A Nice Way to End the Day

It was a long and busy day today at work, so you'll pardon me if I keep this short tonight.  I'm bushed.

Today was what one of my American friends here calls "a Vietnam Day"; one of those days where you're reminded where you are because nothing seems to go right and there's frustration around every corner.  A couple of big events all seemed to hit at once this afternoon (government approved fare increase, schedule approval and subsequent need for changes) and I couldn't make headway on any of it regardless of which direction I turned.   

So it was especially bad timing that tonight, of all nights, we had dinner plans with Air Mekong's Board of Directors; The Chairman, Mr Viet, his son, Mr Huy and decorated Vietnam War Hero, Mr Soat (about whom I'll tell you more someday).  You don't shrug off this dinner and you're certainly not late, so in the midst of my crisis, I had to drop everything and head out.

The occassion was a farewell for Air Mekong's VP of Maintenance, Gaylen Campbell.  Gaylen is a native of SE Oklahoma and there are times when I have an easier time understanding my Vietnamese co-workers than I do him!  He's been here for his full year contract and has done an outstanding job setting up a complete Maintenance Department from scratch.  His wife joined him for their year here in Hanoi but apparently personal issues dictate that they return home, in spite of his desire to stay.

So tonight the Board of Directors honored his service with a very nice dinner at the Hanoi Hilton (no, not that Hanoi Hilton).  It's a very nice hotel downtown next to the beautiful Hanoi Opera House.  They had reserved a private room for our party and treated us to an outstanding meal featuring all sorts of Vietnamese cuisine (unfortunately, we didn't order ourselves, so I have no idea what it is we had).  We ate and toasted Mr Gaylen with Smirnoff Vodka shots (it should be no surprise that some things Russian still hold sway here) and shifted uncomfortably once or twice when their English or our conversation ran dry. 

After desert, Mr Soat got up and gave Mr Gaylen a very touching toast in Vietnamese and spoke about how honored they were to have him here in Vietnam and how they wished him health and happiness.  Gaylen's a good 'ole Southern Boy who isn't much on idle chit chat, and I can't say I know him well, but I think he actually got a little choked up.  It's really a shame he's having to leave as I think he's thoroughly enjoyed his year here.

Finally, to close the evening, they presented Mr Gaylen with a big, beautifully wrapped box.  He carefully unwrapped and opened it to find several other beautifully wrapped boxes inside.  They insisted that he open just one, sitting on top of all the others.  Inside was a beautiful plate commemorating Hanoi's 1000 year anniversary which was celebrated during his stay last year on October 10 (10/10/10).  It was a beautiful momento of his time in Hanoi and a nice way to finish what was otherwise a very taxing day.