Week One: April 22nd

So my first week in Ho Chi Minh City has come to an end and it’s been an absolute whirlwind to say the absolute least! Grab a cup of tea and a snack and settle in, its been a big week.

Monday:

In the morning we just dealt with a few wee admin like activities such as finalising all the remaining documents and a general introduction to what we can expect for the orientation week. After a relaxed morning we had a tour around the area surrounding our office, highlighting a few of the best spots to grab some food. After lunch we had our first of three crash courses in Vietnamese language lessons. At first it seemed pretty straight forward...Until it wasn’t. There is your general hello, which is easy enough, but then it gets tricky. There are different hellos depending on the age and the gender of the person you are speaking to. To say it was tricky to get your head around is an understatement. The day ended rather quickly, with all the formalities out of the way we headed back to our accommodation before we broke off into a few smaller groups to find something new to full our stomachs. The best thing about the group of people on this course is that everyone honestly meshes so well. There are no cliques or sub-groups. No one is left out and everyone brings something fresh and unique to the table. The night wrapped up with nothing too intense happening except for the overwhelming sensation that this will become my new normal.

Tuesday:

The next day we met at the classroom where we talked about some of the rich history that made me choose this incredible country. The next topic was numero dos of tres language lessons. This for the record was just as hard and confusing as the first. After Lunch we headed to the war ruminants museum. This was one of the most surreal things I have ever encountered. The absolute atrocities that took place during the Vietnam War (Or the American war as it is called here) and just to know that my country played any role in it makes me sick. If you have never heard of Agent Orange I encourage you to get on Google and have a read. The deformities that it caused not only then but even now, there are victims to this day whose family genetics have been permanently altered. The two things that stuck with me the most from the trip are a photo and a quote.

The photo depicts two mothers and three small children looking absolutely terrified. The caption under reads (and this isn’t word for word exactly but pretty damn close) “I saw these terrified Vietcong’s standing there as the American soldiers approached; I called out for them to stop. I took their picture then turned around to walk away. I heard the sounds of a M16 fire repeatedly. I did not turn back around”. I can honestly not comprehend how anyone, ANYONE can live with themselves n that situation. It was such a them/us divide. I understand that the photographers’ were there to do a job but how surreal it must be to know you captured the very last moments of someone’s life on film and go back to safety knowing you did nothing to help. These were woman and children, but in the art of war, no one is safe.

The second thing that will always stick with me for as long as I am on this earth is thee quote “Yet we were wrong, terribly wrong. We owe it to future generations to explain why.”

The most unbelievable thing in saying all this is the Vietnamese people’s attitude towards westerns and in general Americans. They have no ill feelings towards Americans (or westerns in general). They understand that the past is the past and we must put that all aside to move forward as a world. Can you just picture a world where everyone had that mindset? The things we could achieve. Mad right?

After that we were all in need of a stiff drink; however the Vietnamese are not big day drinkers, go figure. Yet this leads us to one of the best, if not the best gem that Vietnam has to offer, the Family fun mart.

Essentially a 24 hour supermarket dairy hybrid that sells alcohol. As we are all ragers and cannot control ourselves, one afternoon beer turned into several and we found ourselves drunk outside our new local.

Wednesday:

We meet in the lobby of our accommodation to drive 1 ½ hours to the countryside (yet still technically in HCMC) where we wound up at an organic farm. Here we got to explore, pick our own fresh vegetables and learn some delicious cooking techniques. The only issue, it was 38 damn degree’s, with a humidity of around 80%. Mr Tan, our chef for the day had some very interesting idea’s surrounding family and the role children play in a family (essentially if you are in a loveless marriage have a baby. Babies fix everything). Coming from a society where we see all too often that this is not the case it is difficult to understand the eastern way of thinking. Yet that is just one of the things we must face when move to a different world.

