Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City

Before anyone decides to just be impulsive and try to get "out of your comfort zone" and go on a study abroad trip to Asia with a bunch of fellow students from a country with very touchy relationships to a region full of people that don't look, act, sound, eat, or do anything like you, I suggest a few things:

Turn Off Your American Voice (or Tone it Down)

It is all too easy to say to yourself:"I'm from the best Goddamn country on God's green earth and we give so much money to these little countries every year so they must love us." WRONG. America has a very touchy relationship with the developing world. This is especially so in Southeast Asia, where our presence was nothing but a disaster (perhaps the worst overseas involvement in our history). Not only did North Vietnam vehemently hate our involvement from the get-go, but South Vietnam and the divided region near Da Nang and Hoi An (where so many battles occurred) have very mixed feelings about it, because we pulled out and left them to be at the disposal of Ho Chi Minh.

For that reason, I would suggest avoiding anything that would suggest a "right" or a "wrong" idea of politics, religion, economics, or anything.
Some mistakes I or my classmates made:

1. Criticizing the dictator, Ho Chi Minh (many still like him, you never know)
2. Suggesting their move towards capitalism is good (some are still pro-communist)
3. Asking questions about gender roles (some are okay with traditionalism)
4. Overcompensating for America's past faults (this only continues to make us look bad)
5. Highlighting differences in culture in ways that make one look better than another (just because there are differences such as collectivism and individualism doesn't suggest one way is better; accept that they are simply different)

From my experience, it is completely okay to talk about your home country as well as what you like about theirs. I interacted with many people in HCMC and in Hoi An and it wasn't uncommon for them to ask lots of questions about your country, as well as what you like about theirs. Just don't portray it in a way that makes either place look bad. Also be all ears when they speak about their country and their way of life. Every interaction you have with these people is diplomacy, whether you like it or not.

Research The Place You Are Visiting Before You Go

This allows you to dive deep into the culture and makes interactions more meaningful, rather than making your first day full of "So who is Ho Chi Minh?" or "So is Vietnam Capitalist or Communist now?"

About Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon: The largest city in Vietnam was originally called Saigon, but in the wake of the communist takeover by North Vietnam following America's defeat, it became known as Ho Chi Minh City. The city has a history of takeover's and intercultural relations, as it was controlled back and forth between the Chinese and Khmer (Modern Cambodians) as well as it was a French Colonial city, then an American-occupied capital of South Vietnam, and then part of the unified communist Vietnam. All of these cultures, as well as some Malay, Filipino (Right Across the sea), and Japanese elements coexist, resulting in mixed architecture, the only language in Asia written entirely with a Latin alphabet, a flavorful cuisine, and colorful language.

This is the city in Vietnam, and Southeast Asia as a whole, that is growing the fastest. It is set to become the next "tiger economy" according to experts. As China continues to become more and more expensive, and as Japan becomes too saturated, and as more and more instability comes into Thailand, Vietnam is becoming the big star of Asia, especially in the already semi-Western Ho Chi Minh City. There is so much opportunity there that it is growing unevenly in different segments of the economy.