Previously I had thought: I’m employed by the government.
It’s about solidarity and mutual support between the two countries.
That was also in my contract, which was translated for us.
We were supposed to learn a profession
and when we returned home, we were supposed to help develop the country.
Then the German language classes began. I thought, that’s strange
nothing but ‘plate’, ‘pot’, and ‘knife’. After two months of German classes
they said: we’re putting you in the kitchen.
At that time, 1981, in Vietnam, a cook was not a profession.
We women always have to cook anyway, what’s the point of this training
to become a trained cook, and for canteen kitchens at that.
I learned how to clean onions, peel vegetables, carrots, and how to wash pots.
For two whole years we did nothing but that kind of work.
And scrubbed the floors.
From the beginning I knew that this training would be useless for me.