Culture, Quiz, and the War

We had a historical day here in HCMC, but I'll get to that shortly. The morning started off fairly normal; I had some toast for breakfast (really liking the pineapple and orange jams). We went to UEF for our LAST culture class and language class which is really sad. The presenter today was Nguyen Ngoc Tho, Ph.D., Vice Dean of Faculty of Cultural Studies at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. His focus was on the cognitive culture of the Vietnamese people and different beliefs they have had historically. He covered Yin and Yang and the dualism in life. This also leads to the three powers (the sun/sky, humans, and the earth) and the five elements (earth, fire, water, tree, and metal, each of which has a corresponding color). He shared several traditional stories, several of which included divorce and a woman with two men. He also talked about fertility and its hidden presence in art and sculpture, needless to say he got a lot of laughs. After class, we headed out for ca phe sua da, which was delicious as always. We went back to the classroom for our final language class: the test. We broke into teams and each person had to complete a different language task. We had to translate in both directions, read a conversation, and give a full spiel about ourselves. We didn't keep score... but my team definitely won. We took a bunch of pictures and said "chao co" to the teacher. We had lunch at Kent, delicious as usual, and took our three part trip on the Vietnam War. We started with the Xa Loi Pagoda. I have seen many beautiful catholic churches, but this Buddhist Temple was very different in style, inside and out. The pagoda was also a stronghold for the southern Vietnamese people who opposed the corrupt government put in place after the Geneva Accords. Thich Quang Duc was a Buddhist monk from this Pagoda and strongly opposed Ngo Dinh Diem and the South Vietnamese government. To show the world the pain their people were going through, he led a procession of monks to a street corner several blocks away. He poured gasoline over his body and lit himself on fire. He remained perfectly still through the burning, and the self mutilation was his final sacrifice for his people. We followed his footsteps from the Xa Loi Pagoda to the street corner where there is now a memorial in his honor. A large statue of him surrounded by flames is on the corner, along with a wall displaying that day. It's amazing to consider his great sacrifice by giving up his life in protest, and the will that some have to push for what they believe in. We continued walking and went to the War Remnants Museum; I should mention it was originally called the Exhibition House for US and Puppet Crimes. Outside are several US Army and Air Force tanks and aircraft that were captured by the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. We went inside to see three stories exhibiting violent acts from the US during the war, including bombings, Agent Orange, and the treatment of women and children. It was a very difficult museum to walk through and I fully understand why Dr. Berman doesn't go inside. The only comparison I could make would be to the Holocaust Museum from the former-Nazi prospective; it isn't a good feeling. Although, this museum only represents one side of the war. I know a lot happened on both sides. Moving on... We went back to the hotel where I finally took to time to catch up on my blog. I think I got most parts with the help of a few other blogs. We split up in a few groups for dinner. I went with a group for Vietnamese and I got some delicious shrimp wontons (although they were very slippery and difficult to grab with the chopsticks). We headed back to the hotel were I blogged a bit more and then participated in an intervention for one of the girls on the trip (don't worry, we got it covered). We then found a place to take some UEF students to give back to them for everything they've given us. It's been a very full day, and I definitely got a lot out of it. Tomorrow is my last day! It's sad and happy, but I'll talk more about that tomorrow. I'm just going to make the most out of the time we have left. Until then...