Silliness aside for a moment

So I've been writing a lot about the more amusing happenings on my trip so far, but I thought I'd take a minute to acknowledge the more serious aspects of my journey as well. Perhaps this idea was sparked by the museum I went to yesterday that used to be a US military base. This museum is basically a propaganda tool of the Vietnamese Communist government, and it was really emotional to walk through and see the way American soldiers were portrayed. I mean say what you will about the US government and the decisions regarding foreign policy, but our soldiers were just kids, barely older than me, doing what they had to whether they believed in the cause or not. Needless to say, it was pretty painful to look at scraps of captured planes, guns and tanks and pictures of captured American soldiers. Being here has definitely instilled in me a greater sense of appreciation for American veterans and current soldiers. I just think about what that must have been like to have your friends, your brothers, maybe your dad and your uncles all shipped out to war, and just about 1 out of every 10 would never make it back. That's some tough stuff that generation had to deal with, and I think I'm only now really beginning to understand it.

So amidst all the fun and misadventure, I'm also encountering some very emotionally charged situations and deeper moments of learning and enlightenment. Everything about being in Viet Nam makes me so excited to take the history class I've signed up for in the Fall: "Politics and Culture of the Sixties". I think this trip will be such a complimentary experience for learning about my parents' generation. I kind of wish I could transport myself back to that time period; I'm so fascinated by it. Maybe people will say that about this time period someday. So I suppose I'll just work on enjoying it until time travel is perfected.

I also wanted to note here that we've been able to talk to many Vietnamese people in this smaller town of Dong Ha, and it's been great to interact with them. The young girls love our pale skin and "fair hair" and they always ask us to sing. Mostly we sing Disney songs since they seem to be the only ones that everyone in the group knows. I can't tell you how many times I've belted out "A Whole New World" from Aladdin in the last week. They're all so eager to practice their English too, so that gives us some purpose since our Vietnamese is pretty much a lost cause. Most people we talk to are so nice and kind; one woman at the center we were volunteering at invited us back to her hometown for coffee! We bussed out there and crammed all 18 of us into her humble but beautiful home, and met her mother, father and fiance. Then she took us down to an outdoor cafe next to a lake to relax and chat. It was lit up like the streets around Christmas time and the little strands of lightbulbs mimicked the stars in the pitch black sky. We drank espresso with sweetened condensed milk over ice and she cut up fresh, juicy watermelon for us to eat. Fruit is such a delicacy over here, and it's the perfect refresher for this heat. Her town is very poor and she told me how hard her parents worked to send she and her siblings to school and the university, yet she was eager to bring us over and spare 3 watermelons to feed us. Vietnamese hospitality is unmatched anywhere.

I'm half-way through my trip already, and that seems a little unreal. Only 2 weeks left and then I'll be coming home to celebrate the 4th of July and my 21st birthday. I've got plenty to distract me in the meantime though, we're still going to 4 more destinations and seeing even more new and exciting things in this country. Until the next adventure then....Ciao :)