As preparation for our trip, we were all required to read a book called Vietnam-Culture Smart! that gave us a general sense of what we would see during our time here. The book includes information on Vietnam’s history, its customs, holidays, and also information on its popular tourist sights. Vietnam-Culture Smart! describes the Cu Chi Tunnels as a “Chance to crawl through a labyrinthine, claustrophobic tunnel network to experience the life of Viet Cong guerillas hiding from American Attack” (Murray 114). The Cu Chi Tunnels were also the location of the base operations for the Tet Offensive. Although traveling through the tunnels was quite claustrophobic, there were a lot more open spaces than I expected. Furthermore, we also got to see the traps the Viet Cong set up to create many problems for Americans attempting to invade the area. I was astounded at the hidden entrances. If you were to look around, you would have never had any idea that there was a door leading into these tunnels.
One of the other major differences is that even though there are hundreds of kilometers of tunnels in the area, the tunnels we checked out were individually no longer than 15 meters. I found this to be surprising because I thought that once we entered the tunnels, we were going to be crawling through a much longer network of tunnels.
In terms of understanding Vietnamese Culture and society, I found the section on the decision-making process in Culture Smart to be the most helpful section because it is something I have to do every day in my interactions with the Vietnamese. If Vietnamese people give you an array of choices, it is best not to say something along the lines of, “Oh I am good with whatever” or “Anything works for me”. In these situations, they will ask you the same question in a non-confrontational way. I am happy that I got to learn this prior to coming to Vietnam because it has helped me more easily maneuver conversations and interactions.
Tomorrow, I will be visiting Thien Viet Securities, a capital investment company, and I will also visit the famous Ben Thanh Market where I will hopefully barter down some souvenirs I want to bring back with me.
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