Empty Nesters on a Green Global Trek

Vietnamese is a ridiculously difficult language to learn. I thought Spanish was hard, but this Vietnamese in an entirely different league.

There are five different tones. A word takes on a whole different meaning depending upon whether you say it in a low, medium or high tone and somewhere in between.

I have been trying to learn how to pronounce words and get them to actually sound close to correct. Even though I know I won’t remember the actual word, getting the right tone at the outset is quite a challenge. I have delighted, amused and right out had people hysterically laughing at my numerous attempts.

We have however both learnt how to say our first whole SENTENCE in Vietnamese. We both  know hello, goodbye and thank you.

And now we know how to say “khong mi chinh” which means ~ “NO MSG”.

This all started when Ben wanted to taste grilled crickets and we saw them on the menu at a restaurant which primarily probably caters to visitors. Having eaten most other meals on the streets, we ventured in to order his bugs and a few other dishes. I did try a cricket and thought it tasted a bit like a crab that never made it to the sea.

After the meal I immediately felt sick (headache, nausea etc) and stayed that way through the night. I had remembered reading that MSG was a common ingredient used in Asian foods and somehow I knew I had been poisoned. I looked up the symptoms and there it was. A few days later Ben got vertigo (dizzyness) and that too was a symptom of MSG.

So we found out how to say “No MSG” in Vietnamese. Wrote it down in a little book and showed it to each vendor. Often just in time before the lethal white powder got added. Others thought it hilariously funny that we did not want MSG and then there are the blessed ones that don’t use it.

Having words or sentences or streets written down in Vietnamese is a great way of communicating.We showed this particular phrase so many times, that we actually learnt how to say it. Now we have to make sure that we pronounce it in a way that is understood.

“Khong” which means “no” is pronounced “HOOMM” mouth wide open.