8-2-09: Transportation; Have we lost something in the States?

I find that by naming some of these blogs I write with catchy phrases, that people tend to read more of them, hence the name of today’s blog. I wanted to give you, mister/miss reader, an idea of how Vietnamese transportation is through my eyes. When I first arrived here in Vietnam, I was surprised to hear loud honking coming from every direction. It reminded me of the rude taxi drivers from New York, loudly blasting their horns for no apparent reason but to annoy the driver in front of them. Because God knows that honking in New York rarely ever makes traffic move faster. In Vietnam, though, honking is more of an art. Since there are basically no traffic rules, traffic lights, or even stop signs, honking is used in place of the lack of any traffic laws. For instance, I rented a moped (a Chinese made Honda) to get around Hue, Vietnam for the week. I quickly found out that, although riding these little machines were easy, riding around town without traffic lights proved to be different. In the States we have computerized traffic lights that organize when we go, where we go, and how many of us go. In Vietnam, it is more of a free-flowing, ant like, way of moving. You basically never stop in the streets, and left turns are made from the left hand side. This is awkward because you have incoming traffic coming your way as you make the left turn from the left side (remember Vietnamese drive on the right side of the road like us).

Cars and buses move along the roads like elephants amongst the ants that are the moped drivers. Slow moving and weaving in and out of the mopeds, the bigger vehicles must be driven with the utmost care for human life. This is because one missed honk, or one long turn, can kill or injure numerous people. Although the driving in Vietnam proves to be much more primitive than us in the States, it seems that the drivers here have more care for their fellow people. In Los Angeles we have people drunk driving, speeding, and road rage. There is almost no common human decency amongst us when we drive in the States; like human life isn’t as fragile as glass. In Vietnam, it seems like the people understand this. No one wants to get hurt, and no one wants to inflict pain on anyone else.

I even experienced my first crash here the other day. Two male drivers (on mopeds) collided with one another while making that dreaded left turn. Almost immediately, tens of people ran to their assistance. In our country, people drive by, see if the accident isn’t too severe, then drive on. With our mighty economic, technological, and intellectual growth, it seems as though we’ve grown to be robotic. Our emotions are almost non-existence when in the public. People are afraid to help one another, afraid to discipline their kids, too embarrassed to show compassion to a lover in public. How have we come to this? How have we gone to being a hard-working country chasing the American dream, to a country full of people trying to materialistically keep up with one another? This chase of materialism has even played a huge role in our countries financial crisis. Is it wrong to live within our means? I guess this is what I was trying to get to with this blog. Driving in Vietnam is an extension of the common care for human life that the people have for one another, something that we seemed to lose at times…

-Live from Vietnam, Sonny

8-1-09: Fishing, traveling, shopping

Dear reader,

I find it harder and harder to find reasons to return the mundane life of school, work, and sometimes play that await me back in the States. Especially with the beauty that surrounds me at every corner. Again, today must be a short post due to all of the traveling and work that must be done. We had the chance to shop in the city of Hoi An. Bright lights from lanterns hang all over the city. It is as if the whole city underwent a Chinese style makeover. Far from the dull street lights of the Riverside streets. The shops run alongside the beautiful Hoi An river, in which in past centuries the Vietnamese traded with the Chinese, Japanese, and Europeans to bring a more eclectic style to the Hoi An region. The shops carry anything from beer to clothing, and they all come at a price that can be haggled to. I picked up various shirts, knick-knacks, and stereotypical souvenirs for everyone back home.

We then were able to traverse to a fishing village in which our tour guide paid a small nominal fee to the heads of the village to show us how their daily lives go about. It seemed very American of us to do so. He gladly obliged. For about $1.15, the villagers took us on their fishing boats and showed us how they harvest shrimp. They are grown in a lagoon, which happens to be the biggest in southeast Asia, seperated by pieces of land. These are the same fish that are sold at your loval Costco, which is why they are so cheap for so many. It turned out to be a great experience. These hardworking men and women work for almost nothing, working from 6pm to 4am, for those are the best times to catch the shrimp.

Anyways, I hope this blog was imformative at worst and entertaining at best. I'll try better to write more tomorrow!

-live from Vietnam, Sonny

7-31-09: Why Come Back to the States?

“Beauty walks by, like an angel in the sky, loved and cherished, its a walk to remember when beauty comes by…”

The happiness caused by this trip is oozing out of me like jelly from a donut filled with it. The title is self-explanatory. But before I get to why the title so fittingly describes my experience today, I would like to describe the moments leading up to the climax of the day. After getting over the what I like to call the “travelers delusion,” or in short; when someone travels to an underdeveloped nation, sees how little the inhabitants have and how much the traveler has, reaches a clichéd plain of realization of being grateful for ones life, and then tries to do their best to compensate their life’s over-indulgences for the little the people of the example country has. I find it very funny, because it happens to me every time. I’ve had a spoiled life, like many of you, but you really cannot beat yourself up for what you were born into. All you can do is be grateful, and do what you can to help as many people as you can. This, in my opinion, is what can make the world more perfect. Don’t over-indulge, don’t hurt people, and always smile when you can…adhere to those “rules” and your life will be better.

