More Hanoi Observations/ Thoughts

-  Living in Hanoi is dichotomous:  On the surface it is much like any large city; loud, horns honking, polluted, crowded, lots of exhaust from motorbikes and busses, tall buildings, nice parts of town and not so nice parts of town. And immediately under all that is a deep, heavy, ancient, solid, calm spirit; an energy so strong that it is at times overwhelming.  I marvel at the people.

-  Finances certainly played a large role in our decision to come to Vietnam.  The cost of living is crazy low and expats are paid relatively well so hopefully we can add to our retirement fund while experiencing life out of the US.  But there is also another, maybe even more compelling, reason.  Having grown up in the 60s, in my head, Vietnam = war.  Ha Noi, Da Nang, Saigon, Mekong Delta:  these are war names.  Very seldom have I thought of Vietnam without thinking of the war.  I wanted to come to here to experience Vietnam as a country and to experience the people independent of war; to get those black and white grainy images of the war out of my head.  Would that be possible?  How would the Vietnamese people feel?  Would we be welcomed, especially by those in our age group and older?

Couple incidents:

Few weeks ago P and I visited a small pottery village about 10 miles east of Hanoi.  On the way back, four older ( late 70's ?) men boarded the bus.  They were all stern-faced, rigid, straight backs, did not look friendly at all.  I avoided eye contact with them for a while but at some point I happened to look over at them and when they caught my eye, they all broke out in grins and started waving at me ( even though I was only an aisle away).

As P and I were walking down our alleyway towards our house, I noticed a tall, imposing man standing very straight watching our every move and tracking our steps as we approached him.  I truly thought he was angry and was going to either yell at us or speak to us harshly.  I had already tried to center myself and to try to accept whatever he felt moved to tell us.  Just as we got within a few feet from him, he steps forward and asks us, "Where you from?"  When we answered, "America", he begins to shake our hands vigorously and tells us how much he loves America.  We stand and speak with him for a few minutes; he wants to know all about us, do we like Hanoi, how long will we be here....

A mere 40 years ago, these gentlemen and I would have been mortal enemies!  They might well have tried to kill me and I them, had I been in the war.  Undoubtedly they were, in some way,  affected by the war.  Perhaps they lost a family member (s) or friends, maybe lost all their material possessions, at the least, saw their beautiful country bombed and burned.  And yet here they are, smiling, waving and wanting to engage me in conversation. We are often told how much the Vietnamese people love Americans.  I'm humbled by the ability of people to forgive.  I am learning the meaning of true forgiveness from the Vietnamese people.

I wonder, will we see this happening in Iran and Afghanistan in 40 years?

O.