With great effort and inconvenience, we travelled to the other side of this planet only to find it ain't that different than our side.
Our guide yesterday was an energetic and very smart 27 year old Vietnamese lady named Loc. I can't say she's typical. We haven't met enough locals to make that conclusion but she would fit in very well with the 27 year old ladies we know in Canada.
She speaks 3 languages very well. She's a card carrying atheist...probably goes to the meetings (that's a joke). Lives at home with mom and dad who are also atheists. Her dad felt abandoned by the Buddhism faith years ago and that appears to have rubbed off on Loc. Her dad is 60, a retired biologist and figures that since all his friends are dying around him, he must be next. She told us that jokingly. He used his biology education to diagnose the health of his kids...by smelling their poo. Those biologists! Don't you love having them at your parties?
Her dad is an avid reader and loves to watch American movies. Her mom is a diabetic addicted to chocolate and watches a lot of Chinese movies. They have 4 dogs that they have to watch closely else a neighbour might poison them and dine on the remains.
Her grandfather worked for the Americans during the war but escaped the Education Camps in 1975 by proving to them that he helped the Viet Cong. He's now suffering from dementia but occasionally speaks French, a remnant from the years France was occupying the country.
Loc has travelled extensively to Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and more only to conclude her life in Vietnam is pretty good. These countries don't have much to offer that is an improvement on what she has now. She was moved by the children in Cambodia that ran around naked because the families couldn't afford clothes. At great expense, she travelled to Hanoi to interview for a visa to visit her uncles in America. The dour clerk she met denied her the visa. She was single and unemployed and was considered a risk to emigrate. She concluded that her application was predetermined to be rejected.
Her family is addicted to their phones like most modern day families.
Most of her friends are gay. Homosexuality is not illegal and in her view, an accepted lifestyle.
She's also a published author having penned a children's book. She gave us a copy in English to read to our grandkids.
Employees of the Vietnamese government, Loc's mom was one, are not allowed to have more than 2 children. Loc was the third child and her mom was punished....no promotions at work and a reduced pension.