Bạn có thể làm được không?
Vâng, tôi có thể làm được!
I can’t help but ask the same question, three times.
By the third time, he’s both a bit annoyed and a bit amused.
Are you sure it’s OK to do this?
Yes, I’m sure I can do this!
He says, this time with a chuckle.
I had messaged Mr. Ha, who had in turn contacted this fellow about a pick up for our old washing machine.
A self-professed laundry nerd, it had been time to enter the 21st century. To experience the joys of a 14-minute quick wash and steam clean capability (I am completely serious).
It’s been a joy after struggling with a too old, too slow beast the past four years.
I can’t believe we didn’t do this sooner
Of course, the purchase of a new machine begs what to do with the old one.
Enter our friend.
He rings the doorbell and I head downstairs. He’s right on time, pulling up to our gate on a red Honda Air Blade motorbike.
I welcome him in and show him the machine.
I peer outside the gate expecting his fellow mover and, naturally, the truck they’ll surely use to get this chunky machine away.
He sizes up the white beast and then wanders back outside, unraveling some meters of a sturdy woven green rope.
Em Hà có đến không?
Will Mr. Ha come?
Không, không.
No, no.
Hm
I’m perplexed.
And remain so as he asks me to help him get the white whale out the door. We tilt it forward and ease it across the threshold
Legs, not back
It’s heavy.
Not so heavy that we can’t lift it, but definitely a workout. I’m not excited about helping get it onto the truck.
As it turns out, we have nothing to worry about.
He directs me to the waiting bike, and we ease, then rest the washer sideways onto the seat.
I run some calculations about what it would feel like for the washer to land on my flip-flopped feet and double my grip, stabilizing the base against my chest.
It’s not until he begins running the green line in and around the edges of this home appliance that I fully understand what is happening.
He uses the molded gaps on the bike’s fender plus footrests on either side to loop the line two times over. Then cautions me to hold firm as he cranks it down, tying a steady, sure knot over the sides of the washer to hold it in place.
On a motorbike.
Because, this is Vietnam. And Vietnamese are resilient, creative, and industrious. Whether it’s stubbornness borne from thousands of years under siege, a pragmatic Confucianist can-do attitude, or a simple community mindset, they are superb at getting things done.
I, now having transitioned from curious to incredulous, cannot help but ask the question again.
And this time, he bursts forth with a belly laugh and a smile
I’ve got this!
mounts the bike, starts it up
and confidently wheels away.