We have been up since 4:30 AM on the dawn patrol. However, dawn does not come until 5:15. We are in a completely different environment than the northern part of Vietnam. This area is populated by the Thai people, who are not from Thailand. However, the Thai influence is very strong. The houses have thatched roofs, and are built up on stilts with the living area above. Talk about an open floor plan. There is not a wall anywhere on the second floor and few support beams as the roof carries most of it. For privacy, which there is none, the parent’s bed has a curtain around it. No furniture except cushions and low tables.

Yesterday we walked to a “swimmng hole” which was fed by a natural mountain spring. I expected the water to be cold, it wasn’t as cold as the water in Vermont. It was refreshing after walking two miles in the heat and humidity to get there. The “ladies” demonstrated our Olympic synchronized team swimming abilities for the men in the group. They would not join us. No fun at all.

Back to the dawn patrol. Finally the morning light began to creep along the rice fields illuminating the fog hanging throughout the mountains. A few motor bikes came by, the dogs alerted the family to my presence, and the roosters made sure everyone was awake. Although there was no sunlight peaking through the mountains, there was a brush of pink to the clouds. Slowly people began to make their way to the rice fields, waving to me as I went by with my camera. I was completely alone on my walk having the expanse of fields and mountains to myself.

I felt it was a privilege to be in this moment, across the world, in a place where I thought I would never be. A place where the mention of the name, Vietnam, created anxiety in me. And now years later, it is as if this beautiful world had not been destroyed by war. As if we did not poison the people who lived here. I wonder what we were doing here in the first place, fighting a war to fight communism. Today, after all the killing, the sorrow, the grief, Vietnam is communist, it is a leading economic community in Asia. The world has not been destroyed. But once again, we have invaded another country, Iran, for what is perceived as a threat to humanity. I wonder who is the perceived threat?