Thursday:

Thursday was one of the hardest days I have had here so far. We were asked the question, what made us want to come to Vietnam? They were not after the generic, I want to change lives, I want to travel...bah blah blah. We went around the room and one by one cracked open the deepest parts of ourselves and said things we all struggle to admit to ourselves, let alone a room full of people we have only known four days. It broke my heart hearing everyone’s stories on their upbringings and the terrible things they have all experienced. It really brings home the statement “The world doesn’t treat you any better just because you are a good person”. Everyone had a tale of abuse, neglect or trauma from their past that has enviably lead them to this course.

I found I spent this time reflecting how truly lucky I am. I have supportive and loving parents who have shifted heaven and earth on multiple times to get me where I am today. I have a whole support network of friends and family and overall I am very blessed. I don’t deny that at all, and I’m not out here trying to pretend that I have had a rough life, because I know by comparison I haven’t. Yet everyone has their own trauma and their own demons, I for one have struggled with a lot of things in the past however I do end to keep them to myself. My friends who have been there through the ups and downs know bits and pieces, my family knows other parts and then there is one person who knows yet the most, yet nothing at all. If you combine all these parts they only contribute to a tiny part of my whole picture. When it was my turn to share I started off with humor, as that is my classic defense mechanism, however I couldn’t get very far before the words just wouldn’t come. I was met with overwhelming love and support, and with that it was time to move on.

The day wrapped up with a martial arts lesson, thankfully in an air-conditioned building! Thursday for me was ANZAC day. The first ANZAC day in my entire twenty-four years of living where I haven’t been in my country. It hit e hard so I took myself off, found a quiet park (which in Vietnam is about as rare as a unicorn), listened to some Six60 and just reflected on the sacrifices that my family made back in the first war to make this whole trip possible for ne and for me to live the life I know.

Friday:

The week was drawing to an end with one last trip planned, to the BenDuc tunnels, the less touristy version of the tunnels Vietnam is so famous for. Once our bus pulled up wee heard the screams. As he tunnels we went to are more out of the way not many tourists venture out that far, yet school trips do. Now one thing you have to understand about Vietnam is the majority of people that live out of the cities have never seen westerners. So for a bus of them to pull up would be comparable to Justin Beiber arriving at an all girl’s school. The kids were running up to us, waiving, touching our hair, taking photos. It was madness. We became the tourist attractions. After the teachers acted as crowd control we were able to move on and begin our tour.

Everyone who visits Vietnam I highly recommend the tunnels. Words cannot describe the tightness of these tunnels (which have been widened for westerns). The fact that upwards of 10,000 people lived in these crawl spaces for years and years is unimaginable. The thing I took the most out of this trip is the comprehensive strategies the people of Vietnam used to evade the Americans. For example the shoes that they wore acted as decoys if they were walking west the shoes would leave footprints heading east to send the American soldiers in the opposite direction. Keep in mind that they were viewed as an undeveloped nation, and they were coming up with this shit??? Crazy.

Back at the accommodation we decided it was time we gave the family fun mart a break from us so we headed to the backpackers district. Picture Vegas... On meth. Drinking on the streets is encouraged and drugs are sold freely. Children roam the streets pick pocketing drunken westerns while being adorable as a distraction. I saw an eight year old breath fire then turn his nose up at our weak donation. Bars are trying to get as many people inside so they pour free shots directly in your mouth without a second thought. One club worker came outside to where our group was parked up and asked to take a video of me dancing (very sloppy might I add) lord knows where that will end up, but Vietnam.

Stumbling back to my room I paused outside to just take in the fact that I am here. I made these choices, I took this chance. I wasn’t happy in New Zealand. I was in a place where I didn’t think I would be happy again for a long long time (not being over dramatic or anything). I stopped and smiled and felt more at peace in the craziness of Ho Chi Minh City than I have in the last year and a half.

This is my life. Viet-bloody-nam.

Peace and love friends! Till Next week Xo.

Cookking Class, 2nd Place (it was rigged ;) )