VietBlog

When the plane landed in Ho Chi Minh City, I felt my heart stop beating. The panoramic view outside the tiny plane window reminded me so much of Indonesia, my home country. After stepping out of the plane, the smell of home flooded my nostrils. Perhaps it wasn’t as fresh as the West Virginia air I had grown accustomed to, and the Appalachian Mountains no longer dominated the surroundings, but the sights, smells, and sounds of the biggest city in Vietnam only reminded me of one place: home.

Landing in Vietnam was a remarkable experience for everyone. Only a handful of us had even been to Asia, namely the international WVU students accompanying us on the trip returning to their home country and the Newfields. Many of us had not yet left North America, including myself. Arnita Sitisari, a doctoral student in political science at WVU, had a different experience when our plane touched down on Vietnamese soil. Even though it was her first time visiting Vietnam, her experience was not a new one. Having visited a plethora of Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, her native country, Arnita’s first few moments in Vietnam were novel, but familiar.

Miki DeMary, a graduate student in the WVU School of Social Work, is also well travelled. Having Korean roots and living in Spain for some time has made her adept for travelling. Even though this was her first time travelling to the Asian continent, despite her roots, her prior experiences helped her realize her true identity when it was questioned in her first few moments in the country.

“Cum se yoh?” Blank stare. “Konichiwah.” Really Blank. “What, you doesn’t speak your own language?”

I am a nomad. I have no identity. In reality, I am a typical college student, making my way through a master’s program. On the surface I am an Asian girl.

My entire life has been spent grappling with the meaning of this surface identity. In the US, the great “melting pot” of culture really accepted me as being just different looking, but also like everyone else. The first 20 minutes in Vietnam, my identity became unknown. Who is this Asian girl who can’t speak her own language as she walked through customs? Why can’t she respond to five different Asian dialects when spoken to on the street? Why can’t this girl pronounce the Asian inflections with more ease than her white, American classmates?

This is my first time to an Asian country. I have been an accepted US citizen my entire life; to a Roman Catholic Italian family. While I speak Spanish and English fluently, my Korean is about five sentences deep. I am taking this in stride. As my journey in the cultures of Vietnam and Cambodia continues, I will smile at the stares and answer the questions with dignity. I will respond to Korean – if possible, and I’ll speak my new Vietnamese phrases with pride, even if it is with a West Virginian accent. I will continue to be me: a short South Korean with a love for kim chi in her pasta.

Now, not everyone’s experiences when we arrived in Vietnam were as unique as Miki and Arnita’s first moments. However, everyone did wonder what was in store for them in this exotic country. When we left the airport, we were suddenly submerged in the biggest metropolis in Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City. To Americans, it was once known as Saigon, where the South Vietnamese surrendered to the North and American forces made a daring escape over 30 years ago. As our bus ventured out on the busy streets, we probably could’ve found remnants of that time, but instead our focus was diverted to the busy city life that unfolded outside our windows.

At first one motorbike, then five, then twenty appeared around us. They surrounded us, like some sort of motorcade. The roads were filled with a sea of Vietnamese motorists on their bikes, mopeds, and cycles – and occasionally a car or truck – colored with a rainbow of helmets and face masks.

Soon tall, vertical buildings packed together lined the streets, the very bottoms containing open store fronts inviting the motorists and pedestrians in to look at their merchandise. Hardly the communism you would expect from learning about it in classrooms growing up in West Virginia. The language was tantalizingly familiar. No Chinese characters, but rather the Latin alphabet scrambled up in words we could attempt to pronounce (usually in vain). And then more familiar sites as international countries advertised their products; names we were familiar with, like Toshiba, Gucci, and Budweiser – even KFC. We flashed by familiar sites, like Independence Palace and pagodas with traditional Asian architecture, but there was so much more than that.

According to the Lonely Planet’s webpage. on Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, then Saigon, fell to the French from the Nguyen Dynasty in 1859. It was the capital of the French colony, Cochinchina until it became the capital of the republic of Vietnam in 1955. After the city, and the Republic of Vietnam, fell to Hanoi in 1975, the country reunited and became the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, while Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City. In 1986, doi moi, the name of economic reform passed by the government, caused explosive growth in the city. Now with a population of over 6 million, Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city in Vietnam (and one of the largest in Indochina) and considered the economic capital of the country.

This history has had a major influence on the city. On a simple tour around the city, you see a mixture of extreme wealth and development, but also poorer sections, French and Chinese influence in food and architecture, and plenty of places to eat and shop – from sprawling markets like the Ben Thanh and its outdoor food vendors, to gourmet sit-down restaurants.

This video from the Lonely Planet website illustrates different food popular in the city, while showing backdrops of Saigon. Lonely Planet Video

This city’s food and charm has also made a notable impression on famed chef and writer, Anthony Bourdain. Having travelled to Vietnam several times, he is currently debating on moving to the country for a short amount of time. In his blog on the Travel Channel website for his show Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, he describes his love affair with the country.

In the actual No Reservations episode on Vietnam, Bourdain visits all of his past favorites, sampling the food and discussing his love for the country. Anthony Bourdain; No Reservations

Ho Chi Minh City charmed us as well. Like most urban metropolises, the life in this city sucked us in like any other. With Saigon becoming more connected with the Western world through trade and commerce, the people of the city reflected their openness in their actions towards us. We never felt unwelcome in the city, and more often than not, we were met with waves and smiles from strangers on the street.

But even through the bustle of the big city, and the new sights, smells, and sounds that barraged us in this foreign land, we recognized familiarities. People waiting in traffic texting to pass the time by (even if it was on a motorbike), teenage friends walking side-by-side with shopping bags in hand, giggling to themselves, mothers holding their children’s hands. These sites were so familiar, because they are cross-cultural, and ultimately in every city, whether it be New York, on the other side of the globe in Vietnam, or even in Morgantown, sites like those will always exist.

Click on the image for the Ho Chi Minh City Photo Gallery