Today was a slight change of pace from our previous days as we ventured far further than before to the Cu Chu tunnels. Along the way our guide, Tuan, taught us much about the Vietnam War as well as the history of Ho Chi Minh City. One thing I’ve really noticed is how even though the change from Saigon to Ho Chi Minh City was almost exactly 50 years ago, many people still call it “Saigon.” I understand why businesses still have Saigon in the title, as changing company names is expensive, but I really don’t understand the people saying “Saigon” over “Ho Chi Minh City.” Perhaps it is the only older generations that are just used to calling it that but even my father, who is only three years older than the name change, will call the city “Saigon.” I have not heard the students of UEF say either “Saigon” or “Ho Chi Minh City” so I will have to ask which name they use. Tuan gave us lots of insight on Vietnamese culture which was a ton of fun to hear about! I liked hearing about the naming conventions used in Vietnam and how they differ from those in the city to those in more rural areas. Hearing that the farmers named their children as numbers was a bit saddening for me as it felt like they didn’t appreciate their children but I have not seen any rural families so I don’t know how the children are treated. Names having meaning is nothing new in America but (at least in my family) children are named after older generations; I am not sure the same applies here in Vietnam as Tuan did not mention it. I would assume it is still common practice, especially considering how most Asian cultures place a heavy emphasis on respecting your elders. We also learned how using the restroom is phrased as “singing a song” which I thought was a bit funny. I’m not too sure if Tuan was just being funny or if this was a real thing but if he was making a joke he was very good at sticking with it as he used it throughout the entire trip. I’m glad he will be guiding us again when we go to the Mekong River Delta!

We made a quick stop at this very cool art place, Net Viet, that employs specifically people affected by Agent Orange. They make paintings but I believe their best art was the eggshell art they make. We watched them put glue on a piece of wood that had been turned black and glue the eggshells to make truly beautiful art in a style that I had never seen before. They also gave us the chance to help them make art which I thought was awesome, unfortunately I did not get to help out as there were too many of us and not enough time for all of us to get to help but nevertheless I loved seeing them in action. After the very small tour, we were given the chance to purchase some of their art which I just had to do. This may be a bit too meta, but after reading Andrew Leon’s post, I fear that I have fallen right into their trap and now I feel a little bad for enjoying that stop. That was our only stop but the ride out to the more rural area allowed me to see a side of Vietnam that I hadn’t before. The road to Cu Chi has lots of more rural housing that was very different than what I normally see in Ho Chi Minh City. There were lots of poorer looking homes as well as abandoned places. I had seen poorer areas around in the city but it was different out there as there were no wealthier places to distract from the poorer houses. Also along the ride were many farms. Tuan told us that the rubber trees had only been in Vietnam for a short time and were from South America, which made me question how good it was for the environment that there were so widespread. The ride to Cu Chi was very eye opening and I’m glad I did not sleep through it.

After the lengthy ride we made it to the main attraction for today: Cu Chi. Once again the weather was very hot but it made no difference as the exhibits kept my full attention during our visit. We saw several American artifacts such as planes, tanks, and a helicopter but the star of the show were the Vietcong tunnels. I had heard of these tunnel systems but it was another thing entirely to actually be inside of them! I saw firsthand the harsh living conditions the soldiers were forced into just to have a chance to stay alive. I don’t think I would have had the courage to risk my life in those conditions for so long as they did. It was kind of inspiring to see what they would endure for what they believed in, especially considering what I know about Vietnam’s past and the constant struggle they’ve had for independence. It was terrible seeing how American interventionism led to so much bloodshed that could’ve been avoided. Tuan described it well in in that Americans love Vietnam and its people as well as Vietnamese people loving America and its people but our governments disagreed, so they decided that the people who could have loved each other would become enemies. Any time war is brought up there is always a bit of sadness which I felt extra hard today as I walked around Cu Chi. I knew that I was standing on the land where so many people lost their lives for a fight started by people who were on the other side of the planet. It also made me feel more connected to one of my grandfathers as he was sent to Vietnam to build radio towers and cook. I never actually met that grandfather so this is really the closest I’ve ever been to him. I wonder what he would think of me going to Vietnam, not to fight but to learn. I hope he would not hold it against the Vietnamese that he maybe got shot at while he was there

Aside from that I loved learning more about the war from the perspective of Vietnam as I have spent my educational career learning about it from the American perspective. I knew of course that it was referred to as the “American War” in Vietnam but learning that the Vietnamese actually split the war in half as only the first half, before American troops arrived on Vietnamese soil, is referred to as the “Civil War” and then later the “American War” was really interesting. It made me think about when I was telling people I was going to Vietnam and they would make jokes about me being drafted to go to ‘Nam. In the eyes of the Americans, Vietnam exists from 1955 to 1975 when they were fighting American soldiers and once that fighting stopped there was no reason to think about it anymore even though Vietnam has so much more to offer than “that country American soldiers were shipped off to.” Thinking back on it now, it is kind of upsetting that these incredible people and their culture is being written off by so many people I know. I know not all of them have the time to learn more about Vietnam and they just want to say something about the trip but surely they must know there is more to this country than just that time America invaded them. After the war Vietnam has blossomed into a beautiful country with so much to offer for anyone and everyone and it should be granted a bit more thought at the very least in the eyes of Americans. The relationship between Vietnam and the US has turned from war into a very strong partnership and it is sad that many Americans are still stuck on the war when so much has changed since. This trip has made me reconsider my thoughts on all countries that the US has been at war with as I used to be in the same boat. I know war is bad and hurts so many people but its an entire other thing to see first hand what my country has put others through just because they believe in a different system of economics. I’m so grateful that I have the privilege to go so far from home and meet these people and see these artifacts. I hope I can tell the people back home about my trip in a way to get them to think of Vietnam outside of the war.