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father said, was that the foreign tourists only On Vivien’s Penultimate night in Saigon,
5
knew one thing about this country, the war. she and her father drank four flasks of milky
These tunnels, then, were a must-see on their rice wine at a Chinese restaurant in Cho Lon.
itineraries. After returning home, Mr. Ly went for a walk
“Later we see new tunnels, made big just for 50 with his wife to clear his intoxicated head while
you. Last time an American go in this one, he Hanh and Phuc settled down on the blanketed
can’t get out. He too fat!” To illustrate his point, floor of the living room, their bed next to the
Mr. Ly extended his arms and joined his hands, motorbikes. Upstairs, after Vivien closed the
Redefining America
creating a large hoop in the air. “Anyone want door to the room that Phuong shared with her
to try?” parents, she pulled one of her crimson suitcases
The tourists grinned and shook their heads, out from underneath Phuong’s narrow bed.
the smallest of them as tall as Phuong’s father. The suitcase had been loaded with gifts from
Phuong was afraid he might call on her to slide Vivien and her mother, from jeans and shirts
into the tunnel, but when no one volunteered, to medicines and makeup, even shampoo and
her father scowled and raised his fist. “This is conditioner that had been bottled in the United
how we win our victory!” he cried. A camera States and were hence more valuable than the
flashed. “We reunite our country through same brand bottled in a local plant. Now the
courage and sacrifice!” suitcase was packed with souvenirs, a porcelain
Two more cameras flashed as their father doll in a silk ao dai for Vivien’s mother, hand-
4
held his pose. carved teak replicas of cyclos for her brothers,
“Did he just say what I think he said?” Vivien a bottle of rice wine with a cobra floating in it
whispered. for her stepfather, and, for her friends, T-shirts
5
“He doesn’t really mean it. It’s only emblazoned with Ho Chi Minh’s avuncular
an act.” face. But when Vivien opened the suitcase,
But Phuong suspected that for the tourists, 55 she took out neither these mementos nor her
act was fact. Foreigners that they were, own belongings. Instead, after rummaging
they could not tell the difference between a underneath these things, she dug out a small
Communist and a man the Communists had pink bag, somewhat crumpled from its journey,
exiled to a New Economic Zone. In a few days and presented it to Phuong.
or a week or two weeks, they would leave, their “I’ve got one last thing for you, little sister,”
most vivid memory about this day being the Vivien said. “I wasn’t sure I should give it to you,
funny experience of crawling on their knees but I thought I’d come prepared.”
through a tunnel, and a vague memory of the Printed on the bag in cursive writing was
passionate little tour guide and his passable Victoria’s Secret. Inside were a black lace
English. We’re all the same to them, Phuong brassiere and black lace panties, a wispy thong
realized, with a mix of anger and shame — small, rather than one of the scratchy, full-bottomed
charming, and forgettable. She was worried
her sister might see her this way as well, but
when her father waved the tourists onward and
Vivien followed, she appeared to be concerned 4 Three-wheeled bicycle taxis. — Eds.
only with brushing away the small cloud of 5 Prime Minister of North Vietnam from 1945 to 1955 and
mosquitoes hovering around her. President from 1945 to 1969, Ho Chi Minh (1890–1969) led an
independence movement against the French and established
• • • the Communist-ruled Republic of Vietnam. — Eds.

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