Mary in Vietnam, statue at Notre-Dame Basilica in Saigon (was
said to have shed tears during my last visit in October 2005),
all photos © 2008 by ybonesy. All rights reserved.
I remember one particular moment during a trip to Cuba in 1992. I was talking to a Cuban professor at the national university. We were all over the map—Clinton’s relaxing the embargo, Brazilian investment in Havana, the rationing of electricity that caused “lights out” in our hostel the night before and prevented us from having coffee that morning. I was midstream in a sentence when suddenly he stopped me.
“Please, woman, don’t use tú (familiar ‘you’ form) with me!”
I was dumbfounded. What did he mean? Had I overstepped my bounds?
We’d been talking for 30 minutes, gesturing with arms and hands, laughing, hitting it off. He wanted me to refer to him as usted? That’s what you called strangers and elders and higher-ups.
“You’re the enemy,” he went on, seeing the confusion on my face. “I wouldn’t want anyone to think you’re my friend.”
Thomas Friedman says the world is flat, and to find myself in this lovely hotel with internet hook-up, my daughters’ clear voices on the other end of the receiver, and the Democratic Convention on television, it’s easy to believe that the world is not only flat; it is teensy-weensy. It’s also easy to forget, like I did in Cuba, that there are fundamental differences not so much in the way we are as humans but in what we can and can not do.
It took me two days and some not terribly sophisticated finagling of code to access wordpress.com from Vietnam. Vietnamese government censors the internet and has used firewalls to block content “opposing the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, disturbing security, economy, social order… and undermining the nation’s fine tradition and custom.”
Bloggers are persistent and creative creatures, though, and they seem to have managed to exercise their voices in spite of the government. And thank goodness. Vietnamese bloggers have a lot to share, I imagine, just as any citizen of the world might.
I remember back in 1992, when the internet was still a baby, we talked a lot in Cuba about what would happen if people got access to the rest of the world via the web. “There will be change,” was the consensus.
What that change is exactly and how fast it happens…well, that’s yet to be fully understood.
For now, all I can say is, change is good. Here’s to change—positive change—in the U.S. (Yes, we can), in this unbelievable fast-moving Ho Chi Minh City (named after the revolutionary who once brought a different kind of freedom), in countries all over the world whose citizens are ready to join the world in speaking up about everything, from Doesn’t James Carville drive you crazy? to My anxiety is doing quite well considering to You gotta see the fruit here.
You really do gotta see the fruit here. And on that note, I think I’ll run down to the cafe to get some.
I am so happy to hear that you are there in one piece, are mostly awake, and have managed to photograph and post. ybonesy, the photographs are…amazing, fascinating, confounding! So much to try to grasp while gazing a few million pixels of colors. I just want to look and look and look.
How I wish I could see with my very own eyes (ah, yes, AND camera) but yours seem to be a good substitute. Keep them coming.
BTW, that fruit looks pretty yummy. Have you had a taste of everything?
Take care.
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Oooh, you gotta try all the fruits in Vietnam. They are sweet, some of them are juicy, and some of them make you feel like you’re in paradise (exotic places)! Great photos!! 🙂
The green fruits look like persimmons that are not yet ripe, but when they are ripe, they are delicious! The purple fruits look like Mangosteens, and I don’t think I have tried those before. And the reddish fruits that kinda looks like a small cabbage is green dragon fruits, which I don’t think I tried those before either.
Here’s a pretty good link that describes the fruits of Vietnam. I had to go and hunt for this because I know the names of the fruits in Vietnamese instead of English! 😀
http://vietnam.sawadee.com/fruits.htm
Some fruits are expensive to buy but worth the money because they are soooo good! However, you probably recognize a few such as mangoes, pineapples and bananas.
Anyway…
yb, I’m so glad you’re doing well in Vietnam! I wish I could be there where you are since it’s my family’s home country. I need to visit there someday!
Oh, and yes, speaking one’s own mind is dangerous, because not all countries have the freedom of speech as we do in America. It’s sad but true. AND it’s even worse for women since in many countries/cultures, their voices do not mean anything in their societies. And with the Internet as the most powerful tool of communication, I hope that there will be positive change to the world so that we can all speak our own mind (within good reason and consideration of others) and not be punished for it.
