how many years

My sissy, back from Ho Chi Minh for one night before flying off to Shandong to teach for two weeks, had the album of this Vietnamese Julio Iglesias warbling in the background while packing.

"He's singing something about 'How many years?' and then '25 years'," she explained to me, with the limited Vietnamese she picked up during her three months there.

I started guffawing while he continued to croon in an overwrought manner.

"You mean, 'How many years will I get if I kill someone?' and then '25 years to life'?"

She gave me the glare of death: "It's a romantic song!"

By then, I was convulsing on the bed with tears rolling down my cheeks, totally amused by my own joke: "How I know? I thought he was the Vietnamese version of Eminem."

"He is NOT!"

"You have no sense of humour."

We both started laughing uncontrollably.

I miss my sissy already.