Shortening the Leash

At home when your dog goes missing it's a bummer.  You hope s/he's not lost, you call the neighbors, you call the vet, you call the police, and then you wait for the call.  If you're lucky s/he has just wandered away temporarily, and s/he will return to you soon.

When you lose your dog in Vietnam, your first thought is, "I really need to follow the lunar calendar a little more closely." There are two big dog eating days based on the phases of the moon.  Your first call should be to the nearest restaurant (if you can speak enough Vietnamese to say, "Good evening.  Are you stir-frying my dog?").  Then you scour the neighborhood with furrowed brow and an accusing stare - peering into every home where you see a family gathered together for dinner.

Then, when you find your dog around the corner playing in a dirt pile, you breathe a sigh of relief.  You laugh awkwardly and promise to never again repeat that joke about "Coconut Curry" in your daughter's presence.  Having a homesick teenager is tricky.  We are constantly trying to point out the positive side of what we are doing (no doubt annoying her to no end).  It would be hard to justify the dognapping of her pet in the name of a cultural education.  So, it is with great relief that I report that Coconut is safe and sound.  After a stressful thirty minute search, we found her frolicking in a dirt/dung pile in the rice paddy.  Crisis averted for now.  Following the lunar calendar moves to the top of the priority list.