Ahhh Memories!

Now that the semester is winding down, it is time to reminisce. I know I can't capture all of the great moments that I've had here, but here are a few of my best memories of Vietnam.

1. Swimming on the South China Sea Beach. My friends and I grabbed a few beers and set out for the beach after dark. The beach was absolutely deserted. The town where we stayed was very small, so there wasn't much light or activity. The stars were beautiful and the waves were intense. It was so wonderful being with my friends in such a beautiful, peaceful place. This was definitely one of those, "Wow, I can't believe I'm in Vietnam!" moments.

2. Visiting Professor Thanh's village in the Mekong. A professor joined us on our excursion to the Mekong Delta and invited us to his home one of the last days we were there. We took an hour long boat ride in order to reach the village. When we got there, we walked about fifteen minutes through a place I could never have imagined. It was beautiful enough to be a resort. The path led along the river. There were houses on one side of the path. Everywhere there were fruit trees and other large plants. Thanh's family lives on a large fruit orchard. While Thanh led us on a tour of the orchard, pointing out different plants (I also saw a spider bigger than my hand- not kidding), his family was at his home peeling dozens of grapefruits. Grapefruit is a bit different in Vietnam. It has a much thicker skin and it takes a great amount of time to peel- something I did not know at the time. When we got back to his home, there were bowls and bowls of grapefruit. The grapefruit here is also much sweeter than in the states and not at all sour. We all gorged ourselves on the freshest fruit I've ever had. We then proceeded to help cook dinner. We rolled noodles, shrimp, pork, bean sprouts and greens in rice paper. We then dipped these delicious rolls in fish sauce for a perfect dinner. The night ended with another boat ride back to our hotel. I laid out on the roof of the boat. Some people fell asleep, but I just stared at the stars and thought about life, Vietnam, the future- you know, all that philosophizing we tend to do late at night when it's peaceful and everything seems perfect.

3. Sitting on the Opera House steps with My. One of the first few nights I stayed with My, she picked me up from downtown Saigon and we drove on her motorbike to the Opera House. She had bought me some fruit (she's always buying me little, interesting snacks) and we sat on the steps talking. It was already dark, and Saigon really lights up after sunset. I love all the bright lights downtown, all of the motorbikes and cars driving past. Sitting on the Opera House steps is a common activity for young Vietnamese people, so there were at least a couple dozen other twenty-somethings on the steps. It felt really nice to be with my new home stay sister hanging out doing something she likes to do, surrounded by young, cool Vietnamese people.

4. My first delicious street-food meal that I picked out all by myself. Choosing something to eat on the street takes talent. Well, it must, because the first few times I found myself having to feed myself, the food I chose was less than yummy. Yes, I could have went into a Western-style cafe and ordered off an English menu, but I like the challenge of trying to eat what a Vietnamese student my age would eat. So, one day I was walking back from school to my home with the goal of finding some delicious lunch. I stopped and looked at several places to eat, but it either didn't look good, or I didn't have enough courage to speak up and ask for the food. But then, close to my home, there was a small alley with a friendly-looking woman selling something with noodles. So, I just sat at the little plastic stool and table she had set up and pointed to the food she had on her cart. It was delicious! It's called bun thit xao. It is raw vegetables, rice noodles and stir-fried pork, sprinkled with peanuts and served with plenty of fish sauce. I've gone back a couple of times, and the woman always recognizes me. Once, she sat with me and we tried to have a conversation. I always smile when I walk past- she's one of the many people I think I'll remember of my time in Saigon.

The Problem of Tourism

The effects of tourism in Vietnam, especially on small town and villages, has always really bothered and saddened me. I was just in Sapa, which is in the mountains near the border with China. The effects of tourism has never been so obvious to me as in this small town. Multiple ethnic minorities live in villages surrounding Sapa. The people from these villages, wearing their traditional clothing, will come to the town to buy things at the market, but especially to sell things to tourists. Whenever I stepped out of the hotel, I was surrounded by women showing me their beautifully hand-made blankets (yes, I bought one) or young teenage girls showing me their handmade metal bracelets (yes, I bought four). It was cute, and charming, at first, I must admit. The girls can speak near-perfect English (which they have learned entirely by their interactions with tourists). It was exhilarting to talk to them and ask them about their lives. But, the more time I spent in Sapa, the more oppressive the constant attention became. I remember we were sitting in a cafe the last afternoon in Sapa, killing some time before our night train (where we slept on wooden shelves with bamboo mats, by the way)- and four women had gathered outside of the door. My friend looked up at them, and they all instantly snapped to attention, opening their blankets to put them on display and smiling at my friend. Sometimes it was difficult to move down the street, I was so surrounded by sellers.

