Vietnamese, at the fingertips of your complex.

My palms are thick and my fingers are short. In other words, my hands are ugly. I've had a complex about it for a long time, and I convinced myself that rings just don't suit me. Still, I found some designs I liked and bought a few, but I hardly ever wear them. Whenever I see slender, long fingers, I feel envious—whether they belong to a man or a woman. But if you neglect them, hands are honest. They get dry, the wrinkles stand out, and they faithfully reflect your age. Thinking I really ought to take proper care of them, I'm particular about my hand cream and soap, but I tend to slack off on serious care—and this is even while living in Vietnam. The thing is, in Vietnam nail services are very cheap. There are lots of skilled technicians too, and you can pick from any design or color you like. That said, just like with hair salons, it's not easy to come across a shop where you think "this is the one." There are as many nail shops as there are cafés—countless, like the stars—so finding that one place where you go "this is it!" is actually quite hard. Still, I recently finally found a place where I can relax, and I'd only been asking them to do my cuticle care. But this time my nails had grown out too, and I was in the mood to try getting my nails done for a little change of pace. What I chose was an understated, natural pink matte finish.

I'd meant to keep it as understated as possible, but once it was done, somehow it felt lacking. How selfish of me. I mulled over all sorts of things, wondering what it would take to satisfy me. Then it hit me — I could put a word on my nail, like a message printed on a T-shirt. And in Vietnamese, no less. After thinking it over, putting one on every finger would be too much, so I kept it modest with just one on each hand. On my left ring finger, "đón nắng mai" — meaning "welcoming the morning sun." On my right hand, words I always want to keep in my heart: "Bình yên ở đây." Peace is here. The words on my left hand I picked from the lyrics of my favorite Vietnamese song, "Vietnam ơi." When I told the story to Trang, who did my nails, she burst out laughing and sang the chorus along with me. Vietnamese people really do love this song, don't they. Getting my nails done after so long, and that easygoing chat with Trang — it made me somehow happy. My hands may be wrinkly and far from professional, but I took a photo to remember it by.

The message on my nails might actually look like there's a bit of dirt stuck on them, huh??? Maybe I should have asked them to make the letters a little thicker. The base could have been a slightly more eye-catching color too, maybe. Maybe I should have asked for a glossy finish instead of a matte one. Once you actually try it, all these "I want it like this, I want it like that" thoughts start coming up, huh. So selfish, really. But my mood has definitely lifted. Next time, maybe I'll have them write about two on one hand. Relocation Life Ranking