Temple of Literature and Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum Complex

   Since Saturday was our first real day off since arriving in Hanoi, my roommate and I decided to explore the city and go see some of the touristy things here in the capital. Jonny was out meeting friends and looking for apartments, so Aileen and I decided to have a girls day out and have some fun. I had looked up what were the main touristy things to do in the city and the 2 that seemed the most interesting were the Temple of Literature and Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum Complex.
  We first visited the Temple of Literature. The temple itself is nestled just south of the Old Quarter and is connected to one of Hanoi's oldest and most famous university. Inside there are pillars and slates that if you graduate from the university with a Masters or a Ph.D. you can have your names engraved on them (as told to us by one of the Vietnamese visitors to the Temple- even though I don't think you can do that anymore). The temple itself was small compared to most of the ones I have visited in Asia, but it was still gorgeous!

  Since there were a lot of recent school graduates, many of them were taking graduation pictures at the temple. Many were university graduates, but there were a few students who looked to be in high school as well, maybe they were wanting to go the Univesity and wanted to take pictures there as good luck!

   Another highlight of the temple was actually our interactions with the lady in the gift shop. Whenever I go to a temple, I always try to go to the shop inside and buy something special. This way I have a souvenir from the temple, and it is a good way for me to give back to the temple and monks financially, especially when I have taken pictures in places where there is a possibility that it might be considered rude or disrespectful, ie. inside of the main prayer room (I always make sure that I am respectful of the hall and any practitioners when taking pictures at temples. I wait for practitioners to finish praying and clear out and I ALWAYS make sure that my flash is off and I am discreet in taking my pictures, and even then I make sure to follow what I see locals and other visitors do. I do not make a scene).  Anyway, back to the story:

   We go to the store and wander around. I notice the jade necklaces in the back and just walked in to take a look. But the jade was very different from what I had seen at other temples during my time in Asia. There were so many different kinds of Jade: big, small,  dark green, light green, silver decorations, gold accents, etc. I was not thinking of buying anything, but the lady who was running the jade counter was very friendly and ended up talking to us for a good 15 minutes about life in Vietnam, the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) Holiday, and about Vietnamese jade and the meanings behind all the different shapes and patterns in the metal filigree.

    Long story short, this lady was an excellent sales women since we walked out of the store after having bought a necklace each. I got one with a lucky dragon going across a circular jade piece that is designed to resemble the full moon. The lady said that it would be a good piece for me since I have a round face (similar to the moon) and have a feminine, motherly vibe (again like the moon).

   The Moseuleum of Ho Chi Minh was interesting more so for the history museum that is also on the grounds. I hate to admit this, but I am not as well versed in Vietnamese history as I am for other countries. So my knowledge about Vietnam comes from the little bit of the Vietnam War that I learned about in AP US HIstory back in high school, and even then it was taught to me with a US bias. So going to the museum and seeing Vietnam's history as told by the current government of Vietnam was very interesting, especially when they covered the Vietnam War, or War of Reunification as told to me by one of the museum placards. Not going to lie, I got a little nervous about being there when we got to that particular part of the exhibit. I know that the US is not perfect and that we have a track record of fighting in wars that one can argue are not our fights to fights, but to see how demonic and evil the US was portrayed left me feeling edge a bit. I was not worried about my safety or anything, but it was more of a self-realization of " wow, this is how my countrymen (and me to an extent) are seen abroad. This is how some countries view my home."

   While I do not believe that these feelings still exist in Vietnam (at least I have not encountered any ill wishes form others once they find out I am from the US), it is definitely an eye-opener and reminds you that you don't live in a bubble! That there is a big giant world out there that has a different viewpoint from you; that not everyone will agree with you; that what you may think is a right and noble action may not be seen the same way by the other party.

   That is why I love traveling and learning about other countries and cultures. By doing so, you are able to see the many many similarities that connect us as a species, but also the differences that allow us to be unique and diverse. Hopefully, more people will get the chance to leave the bubbles of their hometowns and get out in the world to learn all the similarities and learn to appreciate all the differences.