Reflection: Vietnam in the Early Period

 Dec 12, 2012
Question No. 5
Reflection: Vietnam in the Early Period
	Before taking this class, I expected to learn something related to critical thinking, which is also the title of the course. True, I did learn a lot from this class and I started to analyze issues in different aspects. The class has been of high importance to me, as it has enabled be to attain a better understanding of the world. However, what affects me the most is not the learning on critical thinking, but the issues in Vietnam, that changed my view on life and future. There are different stories and literatures, which I learnt in this class, and are informative and beneficial to the understanding of the old time in Vietnam. For me, this is the most valuable part of this course, and this paper is a reflection on what I learnt in class, especially concerning the Vietnam in the early period.
	As a student from Hong Kong, I did not know much about Vietnam, because there was only a brief description about the Vietnam War and no in depth discussion on Vietnam’s issues. However, many sources and books used in this class were about issues in Vietnam. I was able to acquire even more information concerning the situation in Vietnam from the research paper. This is because the topic of the research paper in class was in relation to the issues in Vietnam.  Therefore, I got a much deeper understanding about this place after taking this class, as what we discussed in details during the class was the warfare in Vietnam. In this class, “We Were Soldiers Once and Young”, and “The Making of a Quagmire” were the class literatures, focusing on the warfare in the old time of Vietnam. The two literatures enhanced my understanding of the hard life led by people, who lived in Vietnam during the war period. Comparing my life and that of those people, I believe that I am a very lucky person to have been born in Hong Kong.  During the war period in Vietnam, children received training as soldiers to fight at the frontline for their country. On the other hand, I was born in a peaceful place, where I chose my own path in life and was not force to become anything. After reading this literature, I realized that there is a lot in my life that I take for granted, such as peace and the freedom to choose, and I began being grateful.  
	Apart from changing my viewpoint on life, the course also changed my attitude towards the freedoms and things I had. I was once a person, who was unwilling to face challenges and failure. After reading the literatures, my personality changed because of the characters, such as Kieu in “the Tale of Kieu”, and Dang Thuy Tram in “Last Night I dreamed of Peace”. The experience of Kieu was very tough in the story, and she tried to face her fate. However, she chose to commit suicide at the last part of the story (Du, 153). Even though she led a tough life, I do not think committed suicide is a way of solving the problems. Unlike Kieu, Dr. Tram overcame her sorrow instead of committing suicide. When she was facing challenges, she still kept her hope and soul strong (Tram, 23). Tram used a positive way to solve problems, which provides me with a great model. 
	Because of these characters, I finally found that we could always face our fate in a positive way instead being negative. Solving problems in a passive way will only lead us in to a dead end. Learning for us is usually practical, which means knowledge is a tools in our daily life. However, sometimes learning is more effective, when it changes one’s life. This course taught me not only the practical tools, but also changed my thought and the future of my life.