Toi khong hieu!

I keep on getting slapped in the face with realities about language and communication, and how these have become mental workouts for me.

A Vietnamese woman yelled at me because I was blocking her way while she was dragging her motorbike in the sidewalk, looking for a spot to park.

“Peep peep peep!” she yelled, her voice blended very well with all the other vehicles honking in the narrow alleys of the Old Quarter in Hanoi.

I turned to my friend, after the silly encounter.

“Toby, a woman just yelled at me,” I started. “She yelled: peep peep peep!”

Toby laughed. I laughed with him.

That encounter was hilarious because I knew exactly what was happening: the woman, who was dragging a heaving motorbike, knew that I wasn’t Vietnamese and she wasn’t exactly sure how to yell “get out of the way” in English. She used her instinct and mimicked a sound that would communicate the same idea (cleverly, albeit ungracefully).

Conversely, I have been subjected to several situations where pointing and nodding are my only means for communication. I even mispronounce my ever-reliable survival phrase “toi khong hieu,” which I’m pretty sure caused me to become the laughing stock of the Vietnamese.

Clearly, hazy communication had me driving down a rough road with a clunky vehicle. Daily interactions and even language classes often ensue hilarity; but in the end, the Vietnamese and I get our ideas across the language barrier.