My mind, heart and eyes were stimulated and moved each and every day that I was in Vietnam. I became like my father, taking notes on the history, architecture, city layouts, and stories of people I met. I also took a gazillion pictures. It's taking me some time, but I'm slowly transferring what I learned, questioned, saw, listened to, ate and drank into blog form. Sometimes I feel like I'm writing encyclopedia entries or magazine articles. I found so many gems of people, food, events and happenings - I can't leave anything out!
Vietnam is a country many Americans remember from the war years, a place where men and women in uniform risked and lost their lives. I wasn't born during that time, so it is "history" to me. But as I traveled bit by bit from the southern city Ho Chi Minh City (old "Saigon") to the northern capital city Hanoi, I gained some insight into the melding, tension and interconnectedness of past and present. I'm always thankful for life experiences that teaching me about life and humanity. I tend to notice and focus on culture, history, religion, conflict, beauty, relating person-to-person, breaking open and moving beyond stereotypes and biases, trying new vegan foods, discovering the intricacies (and simplicities) of language.... These are all quite complex subjects. At the same time, they are all aspects of life within which I find shared understanding and hope with people I encounter all over the world.
I hope you find the posts below intriguing at the least, and enlightening or challenging at the most.
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