Today was packed with a variety of activities. We began the day with a lesson on Buddhism. We didn’t directly address how the government interacts with religion, but the diversity of religion in Vietnam makes me think that it is tolerant of diverse religions. Our lecturer explained that even people that don’t consider themselves religious generally practice Vietnamese Traditional Religion which is a variable combination of philosophies of Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, and other native practices such as ancestor worship. Afterwards, we visited a beautiful pagoda to see a place of worship for Buddhists. As we walked in, a woman leaving told us, “May Buddha bless every one of you,” setting the mood of peacefulness that we felt once we entered.

At the end of the day, we headed to Ben Tanh Market. I lost the group soon after we entered, so I spent most of our time there attempting the bartering process on my own. The IEF students all told me not to pay more than a third of the price I was originally told, but attempting this was an easy way to upset a lot of vendors in a short amount of time. I quickly had to give up on this goal, but I still was able to reduce the prices somewhat through bartering, which was a new experience for me. Even without an IEF student at my side, mentioning that I had Vietnamese friends sometimes lowered this price an extra third to a half Although bartering for a day was fun, I do not think I would enjoy having to barter for everything I buy. This preference probably comes from growing up in America because we are used to things being quick and convenient, and we have more money to spare for this convenience in comparison to the average Vietnamese citizen.

Before going to the market, we spent about an hour at the War Remnants Museum. Most history classes I have taken have rushed somewhat through the history of the Vietnam War. I learned more details during our pre-departure classes and materials. In my limited education about the war, most people teaching me have agreed that the United States was in the wrong at least to some degree, so I was not expecting the museum to paint the war or the United States in a positive light. However, I don’t think anything could have prepared me for the pictures how horrifying this war was. There were many graphic pictures of the devastating effects of the war, from fighting to massacres to Agent Orange victims and their children. It was doubling upsetting knowing that much of it was the fault of the United States. Especially in the exhibit on the massacres of citizens including elderly people and children, I wondered a lot about the psychological effects of war on those that serve. It seemed like far too many American soldiers got too swept away in the fighting and forgot that the people that were killing are innocent humans. I wondered what the causes of this mindset were and if/how we could have stopped it.

Despite the references to the American aggressors, attackers, etc., the museum was also filled with pictures of American protesters, American organizations sending aid after the war, and meetings between Vietnamese and US leaders including Obama and Trump. None of the students from IEF that we have spent any time with have said anything but positive things about the United States, which shocks me considering how many people they must know that were deeply affected by the war. As our tour guide explained today, Vietnamese history is full of war, and now that there is peace the country wants to embrace it rather than dwell on the past. Although the museum visit was uncomfortable, I think it is important to remember the tragedies of war so we can make our best effort to avoid anything like this in the future.