Crying westerners

In the wise words of my fellow Fulbrighter, Brittanye, in a comforting 2 AM text message:

"I'm sure Vietnam will be better equipped to deal with crying tay [westerners] thanks to us."

Had my second major meltdown in Vietnam on the bus coming home from Da Nang. I'm fine now, and mostly comforted by the fact that during our weekend reunion, everyone shared equally mortifying stories about publicly crying in Vietnam. Since crying in front of people is simply not done here (perhaps it has to do with saving face and maintaining composure/respect in the eyes of others?), Vietnamese people are so baffled and uncomfortable by us Americans who burst into tears at what seems like, to them, the drop of a hat.

While, unfortunately, Brittanye's words are probably more of an exaggeration than reality (I doubt that our constant displays of emotion will have any lasting impact on this country besides causing some Vietnamese people to feel incredibly awkward around us), it is nice to know that there are 14 other Fulbrighters in this country who have also committed equally humiliating and egregious acts in public, and now, the whole situation just seems so funny.

Needless to say, my bus ride home was anything but uneventful, but luckily, I am home now. My air conditioner and Internet are working, and my bed is calling to me. I have plenty of more positive experiences to share later!!