Members of society can become worked up over many different types of things, be it Americans about Ebola, Kurds about the Islamic State, or Vietnamese about their public space: and when the people become upset, governments usually intervene. The Vietnamese are an old people with many longstanding traditions and practices, their capital city, Hanoi, is […]
The Urban Dream: Rural to Urban Migration in Vietnam
A map of Thu Thiem (New urban area under construction in District 2). Since arriving in Vietnam, I have paid extra attention to the housing infrastructure and standards of living of Vietnamese people. I feel like one’s home is the biggest and most obvious indicator of one’s socioeconomic status. Moreover, it also clearly shows the […]
Trap Trap Trap Trap Trap
What the fuck is a Vietnam? According to Swedish academic, Victor Alneng, Vietnam is a lot of things. She is yesterday’s news, a tourist destination, a unique culture, but most importantly, “Vietnam is a country, not a war.” (Alneng, 462) After having been in Vietnam for 3 weeks studying abroad, I can agree that Vietnam […]
Open up a can of capitalism
If I had to describe my visit to the Coca Cola factory in one word it would be: fantastical. The tour guide and rhetoric surrounding Coca Cola elevated the company and product to almost religious like proportions. Coca cola was a savior; a way out of poverty and a beacon of light and hope for […]
What the F*** Is a Cu Chi?
If you read any Vietnam travel book, one of the first attractions always listed is the Cu Chi Tunnels. Before I came to Vietnam, I was like “cool, tunnels! Sure, I’ll visit them since my book tells me it’s one of the top tourist attractions”! Then I learned the history of the tunnels and read […]
Cracking Open a Fresh Can of Deregulation and Environmental Racism; An Analysis of Coca-Cola
Check out my post about Cracking Open a Fresh Can of Deregulation and Environmental Racism; An Analysis of Coca-Cola!
Tour Guide Fantasy
Reactions of the tour guides at the Ben Dinh, Cu Chi Tunnels On Saturday the 20th of September, the Lewis & Clark Vietnam program went on a half day tour at the Ben Dinh Cu Chi Tunnels recreational park. This district was a significant area during the “Vietnam War”, or what the Vietnamese refer to […]
Tourism In Da Lat: Fake tigers, Coffee Tasting and Gongs
Our weekend in Da Lat was filled with exciting, relaxing and delicious experiences. Da Lat is a hilly city that the French developed during their colonization as a get away (check). On our first day there we took a short drive to some waterfalls. When you walk through the gates there are a couple gift […]
Bow Down For What?
On the drive down to the Mekong Delta, I found myself watching the countryside fly by. I was beginning to zone out when I noticed a large white box on a white platform standing in the rice fields. I was immediately struck by this. I discovered that these were tombs remembering ancestors. The idea of […]
Specialization vs Generality: Observing Food Vendor Diversity
As a class, we decided to delve into the markets of Ho Chi Minh City and observe the day to day economics within the markets and different facets that the participants experience. At the markets I decided to observe the produce vendors and the products that they were selling. By focusing on the type of […]