Through insider’s access to iconic voices on all sides, this one-of-a-kind educational program empowers travelers to absorb the central lessons of Vietnam. How can this stunningly hospitable nation be the site of America’s most controversial war? Through comprehensive itineraries balancing active learning with quiet reflection, participants on our Vietnam student travel program experience the magic of Vietnam—natural beauty, diverse cultural traditions and culinary delights –with an understanding of the War itself through a lens of compassion.

People to People: Local…

Through insider’s access to iconic voices on all sides, this one-of-a-kind educational program empowers travelers to absorb the central lessons of Vietnam. How can this stunningly hospitable nation be the site of America’s most controversial war? Through comprehensive itineraries balancing active learning with quiet reflection, participants on our Vietnam student travel program experience the magic of Vietnam—natural beauty, diverse cultural traditions and culinary delights –with an understanding of the War itself through a lens of compassion.

People to People: Local Community
In partnership with academic institutions in the North and South, travelers pen pal with local people in advance of arrival. Students consider the War from the first-hand perspective of US soldiers and policy-makers, the American citizenry and award-winning journalists, Vietnamese civilians from the North and South. What is the long-term impact of Chinese occupation, French colonialism, the Cold War and the U.S. invasion upon the fiercely independent people of Vietnam? Participants on our Vietnam student travel program meet with a former Vietcong general, South Vietnamese soldiers and journalists who captured the War for American audiences. Why do the Vietnamese embrace American tourists with such grace and hospitality after the terrible destruction our military wrought upon their ancestors? Each region offers civil discourse from diverse voices as an answer to these and other questions.

History Matters: Learning From The Past
The romantic lakes and the Old French Quarter of Hanoi. The tree-lined boulevards and Chinese markets of Saigon. Breathtaking powdered-sugar sandy beaches, limestone green island bays, lively Mekong River Delta culture, verdant jungle and terraced hilltribe farms. Vietnam is a glorious landscape of natural beauty unlike anywhere on Earth. Decades of normalized relations between the United States and Vietnam invite us to explore these national treasures with ease. Our synthesis of historical analysis, conscious tourism and survivor testimony provide a framework for applying Vietnam’s lessons – the missed opportunities for peace --- upon the geopolitical conflicts of today.

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