I'd like to talk about Tuấn, who moved into the flat opposite ours in Hanoi about eight months ago. He's in his late twenties and works as a nurse at a hospital nearby.
He moved in on a Sunday during the rainy season, and I remember it because the lift in our building was broken that week. I heard a lot of thumping on the stairs and found him trying to carry a washing machine up five floors with just one friend. My brother and I went out to help, and between the four of us we managed it, though I think my back still remembers it.
After that, getting to know him happened quite naturally. A few days later he knocked on our door with a box of sticky rice cakes from his home town, Nam Định, as a thank-you. My mother invited him in for tea, and he ended up staying for dinner. Because he works night shifts, we don't see him every day, but he often waves from his balcony in the morning when he comes home and I'm leaving for university.
I think he's a really good addition to the building. He's quiet and respectful, but also generous with his skills. When my grandmother had a fall last month, he came over at once, checked her ankle and told us exactly what to do before we got her to a clinic. People in our block didn't use to talk much; most of us just nodded in the corridor. Since he arrived, though, there's a bit more of a neighbourly feeling. It's made me realise that one friendly person can change the atmosphere of a whole building.