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  Hanoi, Vietnam
Sunday, November 23, 2008

Several of our friends and family wonder how people react to us, perhaps especially as Americans in Vietnam.  So here's a sample of interactions:
Bangkok taxi driver: "Where you live?" "Mexico."  "Mexico? Ah, Charles Bronson, cowboy, love Charles Bronson."
Bangkok stranger: "Mexico?  Ah, near Cuba right?  Your president Castro's brother?"
Cambodia, a little boy who was chatting with Carol at Ankhor Wat: "America?  Ah, new president." Then pointing to his arm: "Black skin." Smile.
Malysian on cruise: "Born in England?  Then you Christian."  "No, I'm Jewish." "But you born in England, so first you Christian, no?"  No.  "Hmm.  Only thing I know about Jewish -- good brains."

In general, it's really nice to not be embarrassed to say we're American, as we have been in previous years.  In general there is definitely Obamania everywhere.  People are so excited about him, so amazed that he could have been voted in, as someone who was relatively unknown, and as an African-American.  From the young and old, Asian and European, everyone mentions him, asks how we feel, etc. 

As for being Americans in Vietnam, people are very warm and welcoming.  Our guide said, "why should we not like American or French tourists?  what's passed is past."  He also explained that within Vietnam this is how people deal with their own North-South backgrounds, that while his parents' generation want him to know what happened and how they suffered, they don't want the younger generation to hold onto anger or grudges.  Indeed, it seems that the Vietnamese are remarkably open and forgiving, while Amercians have held onto a lot of hatred.  (The husband of a friend of ours, when we told him of our upcoming trip said he had no interest in going to a country of (sic) "gooks.")  But here, the war is over and people are happy to see us.

The funniest thing happened today, while I was visiting the Ho Chi Minh museum.  Carol decided to sit outside and wait.  While she waited she had hordes of young Vietnamese asking if they could have their picture taken with her.  They told her she's so beautiful (well, we all know that!!) and were all over her, taking photos, buying her ice-cream, etc.  A similar thing happened when we went to the museum of ethnology and I was exploring an exhibit while she sat and waited, young people came up to her and wanted to talk to her.  They asked her what she likes best about Vietnam and if she finds the people friendly.  She said, yes, very friendly.  A young man said, "we always smile.  We smile because we are very optimistic."

The other side of this coin is that here and there we have been duped by people who smile -- for example, in Bangkok by a tuk-tukdriver who offered us a good price for a ride with him, but then after we'd gone some way, wanted to take us shopping and when we said we didn't want to shop, dropped us where we were, who knew where.

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