I am not a tourist of Vietnam. I have been in Vietnam since Thursday, the 29th of November, 2012, that is the last 5 months. Why do foreign travelers come and tour Vietnam? What are they expecting to see that I do not see. What do they see that I do not see?
I am not a tourist. I am a local Vietnamese American in Vietnam. I am not really Vietnamese but I kind of reject my United States citizenshi
p. I do not hate the USA. At the same time, I do not see Vietnam as a different country. I am so serious. Why do people spend so money to go to other countries? They spend so much money to stay in really nice hotels. They waste their money just to travel the world.
I lived in Hawaii for 9 months. People dream of living in Hawaii. I was not a tourist. I was a missionary there. I made friends with the children, the poor, the homeless. That is who I am. I am not just a tourist with a camera. Because I do not see other places as different than anywhere else. It is different in a way, but not in the same exact way. I am trying to say that while people go half way around the world to see new places, in doing so, they neglect and forget about their own home town and the people and places and things from where they are from. Being a tourist is fine as long as it does not corrupt your spirit like money does.
I have wanted to travel the world since I was 8 years old, but I never wanted to travel the world as a tourist. When I go around Saigon, Vietnam, I look at the foreign tourists like I look at animals at the zoo. I look at them and I contemplate what they are doing in Vietnam.
Because what does Vietnam have that other countries do not have? Is Vietnam the only country in the world with trees and bikes and streets and people and beaches and animals and rivers and bridges and hotels and people with brown skin and rice and flowers and tall buildings and clouds and rain and love and pain and crime and music and food and excitement and danger and families and grass and sports and boats and children? Joey Arnold. Marilyn Mitchell. Maria Arnold. Jen-jen Pableo. Rob Ngo
What do the tourists see that I am not seeing?
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