I spoke mostly the Queen’s language, English, so imagine being in my shoes.

After early morning breakfast at the hotel, according to the planned itinerary, it’s Day 1. There were four buses lined up outside the hotel, and it was a beautiful and gorgeous day, with about 200+ energetic people chatting because they haven’t seen each other for many years. Many other people on the tour were simply bustling around the hotel, as the vacation mood and/or momentum continued to increase. In the midst of the chaos, I lost sight of Quang, my anchor, my soulmate, my rock, my best friend on this trip, because I knew no one else on this trip. I started to search for him, but how can I find him when he’s probably the shortest person in the group. Suddenly, I heard names were called to board the buses, but how would I know which bus to go to, when I did not understand what is being said. I looked around, while everybody got on the bus and I had no clue what to do, my heart started thumping and I said to myself, “OMG, where is Quang?” I felt defeated and helpless, and I wanted to cry. Yes indeed, I felt like a needle in a haystack! I was lost for words and this was only the beginning of the trip. Suddenly, Quang appeared in front of me, and asked: “Why are you not in the bus?” I blatantly replied, “Quang, how do I know which bus we are in…..duh?” Reality hit him and he said, “Oh, you’re in bus #3”. I immediately boarded bus #3, and my survival instinct kicked in while I settled in my seat, and without hesitation, I learned the Vietnamese word “sooố baaa” which meant a lot to me, that my bus #3 was here, so it was time to board the correct bus. In hindsight, every morning, I listened carefully to the following words: “Xeee sooố mooột, sooố haaai, sooố baaa, sooố boốn”.