2.4.2020 Approaching Ho Chi Min City

Random musings from JJJ as we approach Vietnam

·        We are about 4 hours away from setting foot in Ho Chi Min City (HCMC), Vietnam. This leg has been longer than expected due to the itinerary change, eliminating China from our lists of ports. When we arrive in HCMC, we will have spent 6 days on land out of the last 34. 

·        At my core, I am a learner. Starting my day with Global Studies is something that makes me so deeply happy, I almost cried yesterday. The lecturers are engaging, informative, and have provided so much useful context to my world travels. 

·        I feel like I have a different professional identity on the ship than I do at home.  I am getting valued and appreciated for roles that I don’t typically play at CSU and doing less of things that might otherwise focus on at home. Some of this has to do with the unique needs and context of the ship environment compared to CSU. Some of it has to do with me feeling more willing to take a risk in an environment that feels fundamentally “lower stakes” than at home.

·        One of the highlights of this week was a showing of the movie Get Out as a kick-off to Black History Month.  We did a panel at the end, and our SAS Filmmaker talked through the foreshadowing, music, and other aspects of the film. My mind got blown. It reminded me of being at Sundance. Plus, it was so fun to watch it with hundreds of students shouting and cheering during the most intense parts of the film. 

·        Certain groups of students are really struggling. Some of the Black students on the voyage experienced outright discrimination in Japan and the shipboard community can be pretty isolating for them, too. Socioeconomic differences seem magnified here, too. In Vietnam, some students are booking $7 a night hostels while others are securing $5000 per week mansions. Financial differences are in your face and a part of daily life here. Finally, with the pool deck and bikinis everywhere, plus eating together at every meal, body image has also been a struggle for some students.  

·        I feel like I am making so many new friends including both students and staculty. It’s super energizing and fun. Last night after a late meeting, Chris and I cruised over to the Fritz Bar (staculty only) and hung out for a while. We laughed and laughed with our fellow voyagers. I feel so lucky that we are going to have so many new friends to visit around the United States/world plus a few new Fort Collins BFFs, too. 

·        Vietnam awaits. By all measures Vietnam is a pretty remarkable place. One of the things we are focusing on in Global Studies is the question of “How can one live ‘the good life’ without killing the planet?” In most situations, countries that meet quality of life standards for their people (like the U.S. and many places in Europe) grossly overuse environmental resources. Places that live sustainably (mostly poor countries around the world) tend not to provide very good quality of life for their people.  Vietnam happens to the one exception to that rule on the planet!  Most quality of life indicators point to a healthy, happy, and thriving society in Vietnam, ALL while doing it sustainably. I am anxious to get there myself and take it all in! 

·        This port offers my first field class with the Chapman Impact Cohort. I’ll be traveling to Cambodia for 3 days with a group of 21 students to learn about Friends International, a local nonprofit. This is a fabulous group of students (they remind me a lot of CSU alternative break groups – badass, fun, engaged students) and I am looking forward to our journey together. 

·        I have thought a lot about my parents’ generation and how the Vietnam/American War shaped their lives, the culture in the United States, and by proxy my own life. I’ve thought about my dad, who read anti-war essays on the Iowa State radio station, and what he would think about his grandkids setting foot in Saigon 50 years later. I am filled with gratitude.

Adventure awaits! Signing off from the South China Sea,

Dr. JJJ