-^-for posterity-^-

phan van khai, the prime minister of vietnam, visited an giang university. that’s why i needed to buy shoes. i couldn’t show the leader of this country my unsightly toes.

we were told he was coming at nine o’clock in the morning. we got up early, groomed and primped and were ready for breakfast at eight. we were both wearing long sleeve shirts, ties, long pants and dress shoes. sweat poured down our backs. as we left campus, one of the friendly agricultural faculty members told us that the prime minister’s visit had been canceled. this chap had always been one to joke around and we weren’t sure if he was being serious or if he was pulling our leg.

it turns out he was only relaying what he had been told. the prime minister had only delayed his visit by an hour and a half. he was coming at ten thirty. the next hour and a half was spent on the internet gleaning as much information about the prime minister as we could. he’s led a fascinating life.

we arrived at school and there were already two long lines of students standing directly inside the gates. they were all dressed to the nines. boys all had long sleeve shirts and ties and the girls all wore ao dai dresses. each person held a small vietnamese flag and all the boys had tall, white hats on that said, “dai hoc an giang”, or, “an giang university.” we walked behind these lines and stood with the rest of the faculty that had gathered.

everyone stood mumbling in the hot, morning sun. heat waves rose up from the dusty earth. people passed outside the gate wondering what was going to happen and everyone inside the gate fixed their attention on the intersection in the distance. we all waited for his car to appear.

the prime minister’s entourage arrived. about fourteen cars all pulled up and circled in unison. the prime minister swooped out of his car but not before a large group of journalists surrounded him. they snapped pictures and scurried this way and that. he walked through the gate and between the two rows of students who were all silently waving their flags. he is a tallish man with a very strong face. his eyes seem to be stern yet full of curiosity. his hair is still brown and held fast to his head. you could see each individual comb mark and nothing was out of place. he wore a smart shirt and an even smarter tie. we walked past the students who were still silent. i expected there to be some sort of music. either a marching band or the soundtrack to some movie playing in the background. anything to heighten the moment.

he walked up the steps to where all of the faculty had gathered. we stood in reverence and someone finally started to clap. applause rang out from the school and the prime minister clapped too. everything felt wonderfully sincere.

we walked through the library and dr. xuan, the president of the university, talked to the prime minister about the benefits of computer technology. they talked quietly but were easily heard. the crowd remained eerily silent. he was introduced to charles, the scottish man who’s doing doctoral research here. charles said some eloquent words and the prime minister smiled and shook his hand. we were pushed towards the front of the pack. we stood silently by as the prime minister passed. dr. xuan made a passing reference to us as they walked by. the prime minister shook my hand and smiled. his visit was a short one and we were soon walking back our thin, dirt road towards home. sweat was pouring down inside the sauna that our long sleeved shirts had become. it didn’t really matter though. i never had the opportunity to meet the leader of a country before and this was no let down. he had an air about him that is indescribable. he had the glow of power.