Many people believe that Saigon is a city where you can live without speaking Vietnamese. However, having some talk with local people in their language can make your day more interesting, even if it takes you great patience and willingness to face the despair when everyone looks at you as if you were from another planet.

Jacqueline R Kehoe has a lot of experience in this. Sometimes, trying to speak Vietnamese makes her feel bad, but sometimes she also gets a good deal.

It's a week like this when I'm not sure my goals are going to be met. I went to get a massage the other day – I finally have a regular place and a regular masseuse – and in talking to the woman there, I could barely spit out, "em la giao vien tieng anh" when she asked me what my job was. And then to say, "em lam viec tu 7 gio den bay gio" might as well have been asking me to pull a rabbit out of my purse. I had a serious case of stage fright. Luckily, she was very patient with me (I was paying her after all, I suppose) and after I repeated myself a few times she understood.

My Vietnamese is like most people's singing: fantastic in the shower; in real life, not so much. I seem to be having a lot of these moments lately. I ordered banh mi bo kho at my 2nd favorite cafe last night (nothing to this one: 'cho em cai nay – banh mi bo kho') and somehow, and I'm pretty sure I also used my finger to point, I wound up with garlic bread. Again, the waiter was, though at first confused, friendly and willing to please. However, I still felt bad. The language barrier is making both of our lives unnecessarily difficult.

What's more, it seems like everyone is anxious to practice their English. Though it's much easier for me, it enables my stagnation. I walked into a clothes shop the other day and the attendant's English was quite good. I did get to practice with her, asking what was right and what wasn't – which was helpful; however, throwing myself into the shallow end of a pool isn't going to help me survive once I ineluctably swim out to the deep end. On the upside, though, I'm pretty sure my enthusiasm at practicing her language got me a better deal!

That wouldn't have been the first time either! I remember going to a market a few months back with a friend of mine (if I think my Vietnamese is atrocious now, it was doubly atrocious then) and I inquired about a knicknack the owner was selling – in Vietnamese, of course. The owner smiled, laughed, gave me a price and said something to my friend. My friend quickly said to me, "You should buy it – she said she just gave you the real price because you spoke Vietnamese!" I definitely did.

I suppose the answer to my frustration is just to keep practicing. I've learned a lot of Vietnamese thus far – unfortunately, the amount I've retained and can repeat back in a timely manner appropriate for fully functional human conversation is still limited to the basics. If only I could hit the pause button and get a few seconds to think of what I want to say – then I would be golden.

Can someone find me a life remote?

Jackie

This material is provided by the Vietnamese Language Studies Saigon (VLS).