M's blog.

So, I've had the honour to temporarily acquired this book from one of my acquaintances a few days ago. I was very excited at first, because I've rarely seen a foreigner who used Vietnamese this fluently.

Tớ là Dâu is a collection of blog posts by Joe Ruelle, a Canadian writer in Vietnam, originally published on Yahoo 360. Of course, Ruelle has only stayed in Vietnam for 3 years, quite a short period of time if you want to thoroughly understand a different culture, if you ask me. However, his book is a great source of entertainment, especially if you want to hear what "Westerners" think of Vietnam. I thought that Ruelle's love for bún chả and his amazement when he discovered "Asian karaoke" were adorable:

Mình cực kỳ thích bún chả. Mình không biết tại sao Bộ Y tế Việt Nam không tổ chức một cuộc vận động phát triển nhận thức cộng đồng về sự nguy hiểm của món bún chả, tại vì so với một bát bún chả ngon thì thuốc lá chẳng ăn thua gì đâu.

Reading about a Canadian perspective of a country he's only been to for a short time and his enthusiasm, can be a pleasuring read once in a while.

Favourite part: "Vietnamese chat language"

kÁc bẠn cÓ bÍt FíM sHiFt hÔg? MiN sẼ dZùNg kÁi Fím Áy đỂ tRaG tRí vĂn KủA MìN mỤt ChÚt. ;-) FảI LuN LuN Cố gẮg Để cHữ kỦa MìN đẸp HơN ChỮ KủA nG` kHáC cHứ! gỌi Là Sĩ dZiỆn ĐiỆn tỬ đẤy!! :) Hihi!!!! :P.

I laughed so hard on this one so the chair lost its balance. I found myself with an aching head on the floor 3 seconds later.

Best enjoy with:
As the title suggests (Tớ là Dâu = I am Strawberry??), the book is sweet and can be used for stress relief. Soda and strawberry syrup, perhaps?