Unintentionally Attending a Highschool Party

I was in a bit of a slump in early May after my first research assistant, An, had to return to work at the Research Institute of Marine Fisheries in Hai Phong. It may have been the three days of data entry that got to me, or perhaps because I was having a horrific allergic reaction to mosquito bites on my feet and ankles that kept me awake at night. Either way, I was feeling pretty down.

Cue my new research assistant, a recent graduate of the aquaculture program at Can Tho University. His name is Thanh (not to be confused with the Thanh who came diving in April). Thanh is a bit more reserved than An, and is keen to be a great research assistant, whereas An was more of a facilitator, showing me the ropes of fisheries in Vietnam.

After a day of settling in, I took Thanh to one of the main fishing villages where seahorses are landed. Kids waved and yelled hello to me; brightly dressed women lounging in hammocks smiled and waved. "They all know you!" said Thanh. Yes - I'm the seahorse lady, don't you know?

What was originally intended to be a day of introduction to recording seahorse landings quickly took a turn for the Vietnamese ... The dock where seahorses normally arrive was occupied by about 25 teenagers. It turned out that Hang, one of my little Vietnamese sisters, had just finished her last day of classes for Grade 12. She and her friends were having a feast of seafood and sharing many beers (note - there is no legal drinking age in Vietnam), so her mother ushered Thanh and I over, insisting we join the party.

Thanh was a bit hesitant at first - but this wasn't my first rodeo. I dug into some clams and a mysterious but delicious fried pancake. When someone wanted to share a pint with me, I gladly obliged (in the entire group, there was only one beer glass - it gets refilled, and two people share the glass, each drinking half - I like the unity of it!).

My new 18-year-old Vietnamese BFFs!

Thanh was horrified that as my research assistant he was drinking with me. I told him it's all part of the process. Eventually he relaxed and we spent the afternoon enjoying ourselves, drinking beer and eating seafood. Soon enough everyone was heading to the living room for karakoe. We missed all of the seahorse boats arriving, but we strengthened our relationships with the community - so much more important in the long run!

Karaoke in the living room - beer bowl in the foreground (the beer is kept cool with ice, which also waters it down and makes it easier to drink all afternoon!)

We were too drunk to motorbike back to our rooms on the other side of the island, so we stayed over with Hang’s family. I fell asleep on a sweaty mattress, wedged between Hang and her younger sister. I feared another onslaught of mosquito bites - but knew that it was worth it!