Vietnam

Our stop in Vietnam was almost a month ago now, and I am still working out in my mind everything we observed. Having been born at the end of the Vietnam War and growing up at a time when we learned very little formally about this period of U.S. history, yet knowing it remains an extremely sensitive subject in the U.S., made being in Vietnam weighted in a way my travels to other countries have never been. There have been a few instances since I lived in Japan where I have met older Americans who disapproved of my willing participation in the JET Programme and my positive sentiments regarding the people of Japan because of the events of WWII. However, in preparing and being in Japan for the year, I only felt a great deal of support from family and friends, and honestly gave very little thought to historic relations between Japan and the U.S. Nothing was further from the truth in Vietnam.

What seemed to surprise most of us SASers traveling in Vietnam was their delight in having us in their country. The Vietnamese people do not harbor ill will towards the U.S. Yes, I visited the War Remnants Museum and the Unified Palace, both of which present the U.S. government as an imperialistic aggressor and showed photos of the devastation of the land and the gruesome violence some American soldiers perpetrated against the people of Vietnam. We also went to the Cu Chi Tunnels built by the Viet Cong and learned about their methods for moving undetected by the American soldiers and the tools of war they utilized. Walking through the tropical forest in the pouring rain and crawling through portions of the tunnels (which have been enlarged in some sections to allow for tourists to fit) provided a glimmer as to what it would have been like to live in these tunnels for years on end. Most of us were quite impressed by the way in which the Viet Cong had designed methods for cooking underground and releasing the smoke through multiple rooms until it finally escaped in a fairly unnoticeable haze above ground. The remnants of the war are not pretty, but nothing I saw was surprising, and most of it I had learned about watching films in the U.S. and in a history course I took in college.

It was important to me to visit these sights and to think about the actions of the U.S. in Vietnam, and I am very glad to have been able to process some of my experiences with friends who shared in them. Equally important was coming to understand the amount of time in Vietnam’s history when they have fought to keep an aggressor out of their country. The significance of the Vietnam War is far greater to the people of the U.S. than it is to the people of Vietnam. They fought us for 20 years and they fought China for 1000. Their Buddhist faith (which most Vietnamese practice) teaches them not to hold on to pain of the past but to live in the present. Today Vietnam looks at the U.S. as having much to offer them, and so they welcome us with glad tidings.

The rapid development taking place is quite visible. While Vietnam was not in the same position economically as some of the other countries we have visited, it is definitely on the move. Traffic congestion is already a problem and will only become more so in the coming years. Motorbikes and scooters are the most popular form of transportation, however, we were told that as individuals make more money more cars are being introduced to the market. It is difficult to imagine traffic moving at all once the cars replace the motorbikes. There is non-stop honking in Vietnam to alert other vehicles of someone moving near them or as a warning that they are getting too close. For those of us used to the structured rules of the road in the U.S., driving in Vietnam is simply madness. In addition, there are many dangers to pedestrians in Vietnam. Crossing the street is a skill one must relearn. For those of you who remember playing Frogger, you get the idea. We were advised to commit ourselves to crossing before we took our foot off the curb and then to continue to move forward allowing the vehicles to drive around us as we make our way across. Once I got used to the idea of crossing through moving traffic, I became fairly adept at managing the task.

Of course Vietnam was additionally special because of my travel companions. My Pville friend Dawn flew in from Arizona to spend the time in Vietnam with me before flying to see Ankor Wat in Cambodia. Plus, one of my fellow Chuuk Peace Corps volunteers, Tim, is teaching at the American International School in Ho Chi Minh City. Tim joined Dawn and I for a boat trip to the Mekong Delta and introduced us to the New World Hotel (the only 5 star hotel in Ho Chi Minh City), where Dawn and I had more than one “no worry” meals. I have to say that my Peace Corps service leaves me feeling as if I have done the “living locally” thing plenty, and I have no hesitation about enjoying a meal in a comfortable location with good service and excellent food.