Even the seven-hour hike we took through the terraced rice paddies and down into the valley to see some ethnic-minority villages was the perfect time for the little girls to sell us their goods. About thirty minutes into the hike, over a dozen children, most of them girls, began walking with us. I was charmed by their English. They asked me all about myself and my family and they answered my questions, also. I was communicating with a six year old Black Hmong girl! I was completely charmed. She was adorable. Her name was Mai, and she walked with me the entire day. She gave me a small, colorful bracelet as a present at one point. Later, she constructed a wreath of flowers for my head. I think she worked on it for over an hour on the trail- picking the flowers and weaving them together. My friends on the hike got the same treatment, cute little girls giving them bracelets and making them wreaths of flowers. It wan't until after lunch that they asked us to buy something from them. I had no problem buying a bracelet from the girl. But, I have to admit I was disappointed the children weren't walking with us just for fun or because they found us amusing. I felt slightly used, but I got over it.

What bothered me was that the presence of foreigners has completely changed their lifestyles. Little children go out everyday to court the westerners in order to make a sale. Thirteen year old girls go into town to sell bracelets. When I asked them when they were going home, they said, "maybe tomorrow." When I asked them where they were sleeping they said near the market. These teenage girls did not go home for days at a time!

Cultures are influenced by outside forces, and this is not necessarily a bad thing. Cultures are evolving, changing, modernizing. So, why does it bother me that the culture of the area surrounding Sapa has changed due to tourism? Can I say that their lives are worse for tourism? I can not because I do not know this. Do they prefer selling bracelets and blankets to working on the rice fields? It is possible, I do not know. I realized the reason it upsets me is purely selfish reasons. I feel, that since their culture is being influenced by the West through tourists, that it is not "authentic" vietnamese culture anymore. But, it is impossible to stop the West's influence. Vietnam will always be vietnamese, no matter how much it changes because of globalization, ie the West's influence. What is most important is that the people are benefiting from tourism, that is improving their lives and that people are not being taken advantage of, either by tourists or those benefiting from the tourists. I can not say what the situation in Sapa is now. I don't know if people are suffering or prospering from tourism. I do know that, even now, though Sapa is maybe one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, but that I still have a bad taste in my mouth from all the change that has taken place since the West, and all its wealth, "discovered" this beautiful spot.

Banana Garden

The street I live on in Ho Chi Minh City is pretty typical of small streets here, but I love it because it's mine. The street is bustling from 5:00 in the morning until at least 11:00 at night. It actually gives "bustling" a new meaning- I don't think I'll ever walk through a street in the United States and comment that it's crowded or busy ever again. Every time I walk down the small street, I see something new- a hairdresser, a fabric store, or an up-scale cosmetics boutique next to a run-down, dark, room where an old man is selling ice for 500 dong per kilo. As I walk down the street, older men leaning up against their motorbikes yell to me, "Madame! Xe om! Moto-bike!" They are offering to take me anywhere in Saigon for sixty cents. Women sitting on small stools at the side of the road are ready to sell me pineapple, noodles, waffles, sticky rice and dozens of other delicious Vietnamese snacks. There are at least a dozen internet cafes on this short street- all filled with young boys playing internet games. I can also do my laundry and get manicures and pedicures- all within two minutes of my house. Bubble Tea is my new favorite treat in Vietnam, and of course I can get that on my wonderful street, also. Most of all, I'm going to miss my home. I'm going to miss the old woman who sits outside with huge, pink-rimmed sun glasses that are always a little bit crooked. I greet her with, "Chau Ba!" And she acknowldedges this simply by chuckling to herself and repeating, "Chau Ba! Chau Ba!" I'm going to miss the scruffy but harmless dog who always tries to get me to let him outside but then follows me upstairs when I refuse. And, won't I be sad when I can't go home to my little room where my roommate, My, is waiting for me? My has so wonderfully shown me around our street and around Saigon. Without her, my experience here would not have been as meaningful or exciting. I can take many pictures of my street, but I will never be able to capture the feeling of being there, the smells, the sounds, the excitement, the living, on Vuon Choui.