After a delicious croissant breakfast from Merci Bakery (would recommend), we headed to UEF to learn about Buddhism. I learned the basic concepts, like Nirvana, in my previous schooling, but it was helpful to have a refresher and learn a bit more about its role in Vietnam. Many Vietnamese people do not claim any religion, but Buddhism is among the most common for those who do. While some people refer to Buddhism as a philosophy, we were taught that it falls under the religious category. There is no “creator god” like in Abrahamic religions, but Siddhartha Gautama was the Enlightened One, who learned that it is human to suffer. Our lesson was followed by a visit to a temple (not a Pagoda since Buddhism was not the only religion being worshiped) (cover image). One of my favorite details was the lion dogs on the outside of the temple, which are seen as protectors (seen below). It was interesting that Taoism and the Jade Emperors were all worshiped in one place. As someone who grew up Catholic, this concept of combining ideals would not go over well.
Our next stop was the Reunification Palace. Aside from the massive tanks on the lawn, the front looked almost like a retro hotel. The first room we entered was the meeting room on the ground floor. We were told the all green interior was designed to keep those inside calm, which makes sense if you are in the middle of a war (seen below). Something that was pointed out multiple times was the intentionality of the chairs. In this room, all the chairs were the same size, meaning all people in attendance were to be treated as equals. On the next floor, where international meetings were held, the president sat in a larger stand on a small platform to remind everyone of his power. The room also contained symbols of dragons and elephants (tusks seen below), which symbolize strength. I find it interesting how these emblems of power differ depending on culture, like how eagles are a symbol of power in the US. However, these images of power were not present in the room right next door intended for national relations. I find it so fascinating how something that may seem mundane, like a chair, carries such symbolic and subtle meaning.
The War Remembrance Museum, as expected, was a heavy hitter. Throughout my schooling career, my classes often focused more on WWII, especially since Baltimore is so close to the Holocaust Museum in DC, so I had less background knowledge than maybe some of my peers. In the museum, it was interesting to see so clearly the US as the ‘bad guys’, which goes to show that, one, framing and perspective are everything, and two, no one is truly ‘good’ in war. On our previous trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels, while the impact and scope of the war were mentioned, for me, it was more fascinating to go into the tunnels and focus on my experience in 2026, crawling through widened tunnels with wax figures. The experience seemed a bit more removed from the true horrors, just by nature of not having real scared, dead, and injured people inside them. The museum today was a lighting quick reminder that real people were tortured, killed, and must live with the lifelong consequences. I hadn’t realized how Agent Orange could affect people so differently. The room with the walls of children and adults with birth defects and permanent disfigurement was jarring and eye opening. It was even mentioned how US soldiers had children with birth defects because of the extremely toxic chemicals. This museum helped lift the veil even further for me when it comes to the glorification of war. In many places, but especially the US, war is glamorized and the times when the United States was wrong are brushed under the rug. Young children can play with dump trucks but also tanks. So often, especially in movies, war is shown only in a positive light, as a way to defeat the ‘enemy’. But so often who is the enemy? The young children who are being dismembered? The crying mother trying to protect her baby? So many photos in the museum show just that. The world does not exist in a binary, most governments are at least a little evil, and nothing exists in a vacuum. As an American, I couldn’t help feeling guilt, sorrow, and horror but also frustration and anger in my time spent in the museum. Every story has more than one side, and propaganda still exists today, but two wrongs still don’t make a right.
