G189 and Deja Vu at Vincom Tower

See that picture? It’s kind of a deja vu thing. You know, you got the dude, and me, and we kinda look the same … so you look at one and it’s like, deja vu man.
It’s deja vu all over again, as class G189 heads out to hang out once again! This time it was the official movie night, as part of Oxford English’s complete literacy and fluency curriculum requires that every class see at least one film – in English – every term. But why sit in a boring classroom and watch a film when you can head out to the swankiest spot in Hanoi – ultra-chic Vincom Tower – and catch a film at the almost-as-nice-as-New York Megastar Cinema up on the 6th floor.
The night started out slow. I hit Highlands Coffee at the appointed hour, only to find not a student in sight. The shadow of the Vietnam/Thailand football match loomed large. Perhaps no one would come …

I sipped a black, iced coffee. I read some of “Storm of Swords” by George R.R. Martin on the E-reader software in my 02 which keeps me alive at times like this. I watched the girls, I mean the people, passing by on the street outside. I watched two of my students, Duy and Trinh, pass by on the street outside but not come in. Deja Vu, as I watched them pass by again. And then again. I thought about getting up, but the coffee was good, the chair was soft, the book compelling, and I decided to wait.
Duy and Trinh passed by a few more times. I struggled to my feet, went to the door, but they were gone. Luckily, I spotted Hanh and Thanh, waved to them, and they came in and joined me.
“So,” Hanh said, in that blunt way the Vietnamese seem to have, and with a sense of deja vu I knew a painful remark was coming. “Teacher, are you massively, suicidally depressed because no one has come to movie night and everyone seems to prefer watching football over hanging out with you?”
I thought about it. Me. Thanh. Hanh. The over the hill American dude and two 20 year old Vietnamese girls going to the movies? Nope. Not depressed one bit.
And there was no need to be, as everyone showed up … a full house, arriving in a matter of minutes. We sat and chatted exclusively in English, and I even forced them to order their ice creams and coffees in English. That was a bust, as the waitress couldn’t speak English, but at least my peeps tried.
Ha and I went on a mission to buy 15 tickets. Ha is having a special year as her most recent haircut proved a huge success and she looks great now. When we got back, it was time to go shopping.
Then Linh arrived. She was late, and we’d forgotten a ticket for her. So off I went to the 6th floor again, alone this time, to pick up one more ticket. In the elevator, I experienced profound deja vu. Being a genius, I bought two tickets, just in case.
I caught up with G189 snapping photos like mad all over the mall, and joined in for a few. I’ve noticed very recently that if I plaster on the biggest smile my facial muscles can master, I actually look much better in pictures than if I use the reserved, tough guy face I’ve practiced for the last 38 years. Unbelievable.
We made it to the 5th floor and lo and behold the Vinh Loi restaurant was showing the football match. So we sat down at a long table to wolf down some (really, really bad) Vietnamese food and watch a few minutes of the game. Deja vu, as Vietnam failed again and again to score against Thailand’s defense.
Then it was off to the 6th floor and the movie. Popcorn for everybody set me back 345,000 VND – a small price to pay for a night in the company of some of Hanoi’s best and brightest students.
Deja Vu, the movie that is, rocked. I don’t care what you heard. I love time travel stories, and I love good cop stories, and Deja Vu was both. Slick, awesome special effects, a tight script, great acting by Denzel Washington. All in all a damn good movie.
Of course, it ended late, and most of my students vanished like they were characters in a Cinderella story, afraid of turning into god-knows-what if they weren’t home by midnight.
When we got outside, we realized Phuong and Hung’s motorbikes were gone! The entire parking area where they’d left their bikes was gone too. More deja vu, as I remembered the last movie night, and Xuan’s lost motorbike ticket.
Luckily, they found their bikes had been moved into the subterranean parking garage, and everyone made it home ok.
I have to say, I was impressed with the way everyone spoke English all night. My students did a really good job of respecting the no-Vietnamese rule on movie night. And, I believe them all when they said they listened to the English dialogue in the movie – mostly fast-moving sci-fi technobabble – and didn’t read a word of the Vietnamese subtitles.
Sure.