Haven’t you ever heard of the American Dream?

Today I strangely learned a lot about Vietnam by discussing American history, culture, and daily life. After our usual classes in the morning we went to the U.S. Consulate Building, where we got a tour and met with a few of the officers to learn about what exactly a consulate does. They explained that while a lot of their work is processing visas for immigration and tourism, they also have the important goal of strengthening diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries (which we explored in detail when we spoke to Patrick Wall two days ago). We also heard about their program to help Vietnamese students to come to the United States to study, called Education USA. This became the most interesting function of the consulate as we proceeded to visit Education USA to meet with Vietnamese students who participate in their program. The intention was to have one on one conversation, but this approach was quickly abandoned as more and more Vietnamese students arrived, ready with questions. We broke into groups, with about 3-4 Americans talking to 30-40 Vietnamese. This tactic was similarly abandoned when we realized how many questions these students were eager to ask, and groups of 1 American talking with about 10 Vietnamese was the final result. The Vietnamese students’ English was flawless, which I was very thankful for. Most of the questions I answered revolved around choosing a major, finding a job, dealing with stress, student loans, and housing in college. However, I did encounter some particularly interesting questions that opened my eyes to some realities in both America and Vietnam. When I was asked about how Americans could afford taking gap years to volunteer or travel I found myself stumbling over the fact that I was in a very fortunate position. Here I was, in Vietnam, not knowing any of their language and only doing minimal research on their culture and customs because I could afford to do so. Meanwhile, I was talking to students who have studied English and American culture tirelessly, in hopes that they could earn a chance to visit my country. I was reminded of our visit to Hutech (a local university) on one of our first days, where the vice president spoke to us on the value of education. He explained how education is so valuable that farmers will sell all of their land simply to send their children to study in America. After learning the value of this land in our talks on the Mekong Delta and speaking with these students, I realized how fortunate I was to be in my position. To be able to pursue a major where I can be confident in my career, to be able to travel and explore countries like Vietnam using that major, and to be able to have my opinion be respected largely due to simply being born into a middle class American household. One student asked me “are you allowed to disagree with your professor?” and I realized that for many students in Vietnam, they do not have the luxury of expressing their own voice in the classroom. I learned that simply being heard is a rare gift for many students as one Vietnamese student excitedly bragged to the rest of the group that his favorite professor (who was educated in America) allowed him to disagree without penalty. They explained that even in classes like philosophy, the professor’s way is the only way. I wonder if this is indicative of a greater cultural norm instilled by the strict communist government and strong family values.

After attempting to address as many major questions as possible I retreated to the hotel for much needed water and rest from the very long day and week. Once there, many of the students from Pitt discussed the most interesting questions they gave or had to answer. One of my friends asked “How do you perceive the typical American?” and received the unexpected answer of “freedom, beautiful, and smart.” Most of us agreed that this was the opposite of what we expected to hear as we see stereotypical Americans as ignorant and lazy. Another friend of mine, confused as many of us were as to how Vietnam, a nation which was the target of extreme American violence during the war, could have such love for the United States. The response he received was “haven’t you ever heard of the American Dream?” I don’t even know how to respond to that.