Rain, rain go away

This morning I woke up to wet paths and puddles. Here in Hoi An it’s been threatening to rain since we arrived on Monday. But aside from the not so pretty weather Hoi An is a beautiful, sleepy little town. So far while walking around at night it seems to be that the shops close at 9pm, which is quite a difference from Hanoi. So far, between taking day tours with CET, eating bánh mì (a Vietnamese sub sandwich), and stopping in tailoring shops I’ve gotten pretty acquainted with this city.

However, the best experience I’ve had in this city has been chatting with the locals. What has struck me most about Vietnam is how friendly they are. For instance the street vendors will initiate conversation about where you’re from, or how long you’re in town for, instead of the typical buy-this-from-me conversations I expected. The one conversation that I had that was most memorable was with a street vendor on the beach, named Lan. At first I was wary of her because I thought she would be just like one of the other street vendors who will hassle you until you buy something from them, but after a while of rejecting her, she just started to talk about everything and anything. I began to relax a bit, and we got to talking about the rights of women in Vietnam. She explained how she had to work two jobs (from 8 am to 9 pm everyday) just to feed her family, and that arranged marriages are still a real thing here. Most amazingly, though, was that she learned English by talking with tourists. I was so blown away by her story that before I knew it, we had been there for an hour.

Although I have been in countries where women’s rights are severely unequal to that of men’s, I had never taken the chance to sit and think about how privileged I am. One thing that struck me about this interaction was how quickly my prejudices faded. Lan showed me that each person just has to accept the hand they’re dealt, and try their hardest to make things better. When looking around at the standard of living here in Hoi An, and, more broadly, Vietnam, I see how the country has been affected by the country’s history, one filled with violence and hardships. This type of living with what life gives you is a mentality that can be seen in the United States, but I feel like we take for granted all of the little things that make our life easy, like a Costco, parking lots, free public education, or even umbrellas.

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