Bombing the Bong Son Bridge

The explosion was so loud that it woke up the whole entire city of Bong Son.  I opened my eyes to this loud noise so close by my house. At the same time I saw all of the windows and doors of our house spring wide open.  Things on the shelves in my house were crashing down on the floor.  I heard my mom's terrifying voice called out to us to go in to the more secure room to hide.  I was crouching low
on the floor while there were guns firing outside.  We knew right away that loud noise was a bomb meant to sabotage someone or somthing specific, but we did not know what got hit. 


After what seemed like an eternity, the gun fire wore down, and we all went back to bed. The next morning we found out the bridge that helped us to travel from the village to the city of Bong Son had been sabotaged last night.  It was the saddest sight I have ever seen.  I had always known that our lives were connected to war and we could be killed any time, but seeing the broken bridge, which had taken me and my friends to school, to church, to the market etc. in the city of Bong Son saddened me. It made me realize war was close to home, and we were helpless to do anything to stop it.

Vietnam 1970's Wedding: Thai attends her first wedding

My mom told me one night she would take me to a wedding reception with her in the morning.  Being very young, children often do not attend these important events. Only the adults are invited.  Imagine my excitement.

My mom and I left early for the wedding ceremony at church. She reminded me to get ready.  I was excited not because of the food, but because I had not attended any weddings yet.  I wanted to see what happened. 

We went to the groom's house first.  All the ladies dressed in Vietnamese Traditional Dress (Ao Dai). They were all sorts of different colors with flowers imprinted on their dresses.  Some men also dressed in Ao Dai,

and some wore regular slacks and shirts.  My little brother and I were escorted  to the table where all the kids were sitting while my parents went up to the main room of the house. 

There were big signs all over the house starting at the gate that said "Tan Hon," meaning newly weds.  From the gate through the courtyard into the front door were decorations of red fabric ribbons and flowers.  I noticed that even the landscape pots were tidy and pretty. 

I saw the bride in her red wedding dress woven with golden.  She paired it with a white satin pants and a red round hat.  She topped her dress with outer wear made of sheer fabric rimmed with gold.  I thought she was so pretty.  To me her husband was a different story.  He also wore white satin pants and a long silk shiny blue ao dai. On his head also was a round blue hat but he did not look pretty like the bride.  I thought he looked weird.

Then there was music, but by this time, after the ceremony at the home, introductions of the relatives,

and passing around the teas and gifts, I was tired and ready to go home.  I wanted to get out of my pretty

dress, which I was so excited to put on that morning for the occasion.  I saw some children running around the courtyard and playing. I started to join them, but my mom looked at me with a smile and shook her head.  I knew she wanted me to behave.

I do not know how long a time had passed, but I finally got to hold my mom's hand and go home.  What a relief! I remember thinking weddings weren't fun at all.

My Mother in Vietnam, Now I'm a Mother to Her in America

Taking care of my mom  every weekend is an honor,  a privilege, and a duty  I am glad I am able to share with my siblings.  This Saturday when I was at my mom's,  to my surprise she was not her usual quiet self.  She patted gently on her bed and told me to come lie down next to her.  I came and put my head on her pillow,  my face to her.  To be this close to her, I was able to see how beautiful her skin is for her age.  I giggled to her, "Mom, you are so pretty. Do you think maybe because you have been eating just vegetables,  fruits and milk?"  She did not answer me, but just touched  my face and smiled.  I saw the glistening tenderness in her eyes.  I did not know what she was thinking, but I thought how ironically our positions had changed.  I was the one she was taking care of,  and now I  am taking care of her.

I remember being very young and sick one time.  I did not know what my temperature reading was, but my fever was high.  My mom asked a nurse in the next village to come see me.  He gave me some pills.  I guess it was kind of like Tylenol nowadays.  We did not have antibiotics to help me feel better the next day.  I was in bed with a high fever for days.  My mom did everything she could to help my body fight the virus.  She made me orange juice she picked from the tree.  She cooked me congee with lots of  peppers in  it.  She put a wet towel on my forehead every so often.  Because of the fever I had many weird scary dreams.  Every time I woke in the night, my mom was always there watching over me and hugged me, so I won't be alone.

Now, sometimes my mom wakes up  in the middle of the night and opens the front door. Because I am sleeping and tired, this makes me frustrated at times.  She was so patient with me. I only hope I can be  patient with her. I understand now that no love on this earth can compare to a mom's love,  and my love for my mom is nothing compared to her love for me.  Thanks Mom.

Flood in Vietnam

Flood is something my village had to endure every year.  If we were lucky, we would have one flood every year. Most years we ended up with two or sometimes three floods.  My village was between a mountain, brook and the Lai Giang River.  The river's end connected into the ocean.  When it rained for days, the water would overflow the river and the brook. On top of that we would have water coming from above the mountain and all of that flowed into our village.