Now back to the story. We started the day waking up to another humid Vietnamese day. The bus was late; (arrival time was supposed to be 8am, but 8:30am was the true time of departure) which seems to be the norm in Vietnamese culture. I say this not saying that the Vietnamese people are not punctual, but I’m saying that the Vietnamese people are very relaxed and laid-back. The places of destination today would be Ha Noi (the largest harbor city), Da Nang (major war time port, and My Son (the old spiritual capital during the Champa Dynasty). By the way, Ha Noi and My Son are UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The bus ride to My Son, although as bumpy as a saddle less horse ride, came with some of the best sites I have seen in my life. We encountered herds of buffalo, children that raised the buffalo, rice fields, shrimp fields, mountains covered in dense vegetation, exotic trees and plants, and a ride through a newly Japanese-built tunnel that was the longest in Vietnam (about 6km long). The Vietnamese government had to deny access of motorbikes (the Vietnamese #1 means of transportation) through the tunnel because people were drowning in fumes due to lack of ventilation. It turns out that the Japanese, with their mighty technological savvy engineers, forgot to install proper ventilation in the tunnel which caused people to die due to affixation. We arrived to My Son first, which is about 60km from Hoi An (our place of residence for the weekend). UNESCO came to My Son in 1994 to declare it a world heritage site because of the ruins left behind from the Champas people. I swear to you, the ruins were some of the most amazing monuments I have ever seen in my life. Covered with plants and decaying colors, the buildings that have survived for many years were breath-taking. Only comparable to Mayan ruins I have seen from the Yucatan. Words cannot explain the beauty that came from the ambiance that was delivered from the mixture of dense forests, elegant ruins, and exotic animals. With all of this around me, I could not help but keep thinking about the soldiers from the Vietnam War. How could these fighters (Vietnamese and American) drag themselves through these forests with 30 pounds of gear, arms, all the while worrying about death at every turn of the trail? These are the thoughts I had wile traversing through the My Son ruins. Beautiful, eccentric, primitive…

Next we arrived to Hoi An, in which our hotel was located. Hungry, tired, and drained our group of students were eyeing places to dine. With all of the commotion going on around us in this new bay-side city, not a single person focused their attention on the newly discovered city…we were all like tigers waiting to eat.

We decided, as adventurous students, to go along the road less traveled as opposed to eating at the tourist restaurants. The road lead us down a long, winding, road along the river side. 50 meters in I could tell my the looks on some my companions faces that some of us couldn’t help but think about stories of travelers going way above their means, getting their kidneys stolen, and being left for dead. As soon as this thought came across this mind, we found ourselves at a place called “The Sleep Gecko.” We looked at the menu and chatted amongst ourselves deciding whether to stay or go. As thoughts of food raced through our mind, a man interrupted and said, “Come in! Free beer and free food!” Not expecting such an offer, from an English accent nonetheless, I jumped back in surprise. In turns out this guy named Randy came to Vietnam 1 year ago on a journey to travel the world before he died. Doctors from Newport Beach, CA diagnosed him with a terminal heart disease and gave him no longer than 5 years to live. He came to Vietnam with a sense of longing for closure to his life. He went to Vietnamese doctors and they told him that Western medicine was incorrect. He actually had a stomach problem, was given medicine, and was cured. He decided to stay in Hoi An, Vietnam and live out his life owning an English bookstore on the bay.

Western medicine is the best in the world? Health care in the United States is worth the money? Millions of people in the States are being prescribed expensive medicine for what? To feed the monster that is the Health Care conglomerate we have created in the States. Makes you think…

