[Hue] About the language?

[Greg Gianas]

To whom it may concern:

I am writing this letter of recommendation on behalf of Ms. Mac Thi 
Hoa. I have known her since 1998, in her capacity of Vice Director of 
the Vietnamese Red Cross Agent Orange Fund. I was a magazine and 
newspaper writer when I met Ms. Hoa, and it was Ms. Hoa who made it 
possible for me to interview more than 100 people from Hanoi to Hue to 
Saigon.

There are probably some things you should know about me before you read 
what I have to say: (1) I am a Viet Nam combat veteran; Ms. Mac Thi Hoa 
would have been my enemy 35 years ago; (2) I have been happily married 
to my wife for 35 years; my wife was my high school girl friend; (3) I 
am a blunt person who believes that tact is often used as a smoke 
screen for dishonesty; (4) I judge everyone I meet by one criterion: 
"Would I want to be in a ditch with them in a war?" In other words, 
"Would they be brave and competent and care about me and our mission?" 
I view every person, man or woman, young child or old person, this way, 
and this characteristic does not leave me with many people I would 
trust with my life, or the lives of my two daughters.

I have known a few people in my life who have what might be called 
impeccable honor and honesty in addition to a work ethic that is to be 
envied by every person who respects work for a good cause. I can count 
such people I have known, with these characteristics, on three fingers, 
and Mac Thi Hoa is one of those people.

I don't know who is going to be reading this letter; I must warn you, I 
often say things that some people say are "inappropriate," and I have 
rarely, if ever, been sorry for what I have said.  I say only what I 
believe from the bottom of my heart and things for which I have ample 
proof for believing.

My country, America, is not full of people who have an understanding of 
honor as those who have suffered many long years of war. War teaches 
survivors the value of honor, honesty, loyalty, and hard work and 
courage more intensely than peaceful civilian life. Among the people 
who have survived war, there are those who are more honorable, more 
honest, more loyal, and more hardworking than even the best of the 
best. This is the kind of person Mac Thi Hoa is, someone I would trust 
with my life or the life of my two daughters, and I cannot think, right 
now, who else would or would meet such a criterion, except my own wife.

Whoever you are, I tell you this from the gut of a person who is bad 
with numbers and spelling but an accurate judge of people: you will be 
one of the luckiest employers in the world if you have Mac Thi Hoa as 
an employee. She takes her job more seriously than any other person I 
have ever known in my life, in any country, and she is more competent 
and caring than any other person I have ever met. You will not fully 
understand the word "loyalty" until you have known Mac Thi Hoa.

Please call me at 425-881-1776 (home)  collect or 425-736-3545 (cell) 
for further details or questions.

Sincerely,

Greg Gianas
16044 N.E. 106th St.
Redmond, WA   98052


On Oct 14, 2005, at 4:32 PM, John Price wrote:

> Ladies and Gentlemen,
>
> I hope you will not shun me.  I'm an American that was in your country 
> in 1968 & 1969 at the height of the war.  I'm 59 years old now and 
> Vietnam and it's people have never been very far away from my heart in 
> all these years.  My dearest friend and I were stationed at a place 
> called Camp Evans just North of Hue and from there we were able to 
> visit your city a couple of times for very short visits.  Both of us 
> will be returning next July to tour the whole country and if things go 
> well I plan to stay for the rest of my life.  One of the main reasons 
> for me joining this message board is to get information about the cost 
> of living in Hue.  I will have a modest income that I hope will 
> accommodate a Vietnamese wife and myself.  If anyone can give me a 
> general idea of what those costs would be on a monthly basis I will 
> buy you a beer when I get there.  Please reply in English because I 
> can not speak or read Vietnamese.
>
> Thanks
> John
>
>
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