Oh, and Happy Women’s Suffrage Day! I wrote a haiku/senryu on it.
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AMAZING post. Beautiful photographs. Thanks.
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Thanks, Jo (and Bo and a~lo).
a~lotus, thanks especially for taking that extra time to find the exotic fruit links. It’s perfect. Now I can refer back to all the fruits we’ve been talking about at meals. I am struck by how fruits enter into every meal. I love the food here, btw.
OK, so yes, I also want to say that I took a photo of the chom chom. That is one of my favorite fruits just from how it looks. Unfortunately, the photo is pretty out of focus, so I didn’t post it.
During lunch one day, my Vietnamese friends told me about the smell of the Durian. I understand that either you love it or you hate it. One of my friends said her husband made them stop the car and move the fruit to the trunk.
I love the sound of Custard Apple, and so I plan to try that one tomorrow morning. In fact, now that I have the website as my guide, I will try most everything. (Hope to report back on that, Bo.)
I have to say, it hadn’t even dawned on me when I was having trouble getting into wp.com that it had to do with firewalls. Even when I narrowed it down to wp.com, I still didn’t click on what the problem was. I guess it really hit home, especially because there are so many aspects of the political system here that have also factored in to my work. It was a big light bulb going on for me.
wp.com Support was right on target with the fix, and I should have mentioned that in the post. Good job, wp Support, if you happen to read this.
I’m loving it here. I think I’ll be coming back quite a bit this year and next, and something about that feels really good to me.
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ybonesy, beautiful post! The photographs are amazing. So exotic. I love them. I am glad you are loving the countryside and the people of Vietnam. And that you were able to get your post out. I am loving hearing from you on red Ravine.
I also wanted to thank WordPress who has a new 24 hour turn-around time for their support. They responded within an hour to my email, ready with possible solutions. Thank you, WordPress Support!
ybonesy, after you couldn’t get in, Liz and I were talking about it that night and she mentioned that it might be the country’s firewalls. Then I started thinking about it. We watched a show last weekend with Bill Moyers on all the behind-the-scenes things that went on in Beijing in preparation for the Olympics. Some of it wasn’t pretty, including the 1000’s of people who worked under backbreaking conditions to build the BirdsNest and the Olympic complex. And none of our American Corporate sponsors spoke out about it. (Yes, $$$ – money rules).
I don’t want to take anything away from the athletes that competed there. And I fully supported them being able to do that (and watched the Olympics). Yet, at the same time, I knew there were probably some unsavory things going on behind-the-scenes. Then there you were in Vietnam, unable to post anything for the blog — ANYTHING at all. It’s all kind of surreal. And reminds me how much we take our individual freedoms for granted in this country.
It will be interesting to see how your views change over time and over your many visits coming up. I can’t wait to hear more stories of your visit.’
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a~lotus, great comment and thanks for the link to the different fruits (some of them I’ve never even heard of!). It also seems you have prior knowledge of some of the freedom of speech issues that ybonesy has run into. And thanks for bringing up how challenging it can be for women, in particular.
I thought of that many times when I watched Hillary speak at the Democratic National Convention last night. How much has changed for women in this country (she said this beautifully when she said her mother was born before women had the right to vote — and then her daughter was able to vote for her own mother for president) — and yet how hard it still is to elect a female president. Still, the Democratic party is all about change this year. And learning to walk our talk — to unite when it really counts. I am grateful every day to be in a country where we can fight for the rights of the disenfranchised — no matter who they are. And speak our own minds with clear voices.
I also read your haiku on yesterday’s anniversary of women being granted the right to vote through the 19th amendment passed in 1920. I’m right there with you! Let’s not forget how hard we all have to fight for all forms of human rights.
ybonesy, I was wondering what you are noticing there about the roles of women. Just curious when you get a chance to respond.
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Custard apples are one of my favorite!! 🙂
And yes, durian is the black-and-white type of fruit. You either hate it or like it. For me, I hate it! It tastes and smells like vomit to me. UGH. Just being near it makes me nauseous!
