Sunday, March 20, 2011

How I ended up working at a restaurant...

Well the short answer is.. I have no clue. But we all know I can't just give a short answer so here it is! I live above a restaurant and my landlords Ha and her husband. They cook all day long on top of laundry service, bike rental, motorbike rental, and just being the general "go to" people. But, this week Ha's husband is out of town.

I went into town the other night for the super moon celebration. Upon my return I realized that I hadn’t paid Ha for my dinner and laundry the night before. When I went into the restaurant I noticed Ha was extremely busy so I sat and waited patiently. I've really nothing better to do. While I was waiting, a man came up and asked for 2 beers. Ha smiled and said OK, and then turned to me and said Met (She cant pronounce Meg) 2 beers, you help me? Of course I would help her.

Well, getting 2 beers turned into being a full on waitress until 11pm. It was great. I've no experience but I've sure eaten at enough restaurants to know what I'm "supposed" to be doing. I must have done ok because she asked me to come back the next night to help her. That night we had a party of 16. And by we, I mean me. But somehow I managed.

Sadly, there are no tips in Vietnam. And I don’t really know what I'm getting in exchange for my help. I've already paid my rent up-front so there will be no discount. I haven’t been given any sort of pay for the last 2 nights. And if I did, I heard the going rate is $2 A DAY. Something tells me free meals and free laundry are coming my way for the next month and that's fine by me, seeing that's my only expense here. Plus working at the "328 Restaurant" in Hoi An, Vietnam is such a resume booster in itself. ;)

And one more thing.. no Vietnamese people come to this restaurant, only foreigners. So the language barrier isn’t a problem with the customers, but sometimes it can be with Ha! Oddly enough, I'm loving every minute of it and will enjoy it for the week it lasts!

1 comment:

  1. I'm sure you'll be a great waitress,Met.I enjoyed restaurant work at your age...all the brisk interaction and a kind of work that made more sense to me,somehow, than....well, I'm pretty basic guy...almost anything else.
    And hooray that Cape Cod cranberries are known in Viet Nam.(Glad you feel it's home). BTW, what do the people call their country? Do they ever say "Nam"as the vets sometimes do? Have fun! Love you. dbw

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