Vietnam Note Asian Life Community

It was last March when Mr Honna Kenji, a conductor, asked me to come to Vietnam sometime. I phoned him myself last May, because I was looking for an opportunity to perform Lalo's concertos. The schedule was arranged quickly and smoothly, and the performance was set for January right after a series of concerts in Japan.

This was my first trip to Asia in a way. Prior to this, I had never been further south than Hong Kong and Macau except for a few hours in transit at the airport in Bangkok.
Unfortunately, I caught a terrible cold, the worst in several years, and I was reluctant to take a night flight to Hanoi. However, it takes only 5-6 hours, which is half the time of a flight from Japan to Europe.
I was driven to Narita, encouraging myself that everything would be OK. My family was worried about my condition. I said goodbye to them, feeling that their worry was rather bothersome. Then I was suddenly struck by loneliness after I went through the gate to immigration. "I am all alone."

When I arrived at my gate, there was an announcement that the flight would be delayed for an hour and a half. It was such a bad luck. I told my family that I was quite used to being around airports, but this time there was no choice but to sit around in my poor condition.
There was another announcement that there would be a further delay. The arrival at Hanoi would be around 1:30 in the morning. I contacted my manager in Japan to make sure that someone would be at the airport to pick me up, and also called Mr. Honna, who was in Hanoi already.

In the airplane, I could not sleep when I needed it most. I watched a movie called "The Back of an Elephant" starring Yakusho Koji. It was a story about a person who died of lung cancer. I shed tears, partly because of my shallow breathing due to my cold.

I finally arrived in Hanoi. I thought the weather would be good for my throat as the temperature was 23 degrees and the humidity was moderate, but the air conditioning was harsh. I went through passport control, collected my luggage, and went out.

There was nobody waiting for me. There was supposed to be a good driver there, holding a sign with my name on it. I went back and forth in front of the people with signs. The violin I was carrying should have been a good indicator, but nobody approached me.

Being short-tempered, I went outside in anger. I thought I could get a taxi.
I went outside, but I did not know how far Hanoi was, nor how long it would take to get there. On top of that, there were no taxis at all, because of the delayed arrival
In retrospect, I should have gone back inside and waited. Later I was told that the driver had been looking frantically for me. I did not know what was going on, nor did I think that my Belgian cell phone would work, which turned out to be the case.

A driver approached me, asking "Taxi?" He seemed dubious, and he even referred to himself as ﾔmafia'. But I decided to go with him because we agreed on 20 dollars, which seemed reasonable. I believed him when he said he would take one more person because the number of taxis was limited, as luggage was already on board. I didn't want to move any more because I was really worn out. The point was that I was tired of the whole situation, though ominous ideas of being kidnapped or other possibilities came to my mind. I could not bother when my physical condition was so bad. Why did I have to rely on my intuition at a time like this? How badly I coped when problems actually happened to me! There was no way to behave like the cartoon character Gorogo 13.

After a few minutes, I and an Irish man got into the taxi. I felt relieved, to be honest. He had traveled from El Salvador via San Francisco and Narita to Hanoi. Though he was far more worn out than me, he lectured that a private taxi was OK here, but never in Manila, and told me he used to live in Hanoi. It occurred to me that he might have been a member of the mafia. Anyway, the car started going. It was already 2 o'clock in the morning.

We drove at amazing speed. It was easy to understand that one needed to be an experienced driver, because one had to drive near bikes carrying large canvases. The things these bikes were carrying were all commodities like large pieces of wood 5 meters in width, or densely packed parcels of clothing.

The Irish man said, "Sometimes they have cages packed with dogs."

"・・・" After 30 minutes or so, the surroundings looked town-like.
Somehow we seemed to be headed in the right direction.

I arrived at the hotel. I felt really relieved when I stepped into bright lobby.
Mr. Honna was worried and gave me a call. He said "Are you OK? I am so glad you arrived safely."

I felt the same way. I was safe. I had been worring about my life, instead of my cold.

