Crossing the Bamboo Bridge by Mai Donohue
Author:Mai Donohue
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: family, memoir, war, vietnam, survival
Publisher: Stillwater River Publications
CHAPTER 15
Tan Son Nhut
That was how we drove, all the way to the Air Base at Tan Son Nhut.
I remember how scared I was and how exciting it was. All the bright lights blinking, the streets filled with motorbikes, scooters and cars, cyclos and bicycles, the heat from the exhaust fumes in front of us mixing with the hot air and blowing in our faces.
I was holding on so tight to the seat. I did not dare move up closer for fear of touching my new boss's body. From time to time I would catch a whiff of her expensive perfume mixed with the thick street air. I also tried to eavesdrop on what they were saying but their voices trailed off in the wind. At the Tan Son Nhut gate the guards saluted us and the father just nodded in return.
It was late when we reached the Vietnamese officers' quarters compound.
I don't know what I expected but it was a disappointment. As the road curved around and the quarters came into view, I saw that they were all alike, large cement row houses with tin roofs and cement floors. To me, an ignorant country girl, they all looked like big funny tents. Not very impressive.
Each row house had a long corridor down the middle with quarters on either side. The houses were divided for two to four families, depending on rank. Most were occupied by pilots and their families. My new boss's quarters were in the middle of a three-family house.
So this was a row house. I had not understood when the nannies had said a row house. Now I knew. Oh well. I thought about my new boss. The nannies had been right about her situation. Her house was nothing compared to her mother's home!
My only duty in their home was to care for the girls. It was natural for me to care for children. I had been doing it all my life. Except this time I would get paid for it. The only other difference was that these children were richer. They needed more pampering. Even so, the work was easy and there was too little of it.
As the days passed I quickly became bored. The nights were another story. As much as I felt safe inside the Tan Son Nhut base, when night came I would get very homesick. I missed my family and especially I missed my son. I decided I needed to be more tired at night. But I had too much free time during the day. So I offered to do the dishes and help the cook. Very soon I had won the cook's approval, too.
My new bosses were nice, especially the wife. She liked me to serve afternoon tea to the other officers' wives of the same rank. Some were a lot older. The first time I served them tea, my boss introduced me to them with a smile. "This is our new au pair. Her name is Cam. She is new to the city and it will take time to train her.
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