The Coconut Cutters Come for a Visit

I've been living in a Mexican villa. I think once you see the pictures, you'll agree. I know, I know, what am I doing in a Mexican villa if I'm in Vietnam? Good question. But I haven't asked it. All I know, is that this was the best "apartment" my school could find for me. So I've been here now for 3 weeks.

The garden in front of the villa

My Mexican villa in Bien Ho

The villa is owned by an older woman, Phan. Or, I should say an older, rich woman. I think she has too much time on her hands because she's here every day working on the place even though it's mostly empty (except for 2 other "permanent" residents, one from Korea and one who's Vietnamese) and she doesn't really need more money. She's very sweet, kind and nice, always wanting to help me in some way (which as you know, drives me crazy since I'm independent). She has 3 employees on the villa: a housekeeper (who cleans Vietnamese style), a day security guard and a night security guard. Yes, I'm living in some sort of rich man's secured compound. In addition to these people, there is her niece, Yen, who lives in one of the apartments downstairs. Yen is the friend who invited me to the wedding. Yen is the one who told me her aunt is rich, though I didn't need to be told as Phan's 2 vehicles gave that fact away. For some reason, Phan bought her first car 3 months ago. She doesn't exactly have the technique of driving mastered yet. She drives slowly and carefully, uses her turn signal, honks when no motorbikes or vehicles are around, and sometimes forgets she needs to look in the rear view mirror before changing lanes. I know this because I've risked my life in the car with her.

Back to the story. This morning I left my room to head out to the supermarket. As I came around from the back, I saw the housekeeper (who also does odd jobs) squatting. A few steps more and I saw numerous coconuts laying on the ground near her. Ah, they had cut some down from the 3 coconut trees in front. I greeted her and then indicated to her, "Ah, you've cut down the coconuts!" She smiled and immediately got up, took one from the group and ran to the kitchen building. I suspected she was going to cut it open for me to drink. While she was gone, I saw there was a coconut laying open, sliced in half. The coconut meat was much thinner than I imagined it would be. Or perhaps that's just the way Vietnamese coconuts are. Then I noticed 2 new laborers.

Vietnamese coconuts

It all took me back 11 years ago to Venezuela, the first time I'd encountered a coconut. My biking partner and I had stopped by a roadside vendor on a scorching Venezuelan day to enjoy our first coconut juice. We watched as he sliced off a small portion of the top (creating a hole), inserted a straw, and handed one to each of us. (Ironically, in Spanish, Turkish & Vietnamese, fruit "juices" are referred to as "water". For example, zumo de naranja, portakal suya, cam nuoc.) As I recall, the coconuts in Venezuela looked different than here. There, they're more similar to what you see on tv. Here, the hard shell is green and much larger than the brown furry types. There as well as here, you can buy coconut juice anywhere you look in southern Vietnam.

Coconut street vendor

Back to the story. The housekeeper returned with a large knife, and remembering that I hadn't liked that coconut juice in Venezuela, I was tempted to tell her to save the fruit. But I've been curious as to whether or not the taste is different. So I let her stick a straw in it, and I began drinking. She and Phan watched, interested to know if I liked it. I gave them a thumbs up even though, I discovered, I still don't like it. I don't recall the taste from 11 years ago, but today, the juice reminded me of a very watery flavor enhanced with a spritzer (which is gas water). It seemed to have a fizzy consistency like soda. Unable to express myself to either of the ladies, I sucked up while I watched a third guy up in a tree. He was near the top, in the mushroom of the tree where the coconuts grow, to get the fruits down. Apparently, Coconut Chopping Day had arrived.