I started rehearsal the following day. The concert pieces were Lalo's Spanish concerto and Russian concerto. I played the Russian concerto with a real orchestra for the first time
It was exhilarating. The brass was solid and the string ensemble was quiet.

The orchestra has many things to learn, but the members are warmhearted.
During breaks, everybody gathers in a large room. They offer each other tea and fruit, showing a natural consideration for others.
More than anything, their smiles are superb.

It's been 30 years since the end of the Vietnam War. Many of them continued practicing their instruments underground.
"The blue sky makes me sad"
"Why?"
"During the war, Vietnamese airplanes followed American airplanes. When the Americans detected them, they dropped back and shot down the Vietnamese . I felt angry every time I saw it.
However, thanks to Castro, Vietnamese pilots became competent at flying fighters within 2 or 3 months. So when the Americans dropped back to shoot down the Vietnamese, two more Vietnamese fighters would come from behind and shoot down the Americans.

The situation in Vietnam after the Vietnam War is identical to that in Japan after World War II for my generation. I thought of the Vietnam War as an event in the past, but I think there are so many things for me to learn about the Vietnam War, and the experiences Vietnamese went through after the war. The orchestra members who practiced on the steps, which seemed almost collapsing, gave me these thoughts.

I thought I would be able to communicate better if I understood the language.

However, in the middle of a performance, I communicate with them by making eye contact. When I glance at someone, he or she might also feel it and look back at me. It is so wonderful to find several persons like this in the orchestra.

For the first 2 days, I was in bed except for rehearsals. I'll never forget the taste of "mutton stew in a pot" that I had right after I recovered from my cold.

I enjoy Vietnamese food in Brussels. I am fond of it and also knowledgeable about the cuisine. In Hanoi, the local people take me to food stands, and the food is very good. There are a lot of fragrant herbs, lime, red pepper, sesame sauce, and various meats. People make rolls of these ingredients and offer them to me, saying "Yuzuko, do-zo (please)". I hadn't been treated this kindly since someone spread butter on bread for me at a restaurant in Argentina! Men are kind in Vietnam (giggle).

Just watching people's vivid faces makes me feel warm. Strangely, I can sense each individual's personality. Everybody is beautiful in their own way.

I spent my free time at Hang Gai Street.

This street is in the center of Hanoi. It is a great fun just to watch people's faces, but there are also many silk shops, which are my favorites.
I incidentally stepped into a shop, which turned out to be the shop recommended by the orchestra, and ordered 5 dresses. They were very cheap. They were all order made. It took only a few days, and they were fitted to my size. The variety of colors and quality of the fabrics was so wide that it was difficult to select. I became friendly with the people in the shop because I saw them again for fittings, and they came to my concerts. Hanoi is one of the places where I want to fly when I have free time.

I am glad I'm Asian.
I had an opportunity to talk to Ambassador Hattori on the last day of my stay.
He told me that Vietnam was one of the places where he could relax the most, partly because it was a Buddhist country. He had served in China, Indonesia, the Philippines, and he was now headed for Paris.
He said "Paris is an exciting city in an incomparable way , but I won't be able to relax there like in Vietnam." I understand what he means.
We are judged on appearances more than anything else. No matter how long we live in Paris or Brussels, we are Asian.
There are many areas where we Japanese have to take the lead.

The orchestra members try to absorb everything, longing to go to Japan. I wish I had the time to teach them. They would absorb it like sand absorbs water.

I can relate to them not only in terms of economic power but also cultural viewpoint. They have delicacy, a superb sense of taste, elegance and warmth.

Back in Europe, I was headed for Brussels from Paris by bullet train.
I took a seat in second class with a first class ticket, because the second-class coach was empty and the first-class coach was far away. The conductor told me coldly, "You are wasting 40 Euros but it is your choice." I was back in Europe, I thought, and it gave me a cold feeling.

I do not intend to talk about grand topics like nations or individualism, but I happen to think that world peace in the future might come from Asian warmth.
Some sensitive people might feel it already, which might be why the word "Zen" is in fashion.