Today is our first free day to roam Ho Chi Minh city. So far we have pretty much traveled by taxi or bus in this massive city. So today most of us ventured out by foot to get a feel for the city. The day started by strolling in the park near our hotel. We were up at 6:00 am and so was everybody else. I love how the parks are utilized here. At home I try enroll my kids in as many park activities as I can. We go to concerts in the park and meet friends in the park, but it is nothing like the sense of community the parks in this town have created for the people. I love people watching and this a perfect place to do it.
I also went to the War Remembrance Museum (more commonly known to the Vietnamese as the American War Museum). It is difficult to process all that I saw there. In the U.S we learn so little about that time period other than it caused social unrest in our country. My father was medical evacuation pilot in the Vietnam War. The images of the few recounts he has shared have become slightly more vivid. I went with Tanner a fellow student and neither of us can recall if we have Museum like this at home. I mean we have Memorials and Presidential Libraries recounting their decisions, but do we have places that lay out the fact surrounding the war.
The rest of the this day was spent meandering, shopping and taking much needed rests. It ended by having dinner and drinks with our new friends from STU/Troy University. They have seriously gone out of there way to make us feel at home. Very thankful for all that they did.