Our weekend in Vietnam was one I will remember and cherish for my entire life. I made many memories and could probably write 100 pages. From the statue of Jesus, to the beach of Vung Tau, the tunnels in Cu Chi, and the bonding with the Vietnamese student. There is so much I could talk about. I’ll start with a summery.
Yesterday we visited Vung Tau, a beautiful beach city in Vietnam, just east of Ho Chi Minh. The first thing we did there was climb up almost 900 steps to the Jesus statue at the top of the last mountain. The view from the top were incredible, and between the statue, the city, the mountains in the background, and of course the cost, the whole place looked like Rio. It was very stunning. We then proceeded to have lunch at a hotel right on the beach. It was a traditional Vietnamese spared of food. After that we had a private beach where we got to swim in the South China Sea, something I don’t think a lot of people at home can say! We then spent some time in the pool followed by some sitting around on the coast, sharing stories and our cultures with the Vietnamese students. We then made our way back to Ho Chi Minh.
Today we went to the west of the city to visit and see the Cu Chi tunnels. These were very interesting. We saw a lot of how the Americans tried to clear the Vietcong out of this area but how they were able to persist. The tunnel network was vast and complect. Almost everything was underground, including medical clinics. We got to go through several of these tunnels and as picture, we got to enter them like the Vietcong. There was almost no way to detect these entrances and it made it clear why the Americans though they were everywhere, and didn’t know what to do. They tried may thing like clearing out the woods, flooding the tunnels, and even bombing the entire area. Still to this day many creators from the bombings still exists and we saw first hand. An interesting fact I learned about this was no same area was bombed twice. The Vietcong knew this and would hide in creators after bombings. It was crazy to see how they lived in these conditions and then fought against the Americans. After this we had lunch followed by a visit to Vietnamese Village Lacquer. This is a government owned place that provides jobs to people who were hammered and disabled by the American use of Agent Orange. They paint these beautiful paintings from tar, egg shells, and much more. Each peace takes anywhere from two to six months to complete. And the finished works are very special, no two being the same. It was very humbling to be welcome by these workers who were directly effect by the USA’s use of Agent Orange. They let us sit down right next to them, greeted us with bright smiles, and shook our hands. They even taught us the technique and allowed us to work of some of their works. It really took me back how us, as Americans, were so openly welcomed by Vietnamese who fell the effects from the war directly and deal with it every single day. That was the last stop and we made our way back to the city.
We did so much this weekend and it is so hard to pick a favorite memory from it. That being said, I’d have to choose the the time we got to spend with the Vietnamese students to talk about anything and everything. I love comparing our culture and surprising each other on what’s different and what is actually the same. At one specific point I had a bag of Lifesavers gummies, something the other student had never tried. It was very fun to share them and see what they though. I can say the I’m pretty sure they liked them! There are always ways to visit other countries, and there are many other ways to come see Vietnam. However, it’s not like this. The exchange between the student is something truly unique and I enjoy each day. There isn’t another way to come to Vietnam and get this type of treatment and for that reason I have to say it’s my favorite part! We still have a lot more on the schedule for this wee k and I look forward to continuing our unbelievable experience.
