Points of thought

There were quite a few pre-conceived notions that I carried with me to Vietnam that, within the month I have been here, have been challenged:


Safety
I actually had no idea how safe Hanoi was. I had read stories about people in other parts of Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City that advised to keep your personal things very close to you otherwise they will be "pinched". I have not experienced this personally, however, there are a few teachers who have had their bicycles or motorbikes stolen or their apartments broken into, but that's because they didn't lock their doors properly to prevent this from happening. Also, in terms of safety, I feel completely comfortable walking around the streets in the evening by myself. Not that I do it often, but if I have to I do. It's not like I don't keep my guard up because I do understand that anything can happen, but I also don't walk around expecting someone to assault me at any moment. At first I anticipated Vietnam to be like India because that was my third world point of reference, but men aren't as disgusting and derogatory towards women as they are in India. I, nor has any woman that I have met here, have not been physically assaulted or vocally harassed by any man in Vietnam. Stared at, yes, but that's because I'm a goofy looking foreigner.

Religion
Prior to coming to Vietnam I expected signs of Buddhism to be everywhere. I thought everyone was super spiritual and if i wanted to learn more about Buddhism I wouldn't have to do too much searching. With the exception of several pagodas scattered around the city, and the small shrines to Buddha in the front of most shops and homes, I don't find too many people to be that religious.

Women Riding Motorbikes
When I first arrived in Hanoi a sight that caught me off guard was women riding motorbikes. Again, with India as my reference (bad idea), I didn't expect to see any women driving motorbikes or cars...that was something that their brothers, husbands, or fathers did for them. But nope! Just like in the US where almost everyone owns a car almost everyone in Hanoi owns a motorbike, and that includes women.

Poverty
I think from now on I will stop using one country as a reference guide for another. I should have known better anyhow. I thought that while walking through the streets of Hanoi I would be approached by extremely impoverished men, women and children begging for money much like I experienced during my time in India. It's not like that at all in Hanoi! A few times late at night I have been approached by a child or a developmentally disabled woman, but that has only happened on two or three instances. It's not that there aren't poor people in Hanoi because there certainly are, but they are not living on the streets relying on begging to survive. I don't want to say that most people in Hanoi are well off, but many aren't doing too bad. There are a lot of universities in Hanoi and most adults between 19 and 24 are attending one of them. Parents are very adamant about sending their children to university either in Hanoi or abroad especially if they can learn English while away. One of my landlords' sons is studying in Malaysia for animation, and their other son is studying in Hanoi for architecture.

Western Influence
I was quite surprised to find how much the West has had an influence on Hanoi. You can find almost any food from any country either in a restaurant or in a supermarket, yes supermarkets. Since I've been here I have eaten: Pizza, falafel, hummus, steak from Australia, vegetable lasagna, roasted veggies on foccaccia with pesto, hamburgers, fish and chips, and all sorts of Indian and Japanese food as well....and it's all delicious!

The way people dress is not too much different from the way we dress in the US. While I was packing to come to Vietnam I kept the concept of "conservatism" in the back of my mind. That meant not bringing shorts or skirts that may be considered too short, shirts that may be thought of as too low etc, but apparently women just wear everything and anything here! My only point of reference is in Hanoi, but I hear that Ho Chi Minh city is even more laid back than Hanoi, so I can only imagine what the women are able to wear. Obviously in the smaller towns and villages this type of thing probably doesn't swing.
I'm sure this all has to do with President Clinton lifting the 30-year trade embargo on Vietnam in 1994. Since then development in Vietnam has been booming. It seems that everyday in the newspaper you can read about a new project being built by a foreign developer. Of course in some ways this is good for the country because it will bring more money into the country, but on the other hand it will bring in more people which will inevitably worsen the pollution. It will be interesting to see what Hanoi will look like in 5 years. It will probably be almost unrecognizable.