Tony answers some of the reporter's questions while shopping for Tet.Hello, all-
Tet officially begins at midnight tonight, which is 12 noon Sunday for those in the eastern US. Already we can see how different life is here during this holiday. The banks closed yesterday and will remain closed for the entire week. Every little cafe around our house has already locked its doors for the week. We tried for about 40 minutes to get a taxi to Big C yesterday--after calling three different taxi companies, we finally found one that had drivers working. At Big C, pandomonium was the order of the day--there were no shopping carts, not one. The procedure for obtaining one is not the most simple: The entrance to the supermarket is on the second floor. Checkout is on the third floor. Then, most people take their purchases in the cart back to the first floor to leave (or even to the basement where the parking garage is. So, to get a cart, you have to go back to the first floor.
So, Bee and I got the cart and shopped for the next 4-5 days--not an easy thing to do with a refrigerator the size of a cooler. I couldn't help but be amused at shopping with Bee. If I picked up two packages of pancake mix, she put one back. When I pointed out the ground beef, she asked the butcher for about a half a pound. So, there was some "give and take" between us (plus, I put the extra pancake mix back in the cart when she was getting broccoli--ha!). Buying vegetables is interesting. In the vegetable section, there are plastic bags, much like in the states. But, when you put the produce in the bag, you must have it weighed and priced in the produce section. If there is no price on it at checkout, you cannot buy it. Also, the attendant not only weighs and affixes the price sticker, he or she also twists the top of the bag closed. If the seal is broken, you cannot buy the produce.
Usually, when leaving Big C, there are 6-7 taxis parked out front waiting to drive people. Of course, not yesterday. And, while we were shopping, the rain started. Bee finally flagged down a taxi. The front of Big C has several steps, so the cart cannot be taken all the way down to the curb. That makes an interesting (and wet) procedure in loading the groceries. The driver backed up on the sidewalk close to the gate at the house, so that helped in getting the groceries into the house.This morning, it was another adventure in getting a taxi. The driver said he would return to the church at 12 noon to take us home...but, at 12:30, we finally were able to get another taxi back.Mr. Bo somehow learned about the television interview. He invited our whole family over for the first airing of it--at 6:00 am on Tuesday morning! The second airing will be Wednesday at 6:30 pm. Unfortunately, Mr. Bo prefers the morning show. He said to bring the whole family and we'll drink coffee (that's good--I'll need it!).
As joyous as Tet is for the Vietnamese, I'm sure it has to be stressful for many people. There are many rules about what to do, when to visit, what to take, even what colors to wear. In a country where there is so much poverty, it has to be difficult to provide food for guests, spruce up the house, buy flowers, etc.We welcome your prayers, that we will be a blessing to people we greet at Tet. We want to put people at ease, to go through our day showing compassion, kindness, honor and grace. May it begin in our own hearts and home!
Grace and peace!
