A Vietnam Miracle

In December 2014, my husband Larry was in Vietnam doing some photography work. I stayed behind to complete my Milwaukee holiday freelance gigs and lessons for my violin students, but was to join him after all that ended.

The day I was going to catch the limo (fancy name for bus) to O’Hare Airport, it was -50 degrees in Milwaukee. You read that right - it was molto MINUS cold, by a lot.

My stepson Matt pulled into my driveway right on time - 6 a.m. - and I took a breath and plunged outside into some really dangerous weather.

The icy wind was even worse than I had imagined, but the car was warm inside, and Matt and I chatted and joked about why we lived in such a god-forsaken place to begin with. He dropped me off at downtown Milwaukee’s Amtrak Station, which was one block from the limo pickup point.

I waited until the last possible moment before walking that block with all my luggage, and made it with about ten minutes to spare before the bus pulled up. Those ten minutes reminded me how brutal our planet can be in its most extreme weather conditions. Even though I was dressed warmly, I could feel the threat of harm to my body if I had to stand out there much longer. I prayed the bus would be on schedule.

It rolled up, and I got on, joined by people who had been waiting with friends or relatives in nearby cars. “We were about to ask if you wanted to get in our car,” one of the women said to me, leading to more jokes about the weather. We started off, getting on I94 South, and I noticed a poor frozen seagull dying on the side of the road. The bus rumbled onward, and I tried to relax - I’d made it.

About an hour later, almost to O’Hare, I heard the driver call in to his work, complaining about something that was wrong with the bus. I worried that another bus would have to be sent to pick us up. Looking at my phone, I realized I would have just enough time to check in and get through security before boarding. But, we made it without the bus breaking down, and I got off at the International terminal.

I’d flown out of O’Hare many times before, and I knew immediately that there was a problem. The lines were snaking through the terminal, with hundreds of travelers standing in front of me. The weather had prevented many workers from coming in; just checking in would take well over an hour, never mind getting through security. I was going to miss my flight to Seoul, and therefore, my connecting flight to Hanoi.

I eventually made it to the check-in and got through O’Hare’s infamously rude security (they didn’t disappoint, as they yelled at me to move faster in taking off my boots), already resolved to go to the gate to figure out with an agent what to do next, when I saw on the departure list that the Asiana flight hadn’t left yet! Hallelujah!!

I boarded, and it became clear that I had an entire row to myself. Hallelujah, again! Half the plane was empty. I absolutely cannot sleep sitting up on an airplane - I don’t know why, I have no trouble sleeping any other place as long as I can lie down - so this was luxury, and I got a lot of sleep on the twelve hour flight to Seoul. (Travel jitters and worries about the weather had prevented a good sleep the night before, so this was welcome.)

However, we had taken off so late that I knew I would miss my connecting flight in Seoul. No worries, Asiana had us covered. Upon arriving at Seoul’s massive Incheon airport, we were put on buses and taken to a hotel, where we had dinner, then breakfast the next morning. And that’s how I met Chi.

Chi was going to school in the U.S., and was on her way home to Hanoi for break. Her English was great, and we started to trade stories. I made a date to see her at a cafe in Hanoi a few days after we arrived, which was the beginning of a long friendship.

Years passed and Chi and I kept in touch. She began to date an American, and we met with them in Chicago in 2017 to talk through job possibilities for her. She also wanted to get her citizenship, since she and her boyfriend Matthew were pretty serious.

She and Matt married and lived in Vietnam for a little while, traveling the country so he could get a feeling for it. Then they settled in Pasadena, which is about thirty miles from where Larry and I live. We get together occasionally with another musician couple who have worked with the State Department in Vietnam.

Chi and Matthew

Last night, Matthew texted us with unexpected news: Chi had been granted citizenship! Tonight we will celebrate with a surprise dinner for her.

This is remarkable in these troubling, uncertain times of treating outsiders as if they’re less than human. No one is more human than our friend, and to know her is to enrich one’s life in surprising ways. She has a deep intellect, an openness and kindness, an expansive worldview that everyone in our little group appreciates.

Vietnam has afforded us many miracles, and we still have close friends there who we’re in frequent contact with. It is an ancient, magical country, and Chi is a shining example of Vietnam’s best qualities.