Welcome to the plastic chair society. We've been traveling through Vietnam for about three weeks now and taking in the culture of yet another Asian society. At first glance you see similarities, the ability to fit whole families on motor bikes, the fashionable face masks and the dedication to farming. However, one thing that Vietnam has perfected is its ability to set up a restaurant on any street corner. All you need is a creative heating vessel and a stack of red and blue plastic chairs. You see locals with the whole set up on the back of their bike and then two minutes later they have twenty people sitting at their make shift restaurant eating delicious creations. Don't go looking for a menu though, often times there's only one thing being served and it's usually dependent on the time of day. It makes the ordering process pretty easy, "how many would you like?"
For me Vietnam has always been the name of a war my father fought in and didn't talk much about. I came here expecting to be overwhelmed with signs of the War and to see massive destruction. Instead I found that people have moved on with their lives and the next generation knows a new world. They'll still talk about the "American" war and the pain that it caused their uncles and brothers but as a whole people are much more focused on themselves and their family's future, then holding a grudge towards Americans or any of the other historical occupiers of their lands. Most are now very supportive of the reunification of their country. We've visited some areas that were severely destroyed during the war and tunnels that were someone's only hope at safety but there has been a lot of rebuilding and growth that hides these battle wounds.
My new vision of Vietnam is kids riding double in uniforms on their way to school, communities of farmers all working together on the next phase of cultivation and street corners with blue and red plastic stools waiting for the next "I'll take two."