Anyways, some of us decided to go in and enjoy a night of hopeful libation while the others were reluctanct due to their fears from pre-conceived notions of foreign countries peoples. Some even admitted to being fearful of the aforementioned fear of getting their kidneys ripped from their bodies. Their loss. We were welcomed by Randy and his Australian friends to free beers and free BBQ as promised. Some of the Australians were retired surfers chasing the net big wave, settling in Ha Noi, while others were students just like ourselves, travelling the world and falling in love with Ha Noi and deciding to stay for the rest of their lives. We shared stories, drank, ate, and enjoyed the beauty of the Vietnamese bay. I kept having to pinch myself, reminding myself that I did not die on the way to Vietnam in a fiery plane accident. This was the life that was given to me for the night, and I enjoyed every part of it. The ambiance within the walls of this place was amazing. With some soulful Motown R&B playing in the background, Aretha Franklin and the Roxettes blasting their lungs to songs of lost love, perfect lighting, and the smell of BBQ squid and shrimp were the little things that made this place perfect. This was what I envisioned as my future. A retired attorney, travelling the world, surfing the greatest swells, eating the worlds food, meeting travelers and sharing their stories, drinking, appreciating mother earth and just being happy. These men were living the life I envisioned. I sometimes thought thatthis life was impossible to have, I now know different. After about 4 hours of great food and drinking, we left. Randy and his Australian friends bid us a safe journey, and I bid farewell to a life I hope to live in a few years. Life has its ups and downs; this experience reminded me that the ups are caused by the downs you experience. In short, the bad things you experience in life allow you to become stronger so you can be ready to enjoy the better things you work hard to achieve.

My hope is that my writing allowed you to come to the conclusion of why I named this blog, “Why come back to the States?” After all, that is the essence of a great writer, to let the writing share the experience and answer the questions, not the writer telling you the information. Why come back to the United States? For me, the answer is simple. I have to work hard to achieve this life I long to live. There are things I must accomplish now in order to be able to live a life full of libation, reading great books, traveling, and surfing. I hope this also opens the eyes of you, to know that your dream lives are within your finger tips, just work hard to be able to fully be ready for that life you long for. Go through the pains in order to experience the pleasures…

-Live from Vietnam, Sonny

7-29-09: Simplicities

I don’t have much time to write a long blog today, only because I feel as it would be contrived. I am so tired. I think the jet lag is finally kicking in. Although I do want to stay up with my normal routine of 10am to 2am like I do in the states, but in Vietnam it seems as though waking up at 5am and sleeping at 10pm is what my body is telling me is right.

Anyway, I wanted to paint a picture for you guys about the prices of things in Vietnam. $1 is equivalent to about 18,000 Vietnamese dong. A couple of things worth considering:

- Renting a moped to get around town: $5 for the day

- Some of the best food (including Pho) I’ve ever had: about $1.20 a meal

- Domestic beer: $.80...that’s right…EIGHTY CENTS!

- A bottle of domestic vodka/tequila: $1.10…again…I must reiterate…ONE DOLLAR and TEN CENTS!!! Utterly remarkable.

- Knock-off Polo shirts: $6

- Full-body massage (one hour): $8 dollars without tip

- Manicure/Pedicure: About $3 dollars

Remarkable, right? Never in my life did I think I would be able to pay a dollar for a bottle of vodka. Also, I talked to a Vietnamese student and she told me that renting a room nearby the University costs her $16 a month. I know the quality of things aren’t as good as things in the States, but come on, these people are surviving off of what we would consider laughable. Just to put things in perspective, next time you complain about not being able to afford a new car, these people are living off of pennies a day at times. And they do it very happily, for the most part. Hence the title of this blog; simplicities. Again, I have to mention, I still wake up every morning so shaking my head in disbelief. I still can’t believe the opportunity that was granted to me. I am so fortunate. Tomorrow we leave for Hoi An, My Son, and Da Nang for a weekend relaxing like tourists. Essentially they are UNESCO World Heritage sites, war-time battlegrounds, and beach communities. Hopefully I meet some surfers!

-Live from Vietnam, Sonny Hassan

7/28/2009- Orphanage Experience

This is a girl from the orphanage. She didn't speak much, but she knew her alphabets!

The sleep deprivation and jet lag have made me miss a post, but in actuallity it is a day later here than in the United States, so I think I am still on track.

Today I wanted to talk about my first experience at the orphanage I will be working on for the remainder of the time in Hue, Vietnam and some of the stuff that went on during my first time there. We arrived at the orphanage around mid-day, to welcoming nuns. The thing that struck me as very surprising is how the orphanage works so much differently than those in the United States. First, kids who are taken into this particular orphanage are able to stay in the orphanage until they are ready to leave. In short, the kids who are taken in, are able to stay until however old as possible until they are able to leave and stand on their own feet. Some kids turn into adults and never leave. They stay, take care of new kids, and the cycle continues. Which in my mind brings about a more caring environment. Second, the orphanage pays for the students education and necessities. If a student grows older and decides to pursue a collegiate life, the orphanage will pay for that student and even provide transportation. Again, this proves for a more loving environment.

The kids sang us songs, read us books, and also shared their stories with us. Most of them were shy, but a lot were very excited to see us. The nuns told us that men usually don't come in to help the orphanage, so whenever some do, the boys get really excited. They need positive male influences in their lives. This is where I hope I can help most.

We left soon after. I wish I would write more, but it has been a long day. I know this experience will change me forever, and I'm so excited to help these kids.

-live from Vietnam, Sonny Hassan

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