Plee hep yosef

I arrived in Ho Chi Minh yesterday into the onslaught of motorbikes, honking horns and a variety of odors. Vietnam is as busy and crazy as everyone said, but I haven't really had the chance to visit since I was taken to the hotel from the airport and we spent the entire day meeting in one of the hotel ballrooms.

My only time out and about in Ho Chi Minh was to walk around the block to a tapas restaurant that was hosting a reception. Along the way, people implored me to eat at their restaurants, declared various exclamations and probably offered a massage or something. As I passed two women sitting on the curb, one said to me, "My new boyfren! I jus meet heem! I jus meet heem!"

Which brings me to a question. Why don't the Vietnamese pronounce the ends of words? Especially in those cases where words end in "s," there seems to be a general inability to seal the deal phonetically.

Yet, their words don't just drift off like the French. Instead, it's a strange mix of staccato and dropped consonants. At least it keeps me on my toes.