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”.

We arrived in downtown Munich on Wednesday, July 11^th, 2012. Greta, Quang, Hoằng, and Hùng, hired a local guide to pedal us on a tricycle bike tour around the city, so we could learn some historical facts about Munich and its culture. We wanted to grab something to eat, so we walked into a German restaurant called Hofbräuhaus am Platzl

and we met this friendly German woman in the restaurant. We wanted to eat local, so we ordered four kinds of German veal sausages and some beer. Unfortunately, we were crunched for time, so we gobbled our food and drink, paid our bill, and started to run towards our pick up location. The German woman was very sympathetic to us and led us to the bus stop. Actually, we had offered her a beer, so she showed her gratitude by directing us via a short cut to the bus stop. We arrived at the bus stop at 7:30 pm, but the buses were already pulling away, so we all started yelling breathlessly “Stop, Stop, Stop!” and waving helplessly at the buses. However, the first three buses continued to drive away. Fortunately, the last bus had to stop at the red traffic light. Even though this was not our bus, “xeee sooố baaa”, we gladly got on the wrong bus. After we humbly hopped into the bus, some of them started talking to Quang and sure enough, I was clueless as to what has just happened. One of the ladies said to me, “You’re lucky, the buses have been waiting since 7 pm, so you’re 30 minutes late”. I was baffled at her remarks because we honestly thought we needed to get back at 7:30 pm, but apparently the time was changed without our knowledge. After this incident, Lệ Chi warned the group, “in future, if you missed the bus, you would have to find your way to the next destination at your own expense”. As we were mostly adults on tour, we adhered to Lệ Chi’s verbal warning and obediently buckled down and tried not to be late. Then without hesitation, a late fee fine was implemented! Yes, a hat would be presented to you to collect a fine, when you board the bus late. If you’re 5 minutes late, it’s cost money; and if you’re 10 minutes late, it cost more $$$$$$$, and so on. Believe me, that $$$ fine hurts, especially when you do not understand the Vietnamese language, and you do not know the correct (exact) time to return to the bus, because everyone in the bus for some odd reason, hears a different time!

After our Paris trip, we had joined Lệ Chi on many other memorable tours with Đaị Học Khoa Học Saigon group; including Australia, New Zealand, Japan (Fall), Northern Europe (Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland), Japan (Spring) and finally, Africa (South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia). So who knows, many more trips coming, right Lệ Chi … Maybe South America J, Asia, Tibet, Africa (again)…

Greta Lee,

December 2018