Vietnam

Vietnam at peace is a place of beauty,enterprise, and spirit.The Swarthmore travelers wereimpressed by the generosity showntoward Americans. One Vietnamesescholar told us: “We don’t blame thepeople of America for the war. It wasyour government that did it. The warwas something we went throughtogether, something we shared. Now,we are friends.” (There was, however,great concern about the restless spiritsof American soldiers who had diedin battle. Unlike the spirits of theirown dead, which they continue tovenerate and have largely put to rest,the Vietnamese don’t quite knowwhat to do about American ghosts,who are said to still tug at the feet ofvillage farmers.)City streets teem with food stalls,stores, and other enterprises. “Everyoneis doing something,” Roy Dickinson’50 said. “There are almost nobeggars, the markets are thriving, andthere doesn’t seem to be any overallregimentation.” In Hue (top), a barbertakes a break at his sidewalk shop.In Hanoi, there is almost no evidenceof the destruction caused byAmerican bombs. The city of lakes isbustling with automobiles, governmentoffices, factories, and trade.Among the few tranquil places arethe Van Ho Pagoda on West Lake(near right) and the historic Kim LienPagoda (above), where we ate a deliciousvegetarian lunch (bottom farright) cooked by Buddhist nuns.Thousands of Vietnamese Americanstravel to their ancestral homelandeach year. On a beach at ThuanAn, we met a young man (top farright) who asked: “Where are youfrom? I’m from Iowa.” He was with ayoung woman he had met on holiday.“This is a country on a risingwave,” John Etter said. “It’s trying tofind a path from the Third World tothe Second World while dealingopenly with the issues involved indoing that.”18 : swarthmore college bulletin