7/27/2009- First Day in Vietnam

The Mai Lai Massacre, the Tet Offensive, Agent Orange; these are all things that came to my mind whenever I thought of Vietnam. As violent, mobid, and sad as that sounds, it is the sobering truth behind Vietnams past. Soon, though, as I landed in Vietnam, my pre-conceived notions that I had of Vietnam was surely put to rest.

Vietnam, in my first day, was drastically different than I expected. First, the lush vegetation/greenary mixed with the humid air blasted any other thoughts I had about Vietnam prior to landing. The air sticks to you like bubble gum to your face. The thing that surprised me was although Vietnam is a socialist country, capitalistic ways are everywhere. Saigon airport proudly wore Coca-Cola, Toyota and Disney advertisements on their walls. The ads were even largely American influenced. One ad in particular stuck to my mind. It was a poster of a Vietnamese man being washed by 2 gorgeous Vietnamese women (washing him with over-sized lemons) and proclaiming "Refresh yourself with Tropicana Twist!" Yes, the American media fundamentals of advertising have hit the Vietnamese people (perhaps years before my time), but to see the utter blatant advertising tactics from American corporations in the exotic country of Vietnam really stuck in my head.

The people are also very different than I expected. Honestly, I truly believed there would be remnants of resentment (or even hatred) from the people of Vietnam to any American because of the Vietnam War. This could not be further from the truth. The Vietnamese people, from what I have experienced thus far, are very welcoming and nice. I was not more impressed by anything else than how the Vietnamese people have a genuine appreciation for the simplicities and beauty of life.

The last thing I wanted to mention in this post was the American and French influence I have seen in Vietnam, and have been told to about by some Vietnamese people. In Hue, there are 2 major bridges. One was designed and built by the French in the early colonial times, and one built by the Americans during the war. There are 4-5 Star hotels in Hue that are catered to Western tastes. One hotel is a lavishly elegant, sometimes eccentric, French-designed hotel that is rarely visited by the Vietnamese that is called "La Resistance" (named after the French resistance fighters that fought in Vietnam). But the thing I wanted to mention happened during dinner. The student group and I had a University set-up dinner at one of the fancier places in Hue. The thing that stood out to me was how westernized the meals, waiters, and restaraunt were. The way the waiters dress reminded my of my local Applebee's.

All-in-all, the first day in Vietnam was very exciting. I look around and I stil can't believe where I am. To see the Perfume River in one moment, and endless trees in the other, makes me realize that life is beautiful. Maybe after I leave here I could have that same simple, genuine appreciation for the beautifulness of life that I saw in the Vietnamese people I met today.

(Posts of pics along with my blogs are going to soon come up, but I just need to find an adapter for my Sony duo memory stick.)

Live from Vietnam,

Sonny Hassan