Looking Back
Well, I’m on the road to recovery from my long and exhausting journey back to the states. 11 hours on a plane in the middle seat is not very pleasant at all. Thankfully I seem to have no trouble sleeping, only waking up a couple of times during the middle of the night, and I can make it through the day without completely falling asleep so I feel like I’m doing alright. Since classes started last week it’s been a time of catching up for me, meeting with professors, unpacking books, and frantically reading chapters and doing homework in order to get back on track for the semester. Thankfully, after this week things should return mostly to normal for me, and I’m looking forward to that.
Anyway, looking back on my trip (as the post title suggests) I am really glad I took this opportunity. It is something that I believe will be a lasting influence on my outlook on the world and the people who live here. I had gotten so used to people living and doing business in the structured environment of the United States, that I had not really considered the differences that other countries may have. It is something that everyone should be aware of, the fact that there are so many unique cultures in the world, and it’s just amazing how diverse the planet really is. Even with so many differences, people are still very accepting (at least Vietnamese people are). They were generally just as curious about the way I lived as I was about them.
It was amazing to see the work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit of the Vietnamese people. I think this is something a lot (not all) of Americans lack. In the immortal words of my father, “Education is one thing people are willing to pay for and not receive.” This is not the case for the Vietnamese, being admitted to a college and gaining a higher education is such a task, that it is taken extremely seriously, you won’t find fraternities, or crazy parties. Not to say that the Vietnamese don’t enjoy extracurriculars, there are sports clubs, film clubs, and most of them could probably beat me at video games any day. There true focus is on achievement and to do that they certainly work hard. Even when they aren’t pursuing an education, the Vietnamese are a hard working determined people. In an attempt to survive, they open up shops and businesses in the front of their homes and sometimes in tiny one person row boats.
The cuisine is quite different than what Asian food in the states makes it out to be, and even a little different than I was expecting. While I expected lots of vegetables and noodles, and some meat I was wrong. Well… I was right in the sense that there were lots of vegetables, and lots of noodles, but there was also lots of meat, mainly sea food, and it was delicious! The food is served slightly differently as well, rather than everyone ordering their own dishes, the entire table orders food and it is served family style with everyone taking some of each dish. While Vietnamese may look smaller, they certainly eat just about as much as most Americans. I guess the difference is the food is healthier, and the portions are smaller. Instead of one large dish of food, it is 8 or 9 courses of more appetizer size plates. Also fruit for dessert rather than chocolate or cake may help.
Vietnam, at least from my original perspective, has been a forbidden country since the end of the American war. However, it really is an amazing place, and the people are much nicer than many American people I have met. Don’t get me wrong, I love the US, and I don’t think I could ever move to another country, but there is something majestic about Vietnam and it’s people. Something that makes me want to visit again someday. I was able to see and learn so much from just a two week time period, and have been truly blessed to take this trip. I hope you have enjoyed reading these entries as much as I have enjoyed writing them. I will continue to blog, at least whenever something interesting comes up, or I feel like mentioning something. I want to thank everyone for being so supportive of my trip, and blog this wouldn’t have been possible without your support.