Vietnam, More than a war...

Flurry of activity.  Whirlwind.  Call it what you want, I've been very busy the past few weeks.  The study tour kept our hours packed to the point of breaking, and there was a daily journal assignment that I still haven't finished from that trip.  Not to mention, once the trip was over, I managed to eat an undercooked burger and get wicked sick for a few days in Vietnam and Cambodia.  Don't yell at me, it was dark in the bar and I didn't see the plate covered in blood until I was done with the damn thing.

Oh well, I survived.  But that's a story for another time.

Let me tell you a bit about Vietnam.  And how awesome it is.  The first thing to strike me was how warm and friendly everyone we met was.  Granted, we spent most of our time in central Vietnam around Da Nang and Quang Tri province, so the perspective of someone visiting Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City might be a little different.  But everywhere we went people were smiling and waving.  Not because Westerners are a novelty but, I found out after speaking with a few people, because people are generally excited to share what is theirs with visitors.  Its the kind of hospitality that runs rampant in developing parts of the world.  Guests are respected and treated like royalty.  Americans have lost their way a bit in this regard.

Another surprise was how there was absolutely no animosity towards me as an American in Quang Tri province.  I suspect this is because the Americans who spend time there are always there to do some good.  But let me share one astounding statistic with you, and hopefully I can influence your perspective on the War.  Quang Tri province houses the DMZ from the Vietnam war, it covers only 1,800 sq miles (the size of Delaware) and is one of the poorest provinces in Vietnam.  During the War, more explosive munitions were dropped on this province by the US than were dropped by BOTH SIDES during the whole of World War 2.  Reread that last sentence and let it sink in.  We, as a country, royally screwed these people.  But there was no hostility.  I'm sure resentment is still harbored somewhere, but as I said earlier, it wasn't directed at us because (I hope) the people recognized that we were there to do some good.

Ron, one of the PeaceTrees board members and a Vietnam Vet, talked about how the entire area looked like a moonscape after the war.  Craters everywhere, no more vegetation (none) and a substantial amount of leftover unexploded ordinance.  Estimates range from 4-15% of the weapons used in the war remain unexploded and sitting in the earth.  Waiting for a heavy rain to wash away some mud or for a farmer to till his field.  Or a child to stumble across one and pick it up.  4-15% of all of the bombs used during WW2 are sitting in the ground of Quang Tri province waiting to explode.  And the part that bugs me is that the US government (responsible for leaving it all there) is leaving the cleanup effort to NGOs.  So much the better, given the US government's track record, they'd probably find a way to screw it up.

But it wasn't just PeaceTrees or the people in Dong Ha that were awesome.  The university students, tour guides, teachers, company officials and hotel staff were all totally amazing.  I've never felt more like a tourist, traveling around with 20 other Americans by air conditioned coach bus in a place where the average annual income is an amount most of you make in a month.  And at the same time, I've never felt more welcome.  People were gracious and quick to assist with anything.  Many knew a lot of English, and made me feel inadequate that I hadn't learned their language.  Cam On (thank you) was pretty much all the Vietnamese I learned in my two weeks there.  Tonal languages are hard.

Most strikingly, were the people on the street.  They would often approach you just to start a conversation to practice (and show off) their English.  No one was trying to sell me anything, no one was hawking knick knacks or touting tours or anything.  Just a lot of "Hello!  Where you from?  First time Vietnam?  You like? America very good, we like Obama, you vote for him?  Election important, yes?  Why you in Vietnam?  How long you stay?  You come back?"  I think perhaps I'll write something in the future on language, I feel like I've got a lot to say on the topic (pun intended).

Oh and the food!!  Holy crap it was good.  Vietnamese restaurants in the States come close, but cant quite hit it on the head.  Lots of seafood, and things prepared in ways that are familiar, but that we aren't accustomed to.  I think a lot of people in our group started to fatigue on some of the staples we were being fed constantly.  But stuff like shrimp cooked whole (legs, head and all) or fish served with the head, tail and fins still attached might put some people off.  But mind over matter, its just the way they do it here, so dig in and I promise it'll be fantastic.  And the one thing I was craving after Argentina (sorry Portenos), the food has flavor and spice.  It was so awesome to have a dish served with chili that actually burned my mouth.  Mmmmm, it hurts so good.  But no pictures of food.  I hate people that take photos of food.  Stop taking pictures of your food.  Nobody cares what your burger looks like.

I'm sure I'll come back to my experiences in Vietnam when I return there in a few days.  That's all I've got for now.  Topics on deck?  Cambodia, food poisoning, language literacy and a few others I've got wandering through my brain.  Anything you want to hear about in particular?  I play requests, drop me a line.