Dear Prep,
Until this point in my life I had never even left the country, so Vietnam was a bit of a culture shock. I was in awe as soon as we landed and saw soldiers running passport control and customs. It was furthered when I walked outside and saw mopeds by the hundreds driving around, instead of cars. The strangest thing of all was the mentality of the people in Saigon. In a "Communist" country I expected maybe a little bit of capitalist influence, but I wasn't prepared for what I saw. Everyone in the city would sell you anything they had. Street vendors crowded the streets; someone literally tried to sell me the beer they were drinking. In Hanoi, the supposed center of the Communist government, the atmosphere is almost Capitalist. Of course, all this is great for me; I can get CDs for one dollar (I already have over 20!), T-shirts also for a dollar, and other souvenirs for a fourth of what they would cost at home. The greatest thing by far, that was a lot cheaper than back home, was the massages. I got an hour massage for three dollars! Then I felt so bad that I gave a three-dollar tip. On a sadder note, there are beggars everywhere. These aren't like beggars back home either; they are aggressive. I've seen beggars follow our group for our entire walk. They try all sorts of tactics, anything to get some money. I give the kids candy, but its impossible to help everyone. Over these two weeks I've learned that you just have to say no sternly and keep on walking. There are a million differences in our two countries, and this has been an amazing experience.
Steve Bloom
Dear USA,
Well, a year has gone by and I find myself back in Vietnam. I've realized a lot since last year, much of it in the past couple of weeks. In the last ten days, I've read six books and I may close out two more on the flight home tomorrow. As each day passes, I understand more and more. And I understand more and more about a lot of things, not just Vietnam. Of course, Vietnam is a great vehicle to understanding other things. Not even just in the ways it was last year. For instance, last year I confined my personal enlightenment through Vietnam to eating exotic food. I broadened my horizons by eating things like fried crickets and snakes. That isn't to say that I didn't do the same thing this year. I've filled my plate and my belly with snails and bat blood among other delicacies, but this year, I also found an interesting new way to use Vietnam to expand my understanding of the world. Some of you may be familiar with a show called The Millionaire, which went off the air decades ago. It was about an immensely rich man, who would give away one million dollars to some deserving individual. I switched my money into VND, making myself a millionaire several times over. That's how I got this idea. As we were walked around Saigon, I selected a likely candidate.
It's my belief that much of the world is under the impression that money solves all problems. Everyone has some goal or some dream that needs some quantity of money to realize. It seems that most people lose themselves in the quest for money and by the time they get their money, they don't know what they wanted it for. Give them the money when they still have their goals in mind, and they can realize their dreams. So, I decided to demonstrate that point. I chose a petty criminal in Saigon. The run of the mill, jack-of-all-trades kind of criminal. He was a cyclo driver, and he had various things for sale, ranging from marijuana to bootleg CD's. His teeth were rotten, his arms were covered with needle tracks, and he was obviously malnourished. Not a particularly successful criminal at all. He ultimately gave up all pretense of selling things, regardless of their legality, and simply asked me for money. I turned around as if I was going to walk away and took one million VND out of my pocket. I turned around and put it all in his hand as one titanic wad of cash. He almost passed out. I was fairly sure that he needed money for food. I'm sure he made enough selling various trinkets to eat a couple of times a week. Drugs probably sold faster, and were a natural product for someone like him to move into. Unfortunately, he also seemed to have had a drug habit. While his dreams apparently didn't stretch any farther than getting food and getting high, he still couldn't seem to get the money to really realize his dreams for any protracted length of time, and so his life centered on getting the money rather than living the dream. With the money I gave him, he didn't have to worry about going hungry or not being high. I'm sure he's overdosed by now. With the money I gave him, he probably bought a substantial last meal. Or maybe he rebuilt his life. Either way, I learned a lot and so did he. Very enlightening for all parties involved. I seem to recall that on The Millionaire, the million dollars usually ruined the life of the recipient.
