On my way back from the beach on Muoi’s motorbike yesterday, she stopped about a kilometer from my hotel and asked, “you walk from here?”
“Uhm…sure,” I said and started to climb off the motorbike.
“I joking you!” she said, cracking herself up.
This is how all the Vietnamese I’ve spent time with here have treated me, and they get me every time. I feel like the kid who always falls for the “what’s-that-on-your-shirt?” trick. At least I’m able to tease them right back. It’s great fun.
When these people describe their closest friends, they almost almost always use the word “funny”, as in “he’s funny” or “she’s funny,” which leads me to believe it’s not just foreigners who get their chains yanked in Vietnam.