I can not believe our last day is here! This past week has been spent in Ho Chi Minh, an entirely different city than both Hanoi and Hoi An in every way. And, completely different than I expected. The city is much more westernized, and the population is dominated by (more…)
After spending four days in the chaos that comes with Ho Chi Minh city, it was time to venture out and explore another beautiful area of Vietnam. We learned a lot about the Mekong Delta during our lecture with CET director, Christophe Robert, where we discussed the events that occurred on (more…)
After spending three weeks observing, traveling and admiring this amazing culture of Vietnam, I have been trying to develop insight on what I’ve experienced. In other words, I have urged myself to look past the surface of the beautiful tourist hotspots and fun activities, and see Vietnam as the struggling country (more…)
One of the things that has stuck out the most to me on this trip has been the war remnants museum. Coming into it, I was expecting to see very anti-American propaganda and images. However, the degree in which I experienced this was extreme. There were such terrible images of American (more…)
In Hoi An, our group was able to see a tourist driven economy. As I took the venture of having some articles of clothing made I could not help but notice the deep and personal amount of work they put into making sure that the clothing fit my needs. Their customer (more…)
When I think of communist countries, two things usually come to mind, glorified leaders and propaganda. Vietnam fit my stereotype perfectly, and even added the bonus of embalming their dear leader Ho Chi Min and preserving him to be seen by the public. But while I am critical of a communist (more…)
On Thursday, the class met in the sunlit courtyard of the home we stayed in the Mekong Delta to reflect on the issues we’ve witnessed with Vietnamese society. Countless ideas were mentioned, from improving public education and infrastructure to expanding the credit system and public transportation. These systems are basic components (more…)
Young Americans going to war. American soldiers deep in the jungle. Student protests. Patriotism. 50,000+ dead American soldiers. The Vietnam War Memorial.These are just some of the images that come to mind when Americans think about the Vietnam War. What all of these images have in common is that they are (more…)
With our departure home tonight, I have had plenty of time to reflect on the differences between the three cities, especially through food. As we have changed scenery, the food has changed along with it. in Hanoi, the majority of food was from street vendors and small individual stores. These local (more…)
I can’t believe it’s already been three weeks since we all flew out of Washington D.C. When I look back at how I pictured Vietnam I realize that it was nothing like I expected it to be. Every turn has held different experiences and views of life. From the dense population (more…)
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