“Cho mot nuoc ep cam” = “I want an orange juice.”
I’ve ordered heavenly fresh-squeezed, sugary, Vietnamese orange juice so many times here that the phrase is the most natural Vietnamese I speak (yes, it beats out “thank you” and “hello.”) As this is the last blog post I will make during my time in Saigon, I thought it was an appropriate blog title. I will pay homage to Vietnamese orange juice until the day I die.
These past few days in Saigon, I’ve done a lot of great exploring. I’ve bought pants at the local market for $3.50 and Arsenal, Chelsea, and Leicester City soccer kits for $4.00 each. I’ve tried and failed to haggle with local Vietnamese. We visited the War Remnants Museum, a bright pink Catholic Church, and a really cool Buddhist temple. We became regulars at various coffee shops and somewhat regulars at the local club. I can now cross the street relatively confidently! (although it’s probably false confidence, like the old blindfolded lady in Mulan crossing the street with her lucky cricket).
I’ve ordered heavenly fresh-squeezed, sugary, Vietnamese orange juice so many times here that the phrase is the most natural Vietnamese I speak (yes, it beats out “thank you” and “hello.”) As this is the last blog post I will make during my time in Saigon, I thought it was an appropriate blog title. I will pay homage to Vietnamese orange juice until the day I die.
These past few days in Saigon, I’ve done a lot of great exploring. I’ve bought pants at the local market for $3.50 and Arsenal, Chelsea, and Leicester City soccer kits for $4.00 each. I’ve tried and failed to haggle with local Vietnamese. We visited the War Remnants Museum, a bright pink Catholic Church, and a really cool Buddhist temple. We became regulars at various coffee shops and somewhat regulars at the local club. I can now cross the street relatively confidently! (although it’s probably false confidence, like the old blindfolded lady in Mulan crossing the street with her lucky cricket).
Despite all these adventures, however, I want this blog post to focus on observations/things I have learned about the inequality in Vietnam. Saigon is huge and sprawling with 24 districts, and we are fortunate enough to live in the center of District One: the richest and the home to all important government buildings/monuments. For the most part, there are no snooty or pretentious vibes like you would get in rich areas of NYC or SF. Our Vietnamese buddies, who attend the university across the street, are extremely humble and chill. I’ve always known that District One is theoretically the “rich area” of Saigon, but it seems so normal that I didn’t really give it a second thought. |
Today, however, we took a cab into District 5 ($1.50 each for two 20 minute cab rides!) and walked around Chinatown. Chinatown was by no means mired in poverty, but it was definitely poorer and less touristy than District One. Infrastructure was worse (narrower sidewalks composed of more broken bricks), no real coffee shops, cafés, or pharmacies could be found (only local shops set up by local merchants selling various odd items), and tourists were definitely not the norm. It wasn’t a shock—I was somewhat expecting it and still had a great time looking around, but it was definitely different. I think it was an important reminder that the Vietnam we saw while walking around District One in Saigon is absolutely not the norm.
And that was just District 5. We sat through a couple of lectures with Dr. Christophe Robert about inequality in Vietnam, during which he showed us some very compelling maps. One of them is below:
And that was just District 5. We sat through a couple of lectures with Dr. Christophe Robert about inequality in Vietnam, during which he showed us some very compelling maps. One of them is below:
Saigon is in the middle of the light green area in the south of Vietnam; Quang Tri (where we will be spending the majority of our summer) is one of the orange central provinces. Clearly, compared to the rest of Vietnam, Saigon is extremely privileged—development efforts have been centered here while more rural/mountainous areas have been completely ignored. When I see some run down buildings, or walk by beggars on the street in District One, I have to remember that that’s just the fly sitting on the tip of the iceberg in terms of less-than-ideal conditions in Vietnam. It reminds me of how extraordinarily privileged I am, and makes the work we are doing in Quang Tri so much more important given the gravity of the situation. It puts us, as temporary full-time tourists, in a weird position as well, since it is possible that tourism has contributed to the increase of inequality in Vietnam (this is what I interpreted from Christophe’s lecture, but I could be wrong).
DukeEngage has succeeded in taking us out of the “Duke bubble,” but I think we may be experiencing a bit of a “Saigon bubble” in Vietnam. While I love this city, and am so thankful for getting the opportunity to explore it, I think we’re all excited to board a plane to rural Quang Tri tomorrow to pop that bubble.
DukeEngage has succeeded in taking us out of the “Duke bubble,” but I think we may be experiencing a bit of a “Saigon bubble” in Vietnam. While I love this city, and am so thankful for getting the opportunity to explore it, I think we’re all excited to board a plane to rural Quang Tri tomorrow to pop that bubble.