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St. John's Students in Vietnam
Third Entry

This first part of this entry is written by Jillian Sandoval, and the second part by Dave Harrow.

Hanoi, Vietnam - We left off with us going to dine at the Snake Restaurant. Dean Le has always wanted to go, and he was very excited that we were all interested in going with him. This Snake Restaurant was a ONCE in a lifetime experience that I would not repeat. But, it is part of the Vietnamese culture, so I thought I would try it.

The restaurant was filled with jars of snakes. When we sat down at the table a bottle of snake wine was placed at our plates. They actually kill the snake right in front of you! Dave, who is very afraid of snakes, cowered in the back corner of the table, as far away as he could get. I stood on top of the chair - just in case he slithered away I wasn't standing on the floor. When they killed the snake they drained the blood and cut away the heart. The heart was placed on a dish and continued to beat for about 10 minutes. The drained blood was mixed with rice wine, and some of our party drank it with parts of the heart.

Both Dave and I declined the offer to drink the blood. The table was actually split into two sections, the snake side and the French fry side. We ate the chicken and rice but strayed away from the snake. Dave, however did try one of the nine snake dishes. One thing that I noticed is that when chicken is served, they serve the entire chicken, head, claws and all. A couple of times I had started to eat the chicken and when I noticed the head starring back at me, I lost my appetite.

The next morning arrangements had been made for us to spend the day with Vietnamese students. Hanh, who attends St. John's, is also traveling with us so we spent the day with her friends and their motorbikes. I was a little apprehensive about riding on the back of the motorbikes, but after about 5 minutes, I relaxed. My tour guides name was Hanh and, while we were on the bike, she kept trying to talk to me and point out major landmarks. I just wanted her to pay attention to the road!

We spent the day going to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the Furst National University of Vietnam that was established in 1076, and we went to the Hao Lo Prison (Hanoi Hilton). Vietnamese from everywhere come to pay their respects to "Uncle Ho", so the line was about three hours long. International tourists are escorted almost directly to the front of the line. We found this ironic because this was the man that Americans fought against during the Vietnam War, yet we received preferential treatment over the Vietnamese who were coming to pay respects to their national hero. People wait for hours to walk through the room, which takes about 20 seconds. You must remain silent, be dressed properly, and, as Dan, one student who is part of our group abruptly found out, keep your hands out of your pockets.

The First National University of Vietnam was founded in 1076 on Confucian teachings. Students studied for years to pass the national exams and to be placed in high-ranking government positions. It was truly fascinating to be there. Students to this day, including ourselves, burn incense and pray for good marks.

This next part is written by Dave. The trip to the Hoa Lo Prison (Hanoi Hilton) was one of the most powerful moments thus far for me. The Vietnamese call this prison the "French Prison" referring to the imprisonment of their "Patriots" during the French occupation and revolution. They hold this as a place of national pride and try not to remember its use to hold the American Pilots. John McCain was one of the most infamous prisoners held there. The Vietnamese government however places a large plaque outside two rooms set aside to show "how well" the Americans were treated. We however, know the atrocities committed to these American prisoners by the Vietnamese government.

Many men still bare the scars. We found it very ironic that the sign Read, "Many of the pilots detained in Hoa Lo Prison by our ministry of Interior, though having committed untold crimes on our people, the American pilots suffered no revenge once they were captured and detained. Instead, they were well treated with adequate food, clothing, and shelter." This was obviously a bold faced lie, and really upset me. While the Vietnamese no longer hold anger towards Americans, and the country as a whole is far different from the way it was during the war, this was a reminder of the war and how terrible it was. It is very easy to forget the history of this country, but it all came rushing back to me when I viewed the American exhibit. We, however, know that the Americans were not perfect in the treatment of captured Vietnamese, it was a far cry from the atrocities committed against the American Pilots.

It was a very powerful visit.

Later in the day I had a very positive experience with the Vietnamese people. In general, the Vietnamese are an incredible population and are full of kindness and incredibly honest. For example, one woman chased me down the street because I forgot my change (about 0.30 American). As one Vietnamese student told me, "We are a peace loving people" and I truly believed it. There is very little presence of law enforcement, yet it seems like there is little need for it. Since our war with them, there have been little, if any, violent acts in Vietnam.

One example of the incredible population was when I went to church with Paula and Fr. Maher. It was truly an incredible experience to see how the Vietnamese Catholics worship. There were thousands of people there - to the point where there were about 200 people gathered outside the doors of the church in the streets because they couldn't fit. Toward the back of the church they had extra seats that were little plastic stools that we sat on. When we arrived there were no seats, yet the people, knowing we were visitors, made a big point of giving up their seat so we could have one. To listen to these people sing was one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. It is truly a beautiful language, even when they are talking it sounds like they are singing, as Vietnamese is a very tonal language. To them one word may mean five different things, depending on how they say it. The whole experience made me realize how great the people are and their culture truly is.

Jillian and I are eager to hear from anyone who is reading these. We would love to hear from you and answer any questions. You can e-mail us here in Vietnam at david.harrow01@stjohns.edu or jillian.sandoval01@stjohns.edu. That's all for now. We will post again soon.