In the days preceding our arrival in Vietnam, we were all aware that we couldn't possibly go there without first addressing and discussing our history with this country, namely, the Vietnam War, and the controversy behind it. I have to mention that one of the most interesting and heartbreaking Global Studies classes we had was just a few days before Vietnam, where we had three speakers talk to the class. Two were Vietnam war veterans, one who had willingly volunteered for the war and one who had been drafted, and one person who had been an avid protestor during the war. I was extremely surprised to find how little tension there was between these men who had such passionate opposing opinions on one of the most controversial wars our country had ever fought in. The thing was that these men didn't disagree on whether or not the soldiers in the war fought valiantly, but rather their divide rested in whether or not our presence in Vietnam was valid and necessary. Was our attempt at preventing the spread of Communism worth the lives of 50,000 young American men and as many as 3 million Vietnamese (most of which were innocent civilians)? It was difficult for me to wrap my head around these numbers, and it was one of those moments that I felt I was born in the wrong time. I began to wonder what it would have been like to grow up during the Vietnam War. Where would I have stood on this issue?
I think the best answer to the question was spoken by one of the veterans: "Even if you don't support the war, support the troops." This was the same veteran who went on to tell us how, after all he had endured serving in the war, he had to come back to a country that hated him. As he told us about how he had had urine thrown on him, and about the countless times he had been called a Baby Killer, his statement rang true in my mind. No one deserves that kind of treatment, especially someone who has served our country as loyally as he did.
Although it was a heavy-handed class, it was also a very necessary one. Before that class, I knew next to nothing about this period in our history. Now I feel I am more informed about the Vietnam War than the war we are currently fighting, which, I'm not afraid to admit, is not only sad on my part, but also I think true for many people of my generation.
The morning of our arrival in Vietnam, Ali and I, once again, met out on the deck at 6:30AM, and I have to say, out of all the countries we had done this for, this sunrise coming into port has been my favorite up to this point for the entire trip.We stood and watched as our ship trekked slowly down the Saigon River, a narrow waterway surrounded on both sides with only low-growing trees, between which there were still smaller rivers winding away in the distance. Occasionally, we passed people in small, wooden canoes and a couple of fishing boats, but besides that it was just our ship and a beautiful sunrise. Looking ahead of us, we could just make out some buildings in the distance that we knew to be Ho Chi Hinh City. We went back inside to get ready.
At the diplomatic briefing in the Union, representatives of Vietnam informed us about all the things we need to be wary of in the country, such as drive-by theft (AKA someone grabbing your bag off your shoulder from a moving motorcycle), and the general traffic, which is erratic and unpredictable, to say the least. They gave us advice on different things to eat, such as Fo (pronounced "Fuh"), which is this noodle soup dish that you can get with chicken or beef (delicious), and the coffee, since Vietnam is the second largest exporter of coffee in the world (well of course, as a coffeeholic, I had to try it! It was also amazing.). On a more important note, we were told that the Vietnam we knew from our history books would not be the same Vietnam we would soon be experiencing. In the years following the war that devistated Vietnam's economy, the country had rebuilt itself, becoming one of the fastest-growing in the world, which I thought was really good to know.
Once we were finally cleared by customs, two friends and I stepped off the ship and felt the heat and humidity of midday Vietnam. We hopped on a shuttle bus that had been provided for the SAS students to take us into a more central part of the city. After being dropped off, we set out to find a tailor to have dresses and a suit made, since in Vietnam this is a very inexpensive thing to have done and we were all going to need dress clothes for the Alumni Ball at the end of the semester. Of course, finding the tailor meant we would have to cross the street, which in Vietnam, is an experience in and of itself. We were told at the briefing that road signs and street lights are rarely, if ever, followed, and that when you cross the street, you are supposed to walk slowly but confidently, never changing your pace and never attempting to dodge the motorcycles, but allowing them to go around you. This was probably the hardest part for me, to go against my natural instinct of getting out of the way of a motorbike that is speeding directly toward me, but their advice was dead on. As long as I didn't make any sudden movements and walked slowly, the motorcycles would swerve around me. I got the hang of this after awhile, but the first time I crossed the street in Vietnam is one that I will never forget.
By the time we found a good tailor, we were all famished, so we went to a restaurant which was almost directly above the shop. We, of course, had Fo, and dessert crepes, which were filled with fruit and topped with chocolate syrup and whipped cream. Yeah. AMAZING. I know. What's even more amazing is that I had a glass of wine, an appetizer, an entree, and dessert for around $13 American. Gotta love that exchange rate!
Afterwards we were each fitted for our dresses (and suits), which didn't take all that long. All we had to do was flip through a magazine, find the design we liked, pick out the material, and have our measurements taken. The whole thing took only about half an hour. We spent the afternoon bumming around the city in the markets, which had just about anything you could possibly want, from clothes, to bootleg DVDs, to luggage, to jewelry, and every kind of souvenier you could possibly want. I bought 4 DVDs, which came out to about 50 cents each (score!) and I couldn't resist being a complete tourist as I bought a straw rice hat to wear around.
That evening, we met up at the ship with a few more friends, and went out to dinner, then to the Night Market, which consisted of stands being set up in the middle of the street. It was a lot of the same thing I had seen during the day, so I wasn't too interested in this, although I did manage to buy a pair of earrings and shoes to go with the dress I was having made for me. We called it an early night, which I was grateful for, since I had to be in the Union at 3:45 AM to go on my 3 day, 2 night SAS trip to Nha Trang.
We decided that the cheapest and fastest way to get back to the ship would be to take... motorcycle taxis!!! It was one thing to cross the street in Vietnam, but to be amid the craziness of the traffic on the back of a motorcycles was another thing entirely. We were required to wear helmets, which was good, and my driver actually didn't go extremely fast, so I felt relatively safe. We all got back to the ship safely, and personally, I couldn't wait to take another ride! I thought it was so much fun, although not everyone in my group shared my opinion.
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