Of course, after I'd done it once, I had to do it again. It was just tonight actually. Two of us decided that we should go out and get guitars. We headed out to find a music store. The moment we left the cab, we were approached by the inevitable postcard salesman. We asked him if he knew any music shops in the area. He took us to five different shops, trying to find one that was open. We walked for blocks and blocks, checking shop after shop. All he asked was that we buy some postcards from him if he found a music shop that was open. He just kept looking, all to earn the price of a couple of postcards. I was in awe of him. He was twenty-one, and his teeth were clean, unlike most of the people on the street. He made small talk with us in his limited English and acted as a translator when he eventually found an open guitar store. It specialized in regional instruments and handmade classical guitars. It also had a couple of electric guitars. It was just what we had been looking for. We bought our guitars and he hailed us a cab, reminding us of our promise to buy a postcard. I let him keep his postcards. I also tripled his weekly income for that week...a couple of times over. I won't say exactly how much I gave him, but he'll never have to sell another postcard for the rest of his life. That kind of determination doesn't belong on the street selling postcards. Maybe he'll be able to start something big with that money. I hope he can, anyway.
He really characterized the spirit of the nation. He had next to nothing going for him. He spoke a little English and he sold postcards for less than fifty cents a package. Yet despite that, he was willing to work to the greatest of his ability to sell those damn postcards to do...I don't know what. It doesn't matter. He reflects, perfectly, the tiny nation, which consistently defeats the superpowers of the world, whether it's the modern United States, the colonial French, or the ancient Mongol hordes. Both the man and his country show intense determination in the face of overwhelming odds. It's a rare thing, determination, and doubly so in the United States. How very ironic that America is the environment most capable of rewarding such determination. I hope that someday our countries will be more available to each other, because America needs more people of his type. It only really struck me as we drove by a Vietnamese Ford plant. The United States and the Vietnamese have a distinct need for each other. The Vietnamese to apply their determination to a country which can make use of it, and the U.S. to use that determination for something other than selling postcards or growing rice. Maybe something more fitting would be teaching or designing supercomputers. But, there's a new U.S. consulate, and relations seem to be getting back on track, so maybe things will get better sooner rather than later. I'm sure that when Vietnam finally begins to develop in earnest, it will quickly surpass all its neighbors.
Another thing I've come to realize is exactly how foolish Communism and Socialism are. They are well described as "the equal sharing of nothing." It really shows here. There isn't much else I can say about it now, keeping in mind the possibility that someone from the Vietnamese government could read this while I'm still in Vietnam. But perhaps someday the Vietnamese will change their government. The Chinese certainly will. And if they do, it stands to reason that Vietnam should be no different. Change is certainly on the way, and I only wish I knew when it would arrive.
There is so much I would like to say, and so little time. I would love to write more. I would love to pour out on paper all the things I know now, which I didn't have the most basic understanding of when I decided to return to Vietnam. I would love to write down all those things...but there are some truths about countries, people, religion, and life, which must be sought and discovered, rather than heard from a friend. I've written just about enough. I'm tired here on the other side of the world. We'll be returning home tomorrow and I want to be ready. I have a long journey ahead of me, much like the Vietnamese people...and all people, the world around.
Sincerely,
C. Palmer
03/31/00
Dear All,
We check out of our hotel in Hanoi in fifteen minutes. Well, we began our trip eating bat and mice, so it was only appropriate that we ended our trip eating dog. Actually, it was quite good, and no it did not taste like chicken! Before we depart for home, there are a few people I would like to recognize who made this trip possible: First, I would like to thank Father Roach for allowing two math teachers to take his students half way around the world; Second, thank you to the parents of the students for putting your faith in Vinh and me; Thirdly, a very strong thank you must go to Jon Church and Gary Daum in the computer department for showing us how to use the digital camera and running the Vietnam 2000 web page; And finally, I must thank Vinh Dang for all the hard work and countless hours of preparation he put in to making this trip a reality. All I did was show up when I was supposed to while he had already planned everything in advance. The students can't wait to see everyone and return to the Georgetown Prep community, even though they return to you as men whose blinders have been a little more widened than those of their Prep counterparts.
Christopher J. Burns
