Ava is a true water baby.
Since she was just two months old, we have taken Ava to our local “Sandy
Bottom” pool to cool off on the steamy weekends.
This past weekend while Ava spent hours scooping sand into
her bucket just to empty it out and fill it up again, I was able to take in the
atmosphere around me. On this particular
visit, we arrived to the pool at about 9:00 AM and it was already brimming with
children laughing and playing. Ava chose
a quiet corner of the pool where she could sit and master her scooping skills while
the cacophony of voices filled the air around us.
From under the shade of my hat, I took note of the many cultural
differences that unfolded around me. Here in Vietnam, children that don’t yet
know how to swim are often straddled with a variety of floatation devices that
cover every possible body part…. all at the same time. It isn’t uncommon to see children wearing a life
vest over their floatation swimsuits, with water wings on each arm and a life
ring wrapped around their waist. Some children
are so buoyant, that they float on top of the water like a giant ocean buoy
bobbing on the surface. I know that this
over cautiousness comes from a very real fear of the water. Sadly, drowning
tops the leading causes of death in children here in Vietnam.
For those that have learned to swim and have been able to
shed their plastic suits of armor, they are now able to show off their swimsuit
style. There happen to be a few common
styles preferred by the patrons of our local pool. The most common is the uni-suit that is a one
piece full length suit that looks like a combination of the ultraconservative
numbers from the 1900s and the suits preferred by Lucha libre wrestlers. Add to this, goggles and a swim cap that is less
Michael Phelps and more Esther Williams and you complete this unisex look. Another favorite style is reminiscent of the
suits worn by Ice Capades performers.
These suits are also the full length variety, but these have the added
skirt and often come in retro neon colors.
After spending many years as a lifeguard, I am still very sensitive
to the ubiquitous whistle. It's funny
to think about what makes it to the lifeguard’s list of offenses. At our sandy bottom pool, running as fast as
you can on the slippery pool deck won’t even garner a glance. Whacking each other with kickboards and general
horse play seem to be non-whistle worthy as well. Infractions that do grab the lifeguard’s
attention is wearing a simple t-shirt into the pool (sorry you can’t wear a
t-shirt to cover your sunburn daddy, I guess you will need to invest in one of
the above mentioned unitards).
There must be some unmentioned rule that when the clock
strikes 11:00 AM it is time to evacuate the pool. This is a phenomenon we find at any pool here in Vietnam. One
minute it is packed and a few minutes later you find yourself alone in the pool
with only a few lone stragglers (mostly of Western origin) that obviously didn’t get the message that it
was time to leave. We usually take this
time to enjoy the quiet before we pack up to leave.
Before packing up to go home for a nap, we usually have
lunch at the pool. Ava loves Jiaozi
(Chinese style dumplings) and will eat an entire plate, dipping them in the
garlic-soy sauce with her chopsticks. Then we wrap up our wet, sandy bottomed, soy
sauced baby and take her home for a nap.
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