Let me start with a story about a new friend of ours, Annie, a 36 year old PharmD and a life-long learner. Before we got to Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) she told us the story of her family escaping from Vietnam in 1975 just 2 days before the fall. Her uncle had made a very anti-communist documentary therefore her parents felt they might be in jeopardy. Her dad is a physician and mom a pharmacist. Unbeknown to them they got the last plane out to a resettlement camp in Guam. There were the parents, Annie (the youngest) and six brothers and sisters. After spending some time in Guam, they were sponsored and relocated to Orange County, CA where her mom worked as a domestic and her dad a gardener. After quite some time her dad was able to get a residency in Wisconsin and pass the California Boards and start a private practice. Several years later her mom was able to sit for the pharmacy boards and get her license to practice. All of her siblings are either pharmacist or physicians. So out of respect for Annie and her family we will call HCMC, Saigon. Annie and friends Justin and Amy (mid 20's and just out of Master's degree programs) have been an integral part of the life-long learners and brought lots of creative energy to the group. We are so thankful to have them!!!!
Saigon is a beautiful city of about 10 million people and 7 million motor bikes, which makes crossing the street very interesting. You can't wait for a break in the traffic because there never is one, so you just start walking and the rule is not to stop, because that confuses the drivers and they might hit you. Basically it is like a huge school of fish with lateral lines sensing everyone else. Scarry, but it works. In the city we found some great restaurants, in one near the war museum we had rice in a lotus leaf, spring rolls that you ate by wrapping them in basil leaves and lettuce...ummmmmm. Also, beef in banana leaves with great spices and grilled shrimp. Desert was bananas flambe with mango sorbet. The ambience was wonderful as well. We found a gourmet market that had a great selection of wines from around the world, at least 30 different varieties of cheese, serrano ham and many other types of meat as well as all types of cookies, crackers, olives, pate and other snacks. We found a good tailor and Linda had a really nice traditional Vietnamese outfit which she will wear to the Alumni Ball next week. At the top of the Rex Hotel, where journalist stayed during the war, we enjoyed very nice live music. At the Golden Lotus we had a two hour massage. Life is good!!!
At first we were hesitant as to how we would be treated, but any hesitation quickly vanished as we met more and more delightful and helpful Vietnamese. We had a great day on the Mekong Delta, exploring many areas. I could not help but think how awful it must have been for both the American and Vietnamese soldiers. It was important for me to try and visualize being on both sides and that is all I could really do as I was not there, I was lucky enough to have gone to Cuba and the Mediterranean during that time. There were atrocities on both sides, but I can't imagine that type of fighting occur on our soil. It is not for me to make a judgement here, all I can say from our short 5 days there is that Saigon is a beautiful prospering city and that all of the people we met were gracious, hospitable and forward thinking. We also visited the Cu Chi tunnels and made our way through many underground areas. including, dining halls, operating rooms, planning areas, etc. Our legs ached the next day from duck walking through the small tunnels, even though they were enlarged for tourist. That same day we also went Cao Dai Temple a religion founded in 1926. The headquarters are at Tay Ninh, near Saigon. In its beliefs, Cao Dai draws upon ethical precepts from Confucianism and theories of karma and rebirth from Buddhism, with some influence from Catholicism. There are some interesting readings about this religion. I'll leave that up to you if you are so inclined.
Well that is just a brief report of our stay in Viet Nam. We plan to return someday and rent an apartment for a month or so. Sorry for such a late entry, but we were having too much fun!!!
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