I stepped off the plane and was hit by southern Vietnam’s hot, humid air. A relative I had just met handed me a water bottle and I drank from it as I scanned my surroundings. Hundreds of motorcycles zipped around the streets, some riding up onto sidewalks blanketed with dust. People lined the streets, stray dogs loped in narrow alleyways, and old men sat on plastic stools, smoking cigarettes and scratching their patchy beards. Looking up, I saw power lines clumped in a jumbled mess. Vietnam’s bright, busy environment combined with its cacophony of motorcycles and haggling customers overwhelmed me. Those were my initial reactions on my first visit to Vietnam. I had never left the U.S. before and didn’t know much about Vietnam other than its
