the girl in the picture

After I told our resident civil engineer the strange tales of my past (peruvian chica born in nippon), he recommended a nice Japanese cafe to visit. There I stumbled upon a book I saw during the "what I should know before I leave vietnam" stage.

The Girl in the Picture describes the events before and after the poweful shot of nine year old Kim Thi Phan Phuc running to escape a napalm attack on her village. This book details the way her life was saved by Nick Ut, the journalist who took the Pultizer Prize winning photo.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4517597.stm

I spent about two hours reading about atrocities throughout Southern Vietnam in the middle of bustling Saigon.

Some other key context builders:

1) The influx of tall Western tourists eager to gobble up cheap pho and live in luxury on less than 10 dollars a day at the Ben Thanh Market


2) The continual presence of the communist regime. I'm talking bold yellow stars, sea green walls and arranging my documents for HFHI site visits to rural communes.



and this:








I am truly at a crossroads.










Week 2: One would never say, "oh I think I'll watch Schindler's List today--that sounds like a good time." I don't think I would have ever said: "Visiting the War Crimes Museum would be great way to spend my Sunday afternoon."

But here I go.