Just a few years prior to her birth, Huế had been the site of a long, terrible battle after which many innocent people were left homeless. During this time, there were wars being fought in the neighboring countries of Cambodia and Laos as well, which led to more conflict and strife in Vietnam. Though I had known about the Vietnam War long before I moved there, I hadn't known about the havoc it had wreaked on the city of Huế—the placed I called home for my first year in Vietnam. I realized that this man’s wife had been born into one of the harshest, scariest times that a person could imagine. In fact, for most of her life, she had experienced nothing but war. That’s when it hit me: there was a painful, deep and storied past here in Vietnam that I was completely ignoring. I began to ask myself, “how can anyone truly understand a person or a place without knowing where and what they have come from?” With that, I began researching the history of Vietnam like crazy. Soon, I learned that the people of Vietnam had been at war with outside forces for more than 200 years
Finally, I was beginning to understand. No wonder they were so reluctant to interact with, let alone help, Westerns like me. For a long time, we brought them little except war. No wonder it was customary to fight your way to the front of the check-out line. For hundreds of years, it had been every man and woman for themselves. No wonder people didn’t take the time to apologize or say “thank you," there wasn’t time for pleasantries when you were worrying about losing your home and not sure where your next meal would come from.
The more I began to understand, the deeper my compassion and respect became for the people of Vietnam. I began to let go of my daily frustrations.