Because of the flood, most of our homes in the village had raised foundations.  Sometimes the flood would just hit the foundation and withdraw, and sometimes it would come into our homes and rise high up, almost to the ceiling.  For my parents and the adults this was a
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7083622.stm

hard time, but for us children, when the water started to creep into our streets we were overjoyed. As children we were excited to feel the water at our feet on our own street and yards.
The crickets came out from their holes, so we caught and stored them in jars.  My dog and I used a hollow
door and floated around our yard until the water was too high for safety.  After the fun, we were all soaked
and wet. We went upstairs. My mom would feed us steamed rice with salty fish.  This was the best
meal...ever!

My beloved people  had to suffer not just from the war, but also had to endure so many other catastrophes in life. And yet we were always there for each other. We shared the same values and love as my mom shared when she provided that small pot of steamed rice with the rest of the villager who were there at our house
on a rainy, stormy day.

Midnight Spy Search

The village where I grew up in Viet Nam during my childhood years was a beautiful place, and the neighbors were always looking out for each other. We were like one big family. There were  other villages around us just like us, but we did not know most of them.  One evening, when I was about five or six years old,  the city official came to our home and told us we needed to evacuate the village because they believed we may have communist spies who came to live within us.  They wanted all of us to move to the city and spend the night in the city hall building so they could identify us.

My mom told us to pack an overnight bag, and we crossed over the bridge into Bong Son.  The building was  crowded;  therefore, people that lived next to the building offered their homes to some families to relieve the overcrowding.  We stayed at our great uncle's house, which was across from city hall.  That night we had to sleep on the floor with other people.  I remember I was lying next to my mom. She had a blanket to keep me warm.  In the middle of the night, a group of soldiers came in and woke us up by pointing their flashlights in our faces.  I was very terrified and started to cry.  My mom told me it was okay, not to cry and not to make a scene.  These men came in and looked  at everybody's faces to make sure that there were no unfamiliar faces. They asked the adults a few questions and left.

I did not have a good night of sleep after that.  The floor was uncomfortable, and there were too many people in the house.  Most of all, I was terrified of the soldier's with flashlights.  I did not know who or what those official men were looking for, and why my dad was not there to vouch for his family.  I asked my mom about it the next morning on our way back to the village.  She explained that the soldiers had to make sure that we did not have enemy strangers sneak into our neighborhood to hurt us. Even though dad worked in the city, we had to go through the event just like everybody else, no exceptions.

July 4th, Freedom in America, but Still no Freedom for Vietnam

We are celebrating Fourth of July.  Independence and freedom are something that every human being wishes to have but not everyone gets them.  Many people have to sacrifice everything.  And I am thinking of my
people...of how many decades have gone by and how many lives have died for "Independence and Freedom"?

Yet, my people, my country is still not able to call what we are having in Viet Nam freedom.
Happy 4th of July!
Thai Le

http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index-1945.html

I found this information about the Vietnamese Government. Interesting, diplomatic way of expressing how ineffective socialism has been implemented by the Viet Cong:

Red tape and regulations
As in most countries, bureaucracy is a problem in Vietnam. ‘Law’ is a comparatively new concept (until the 1990’s, Vietnam had no further education law institutions). Much legislation takes the form or regulations and circulars that are passed down to local level for implementation. Interpretations often differ from area to area, and much paperwork is generated in attempts to standardize procedures.

Much administration involves more than one ministry. As communication is almost entirely vertical, there is little co-ordination between different ministries and Departments leading to long delays and frustration. Recently, the government has tried to speed things up by laying down time limits for particular activities, but bureaucrats everywhere are skilled in the art of finding exceptions to such rules and generating more forms to be completed. 


http://www.haivenu-vietnam.com/vietnam-today-governance.htm

Amanda Griffith

Tear Gas and Agent Orange

Have you ever experienced inhaling tear gas?  I have many times during my childhood in Thac Da village.  I did not know how or why it happened or who was it coming from.


The picture to the left is of  Vietnamese Agent Orange victims.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlascar/4607344945/  The North Vietnamese display this in Ho Chi Minh City to criticize the U.S. for its use in the Vietnam War. 


The villagers were just going about their daily business, and then we would first sense this strong smell in the wind blowing by our neighborhood.  My mom would rush us all to the well. She would wet cloths and pass it along to all of us.  We then rushed to brook  where there were water and lots of wind to help us deal with our breathing better.

This was the most horrifying smell of all.  As we breathed, it would follow in to our nostrils, down our throats, our eyes would tear and we felt like we were going to die of gagging .  I do not know how to describe this feeling except  I know it was horrible and do not ever wish this upon anybody.

Today,  sometimes my sisters and I  visit with each other.  As we grow older, we seem to forget
things, but we often tease one another that we are not old, we are just having side effects from "tear gas and Agent Orange."