Meet my awesome Uncle Tay

There are many people I will miss once I leave this country, but fewer will I miss more than my Uncle Tai. My Uncle Tai is a unique character and for the past 3 months, he really has helped make my Vietnam experience special simply by being his wacky, hilarious self. I like funny people and even more, I like people who are completely unaware of their own hilarity and continue acting as such despite repeated (and vocal) attempts to change them.

How can I best describe my Uncle Tai and capture the full scope of his awesomeness? Case examples would be best in his case. For example, when we went to Vung Tau my uncle carried his belongings in a little plastic baggy which consisted of three packs of cigarettes, his toothbrush, swimming trunks, and a shot glass. That is my Uncle Tai in a nutshell.

Every family has that one uncle who gets a little too drunk, acts a bit kooky, and always says the most ridiculous things at the most inappropriate times. My Uncle Tai is that uncle. He is HILARIOUS. Everything he does, from walking around the house, holding a conversation, smoking, even the simplest tasks he performs tickles my funnybone. To pinpoint exactly what and why he is one of my favorite people in the world is difficult. My Uncle Tai is quite a complex man.

For one, he is an overgrown fratboy who LOVES to party, drink, and socialize with people. He is the life of every party. His cell phone is always ringing with calls from friends pleading for him to go party with them. He is so popular that his friends are more than willing to drive to his house to pick him up for a night out.

I can understand why he is so popular. When he is drunk (which is often), he is a lot of fun to be around. He jokes around a lot, challenges his friends to a game of “guess what song I am playing on my cell phone,” or my favorite, attempts to speak English. Tammy and I have been lucky enough to witness his drunken slurs in broken English.

On a particular get together with my uncles from my dad’s side in Tay Ninh, Uncle Tai tagged along and quickly initiated a drinking session with all of them. Seeing Tammy and I there, Uncle Tai went into a flurry of REALLY BAD English to impress my other rice-farming uncles. When one of my uncles asked what I have visited in Tay Ninh so far, Uncle Tai quickly chimed in to answer the question—“Black famous.” At first I didn’t understand then I remembered Tay Ninh is famous for the Black Lady Mountain that borders Cambodia. So that was what he was referring to. After a few more drinks he turns to Tammy and I with a smirk on his face to say, “Memories.” He nods at us as if he was speaking a secret language that only the three of us understood. After more drinks he begins to say, “If…” Tammy and I wait for the rest of the sentence, but nothing else is said. I look over to Tammy and say, “I…I think that’s all he wanted to say—If.” And then Tammy and I break into a roar of laughter. Oh, Uncle Tai.

On another drunken occasion he reminded me of the promise I made with him to come back to Vietnam so he could meet my husband-to-be and determine if he is worthy enough for me. “Promise,” he says to me. “Your boy, my country.” Yes, Uncle Tai. Got it. He kept repeating that over and over, as I listened to him and laughed, until my mom yelled at him and told him to get his drunk self to bed.

My Uncle Tai also has a zest for life that puts people half his age to shame. Last year, he went backpacking…backpacking to North Vietnam, exploring the backroads of the region, coming back with stories of his adventures that makes my travel-hungry self jealous. His zest is attributed to his boyish personality, still hanging on to a youth gone by. It’s kind of odd seeing him act like a kid—he does look his age—but that only adds to his hilarity.

When we went to the beach in Vung Tau, he started splashing Tammy and I in the water while yelling out, “Let’s splash each other!” Umm…okay, we guess..Tammy and I awkwardly thought. So we did, and my Uncle responded to the splashing with such boyish glee, laughing and splashing at us that we couldn’t help but find the odd request hilarious. And with a quick change of mood, he complained that he was cold and like a little kid said that he wanted to go home, and went to sit on the beach to wait for us.

He is also always saying ridiculous things. He is the guy that says those things that everyone is thinking, but all know you shouldn’t say aloud. Uncle Tai doesn’t really have a filter, so he just says it, to everyone else’s shock and hesitant laughter. I enjoy listening to him talk the most. He always sounds serious because he has a really deep, raspy voice (due to smoking) and he says everything with such certainty. But a lot of the things he says are not serious, even though he presents it as so, so I just can’t but laugh at every word that comes out of his mouth.

He is also that guy that has an opinion for everything and feels it is necessary to share it. It makes for a lot of embarrassing confrontations with others that often begin with, “What is up with this guy and why is he talking?” My mom (the older sister) gets embarrassed sometimes when he comes along because he has to ask questions when it is not his place to ask or has to chime in to give his opinion when it is not requested.

However, a boyish, talkative party animal is not all he is. He is extremely smart, the most accomplished student in my mom’s family. He is currently a teacher of Vietnamese literature and I’m sure, could recite classic Vietnamese poetry with the best of them.

Most importantly, he is an awesome uncle, always more than willing to drive us around to anywhere we want to go. He always says to me, “Anywhere you want to go or anything you want to eat, just call your Uncle Tai.” When Tammy asked him to take her to the art museum, only to find out that the museum was closed that day, he DEMANDED the security guard to open the doors to let his niece in. That is my Uncle Tai. In Vietnam, he has been one of our fiercest defenders and protectors. It doesn’t matter if he is hungover from partying the night before, he still gets up at 4:30 in the morning to drive my mom and I where we need to go and even sits to wait with us to ensure that everything is okay.

The best places I’ve eaten in Vietnam were with him. He takes me to some of the most run-down restaurants and street-side vendors telling me this place makes the best this and this. And he’s always right. However, one time when he made Tammy go eat with him to keep him company at one of these run-down places, she ended up with a stomach ache (hah). He also knows that I love to drink coffee so whenever he goes out for his morning coffee runs, he asks me if I want some brought back.

Maybe another reason why I get along with him so well is also because he shares my mom’s personality. They both talk A LOT and are quite hot-tempered, leading to many hilarious eruptions of angry tirades. But one thing he differs from my mom is that his angry tirades are never directed at me. He spoils Tammy and I, often defending us when my mom yells. Even when I come up with a really stupid excuse, he repeats it to my mom, chastising her for yelling at me.

Without my Uncle Tai, Vietnam wouldn’t have been fun as it has been. His wackiness is one of the things I’ll miss witnessing the most. Same goes for Tammy, I’m sure. During the afternoons here, whenever I hear the creak-creak of the rocking hammock upstairs at his home in Saigon, I know it’s my Uncle Tai, probably sleeping or smoking a cigarette. His raspy voice sometimes singing a tune. I’ll truly miss that a lot.