Forever in flux
20 Jul
I met a journalist from National Geographic Traveler a few months ago. He wanted to interview me and I wanted to talk to him because, thats what journalists do – constantly look for connections and networks. He recently sent me some follow-up questions to an article he is writing about Hanoi. I am publishing my answers here because I think they show how I have changed. Months ago, I might have been more sure of these answers. But, like anything, the more you start to know, the less you realize you do know. I am no expert – and I don’t want to pretend to be one. But here are my latest thoughts on everything Vietnam, as prompted by the journalist:
What do you like most about living in Hanoi?
I like that every day is an adventure in Hanoi. I love that some of the invisible pressures in the US – to wear the right clothes and to have the perfect everything – just don’t exist here. I love the small things – the lady that sells tofu on my street, the fact that I can buy lotus flowers from a guy on a bicycle, and the clear sky after a big summer rain.
I have made some amazing friends – both Vietnamese and expat. I think there is something about being so far away from your own family and things that you grew up with that make people band together and really look out for each other.
What are young Vietnamese focused on these days? How do they view the past (the American War) and How are Americans naive about contemporary Hanoi/Vietnam?
As far as I can tell, young Vietnamese are focused on a bright future. They want good educations and good jobs so that they can make money. Most of them were born after the American War and have no direct connection to it. As there is an “official forgetting” of the war because Vietnam wants to have good relations with the US for economic and trade reasons, people are not supposed to talk much about the war. In my own experience, I have never had a Vietnamese person mention anything negative to me about being an American, save for the tofu lady who said “BOOM BOOM BOOM” to me after finding out that I was American.
Americans hear “communism” and immediately think of failed planned farming in the USSR or the dilapidation in Cuba. It is hard for Americans to understand how a growing economy works with communism. Americans also have that Hollywood Vietnam War image of Vietnam that I don’t really see much of. Most Americans I know just think of Vietnam as a very very faraway place and cannot understand why I am living there.
Was it strange to be partying on top of an air-raid bunker (or missile site) or kind of cool?
It was definitely both strange AND cool. It is a funky cafe – I love the characterful cafes around Hanoi. I also loved when we sang a song about peace a top of the bunker – I felt like I was living in that Beatles movie Across the Universe.
Did you find Hanoians “cheerful, upbeat?” as I did?
Compared to the Saigonese, Hanoians are stereotyped to be stingy and mean. I have not found this to be true – you just have to smile, be considerate to them, and speak a little Vietnamese if you can, and Hanoians can be some of the most generous and helpful people I’ve met. Of course stereotypes are never good. The old woman that grabbed my hand to help me cross the street went out of her way to be nice. More people in Hanoi have performed random acts of kindness for me than I could ever imagine. The mean person who broke into my house and stole a bunch of things was NOT kind. People will be people.
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