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deanzavietnam2016 
Journal #3
The past week has been a blur. And this second week seems like it moved even faster. After returning from Ha Long Bay, I felt renewed. It’s hard to grasp each moment and savor it because it continues to slip out of my hands as time moves faster. There is a sort of surrealism to each experience from city to city. After getting off of the night train in Lao Cai, meeting our guide Say, having breakfast then stopping by the boarder of China, I was still trying to wrap my head around that fact that I was in Asia. We continued to journey through the day to a market filled with indigenous minorities of Vietnam. It was very interesting walking around this market and interacting with some of the natives. As a unit, we all pitched in to buying a local farmer’s fermented corn whiskey that was stronger than anything I’ve tasted in the states. We then became loud Americans and I became self conscious. Lets go back to the bus and try not to cause too much attention. I was still adjusting to being the Phi Chau that stuck out like a sore thumb. We then went on a river ride through a village then a boat ride on the river, finally arriving to a Mom and Pop restaurant and ate deliciousness. Though we all seemed to want to fall asleep after every meal, we kept going.
We then took the bus up the rainy hills of Sapa and after reaching the hotel, I was overwhelmed by the nostalgic scenery and vibrations radiating from the near by villages where the Muong people lived. I couldn’t help but think about globalization and how right out side of my window was the most hypnotizing view of the mountains, hills and clouds that seemed like a painting yet the houses right below seemed to be where locals lived a much simpler life. I could hear the kids playing outside with each other and chanting. After staying one night in Sapa, it was over. We’re back on the night train back to Ha Noi and getting ready for Hue, Ha Long Bay, and Hoi An,then Saigon
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Journal #4
For the night in Ha Long bay, Tom stayed with us and took us for a scroll through out the night. Another night market. He explained his perspectives on why people had mixed views on Ho Chi Minh. That was the one thing that confused me most of all. Though we were warned by Mr. Swensson to not talk about politics, I felt that Tom was trustworthy and truly open to talk about anything. We discussed the views of the south and the north and Obama coming to Vietnam. We spoke of the young lady rapper in the crowd that talks about social justice in her music and raps in Vietnamese. I really wanted to meet her. That night ended up mushrooming into a sober surprise in the hotel swimming pool after hours where we did laughing yoga, creeped around the camera-filled sauna and felt like teenage children addicted to the rush of possibly not getting caught. And we didn’t get caught but we had to have been watched. Ha Long Bay was beautiful. We were scheduled for a boat ride across the bay to see the many thousand rock islands sprinkled across the waters. We almost didn’t make it due to Vinh getting lost. There were so many people and Tom had to keep track of our 20 person team. After we all got settled and on the boat, I looked around and saw apartments on our left along the side of the shore right at the crescent of the sea dock. I wonder how much the would go for now and how much they’ll go for in the near future. The foreign investor globalization idea came to be in that moment. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that as the boat moved forward. Riding in the boat made me reflect on how many times I’ve actually been in a boat in my life and I couldn’t count how many times on one finger. The water was almost perfect aside from the tourist trash floating on the surface of the water. We traveled to a tourist cave and back. It was truly relaxing being on the water and returning. Hue was our next stop. Tom was a hard act to follow. He even stayed on the train because our rooms were double booked and he fought to the end for our comfort and did it on his day off. I won’t ever forget Tom
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Journal #5
Hue was one of my favorite cities that far along on the trip. It was relaxing and beautiful. We we didn’t get a chance to stay there long but our stay there was great. The people were friendly, the atmosphere was inviting and the energy of the land resonated with me. This was the night of Mien’s 21st birthday so a small group of us decided to go out and share the occasion with her. We walked down to a club called Brown Eye. On the way, I saw another African male and caught cool conversation with him. He was traveling from London and was stopping by the area with his partner. We then exchanged facebooks and moved on. It was said to be a nice club to go to on yelp and surprisingly the music was booming, the esthetic was interesting and the party was going. We didn’t even enter the building and one of the hostess told Kassie she had brown eyes and she gets some free shots. We proceeded to tell her Mien’s 21st birthday was here and they ended up giving us a free round all the way around! We danced and grooved and danced. There was surprisingly a huge amount of european tourists. The Mien was having a great time and dancing her way into womanhood. We returned sweaty and tired since every night before going out was a true struggle do to the fatigue of non-stop action everyday with no rest. I’ll never forget that night.
We continued to Hoi An which in itself was an interesting stay. This seem to be the first real rest we received throughout the whole trip. The sunset at the hotel was so impressive. I also saw the African gentlemen from Hue traveling around there as well. Hoi An seemed to be heavily hit by Australian tourism and the local business seemed to cater to the liking of foreigners. This also directly impacted the price of everything. Things seemed to be getting more expensive the further South we went. Food was great, pretty much everywhere we ate. We also got a chance to get on another boat and release candle lanterns on the water. A bigger group was ready to party for Mien’s birthday now that we got rested. We went out by the river to the downtown part of Hoi An where all the clubs were and had a ball. It was truly special and we stayed out so late, prolonging our seriously sleep deprived bodies and woke up to a morning presentation.
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Journal #6
From Hoi An, we made a move to Danang. On the bus rides, we continued to have class and have discussions around the many interesting articles from our readings. I was trying my best to be as engaged as possible though my body was barely pushing forward. I had no idea of the beauty that was coming. With our new guide created an awesome experience for us. He guided us to awesome restaurants and accommodated for our slow movement as a unit due to our fatigue. He then scheduled for us to take a bike ride through the city all the way to the new temple on the hill where the Lady Buddha overlooks the city. The bike ride through the city was a workout and was extreme going up but when getting to the top, the view was beyond astonishing and unreal. I was intrigued and delighted of the fact that a female spiritual figure was watching over the city. On our way down, we took a different route taking us through the the city where I saw a majority of Vietnamese natives and this was an awesome break from seeing so many tourist. The irony. As we ride on and get closer to the hotel, we cross the dragon bridge on bicycle. By this time it is after dark and the lights were changing and warping. This was the most amazing moment of the trip for me. My breathe was taken away by this reality that I felt was like a dream. When returning to the hotel, we looked across the river reflecting the lights of the dragon bridge and across was the butterfly bridge and just beyond that was the Lady Buddha looking at us all. Something inside of me knows that I’ll return at some point
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