Political Epicenter of Vietnam

    

Vietnam Day 2: Political Epicenter of Vietnam

 

So today we visited the political epicenter of Vietnam, which is pretty much in the old quarter that is downtown Hanoi. It was once known as Thanh Long (City of the Soaring Dragon), for Hanoi has traditionally been the seat of political, cultural, economic and educational power for last 1000 years. It is truly amazing to see how it has survived all the different wars and conflicts over time.  Today was very interesting; it started out innocently enough because we embarked to see the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh (from here on out referred to as Uncle Ho) around 8:30 am. However, one of our three cab drivers had the idea to take one of the groups around the city to earn extra monies. What should have taken ten to fifteen minutes tops, turned into a forty-five minute affair making our professor very angry. Needless to say it wasn’t a pretty picture, this is why I posted a picture of the inside of one of the taxis in my post.

 

So we went through this enormous line walking in “columns of two” to see the preserved body “in repose” is the technical term for him on ice. I would have posted pictures of him, but cameras and taking pictures of him are forbidden. You have to check in your camera and have two walk in “columns of two.” It is very strict, under armed guard; you can’t even smile or wear sunglasses (as a matter of fact, one of my classmates was getting sweated over wearing his prescription sunglasses, which he eventually took off. I hope it didn’t stop him from seeing where he was going) for this is deeply disrespectful. I must admit that I really thought about taking pictures of him from my iPhone, but at the risk of making an international scene (not another study abroad student from UW), and disgracing my family I chose the wisdom of the turtle and decided against it. Neither fame nor fortune is worth doing twenty to life for a picture that I could probably find on YouTube…

 

However, I have posted a couple of different pictures of the Mausoleum from the outside, I hope you enjoy some of the scenery that is North Vietnam; Hanoi and all of its splendor. We saw his living quarters, which is said to have been in the servants quarters, because he refused to live in the presidential palace (big yellow building with red trim), his spot was on the stilts (green)…  Whether one wishes to believe this sentiment or not, it was a genius move politically because it endeared him to the people of Vietnam that all shared in the same struggles, not just symbolically.  We also saw a huge Lenin statue, only one of two that I believe still exist in the world. Ironically, the other one is in Fremont,  a Seattle suburb near UW, by the Royal Grinders sub shop.  I hope to go back there and take a closer photo of it.

 

However we had a great Vietnamese lunch buffet. It was phenomenal, only $200,000.00 VN Dong, which is equivalent to $ 11.00 US dollars.  I have posted some pictures of this as well.  So much food to name, just look at the pictures!!!!

 

After lunch, we went to the US Embassy. We were privileged enough to spend over two hours with the Second Secretary Jane Bocklage. She was very cordial and the discussion was very interesting. However, I wasn’t putting too much stock into her answers, they seemed to tow the typical US hegemonic, “Big W,” Western Ideology of how inadequate the Vietnamese were and how they are trying to ensure that the rest of Vietnam is developing properly, all the while ignoring why they are still developing. Anyways, I will try to stay of my soapbox and tangents, that is for another day and time…  There is a joke that the US Representative told us as we visited it today, that most cab drivers here will tell you “We can still work with the US because we only fought with them for 10 years, so then we fought the French conflict for 100 years, but China we had to fight them jokers for ultimately 1000 years. So we are okay with the US…” She said that most people here are under the age of 35, so poverty shouldn’t be a problem. Vietnam has always fought and struggled for their own independence and sovereignty.

 

After coming back from the embassy, we went out and ate some delicious street food. You can see one of the photos. I will post more later…. Chao…

From Seoul to Church Hotel to Temple of Literature

여보세요 친구 In other words, hello. I would have spelled it phonetically, but I had trouble spelling ana-sayo. That still probably is not correct. In this page you will see us at the Incheon International Airport in Korea. The airport was a little confusing; we almost processed through customs, if it had not been for me asking questions like I do. The picture I took from the plane is us flying over Kamchatka, Russia. I had never flown over the Pacific Ocean, which was kind of cool.

One of the cool things about Korea Air was that they had this ingenious little invention that they connected to the wall like a little baby bassinet! You can check out the picture. The flight took forever, even longer than the one I took to Rome, but at least the food was better, plus you got to love the customer service. I wished I only realized that I forgot my journal earlier. Later the night we got into Hanoi around 10:00 pm. It was really hot! Here are some pictures of us picking up our luggage and getting taxis. We are staying at the Church Hotel in Hanoi; it is pretty modern with A/C. It is really close to this 17th century church.

Didn’t sleep much the first night. Here is a view from our apt over looking Hanoi. Have a nice complimentary breakfast of bacon and eggs with ca phe sua da (Viet coffee with condensed milk over ice). I really love that stuff. Then we had lunch at the KOTO: Know One, Teach One restaurant. It is a really cool education Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) designed to rehabilitate people and help them turn their lives around. Food was fine; I had the Chao Tom (ground pork and prawns with rice paper). Interestingly enough, our waitpersons did not seem fit to give us hot water to make the rice paper pliable. Some of us thought that this was kind of strange. We visited the famed Temple of Literature where they trained most of the famed Vietnamese educators, philosophers and politicians. It was pretty cool to see the wisdom of the turtles.  

