Caleb's Commentary

Caleb and I went to the supermarket yesterday. He is fun to take along because he gives a running commentary on everything we pass in the taxi. (We don't own a car and I'm not ready to let the boys ride on Daniel's motorbike. Just call me paranoid.) Most days, life in Vietnam is simply life. We're so used to it, that things don't seem strange anymore. Yesterday, Caleb's commentary reminded me that we are indeed in a place very different from where we grew up. How many three-year-olds in the States make the following observations on the way to the local grocery store?

"Grass, Mama, grass!!!" (A few scrubby clumps poking through the broken concrete outside our gate.)

"Look, flowers and fruits and eggs and peoples." (While passing the outdoor market at the end of our alley.)

"Mom, look...a dragon!" (Adorning the gates of the Buddhist temple at the end of our street.)

"There's a baby on that motorbike." (Held in his mom's arms.)

"Look, flowers are on the bus!" (Wedged behind the front bumper and roped to the dashboard in an attempt to solicit good luck and avoid fender benders.)

"A puppy!" (Again on a motorbike.)

"That's a loud motorbike." (After some maniac sped by us with his engine roaring.)

"Santa Claus!" (A plastic, automated Santa parked at the entrance to the supermarket--some things truly are universal.)