European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 07, 1967, Darmstadt, Hesse                                . Wives in Vietnam editor s note the american consulate in Saigon lists 249 Ameri can wives in Vietnam wives of Diplo Mats businessmen missionaries and newsmen. One is Joyce Nance wife of a newsman John Nance. She has kept House in Saigon for More than year and while she finds it possible to adapt to soaring prices physical in convenience and the grim Clanger of War the worst Hazard is not Keepin Busy enough husband and wife togetherness she finds is a  a by Joyce Nance for the associated press when bomb blasts rattle the win Dows when the electricity is off when the water taps give Forth Only afew drops at a time when one s husband is running around the Jungles some where Well an american wife May find housekeeping in Saigon unnerving. But once the initial Shock wears offend she learns to adjust to a few Hundred irregularities life can become tolerable even enjoyable at least to the adapt Able. Of course one never gets used to the occasional Long planned dinner that abruptly ends with the appetizer Leav ing wives to mumble amidst the Candle Light As husbands dash out in response to sudden Telephone Calls men seem to find important. Yet most wives get accustomed to sirens Low flying jets and the rumble of artillery in the night the same Asin the United states they get accustomed to or at least put up with screaming children blaming to the roaring vacuum cleaner the Washer an the dryer. In Saigon however you can t shutoff the noise. And there is always the underlying thought that our noises often mean death. You either adapt get out or go out of your mind. The few who now remain have mainly adapted. The everyday business of keeping House Calls for plenty of adjustment. Shopping can be an adventure or catastrophe depending on whether the Monsoon rain Waits until you get Homeland whether the shopkeepers  for your fumbling ways an unlikely happening. He fun begins when you try to buy something. First you Are a foreigner probably american and second you Don t speak  for the american triple and haggling without a common language becomes slapstick comedy. You scribble your offer on a scrap of paper the merchant scribbles his. Both of you shake Heads furiously. You Start to stomp off he Calls you Back. He writes another figure you throw up your hands and Mark a lesser figure. Buying food is a bit different. By patronizing the same place regularly you can at least standardize your overpay ment. There is no bargaining in the higher class shops. Prices Are just High. American goods for example sell for astronomical prices a can of fruit sell ing for 35 cents in Chicago goes for 175piasters or about $1.50. A 45-cent Box of soap powder goes up to $1.00 a 15-Eentcan of pork and Beans is to cents. A dinner out in what was once a goo French restaurant can easily Cost a Cou ple $20 for an Ordinary meal with maddeningly indifferent waiters. A bottle of mediocre wine All imported will add another $8 to $14. Eating at Home has its drawbacks too. Our tiny Kitchen about 5 feet by 5 feet is one Quarter filled by the bottle Gas stove which turns the already sultry room into a Sauna Bath. The refrigerator takes another Quarter of the space but is a big Blessing. In the months we did not have one lugging cakes of dripping ice up four flights of stairs to the apartment was hardly the most pleasant Way to Start a Day. The apartment one main High Ceil winged Large room divided by a folding screen is liveable. The bathroom i Roomy but jammed with urns pans and buckets which we fill with water during the two or three hours a Day the water is running. This is not a uni Versal problem though. Most people have running water most of the time. R for such apartments ranges from the equivalent of $110 a month to$250, depending on the landlord and the need of the tenant. Larger apartment Sand houses Start at about $400 and go up to $1,200. These Are for the expense account set. We Are the Only americans in outbuilding. Our vietnamese neighbors pay roughly $50 a  Happy feature Here is that you can get help. Almost All households have maid. The maid s casual attitude toward work May drive you crazy but at least she s a maid. In Vietnam As everywhere women like to make the most of their appear Ance. The heat does t help. And the Price of cosmetics is High enough to make some women Settle for the beat Nik look. A Well known Brand of Finger Nail polish costs about $3.50 a  clothes Are next to impossible to find in the right sizes. Nearly everything is hand made. It usually in t expensive by Western  Good Quality fabrics Are rare. Even after you have your material it is no Clear sailing. Dressmakers Are  will work from a pattern even if you provide it they like pictures fro magazines but change anything they think the original designer messed  slim Little number you had in mind from Yves St. Laurent May come out looking like a maternity . Getting around these streets can be Amajor frustration. Traffic is hectic. Drivers of automobile taxis three wheel bicycle taxis and motorized three wheel ers All have a Sharp Eye for a for Eigner. Their prices escalate according to How Many prospective passengers arson tilt streets the weather and How Gullible you  solution is a bicycle which i Ped dle almost everywhere i want to go. Theban feature to the Bike is that it must be lugged up to our apartment when Notin use. To first it was chained to a Post in the Entrance Walkway to the apart ment but Ding. After two Days it was missing a tire seat headlight and some one had tried to take the handlebars. As for danger the bombings that make headlines i be found that you can move about fairly freely without undue Cau Tion. Of course in Saigon As in new Yore Chicago or san Francisco thereat places you Don t go. There Are just a few More such places Here. And get Ting any distance outside Saigon is Avery Touchy matter. The Best weapon against these frustrations is keeping Busy. It does t take Long Here to discover that husband an wife togetherness is a sometime  seem to work All of the time. To see them a few hours a Day i doing pretty Well sometimes it s Only a few hours a  must find things to fill the Day. With a Little imagination and Energy the time can be interesting and enjoyable. There Are excellent opportunities for studying languages. The French cultural Institute has Day and evening  vietnamese american association offers classes in  demand for English teachers is endless. It is not necessary to be scholar to fill a teaching Post and to do a worthwhile  Hospital workers Are Al ways Welcome to read to gis placards or just talk. But when the shopping is done an the housekeeping is done and the Volunteer work is done and studying i done there is always the sight of the children who sleep in your doorway a night because they have no Home there is always the Wail of ambulances racing toward a Viet Cong bombing or the Parachute flares that Light the night sky on the Edge of town. It is a strange feeling to realize that these things once so foreign have be come a part of your everyday life. No commissary for newsmen s wives Here author shops at Busy Saigon Market for food. When All other communication Breaks Down French English vietnamese fingers Tell the Story. Maids Are available in Saigon but sometimes casual ways leave shirts looking undressed. Bicycle is too dear to be parked outside so up and Down four flights it goes every Day night. Teaching English a popular subject in Saigon helps pass lonely hours when newsman husband is out on a Story. A photos Page 12 the stars and stripes thursday s 7, 1967 the stars and stripes Pago 13