Our Tour Guide Anh invited us to have New Year's Eve Dinner with he and his in-laws. His family lived within walking distance of our hotel. We felt so honored to be welcomed into his family's home (as Vietnamese are very superstitious - they only invite people over that they believe will help usher in good luck for their New Year). We sat around a large black lacquered coffee table (all men and...Suzan) while the Vietnamese women continued to serve us in grand style. We had small white China dishes filled with various sauces (i.e. soy and chili pepper; black pepper and vinegar) and courses which continued to flow in from the kitchen. We experienced dishes such as a beef dish with french fries and tomatoes (Jim ate not me) though I did nibble on the fries which one dips into the black pepper and vinegar dip - yum). Then we had a noodle dish with vegetables and seafood (squid and shrimp) - along with chili sauce and limes. Then came fried eggs to dip our fresh French rolls into (with chili sauce). Just when we thought it was over - a large silver pot with a heating unit came out. Bubbling inside was a soup broth with vegetables, fish and noodles. "Don't be shy. Make yourself at home. Have more," said Anh. How can the Vietnamese possibly be so thin is all I could wonder about! The only person who spoke English was our tour guide (aside from us of course). So we sat around smiling and drinking many a toast with our Saigon beers. YO (the traditional Vietnamese toast) resounded around the room - clinks could be heard for miles. Early in the evening the patriarch of the family (the Grandfather) asked Anh in Vietnamese (to then translate for us) "How many children do we have?" We didn't even pause for this question. Jim blurted, "Zero." (while holding up a zero with his two fingers). Shortly thereafter, men began leaving....the Grandfather suddenly had 'something to do at home.' One of the brother in laws needed to 'pray at the temple.' And so it went. We hadn't realized that for the Vietnamese not having children means about the same as saying we had leprosy. It definitely cleared the room. Also each time someone left the tradition is for everyone to down their beers. Somehow Jim's reply to the question led us also to get fairly wasted! Immediately after the last course, the Father-in-Law said something in Vietnamese to Anh. Then he turned to us and said, "My Father-in-Law says Goodbye and he wishes you all the good things for your life in the New Year. You can walk back to your hotel now." We now knew the correct response to the question - "We have six children." We had fun making up stories about all our young ones back home in future conversations. We were also glad that we went back to our hotel - hours later we had the treat of our Mekong River Delta visit. Right at midnight we awakened to the sound of a sonic boom - which turned out to be a magnificent display of fireworks directly above our hotel balcony - the room shook, the reflection glimmered on the riverfront and the sparkling lights whisked us away to some other galaxy - all because we don't have children. (Otherwise we may still have been down the street force feeding and toasting YO with more Saigon Beers)!