In This Picture: in Da Nang, Vietnam
On board a passenger train I took from Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam headed north, we met Nguyen and his son Pak. The two shared a train cabin with us and we shared a little stuffed animal and some of our snacks.
Although they didn’t speak much English, Nguyen knew a few words from his time as a Vietnamese soldier in the Vietnam War (“The American War” to those in Vietnam). I fortunately spoke the language of “small child,” and we all got on rather well.
At every moment his dad left for the bathroom, Pak would turn into your typical 4-year old monster: jumping from bunk to bunk, throwing toys and making funny faces. “Kids everywhere, are kids,” my travels have taught me.
As I stepped off the train, Nguyen handed me a piece of paper with his email address scribbled in sloppy English. “Please,” he said, “Email the picture to my son.”
Seems people everywhere, are people too.
[In This Picture: A new series sharing the story behind a particular moment in time, capture in a single frame.]
What you can do now
- Leave a comment in the box below.
- Read about My Tour of Duty in Vietnam
- See a short video: What It’s Like: To Fire A Machine Gun In Vietnam
- Need a laugh? Check out Things That Make Me Laugh: Japan #1
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:12 am
Yes, I think people are the same human-beingly and different culturally.
Even some of the metaphors in languages are alike. In Chinese, we say, (literally translation) the moon is rounder in a foreign country’s sky. meaning, yours– The grass is greener on the other side of the fence.
Zhu Xi, a Chinese Song Dynasty philosopher, said, we are all alike in terms of “气（Qi）”– We put more clothes on when it gets colder. We eat when we are hungry. We all prefer living than dying. We all seek the positive and avoid the negative. It is “理(Li)” that makes us different– We believe in different things and hold different principles and world views.
Similarities make us feel connected. Differences make the world and life interesting.
We could see ourselves from both the same and differences.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:20 am
I sense another ”Guest Traveler” post coming on, those are fantastic points. And though I’m looking for differences, I keep finding similarities.