I hope this post finds you well wherever you may be. Life in Hanoi is good. Most of the international traveling I've done in the past has been done in short stints-I'm talking two or three weeks in country. I think part of the excitement for me in coming to Vietnam was the chance to "settle" in another place and see what "living" in another country would be like. Though, I realize I am still very much limited in what I can experience in the meager nine weeks I will call Hanoi my home. I have for some time thought it would be nice at some point in my life to take some time off and travel the world. Perhaps 6-8 months, maybe longer. Save up some money and go see the world.
So, this weekend, Casey and I traveled through a travel agency to Halong Bay and met folks from England, Germany, Denmark, Canada who were doing exactly that..traveling from one country to another and might I say, feasting off of the country's finer things and then scooting on to the next sight or sound. I found these folks quite interesting, as their tales were full with exciting stories of wonderous treks, delicious foods, ancient relics they had explored. Their thirst for travel accompanied by a unique sort of endurance was quite impressive as their packed itineries left only a modest amount of time for sleeping and relaxing.
As impressed as I was with their desire to see and experience sights, sounds, smells, and flavors of other cultures, what I was taken back by was a lack of respect for the local folk. I found them, myself included, to be interested more in ensuring that our Iphones were full with an impressive gallery of wondrous displays than to have a simple vocabulary that might portray our appreciation to these local folks for inviting us into their own backyards whereby we trounced with our REI sponsored trek to take in a sight or sound, and then leaving them empty handed.
Something felt strange to me. I will admit, I am very much at fault as the two of the four or five phrases I know best here are "How much?" and "That's too expensive". Am I more interested in being ripped off than I am with telling the folks here what a beautiful country they have, or how sweet they are, or how impressed I am with their humility?
The trip to Halong Bay was absolutely gorgeous. I am so grateful I had the chance to see such beautiful mountains rising out of the South China Sea. Even as I type that very sentence, it's hard to believe that I got to see and experience such a unique wonder of the world.
So, this week's goal. Learn some phrases that will show my appreciation to the Vietnamese folks for their kindness and their acceptance of me into their home. Show them some respect for putting up with folks like me coming to their country, taking lots of pictures, sporting my REI-sponsored wardrobe, and asking if they have to-go cups for coffee because that's what I'm used to in the States..Thanks Starbucks for always putting my coffee in a to-go cup, regardless if I'm staying there to study for 5 hours.
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