h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I was fortunate enough to spend the month of January, 2003 in Vietnam. I spent the month living in Soc Trang, in the Mekong Delta. Living in Vietnam helped me to better understand America. We are spoiled, many of our people are not self-sufficient, and we need to get rid of all the lawyers. While the Vietnamese people are poor, they take responsibility for themselves and their actions. I did not find any beggars, the only adult who asked for money was a drug addict. In Vietnam, it seems, everyone sells whatever they have - soup, bread, rice wine, cakes, snake eggs, or lottery tickets. There were all kinds of hazards which in America would inspire lawsuits, but in Vietnam it was presumed that if someone tripped over that cable, it was their problem, not grounds for a lawsuit. While Vietnam is certainly not an ideal country, if I were stranded on an island I would want at least one Vietnamese person with me. And if I ever need to build a bridge, I will choose a Vietnamese engineer to design it.