I hope you are enjoying learning about the world we live in and I hope I can give a little extra insight into the countries I visit!
This far I have been to Japan, China, Hong Kong (technically part of China but a separate economic system), Vietnam, Singapore, and Myanmar and in two days I will be in India! How incredible!
I think in this post I'll focus on Vietnam and Myanmar (Burma) because they are the most different from the US and other Western Countries. In both countries I was shocked how many people spoke English (at least a few words) and how open they were to Westerners (European and Americans).
In Vietnam there is quite a bit of wealth distribution in the main cities like Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi but the country itself is very agricultural and many people still live in rural areas. Homes in general are much smaller than US homes. There may be one or two rooms for an entire family.
In Myanmar (Burma) the level of poverty was much more visible. Many of the homes I saw were thatched roof and would have three sides and an open fourth.
Think about your own homes and how different it would be!
In both countries the people were so friendly. The United States has had sanctions against Myanmar for a long time up until about 6 years ago when the country was re-opened for US tourism, so the country itself is relatively unchanged by Western influence. Also because of this, most Burmese have not seen many white people or blondes for that matter so I was constantly stared at there.
As I continue on my journey I am constantly reminded how rich I am on a global level. In Montana, my family is pretty middle of the road, but our middle of the road is outstandingly wealthy compared to the rest of the world.
This world is full of incredible people and places and things to see, I hope you get excited about our great big world and dare to explore it!
Until India!
Laura
PS Look out for pictures whenever I'm able to finally post some!
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