Home again, at the Phuong Linh Guesthouse

For the past few days, I've been staying at the same guesthouse as the first time I visited Mui Ne. The mama-san, who speaks just a bit more English than I do Vietnamese, is absolutely wonderful--I am not sure if she remembers me or not, but nonetheless she is treating me like a lost-and-found son. When I arrived, she took me behind the house, out of earshot of the then-checking-out Vietnamese guests, and said in entertaining whispery English, "They, Vietnamese, 8 dollar, you you 5 dollar", all the while putting her finger over her mouth as if we were in on a great secret. I made the motion of zipping my lips, and she broke out a beaming smile. We were able to exchange names in Vietnamese, but she continues to address me, in a most endearing tone, as "you you" which I quite like. At night she all but tucks me in, making sure my mosquito net is sealed around the bed, the fan is oscillating properly, and even teaches me a few words like "sleep well" in Vietnamese. Indeed.

She also lent me the family motorbike, in fact the same motorbike I had last time with the same "I love you" heart-shaped keychain (strange what I remember...).

This afternoon I came home from the beach, bought myself a beer across the street, and started to go to my room. However, Mama-san and her daughter were sitting on the steps removing fresh mussels from their tiny shells with little thorns, and invited me over. I tried a few times, fumbling with the thorn and the mussels, so she just decided to do it for me, removing 10-12 in the time it took me to manage one. The mussels were scrumptious, tasting mostly like the sea but with a bit of sand for some crunch--a perfect beer snack! I asked what the word for "delicious" is--not sure I have the tones right but it sounds something like "Rock on!"

After a game of 3 on 3 beach soccer with some local kids and a twilight ocean swim, I returned to my guesthouse for a shower. Just after dressing there was a knock at the door--I opened it to find Mama-san waiting with an enormous plate of chilled watermelon, which was perhaps the sweetest I had ever tasted. Rock on again.

Life is good.