The Start of Orientation

After a very long trip, four of my fellow ETAs and I arrived in Hanoi on Saturday night. We were immediately greeted by the staff at our hotel (all of whom already knew our names) and shown to our rooms where we all got some much needed sleep. On Sunday, those of us who had already arrived spent our day exploring downtown Hanoi. Some highlights of the day included a trip to a cafe that overlooks Hoan Kiem lake which sits in the middle of the city, trying Vietnamese Egg Coffee (a sweet cappuccino sort of drink that is made by somehow whipping an egg into a cup of coffee) at the cafe, walking around the lake, and visiting a huge cathedral. My first impressions of Hanoi were extremely positive. Vietnam's capital city is a place rooted in history and tradition that is rapidly modernizing. From old women selling fruit on the street outside of a KFC to skyscrapers that overlook the 19th century temple that sits in the middle of the lake, the juxtaposition between the old and the new is everywhere.

One thing that any visitor to Hanoi must quickly learn to embrace is the traffic. To say that there are no rules of the road in Hanoi is an understatement (and quite literally so, given that it is not uncommon to see motorbikes and even cars on the sidewalk). Cars and bikes drive wherever they want whenever they want. The only common theme about the traffic seems to be that drivers try to avoid hitting pedestrians and other vehicles. Needless to say, given that there are virtually no lulls in the traffic, this makes crossing the street an exhilarating endeavor. For any westerner, it feels as though you are putting your life on the line every time you cross the street. The prevailing strategy seems to be to simply look straight ahead, walk out into the street in front of the oncoming motorbikes (you aren't supposed to walk in front of cars or busses), and walk across the street at an even pace. The key is not to stop, speed up, or slow down because drivers swerve around you based on the speed at which they see you walking. Apparently, you also aren't supposed to make eye contact with any drivers because doing so may give them the idea that you are aware of them and might therefore yield to them. In addition to crossing the street, riding in a taxi gives you a great appreciation for the skill of Vietnamese driving. It's almost like all of the drivers are just playing one big continuous game of "chicken."

Aside from playing in the traffic and exploring the city, yesterday was our first day of official orientation. We spent the day being briefed by embassy officials on: the Vietnamese political system, the Vietnamese economic system, U.S. interests in Vietnam, health, safety, and security in Vietnam, and the Vietnamese education system. We were very lucky to be able to meet with all of the State Department officials and I found them all to be very interesting and informative. While each of the briefings claimed particular focal points, I found there to be a common theme within each. Overall, it seems that while Vietnam has slowly recovered from an extremely long history of occupation, war, and conflict, they are beginning to think very critically about their up-and-coming role in both Southeast Asia and around the world. Due, in part, to an extremely young population, excellent and rapidly developing diplomatic relations with the United States, strong relations with other countries around the world (particularly in Western Europe and Southeast Asia), and an electric sense of opportunity and ambition, Vietnam is currently on the cusp of becoming a major player in both geopolitics and the global economy. What's clear is that, right now, the country is going through a period of intense introspection and while its future remains to be seen, both the Americans and the Vietnamese have high hopes and expectations for an extremely bright future for Vietnam.

Today, we began what will be our regular schedule for the rest of the orientation: teaching lessons in the morning and Vietnamese lessons in the afternoon. More on those parts of the orientation to come!