Trip to Hanoi

Trip to Hanoi gave me a deeper look at the Vietnamese culture. I thought I understood what the Vietnamese were about until I realized that I really had no idea.
This article was about an American writer who had anti-war feelings felt and saw on his trip to North Vietnam. He was caught in questioning a lot of what they were about because he was still looking at the culture as an outsider. He wanted to get away from his American character and truly be immersed in the culture to better understand it.
"In Vietnam, everything seems formal, measured, controlled, planned." (pg.227) They always showed the proper decorum and hospitality to visitors by always giving to them, even if it meant they would be left without. This is a great quality that shows that they don't expect to receive as long as they can give.
After the reading, I understood the Vietnamese to be people who don't waste their words and actions, to them, everything has a purpose. They are people who are discreet and would rather keep harmony in a relationship then to get their own, personal feelings across and risk hurting someone else. (Which is a totally reversed idea in our country) They never let their feelings get the best of them. They are people who are sincerely polite and respectful. This is shown in the way they handle the idea of sex.
To the Vietnamese, sex is something that is private and sacred. The writer talked about how reserved they are and how public displays of affection are never 'public'. The Vietnamese were very respectful of the difference between sexes and so it was rare for a married couple to take part in informality. They found it rude for profanity to be used in a conversation, no matter how comfortable a group was with each other.
I really appreciated this idea of social behavior because it is something that is rare in our society. Sex and profane language are everywhere. We make sure to get our point across, even if we risk hurting someone. Yes, I think I am blessed to be an American because I have rights but I think that our society has lost moral. Being free is an amazing right but sometimes, our words and our actions are too free and can sometimes be seen as disrespectful.
I also thought found a new sense of respect for they Vietnamese when I read about how they had created a burial spot for an American pilot who had died in a plane crash. If it had been anyone else, anyone else who's country was being burned and destroyed by the enemy, they would have left the body there to rot. That person would have felt that the American pilot got what he deserved. Or maybe that's the way we would see it. But not the Vietnamese, they did what they thought was right and humane. They did what they would like for someone else to do for their soldier. They gave the pilot a proper burial and kept his grave clean so that someday, when the war was over, his family could come and take his body home.
This was just a beautiful thing to do because this action showed that the Vietnamese had no ill feelings or hate toward the Americans. These people who had every right to be angry because their homeland was being destroyed, instead, showed that they considered us their friends.
This article showed me a beautiful way to live life. A way that is giving, respectful, and proper. No matter what, I love my country and I appreciate what I have, but I still think this is a great way to live. These people truly appreciate life for what it is and do not think get caught up in little things such as self and materialism.