 

Traveling to Vietnam

                                                                  

Hi all, I just wanted to say that I made it too Vietnam with relative ease. The only thing that upset me was that I forgot my journal on the last plane when we landed in Hanoi.  I have to say that flying on Korea Airlines was really nice, they know how to hook a brother up. Constantly feeding you, very attentive. Our inflight meals were Bibimbap, and Chicken Bulgogi... Pretty tasty... Free blankets, pillows, headsets, water... When I have to travel to anywhere in Asia, I will definitely use them again...  I will blog more later, must get rest...

Family & Commencement

Xin Chao gia dinh! Simply translated hello family (I just didn't put the accents on there). I just wanted to post a public cam ong (thank you) for all my family and friends that able to make it to my commencement at UW. For those that weren't able too, no worries, I understand how life works and it is okay. I am sure your world is much larger than me anyway. It is greatly appreciated! I know that this post is about a week late, but I have been busy with school and getting ready to travel to Southeast Asia for the first time. Please enjoy some of the pictures that I took from the different ceremonies. By the time you read this, I will most like be on the ground in Hanoi, Vietnam. Know that I love and appreciate all your efforts. Peace....

               

 

Six days and a wake up...

Six days and a wake-up.... Awe, yes... Military jargon has crept back into my vocabulary... It is a short-timers saying, partly because he doesn't have a lot of time left and mainly because he is ready to get to the next duty station or stage in her or his life.... All the mystery that surrounds the transition.... Now that I will embark on "Building Peace in the Wake of War." Here is a link to PeaceTrees Vietnam, with whom we will be working with... 

http://www.peacetreesvietnam.org/

http://http://depts.washington.edu/chid/showprogram.php?id=83

I must learn and come into account of all the socio-economic and political history that surrounds this beloved homeland of my mother... Not because I have to, but because I want to! What does it all mean to me? Why am I a "child of conflict?" Does this mean that I will always be conflicted? Will I ever reach a place of peace? Or is it just an illusion? Is this why I always follow "Conflict Theory?"

As things are beginning to draw nigh, I will be preparing myself for experience of a lifetime... I have been thinking about identity a lot lately... What do I think about "identity?" Is it the same as I thought about it fifteen, ten, five or even two years ago? What about two seconds ago? Have I learned and grew enough when it regards identity? How can I be sure? Who has the correct answer? Or are we just asking questions really not wanting an answer? Let me know your thoughts...

Peace, Love, and Prayers...

Jon

Graduate and Go!

Hi y'all... only ten days left until I leave for Vietnam. I am so excited. Plus I only have one final, one paper and my thesis left... I graduate in eight days... Wow what a journey... All I know is that I have some pretty fantastic people in my corner that have helped me through the years... Way too many to name on this blog....

Personally, I have been brushing up on my Viet in preparation to ease the transition there. I am also trying to finish my packing list... Not to mention we are moving again... back to the Eastside... yeah thats where I reside... I am excited, but sad at the same time. I will miss our place in the U-District... the ave is like no other... but hey we gotta do, what we gotta do....

Although Rome changed me some and was totally amazing, I believe and know that seeing Vietnam will be way more beneficial to me personally... Like I said it is a pilgrimage for me... But we will have to stay tuned... I will leave you with a video from youtube called "Hello Vietnam" which explains my feelings better than my words can say... I will write more later... Got some errands to run. peace...

Mass at St Peter's Basilica & Campus Martius

 

Well today we started off the day by walking to the Vatican so that we could attend the nine o'clock mass. It was a very interesting experience to say the least. There are a couple of pretty devote Catholics in our group, but our group is more of a mixed bag when it comes to religion. Which always makes conversation around the dinner table never dull. Anyways back to the Vatican. Upon entering Vatican City you can see all these towering lamps that look like they light the way back to the Holy City. It is almost like the architecture is having a conversation with the rest of Rome letting it know that it has a safe place, a refuge in the Roman Catholic church.

  

After we waited in line for about ten minutes we saw these huge projection screen televisions, they were Panasonic no less. We then wondered if it was due to the huge overflow of people that try to see the Pope JP2 back in the day or the current Pope Benedict XVI. So we the proceeded to go through security and finally get to the doors of the Vatican for Mass. 

So after we got our snack we trekked on determining to find our group, yet we only found the annual Roman Marathon running right along the Vatican and the Tiber River.  This caused us to wait inordinately and made us even more impatient about finding our group and way back to the Campo di Fiori for our daily “Marching on Rome.” So we then make our way back to the Campus Martius and along the way Ramses and I have a nice conversation about religion, since it was the topic of the day. We agree on some stuff, disagree on others but at the end of the day it was a meaningful conversation. Which is rare to find in young people today. In my mind our conversation was reminiscent of a philosophical conversation with Socrates or Plato asking a priori type questions like “How can we know?” or “How can we know this with certainty?”

 

All I can say he is a very intelligent, caring young man who seeks out and desires knowledge, yet he tries to temper his passion for knowledge with a respect for all of humanity. It is very refreshing to see this in such a young researcher. It is nice to know that he just won’t try to create knowledge or data without sincerity for humanity.

 

 

 

I can truly say that being here in Rome has transformed all of us. This experience has changed some, some more so than others, some a little less. However people are always resistant to change, but that is only natural. Change is hard and 

So we are then walking along the road and all of a sudden we are in the Piazza di San Pietro come up to what is the It would have really nice to see His Papalness, but alas he was in Africa.