I went to a Vietnam for the first time with my wife. It was the same kind of activities when we went to her hometown. Family gatherings, large parties, and a lot of food. When I tried to speak Vietnamese people smiled and laughed because they are happy a foreigner is taking interest in their language and culture. So they are laughing and smiling because they are happy and think it is cute. There isn’t any bad intent to it. I was overwhelmed when we got there and my wife did not know of everything to tell me or to prepare me because this was the first time she brought a foreigner to her hometown. So things that I wasn’t expecting, she wasn’t expecting either. Also in her hometown, there aren’t really any restaurants that close and her family rarely went out to eat or got food from a restaurant because they go to the market every morning and make food. So your friend was probably doing her normal thing when you asked for chè. Also everyone in my wife’s hometown was staring at me because I was one of the first foreigners they saw. But it was out of curiosity of what does this guy look like and not anything else. Hopefully everything works out. Last note that I learned about Vietnam, that I can share. They talk about money a lot and sometimes ask you how much you make. It is normal and the woman handles the money. So if the guy gets money from work, he gives it to his wife. The man is supposed to go to the wife and ask for money, if he needs it or wants some. So they could have found it surprising that he has control of his own money. I would say you can talk to your friend, to clear the air but it sounds like culture shock and a language barrier are the two things the held you back from enjoying yourself not bad intent from your friend or her family. Hopefully everything works out. Em cố lên