I went out for a night walk on the beach, and I finally think I've come to partially understand the way of young Vietnamese flirting rituals. It usually involves a combination of: a) zipping around the streets on the motorbike, while the girl sits on the back texts on her cell, b) parking motorbikes and hanging out on a lighted section of smooth concrete by the beach and clustering in bunches like grapes on a vine, and certainly not least c) stumbling around in the sand on the shore, threatening to swing the girl into the water and hearing her shrieks pierce the air.
C happens a lot, just in general. I saw a load of schoolgirls in shirts and shorts yesterday who gathered by the fives at the breaking waves. With every crash, they screamed and screamed, and one's scream just happened to go a little longer as the other girls heartily shoved her into the oncoming wave. Most screaming ensued when she bubbled to the surface.
Boys just wrestle each other in, but boys with girls - they're a little sneakier. They'll walk with their arm around the girl, cleverly and subtly guiding her closer and closer to the water, probably distracting her with some wooing words and a firm grip on her hip. Then, just as she realizes the water is lapping at her toes, she'll scream (see the pattern here?) and try to wiggle out and under from his arm, like a cat that doesn't want to cuddle. The boy will try to drag the screaming girl to the waves, and whisk her away just as she's about to get a total wave smackdown.
Physical attacks are common. Boy does something, girl screams and pummels him. Boy doesn't do something, girl screams and pummels him anyway. And this violence is not unique to the younger generation, oh no. I've witnessed first hand the flurry of a Vietnamese woman's hands, happily slapping away at a male who said too much - or not enough.
Oh, well. Like most men, I'm sure they did something to deserve it. :) They should probably stop playing dunk tank with the ocean if they know what's good for them..
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