While the majority of AU students prefer to hit the beaches of Cancun, Mexico, or Florida on spring break, I took a trip with the Alternative Spring Break program to Vietnam. Even though the 21-hour flying time was less than favorable, the incredible history and culture of the country made me less weary of the logistics of travel.
The first culture shock struck as our group of 12 opened up the doors to the outside of the Ho Chi Minh Airport. It was 11 p.m., but the crowds of people waiting for family members, all staring intently at each passerby through the door, made us feel like Hollywood elite. Jet-lagged and on our way to the hotel we quickly learned that in Vietnamese culture, as in many others, it is tradition to go as a whole family to greet visiting friends and family.
After our introduction to Vietnamese culture in the airport and becoming acquainted with Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, we had the opportunity to visit students at the National University. Unlike public universities in the United States, National University is strictly run and the government heavily censors information in textbooks and teaching. The differences in education between communist and democratic governments became blatantly obvious within the first few minutes of discussion with students. It was an eye opening experience to see a communist institution in work because as an American, I have become so accustomed to the ability to question authority and my government.
The responses to many of the questions about the communist government in Vietnam and about foreign policy seemed to be mechanical and left me feeling like the students were simply mouthpieces for their government. After becoming comfortable with the way of life inside Ho Chi Minh City, we boarded a bus and made our way to the Ben Dinh Tunnel, belonging to the Cu Chi Tunnel Network, approximately two hours outside the city. The tunnel system, used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War, enabled the American enemy to move freely into the city of Saigon, and increased the ability of the enemy to kill U.S. troops by setting up booby traps in the grounds surrounding the tunnels.
Even though the guide, dressed from head to toe in a green military uniform, talked incessantly about the brilliance of the Viet Cong in building the tunnel system, I couldn't help but to take a look at the surrounding jungle where so many U.S. soldiers and Vietnamese had been killed. As an American it is rare to feel the effects of war, but being in the Vietnamese jungle you could almost hear the chopping noise of the helicopter above, and the sounds of the soldiers cutting through the thick branches.
Although the trip through the tunnels themselves was like nothing else I have experienced, the feeling of being in enemy territory still remained. The original tunnels during the war were two times smaller, but they were enlarged to accommodate tourists. Each of us followed one another, some crawling and others crouching, in the pitch-black tunnels that had a potent smell of gasoline.
When we were outside the city we not only got the opportunity to see the infamous Cu Chi Tunnel Network, but also the unique countryside that made the ride pass by quickly. Since Vietnam's economy relies almost entirely on agricultural products, the countryside is filled with scenes that could appear in National Geographic. The rice fields cascade the landscape and radiate a green that looks artificial because of its vibrancy and the row after row of rubber trees lined up in a perfect line look like the work of a supernatural architect.
After a few days of visiting the typical tourist sites of Vietnam, our group decided to volunteer at a school for the blind and handicapped called Ky Quang II. The school seemed more like an orphanage to us and was housed in a Buddhist Temple inside Ho Chi Minh City in the privately funded school. Age range within the school started at the infant level and moved well into adulthood.
Ky Quang II is considered to be one of the better facilities for children who are given up by their parents, but to an American it hardly appeared this way. The children we visited with had everything from bedsores to brain worms, and these were only the visible and obvious medical problems the children had. We learned from one of our leaders that the government equivalent to this school was in such awful condition that we probably wouldn't have been able to stand the smell, let alone the illnesses that those children suffered.
The ASB break enabled AU students to soak in the culture and condition of a Third World country that has gone through incredible change since the close of the war in the mid-'70s. We had to opportunity to interact with Vietnamese students, ex-government officials that worked with the United States during the war, and children who are in need of the most basic necessities.
While the beaches of Cancun and Florida remained untouched by my feet this break, I got the opportunity to interact and learn about a Third World country that has great potential to grow and is an unpredictable economic prospect in Southeast Asia.