So I wouldn’t be surprised if people want to move that fruit in the truck! ROFL. Think “skunk fruit”!! Hehe. 😉
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QM, in many of my poems, I write a lot on “voice”, the importance of it, how powerful it is, etc., so I can understand yb’s issues that she runs into. I think that when one travels to a different country is when one realizes the impact of “look before you leap” or “think before you speak”. I’ve never travelled out of the good ol’ USA, but since I’m a people-person and based on my experiences with various groups of people, I can imagine how difficult it is!
Yes, the diverse face of America is forever changing, and even though America isn’t utopia, people take it for granted and FORGET that America is whole lot better than many countries who do not enjoy the freedom that we have.
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Dear Ybonesy,
So good to hear from you! The photos are fantastic! And the post, very interesting to read about the firewall problem & the Cuban professor & his statement to you. You must have been in shock hearing those words “You are the enemy.” It just shows that other countries view us as just that. How sad, but I know a lot of progress has been made via the internet.
I remember my ex-husbands photos of Vietnam & it certainly looks much the same in many ways, though I know a lot has changed since then. A beautiful country! Hope you enjoy your trip & look forward to more from you.
Take care,
D
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Fantastic post!
I’m glad to hear you arrived safely and that you found a way to blog. Your photos are wonderful. 🙂
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Grrrreat Photography…love those mannequins!!! and the fashion is beautiful. Facinatiing patterns. So glad you’re safe and happy. Your Daughters must be very proud of their Mum.
This post puts me in mind of a quote by my favorite writer…
“Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience and rebellion that progress has been made”.
From the wise and witty… Oscar Wilde
My best yb!
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Quick comment before heading out for the day. Heather, the girls are pretty excited about my being here, although also missing me. We send emails often and check in by phone in the morning and before their bedtime. (I just got off the phone with them a bit ago.)
They have seen this post and showed it to Jim back home. (Jim doesn’t do computers, but the girls are often on their laptops.)
Great quote by Oscar Wilde. Being as how I have traveled a bit around the world working in the education and workforce fields, I have strong opinions about how rebellion and disobedience cultivate and nurture creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking. What is often most feared is exactly the gem that drives society to excel and thrive.
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ybonesy, well put. diddy, nice letter writing format. 8) heather, love the Oscar Wilde. Reminds me of Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience. Or one of Gandhi’s 7 Deadly Sins: Politics without Principle. You can read the rest of the list at this link: WRITING TOPIC — THE 7 DEADLY SINS (LINK).
ybonesy, some great responses to this post. It’s good to see. I especially like this in your last comment:
I have strong opinions about how rebellion and disobedience cultivate and nurture creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking. What is often most feared is exactly the gem that drives society to excel and thrive.
It would make a great post, maybe when you get back. And I wanted to add that many writers and artists and journalists are often on the edge of civil disobedience, rebellion and critical thinking.
On the Bill Moyers show we were watching last weekend, there was one man in China who tried to exercise his rights to peaceful protest. Apparently, the Chinese government had told the world that their citizens would have that right during the Olympics. The man was interviewed and then, at the end of the show, they aired the last video of the man ever seen as he walked down the street. The next day, he had gotten into a black sedan and has not been heard from since.
These are some serious issues we are talking about. And as a~lotus so eloquently said (#8), even though America isn’t utopia, people take it for granted and forget that it’s a whole lot better than many countries who do not enjoy the rights to individual freedoms we have.
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[…] -related to posts: haiku (one-a-day), MN State Fair On-A-Stick (Happy B’Day MN!), MN State Fair On-A-Stick, Blogger In Vietnam — Is Speaking Your Mind So Dangerous? […]
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Yes, I think if you go back in history, I’m sure we’ll find lots of “civil disobedience, rebellion and critical thinking”. yb has said it very eloquently, if I do say so myself! From that statement (which you highlighted, QM), I’m sure there is soooo much to discuss! I can’t wait to see what others have to say on this topic. I definitely agree that it would be a wonderful future post!
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[…] Blogger In Vietnam – Is Speaking Your Mind So Dangerous? […]
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