...Ngoui Cao

The construction continues next door, but in the tradition of people being able to get used to just about anything, I seem to be tuning out the noise, and now have become quite fascinated with Vietnamese construction techniques. At first the builders seemed as fascinated by me as I was by them. They liked to joke among themselves about the people who live in my building - who are foreign visitors and who they suspect do not speak their language. They put it this way: there are two different kinds of people living in here our building: ngoui phap (French people) and ngoui cao (tall people). The latter would be me.

(Photo: view from my room.)